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A pensioner who made explicit sexual remarks to what he believed was a 14-year-old girl was snared by an adult from a paedophile hunter group who was posing as a teenager.

Inverness Sheriff Court was told that Duncan Moir, from Buckie, contacted the 'girl' calling herself 'Molly' on December 17, 2023.

The 72-year-old told the ‘girl’ his age and was informed that his contact was 14.

Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald that Moir, of Bede Road, called the girl “baby, gorgeous, my dear girl, my beautiful gorgeous girl”.

Mrs Gair went on: "He asked her if she had a boyfriend and asked her for photographs of herself.

“The conversation became more sexualised."

The court heard that Moir said the girl made him "horny", asked about her private parts and what sex acts she knew about.

He also told her what acts he would like her to do to him, adding that he would keep her safe.

Moir also told her: "By the way, don’t tell anyone what I have been talking about or I would be in trouble."

At that stage, the decoy from online child abuse activist group 'Elite' informed another similar group in Scotland called 'Protecting Kids Scotland'.

They identified from screenshots where Moir lived and confronted him while live-streaming it online.

Moir admitted sexually communicating with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl between December 17, 2023, and March 16 last year.

Sentence was deferred until June 3 for a background report and an assessment for the sex offender's rehabilitation programme, 'Moving Forward to Change.'

Moir was also immediately placed on the Sex Offender's Register and his bail was continued.

However, Sheriff Macdonald warned him “all sentencing options are open to the court”.

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A former Ayrshire nurse who stalked a terrified woman after matching with her on a dating app is back in jail after she contacted the victim just ten days after being released from prison.

Adele Rennie, 34, from Kilmarnock, was jailed in September 2024 for an elaborate catfishing scam. She was also handed a five-year non-harassment order that banned her from contacting the woman, who she had targeted with the scam.

Rennie was released from jail on 13 January this year but remained registered as a sex offender and subject to monitoring and restrictions. But, just ten days after her release, Rennie sent text messages to her victim.

Rennie was found to have flouted the non-harassment order on January 23 when a social worker was made aware of messages sent to the previous victim. The phone number of the woman had been stored in Rennies phone under the name Gord - but actually belonged to her previous victim whom Rennie was prohibited by court order from contacting.

Rennie pled guilty at the Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Tuesday (April 22). Rennie, dubbed Scotlands most prolific catfish, was previously jailed in 2017 for a decade-long stalking campaign.

She is to be the subject of a BBC Three and BBC Scotland documentary titled The Catfish Next Door, charting the campaign. Rennie targeted a number of women with stalking campaigns, which all began online but had far-reaching consequences for her victims.

Rennie pretended to be a man, using a voice-changing app and a number of aliases including David Graham, David Crolla, Davie, Marco and Matthew Mancini.

David Bernard, Procurator Fiscal for North Strathclyde, said: The law will not tolerate Adele Rennies refusal to abide by the strict restrictions placed upon her. Prosecutors at COPFS will respond robustly to keep the community safe from distressing and damaging behaviour like stalking.

We recognise the trauma suffered by some victims of this insidious crime and court orders will be enforced at the earliest opportunity should a perpetrator such as Rennie attempt to reoffend.

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A sexual predator who attacked two women when he was manager at a popular music venue has been jailed.

Daniel Knowles, 37, was convicted of attacking two women in 2019 when he was a manager at Concorde 2, a nightclub in Brighton. 

He raped one woman and sexually assaulted another as she slept at different addresses in Brighton.

He was jailed for six-and-a-half years following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

Knowles was described as a daily cocaine user when he was working at the music venue.

Sarah Lindop for the crown said Knowles was a predator who continues to deny his guilt.

"Daniel Knowles is a sexual predator and he has taken advantage of circumstances where he is close to them to sexually assault these young women," she said.

His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart said the jury rejected his claims and described Knowles as a predator who took advantage of vulnerable women for his own sexual gratification.

He said: "You've shown little remorse.

"You were overtaken by your desire for sexual gratification.

"You are wholly to blame."

His victims said they had suffered ongoing trauma after being attacked by Knowles.

The woman Knowles raped said she is living with flashbacks and a constant level of fear and mistrust.

"These past six years, I've spent frozen in time", she said.

"I have to constantly remind myself that I am safe and it's over.

"I will never understand why what happened happened."

The woman who was sexually assaulted by Knowles when he got into bed with her as she slept said her life was changed forever.

She forced him out of her room and barricaded the door.

She said: "I find it difficult to trust people.

"Your gaslighting has destroyed friendships and relationships.

"I was in my own room with my door shut, asleep in my own bed.

"Men like you behave like this of your own volition.

"I hope you will one day be able to understand the harm you've caused."

Knowles was jailed for four-and-a-half years for one count of rape and another two years to be served consecutively for the sexual assault.

He will spend at least two thirds in custody before he is eligible for release and will be on the sex offender register for life.

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A Perth sex offender snared in an online sting by vigilantes has been put on the sex offenders register until 2030 and told he “only has himself to blame” for the impact his sick chats have had on his life.

Pervert Peter Moffat returned to Perth Sheriff Court to be sentenced after admitting sending sordid messages to a paedophile hunter posing as a 13-year-old.

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A serial child abuser who fled the country while he was on trial is now beginning a prison sentence.

Jibrhan Khan’s four young victims, who must not be identified for legal reasons, were denied justice back in February 2023 when the drug-user went on the run after his trial had started at Bradford Crown Court.

His barrister Jeremy Hill-Baker told a judge on Thursday that at the time Khan was living in shared accommodation and had been attacked by other residents after they “got wind” of his alleged offending. Mr Hill-Baker said: “Someone lent him some money and he got a flight to Pakistan. At the time he had a significant drug addiction to both heroin and crack cocaine.”

Mr Hill-Baker said his client spent five months in hospital getting psychiatric help and after getting off drugs he started to reflect on his previous conduct.

“He had begun to pray in earnest and made the decision himself, knowing that in respect of all but one of the counts the jury had failed to agree, to come home and to face the music and sort out what he had done,” said Mr Hill-Baker.

Khan, 41, flew back to this country last September and was arrested on the bench warrant and put before the court.

The court heard that Khan had been convicted in his absence by the jury of one sexual offence, but in January this year he pleaded guilty to seven other similar allegations. The non-recent abuse involving the four girls ended in 2014 and included offences of indecent assault, sexual assault and sexual assault of a girl under 13.

One of his victims described in a statement how the abuse left her with feelings of anxiety and self-loathing and she felt guilty about not disclosing the abuse sooner.

Mr Hill-Baker said Khan, formerly of Mannville Terrace, Great Horton, Bradford, wanted to give the victims justice because he knew that they felt thwarted when he fled his trial. The barrister said: “He does not instruct me to seek to excuse his behaviour and gives all the outward impression of being deeply remorseful, wanting to face the inevitable punishment and be at peace himself with what he has done and for his victims to have closure."

Jailing Khan for 12-and-a-half years, Deputy Circuit Judge Timothy Clayson said his offending had been extensive and an extended sentence as a “dangerous offender” was clearly justified. The judge imposed an extended licence period of three years on top of the defendant’s jail term.

Khan will now have to serve at least two-thirds of his 12-and-a-half year sentence before being considered for release by the Parole Board. He will also have to register as a sex offender for life with the police and must comply with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Clayson also imposed an indefinite restraining order which bans the defendant from contacting any of the complainants.

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A Fife man blindfolded an eight-year-old girl for a “tasting game” which turned into a sexual assault.

James Ross pretended it would be harmless fun with the girl trying to name household items without seeing them.

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Detectives from our Child Criminal and Sexual Exploitation Team (CCSET) are welcoming the sentencing of a Liverpool man to life in prison for multiple sexual offences against girls. He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today, Thursday 16 September.

Marc Noonan, 27, of Fenwick Street, pleaded guilty to eleven sexual offences prior to appearing at trial on other matters. Noonan will serve a minimum of 18 years minus time spent on remand, until there is any possibility of parole.

In January, Noonan was found guilty of a further 29 sexual offences. The offences took place between 2022 and 2023, against three girls between the ages of 13 and 16.

The investigation found that Noonan met and groomed the victims after approaching them via social media, going on to commit further offences, including rape, sexual assault and disclosing private images.

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The Congolese national has been charged for multiple sex attacks while already serving a prison sentence for rape.

An asylum seeker who was once pictured carrying a sign saying “migrants are not criminals” has admitted three more serious sex offences. The Congolese national was jailed for nearly 11 years in 2024 after he raped a 15-year-old girl in Oxford, resulting in her becoming pregnant. On Tuesday, Anicet Mayela pleaded guilty to one count of rape and two counts of sexual activity with a child.

The new charges are related to attacks which took place in the same city as the first offence, between June 2016 and June 2017. Mayela, 41, originally tried to revoke his first guilty plea of rape, yet a judge refused. After arriving in Britain illegally in 2004, he has since fought against multiple deportation attempts, The Sun revealed. 

One bid to stay included the sex offender claiming his hand was broken by Home Office staff, therefore he was unfit to travel on a flight to Congo. Attendants on the Air France plane then refused to take off with him onboard.

When Mayela first arrived in the UK, the Home Office denied his asylum claim. After challenging this decision at an immigration tribunal, the rapist, who worked as a porter at the John Radcliffe Hospital, was granted leave to remain on appeal in 2010.

The asylum seeker was previously photographed protesting outside a detention centre in Oxford, wearing a sign around his neck which read “migrants are not criminals”. 

Mayela will be sentenced at Oxford crown court on June 6. 

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A Nuneaton man who denied raping two women has been jailed for 13 years.

When we interviewed 18-year-old Joshua Fletcher, of Milby Drive, he denied any wrongdoing.

But thanks to the bravery of the women, Fletcher’s lies didn’t stop him from being charged with one count of sexual assault and five counts of rape.

After an eight-day trial at Warwick Crown Court in February, the jury unanimously found Fletcher guilty.

And on Tuesday, 15 April, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison with five years after that to be a licence period with conditions.

He will also remain a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

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A man who raped and sexually abused a young girl from the age of five has been jailed.

Parvaiz Akhtar, aged 61, appeared at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, (15 April), where he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The abuse started when the survivor was a child - her earliest account was aged five and lasted until she was around 15 years old.

Thirty years later, in May 2023, she bravely came forward to report the abuse she suffered as a child to a third party.

Officers from the Calderdale District Safeguarding Team launched an investigation following the report and enquiries to find Akhtar suggested he was out of the country.

Upon returning to the UK, he was arrested in April 2024 and subsequently charged with 12 offences including three counts of rape and nine counts of sexual assault on a child.

Akhtar denied 10 of the 12 charges. He gave a guilty plea to one count of sexual assault and one count of rape.

A five-day trial took place at Bradford Crown Court in February this year for the remaining 10 charges where the jury returned an unanimous guilty verdict on all charges.

In addition to the 14-year custodial sentence, he will also be required to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. 

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A former ambulance technician has been sentenced for child sex offences.

David Andrews, 36, of no fixed abode, formerly of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court on Thursday 27 February to:

• Attempted rape of a child under 13.
• Two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 by penetration.
• Two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13.
• Three counts of taking indecent photographs / pseudo-photographs of a child.
• Three counts of making indecent photographs / pseudo-photographs of a child.

Andrews appeared at Worcester Crown Court today (16 April) where he was sentenced to 25 years with a minimum custodial sentence of 12 years.

He has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

He was arrested in December 2024, after an allegation of sexual assault against a child. A West Mercia police investigation uncovered video footage and thousands of indecent images on his phone.

Images found on his phone included 765 category A images, the most serious in nature, 829 category B images and 5388 category C images.

Andrews formerly worked as an ambulance technician for East Midlands Ambulance Service in the Northamptonshire area between July 2015 and December 2024. One of the category C images was taken while he was on duty.

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A man who subjected a teenage girl to repeated sexual offences and told her she would not be believed has been jailed for 14 years.  

Kyle Burns, 33, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday (14 April), after earlier being found guilty of two counts of rape, two of sexual assault and two of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. 

The victim came forward to police in July 2024, and her report was investigated by specially trained officers from the Kirklees District Safeguarding Unit.  

The judge told Burns, of Robertson Terrace in Cleckheaton, that he must serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody and made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order. Burns was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register. 

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A man from Swindon has admitted to making indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images of animals.

Adrian Parker, 53, of Cameron Close, Stratton St Margaret, appeared at Swindon Crown Court on Friday (11/04) and pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image/images portraying an act of intercourse/oral sex with a dead/alive animal.

These offences took place in August 2024.

Parker was sentenced to 12 months in prison. He is already serving a 33-month sentence for arranging to commit a child sex offence after pleading guilty at the end of last year.

He is also required to register with the police in accordance with the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and will be the subject of a DEPO which will see Parker's phone and tablet that was seized destroyed.

Investigator Beccy Scott of the Child Internet Exploitation Team (CIET) said, "Parker is a dangerous man with a clear sexual preoccupation with prepubescent children, and I welcome this further custodial sentence.

"Online offending of this nature is not a victimless crime. Every single child in these images is a victim of sexual exploitation, and by offenders like Parker accessing these images, it generates a market for more child sexual abuse material to be created.

"Parker will continue to be monitored as a registered sex offender indefinitely with a restrictive Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in place to manage his behaviour when he is released back into the community. The Child Internet Exploitation Team remains committed to bringing those who seek to abuse children online to justice."

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A YOUNG rapist has been locked up for more than five years after he carried out a sex attack on a woman.

Harry Davies, 20, pleaded guilty to assaulting his victim in Newport last summer.

The offence was committed in June when he was still a teenager, prosecutor John Ryan told Newport Crown Court.

Davies, from Beer, Devon was sent to a young offender institution for 63 months by Judge Eugen Egan.

The defendant will have to register as a sex offender for life and made the subject of an indefinite restraining order not to contact the woman.

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Sex offender Jamie Clarke hurled a smartphone he was banned from having after refusing to use his thumbprint to open the device. The 27-year-old failed to tell police that he had a mobile phone and was using Snapchat.

And when he was arrested, Clarke was caught with a small amount of cannabis. Now Clarke has been jailed for 10 months.

Prosecutor Hunter Gray told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court the defendant was made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) on May 13, 2022. He was released from prison in November last year and placed in a Stoke-on-Trent hostel.

But on December 1 a member of staff at the hostel saw him in his room with a smartphone on a video call to a woman. An officer was at the hostel at the time on other matters. He was aware the defendant was subject to the SHPO and asked Clarke if he had a smartphone. He initially denied it and said he would come with the police once he got dressed.

The court heard the police were not aware he was in possession of the device or that he was using Snapchat. He was arrested.

In custody Clarke refused to provide his thumbprint to open the device. In the police cell he contacted the custody desk and said he was willing to open the device with his thumbprint. But when given the phone he snatched it and threw it against the wall, causing damage to the phone and the tiles on the cell wall.

Clarke, of Rectory Road, Shelton, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching a SHPO and possession of a class B drug.

Kelly Cyples, mitigating, said time Clarke had spent in custody since his arrest would not count towards his sentence.

Judge Graeme Smith said: "This is not the first time you have been before the court for breaching a SHPO or the notification requirements. It is an order to prevent sexual harm and breaches of it are treated seriously.

"In this case you were using a phone which had not been disclosed to the police. And when asked to provide login details you refused to do so and tried to damage the phone."