Latest Offenders

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A criminal network who conducted extreme body modifications and illegal surgeries have been jailed after Met detectives uncovered their horrendous crimes

Specialist Met officers leading a unique investigation into the extreme body modification of men have seen seven men jailed today, Thursday, 9 May for a total of 79 years after a hearing at the Old Bailey.

Met detectives launched an investigation into the illegal surgical procedures after a victim was first identified by Devon and Cornwall Police in November 2020 after it was established the offending had taken place in North London.

Marius Theodore Gustavson, 46 (7.12.77), of Haringey was identified by detectives as being the primary offender following a lengthy and complex investigation. Alongside the six other men, he was jailed for life today with a minimum tariff of 22 years for:

• Conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm
• Five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent
• One count of making an indecent photograph of a child
• One count of distributing an indecent photograph of a child
• Possession of extreme pornographic images
• Distributing indecent pseudo images of children

The court heard how Gustavson used the internet to seek out and manipulate vulnerable people, coercing them to take part in the procedures.

Detective Inspector Amanda Greig, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “I would like to highlight the excellent work of the Met’s investigation team, who have examined thousands of hours of horrific material seized from the suspects. Their diligence and professionalism have ensured no one else will suffer at the hands of these men.

“This lengthy and complex investigation demonstrates that we are determined to protect Londoners from harm and bringing those that threaten the safety of our communities to justice.”

Following the court hearing today, DI Amanda Greig also thanked the victims for their bravery throughout the investigation. She acknowledged their immense suffering – with many victims having profound mental health issues as a result of the group's brutal actions. The victims were supported by specialist officers and signposted to support services by the LGBT+ anti-abuse charity GALOP.

Detectives worked closely with partners from a number of UK police forces, NHS, London Ambulance Service, the General Medical Council and the Midwifery Council to help identify and support victims.

They discovered that Gustavson owned and managed the website ‘Eunuchmaker.com’ where he advertised extreme body modification services, including castration and penis removal. He also owned a production company, where he would record all the illegal mutilations and upload them to his site, which captured an international audience.

Officers interviewed and obtained statements from victim-survivors, who had been assaulted between February 2017 and January 2020.

In at least three cases, the injuries inflicted on the victims were life threatening, with one victim coming close to losing his life due to blood loss.

Officers sought the expertise of Consultant Urological Surgeon, Mr Chris Dawson, who stated “The procedures performed in these cases have highlighted the dangers involved in 'back street surgery'.

"To become a highly qualified surgeon takes a number of years, and these procedures should not be carried out by anyone without the necessary experience or expertise as it risks serious complications such as significant bleeding, or sepsis. When performed in hospital, these procedures are performed under general anaesthesia in a sterile environment, with the surgeon wearing sterile gown and gloves.

"The consent process is a very important part of any surgical procedure, and surgeons are held to very high standards about this. It is imperative that patients are aware of the potential complications of any surgical procedure."

A search of Gustavson’s address found various items, including

• Boxes of medical needles and syringes
• Local anaesthetic packs
• Surgical tools
• A wooden chopping board and a mallet
• A body board with leg and arm restraints attached
• Disposable skin staplers
• Numerous medical procedure videos linked to Gustavson’s digital devices

As Gustavson’s pattern of offending began to unravel, detectives were able to piece together that he was not working alone

Following an interrogation of more than 120 digital devices the remaining offenders were identified by video footage, as well as phone communication with Gustavson. Ashley Williams, David Carruthers, Peter Wates, Janus Atkins, Ion Circuir were arrested at addresses in London, Scotland, Birmingham and South Wales. Stefan Scharf, a German national, was arrested whilst in transit at Heathrow Airport.

The majority of the offences occurred at Gustavson’s former home address, as well as a rented hotel room in London.

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A Littlehampton man who assaulted two women has been jailed after an incredible display of bravery by female police officers.

On 2 September, 2023, police received a report of a woman having been sexually assaulted while walking alone through Littlehampton town centre at night.

She was followed and grabbed by an unknown man, who sexually assaulted her, pushed her to the ground and fled the scene.

CCTV footage showed the man loitering in the town centre for around an hour, before following her into a residential area.

Despite a search of the area by police, he could not be located.

The suspect was also captured on CCTV following other women around the town centre.

Suspecting the man posed an ongoing risk to other women, police deployed plain clothes officers to try to catch him.

Police officers, in plain clothes, were deployed to Littlehampton town centre.

In the early hours of Sunday, 1 October, CCTV showed one of the officers – a woman in her 20s - being followed by a man who matched the description of the suspect.

He tailed her for over 30 minutes through the town centre, along the seafront and into the residential Harsfold Road.

Wearing a face covering, he chased after her, grabbed and assaulted her.

He tried to flee the scene but officers nearby who were involved in the operation intercepted and arrested him.

He was identified as 44-year-old Mark Stankus, of High Street in Littlehampton, and subsequently charged with sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm.

Stankus pleaded guilty to all charges and, Porstmouth Crown Court on Friday, 19 April, he was jailed for eight years, given a restraining order and became a registered sex offender for life.

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A man who raped a woman and then went on to sexually abuse a young girl has been jailed for 12 years and six months. The rape victim said no court sentence could heal the hurt she had suffered.

In a statement read to Cardiff Crown Court the woman raped by 40-year-old Anthony Lewis said he had preyed on her during a vulnerable time in her life and that after going through what she did she is determined to help others "to face their abusers and find a voice".

Lewis, of Rectory Road, Barry, was convicted at trial of one count of rape of an adult, six counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 touching the girl's breasts and genitals and one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity by asking her to touch his penis. He has one previous conviction for motoring matters.

In a statement read to the court the victim of the rape said it was hard to put into words the damage Lewis had done to her. She said the defendant had left her fearful of going shopping or even going for a walk. Although she thanked those who helped bring about the conviction she said no court sentence could heal the hurt she had suffered.

Byron Broadstock, for Lewis, said the defendant was struggling to come to terms with the verdicts of the jury. Recorder Carl Harrison sentenced Lewis to 12 years and six months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order indefinitely.

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A 43-year-old Preston man caught in a sting by paedophile hunters has escaped a prison sentence.

Anthony Stewart, from Deepdale, who was snared for sending perverted messages to “decoys” he thought were 14-year-old girls, was given a suspended sentence when he appeared at the city’s Crown Court.

Judge Heather Lloyd told him he would have gone straight to jail had his targets been real children and not website warriors posing as underage girls.

And she condemned his “utterly vile and predatory behaviour” in trying to contact youngsters through the social media sites Facebook and WhatsApp.

The court was told an online child protection group called Elite set out to catch Stewart after he initiated sexual conversations with two of their decoys called Molly and Imogen.

Both pretend teens told him right away they were 14. He told Molly he was 25, but then claimed he was 19 when he started messaging Imogen.

He had started out communicating with Molly on Facebook in July 2023 and took the lead in their conversation. He asked for photographs of her, asked if she had a boyfriend and also whether she met up with people in person.

The Elite group responded with a fake image of a mid-teens girl and he replied saying she was “pretty.”

Quite quickly Stewart began to ask if she used any other social media sites because, claimed the prosecution, the filters on other platforms allowed the exchange of images of naked body parts.

The messaging switched to WhatsApp in December and he became “a little more direct and forward” in his conversations with Molly. The court was told the messages became more and more explicit, resulting in him sending images of his private parts and urging Molly to do likewise.

In conversation with the other decoy Imogen, which extended over a shorter time, he was equally vulgar and at one point told her he was “as horny as ****.”

The Elite paedophile hunters decided at that point to report Stewart to the police and handed over all the material they had about the sting. When he was arrested at a house in Preston he answered “no comment” to all questions.

The court was told Stewart had a “long list” of previous convictions, but none of them of a sexual nature. He had no fewer than 13 appearances in court for being drunk and disorderly.

In this case he pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting sexual communications with a child.

Barrister Beverley Hackett, defending, said her client was “deeply ashamed, as he should be.”

She revealed he needed help with long-standing alcohol problems. It was said that at one time he had been drinking between eight and 15 pints of beer a day.

“He is aware of the serious situation he finds himself in,” she told Judge Lloyd. “Whilst he does have convictions, he doesn’t have anything in the past which is similar to these offences.

“He has suffered in terms of his mental health and there has been a history of suicide attempts, most recent of which was in January.

“He has no excuses for what he has done, for going online in the way he did and for making the communications that he did.”

But Miss Hackett added there were real reasons to believe he could be rehabilitated if he was allowed to remain in the community.

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd told him: “When you were repeatedly in contact with Molly and Imogen you believed that you were in communication with 14-year-old girls.

“Molly said she was not sexually experienced and that must have excited you because it clearly didn’t deter you. This was utterly vile and predatory behaviour.

“You said you were using the internet in this way because you were bored and you denied any sexual interest in children. But both are clearly untrue. You are clearly sexually attracted to children.”

The judge said she had her doubts Stewart could be rehabilitated, but decided she would give him a total of nine months in prison, suspended for two years.

She also ordered him to take part in 20 days of rehabilitation work, six months of alcohol treatment. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

And she added that the only reason she had not ordered an immediate prison sentence was “because these children were not real children.”

“If they were it would have been a much longer sentence and been immediate.”

Description

A sex offender blackmailed another and threatened to expose him to his wife after hacking into his social media. Joseph Hutchinson, 33, targeted convicted sex offender Gareth Mellor after messaging him on KIK and hacking his way into his social media.

Both men have since been sentenced for indecent images offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Hutchinson had previously been sentenced for making indecent images and causing a computer to perform a function which was unauthorised. Prosecutor John Bottomley said: "He hacked two females' phones and extracted topless photographs of them. He threatened to distribute them if they didn't send more."

Hutchinson was given a suspended sentence in 2022 for the crimes, and was subject to a sexual harm prevention order. Despite this, he went on to make more indecent images of children between January 2019 and February 2023 and between December 2020 and April 2021, blackmailed Mellor. Police discovered his crimes against him after Mellor's arrest.

Mr Bottomley said: "He [Mellor] had two internet accounts associated with an email which contained a huge amount of indecent images of children. He was sentenced in December last year. During the investigation and IP login with the same email address showed it was being used by another party..."

That led police to Hutchinson and during that arrest images were discovered on a Samsung phone. Mr Bottomley said: "It was taken from a vehicle, not within the property. He was arrested and interviewed and made admissions that he pictures would be found and said he had been blackmailing the other man."

It was said that in total, Mellor paid Hutchinson, of Clifford Court in Ossett, £3,102.98, after he threatened to expose him to his wife. Mr Bottomley said: "He [Mellor] said he met the defendant sometime around 2018 or 2019 while searching for illegal pornography. He was directed to KIK by the defendant and in 2020, the defendant offered to sell him a megalink to pornography for £200.

"In 2020 he said he got a message from the defendant, 'You better get onto Kik now I know what you are and what you do.' He said he had been arrested and threatened to expose him to his wife unless he paid him money. He correctly told him [Mellor] his full address, causing him to panic. He requested money through a crypto website..."

The court heard Hutchinson continued to make demands for payment after Mellor's arrest, but he did not send any more money "Because people knew about his offending" but he "still felt anxious."

Hutchinson went on to plead guilty to blackmail and making indecent images. Mitigating, Steven Smithson, said the images offences spanned before and after a sexual harm prevention order being put in place. He added: "The defendant has reconciled to a custodial sentence. He hasn't put forward any weak protestations."

His Honour Judge Khan KC jailed Hutchinson for 38 months, telling him his offending is "more serious because of that previous conviction going back to June 2022."

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A perverted serial sex offender who raped and abused a young girl, causing her to suffer a "complete nightmare" that left her "world turned upside down", has been jailed for 18 years.

Former bus driver and chef Owen Evers put the victim through a "deeply disturbing" ordeal that left her feeling "haunted" and fearing that the misery she suffered at his hands was "carved" into her and would be "almost impossible to eradicate" from her life, Hull Crown Court heard.

Evers, 61, of Rushworth Close, Bransholme, denied 12 sexual offences, including two offences of rape, six offences of sexual activity with a child and four offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but he was convicted by a jury of all of them after deliberations of 11 hours and 19 minutes, spanning three days.

Ten of the verdicts were on a majority of 11 to one and the other two were by a majority of 10 to two. Evers had been on bail during the trial but, after the verdicts, he was remanded in custody on Thursday last week for six days to await sentence.

The girl said in a statement: "I am so sad to be in this position at all. My world turned upside down. What had been happening to me was so wrong."

She said that the "memories haunted me" and she added: "I continued to have nightmares about the sexual abuse that I suffered. It makes me feel sick. No matter how hard I try, such memories are almost impossible to eradicate."

Everyday things had become "tainted" for her. "I work hard to try to suppress the memories," she said. "I am scared his influence has been carved into me.

"He took my innocence. What he did became intolerable. It's been a complete nightmare. I am determined that my life, going forward, will not be determined by this."

Andrew Petterson, prosecuting, said that Evers took steps to try to prevent the girl from reporting the offences to the police and from supporting the prosecution. "The victim was particularly vulnerable," said Mr Petterson. "She was a child."

Dale Brook, mitigating, said: "The defendant has been convicted of the most serious offences and he is going to receive a very lengthy prison sentence."

The victim was "to a degree vulnerable" and the rapes were "serious, grave offences". Evers had no previous convictions.

Judge Alexander Menary said there was "a litany of sexual offending" and Evers had "taken advantage of" the girl to commit "insidious" offences. "She was an utterly truthful witness," said Judge Menary. "She was unable to cope with the burden of her existence."

The offences were "deeply disturbing" in their nature.

"The victim personal statement makes for heartbreaking reading," said Judge Menary. "There was, here, severe psychological harm. She was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances."

Evers was given a sexual harm prevention order for life and he must register as a sex offender for life. As he left the dock to be taken down to the cells, he grinned and waved to a male supporter in the public gallery before making a phone gesture.

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A 36 year-old Hampshire man has been jailed after he admitted a sexual assault that took place in the early hours of the morning.

Paul Kevin Leslie Kearslake, aged 36, of Warwick Crescent in Southsea has been jailed for 28 months at Portsmouth Crown Court.

On Monday, January 8, a 37 year-old woman was approached by a man she did not know on Albert Road, Southsea, shortly before 2.30am.

Kearslake made sexualised comments towards her before touching her inappropriately over her clothing, Hampshire Police said. He ran off when she screamed.

He admitted both offences at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Wednesday, January 10 and was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, May 3.

Detective Inspector Claire Ratcliffe said: “I’m pleased that Kearslake admitted these offences without the need for a trial. 

"The sentence imposed underlines the seriousness of his offending. This was a frightening experience for the victim and a I hope such a swift resolution to the investigation and court process will provide her some reassurance.

“Reducing violence against women and girls remains one of our top priorities in Portsmouth and together with other agencies we do a lot of work to tackle this issue.

"Our Operation Rigging patrols see officers out and about in the city centre at our busiest times, identifying and intercepting predatory or concerning behaviour towards women.

“I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that if you have been the victim of a sexual offence, please report it to us – you will be listened to and you will be taken seriously. We will also work to get you the support that you need.”

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A Hampshire man who was branded a "risk to young girls" used an online messaging app to engage in sexual conversations with young girls all over the world. 

Southampton Crown Court heard how Stephen Grant would use the app Kik to groom underage girls across the UK, as well as in countries such as Australia and the United States.

He met the girls in a group chat which contained rules for the young girls to follow, with sexual punishments if they broke them.

Grant would then move the conversation into private chats, using different messaging platforms to communicate with his victims online.

This is not the first time the 44-year-old has been in trouble - having been jailed 18 years ago, when he was 26, for detaining a child without lawful authority and possessing indecent images.

This related to a then-15-year-old girl who he was sleeping with in his vehicle. 

Southampton Crown Court heard last week that with one girl from the Isle of Wight, Grant would call her "princess" and "baby", requesting that she send sexual images of herself and even asking her to come to the mainland to meet him. 

This victim was 15 at the time and told police that she got involved in the chat because she had "low self-esteem" and he would "tell her she was pretty and encourage her to send more".

At points, he also told her he loved her and would become angry if she spoke to other men. 

Grant, 44, treated another one of his victims as his partner, asking her to send photos and speaking for long periods with her. 

During one conversation, the girl, who came from Australia, said she was in a mental health facility, at which point he tried to convince her to tell the doctors that she would be better off at home.

Grant was arrested after police received a referral about the distribution of indecent images of children on Kik. 

They attended his home and seized a number of devices where they found a number of indecent images that had been both saved and deleted. 

Following his arrest for the new matters, Grant, of Mercer Way, Romsey, pleaded guilty to four counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, six counts of making indecent images of children and two counts of sexual communication with a child. 

Prosecuting, Keely Harvey said there were hundreds of indecent images of children found, adding that police had to go through and analyse 7,000 pages of messages between him and one of his victims. 

She added that even after being arrested and bailed, he continued to chat with one of his victims. 

The offences took place in 2018 and 2019.

Mitigating, Emily Lanham told the court that her client was "foolish in his actions because these girls made him feel attractive when no one his own age would".

"It has been four and a half years since the offending," she continued. "Not only has that shown that Mr Grant is capable of preventing further offending himself but it has given him time to reflect on his behaviour.

"He is very sorry. It is clear that he has been taking steps to address his behaviour and prevent any further offences."

But Judge Nicholas Rowland found that Grant is a "risk to young girls". 

He was jailed for five years and nine months with an extended licence period of four years. 

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years. 

A deprivation order was made for the seized devices. 

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Former Next warehouse worker Barry Lester had no clue that the teenage profile was run by a hunter group, using the internet to catch out predators. The 31-year-old contacted the profile on the chat app, MeetMe in October 2021, before asking for her number so they could swap their conversation to WhatsApp, Leeds Crown Court heard.

She told him from the outset that she was just 14, but he turned the conversation sexual, asking if she knew “how sex worked” and talked about having sex in the bath. He sent her explicit pictures of himself and told her he wanted sex with her in a hotel room.

He told her he was sterile so did not need to use contraception, prosecutor Ashleigh Metcalfe said. Lester, of Whitmore Street, South Elmsall, arranged to meet her in Newcastle and on October 28, 2021, made the journey north. However, he was met by the hunter group at Newcastle Central Station. He was then arrested at that location. Lester gave a no-comment interview to police.

He later admitted a charge of facilitating a child sex offence, and a charge of breaching the sex offender register rules by failing to notify the authorities of a new bank card he had obtained. He has one previous conviction but for an unrelated matter.

Mitigating, Peter Malone said: “At the time he was at the lowest point ever. He was in a bad relationship. There was the issue of Covid and he was restricted to live with that person. It was the start of severe depression.

“It’s something that he deeply regrets. He is ashamed to have behaved in that manner. It’s quite clear it’s something that should not have happened.”

He said that Malone had been homeless for a spell, and had worked at the Next distribution centre in West Yorkshire, but was now working in a vape shop.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Lester: “You travelled to Newcastle expecting to meet this girl. It’s clear to me that had it not been for the fact she did not exist, you intended to carry out a child sex offence.

“It’s so serious that only an immediate sentence of custody can be justified.”

He jailed Lester for two years, put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to curb his internet use.

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A Fife creep faces another jail term after being caught in the company of a fellow convicted sex offender in St Andrews.

James Haggerty admitted breaching the terms of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by being with Dundee paedophile Adam Fraser at St Andrews bus station.

Description

A repeat Fife sex offender sent “hideous” messages and sick images to people he thought were 14-year-old girls.

The 51-year-old appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link to prison to plead guilty to two charges of attempting to communicate indecently with a child and one of attempting to cause them to look at a sexual image.

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A prison officer, former soldier and rugby coach, sent vile sex messages to a 14-year-old girl including telling her to “do what you are told”. Nottingham Crown Court heard how Andrew Marriott also asked for photographs of the victim in her school uniform, told her she “looked hot” and said he would book a hotel room for them both where they could have sex.

But unbeknown to the 44-year-old, the girl was actually a decoy pretending to be an underage teen and who contacted the police. Stephen Kemp, mitigating, said: “He served his country for five years in the army and has worked in the prison service for 14 years and it is clear he is a hard-working man.

“He has also given his time freely supporting a rugby team as a coach for four years. He has a supportive family and network and all of this makes it all the more shocking and inexplicable why he should act in the way that he did.

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“He has been a prison officer and after being remanded into custody it became apparent to others with whom he has been incarcerated and that has caused him difficulties. He said to me this morning that ‘every day is terrifying’ with people who recognise him being other inmates and he fears payback.”

Thomas Welshman, prosecuting, said over four days at the end of January and beginning of February this year, Marriott, of Wessington, near Alfreton, began communicating online with the decoy. He said within a very short space of time the messages they exchanged became sexualised and included the defendant asking her to touch herself, asking what her bra size was and suggesting they meet at a hotel.

The prosecutor said: “He said to her ‘with you not yet being 16 what we are talking about is illegal’ and he asked for a photo of her in her school uniform. He described to her in graphic detail what he would like to do to her.”

Mariott, of Brackenfield View, was arrested on February 19 and answered “no comment” to the questions he was asked, Mr Welshman said. But he later pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He has no previous convictions of any kind and his mother and step-father were in court to support him.

Jailing the defendant for two years and eight months, Judge Julie Warburton said: “The person you were speaking to made it clear she was 14 years of age and that did not deter you at all. Within a few, short, words, you told her you liked rough sex, asked her what she was wearing, told her to spread her legs and when she told you she was 14 you said to her ‘do as you are told’.

“The fact you have been a prison officer has made your life in custody more difficult because you live in fear of payback or retribution.”

As well as the jail term, the judge ordered Marriott to sign the sex offender register for life and handed him a lifetime sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A CONVICTED child rapist serving a 10-year sentence in prison has been told he will not be released until 2035 after pleading guilty to further sexual assaults on another vulnerable girl, which he recorded on his mobile phone.

Bradford Crown Court heard how Andrew Bristow, 55, formerly of Bradford, enticed the girl into his flat in Calderdale, over a seven-week period where she was stripped, photographed, and sexually assaulted by him and another man, Michael Peters.

Prosecutor Joel Wootton said the girl’s mouth was covered “to stop her from screaming”. She was also assaulted in Peters’ nearby bungalow.

After abusing the girl they dressed her, gave her a sweet, and told her not to tell her parents.

The crimes only came to light more than five years ago after the duo, described as “partners in paedophilic abuse” were jailed for the earlier rape of a young girl.

Peters, who was 71 when he was jailed, has since died.

Mr Wootten said: “[The latest victim] did not tell anyone what had happened as she describes being scared and feared that she would be the one in trouble.”

The court heard that Bristow had been assessed by the probation service as “a high and imminent risk to children”.

Mitigating for Bristow, who pleaded guilty to six offences on three occasions, Michael Collins said he was “remorseful” and “sorry for what he had done”.

He added: “He really struggles to deal with recounting the facts of his offending because he is ashamed and embarrassed by it.”

He said Bristow had engaged fully with the process of rehabilitation in prison and had attended a sex offenders’ course.

Sentencing Bristow, Mr Recorder David Kelly said: “Together with the now deceased Peters you groomed and abused your young victim by sexually touching her and inciting her to engage in sexual activity with you both.

“The offending took place over a seven-week period and was predatory in nature.

“It was committed for your own sexual gratification and without the slightest concern for the long-term trauma this was bound to have caused her.

“You recorded your sexual activity, and shared it with Peters, on your mobile phone.”

Taking note of Bristow’s current sentence of ten years and eight months, which would have seen his conditional release on licence on May 17, 2026, Recorder Kelly imposed an extended custodial sentence of 11 years.

He added: “That means you will either be in prison or on licence until May 6, 2035. It also means that you will not be eligible to be released from the custodial term until you have served two-thirds of that sentence.

“You will then be on licence for the remainder of the custodial term plus the five years extension period.”

Bristow is already the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A paedophile asked police officers "is this about the videos?" when they came knocking at his door.

Lewis Wilkinson used Snapchat, Telegram and Mega to collect and trade vile pictures and videos of children aged as young as four being sexually abused. He told detectives that he "just couldn't stop" after "going down a wormhole" online following his grandad's death.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Tuesday, that Merseyside Police received information that the 22-year-old's IP address had been used in order to download indecent images of children, while his Snapchat account was also utilised in order to access illicit files on January 15 last year. As a result, officers executed a search warrant at his home at around 9.30am on May 30 2023.

Wilkinson - of Stringhey Road in Wallasey, Wirral - answered the door and asked "if this was about videos". Stuart Mills, prosecuting, described how an iPhone and an iPad were then seized from the property.

A total of 15 category A indecent images, those showing the most serious forms of abuse, were subsequently discovered on the mobile phone. Wilkinson was also found to have collected 51 images in category B, 123 category C images, 54 prohibited computer generated images and two extreme pornographic images.

Mr Mills meanwhile said there was "evidence of distribution of indecent images of children" on the device. This concerned him sending five category A images, eight category B images and one category C image to other perverts.

Wilkinson, who has no previous convictions, was interviewed on November 30 the same year and told detectives he had been viewing such materials for around a year. He added that "it started following the loss of his grandfather" and "started out of curiosity but escalated and he just couldn't stop", having used the applications Telegram and Mega to download the sickening pictures and videos.

Anthony O'Donohoe, defending, told the court: "He is someone who, rather refreshingly, has been completely open about this matter. Here is a young man who fully cooperated with the police and has voluntarily started steps to rehabilitate himself.

"He became rather isolated. The death of his grandfather struck him very hard.

"It was easy for him to be in his own room, in his own world. He went down a wormhole and started getting a morbid interest in this type of material."

Mr O'Donohoe said his client "swapped with like minded people to receive other images" but had distributed a "relatively small number" of images, adding: "In addition, he has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD. His parents describe him as immature for his age, but as a likeable young man.

"He has started other hobbies - an interest in air shows and the like. He wants to do courses to assist himself in the job market."

Wilkinson admitted three counts of distributing indecent images of children, possession of indecent images, three charges of making indecent images, possession of prohibited images of children and possession of extreme pornographic images. He was handed a 16-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said: "Of all of these offences, the most serious is that of distribution of category A images. I am quite satisfied that this activity can be confined to a relatively short period of time within 12 months.

"One of the positive elements of your case is that, after your arrest, you immediately were candid with the police. That is an attitude which has continued to this day.

"You, by your activity, were making your contribution to a horrendous, sordid global industry of the manipulation and exploitation of young children. They are inevitably damaged and traumatised.

"I see how this all began, a period of isolation in covid days following a sorely missed bereavement of your grandfather. You have started to engage with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, and of course what has transpired is your diagnosis of ADHD and autism."

Wilkinson was also given 160 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days. He was subjected to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order and told to sign the sex offenders' register.

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A "dangerous and predatory" sex offender who preyed on women was banned from a Liverpool park.

Theo Raphael, of Picton Road, Wavertree, sexually assaulted two women just over a week apart. The 18-year-old appeared at Liverpool Magistrates' Court today, Tuesday May 7, where he was handed 18 months in prison and was banned from entering Mystery Park in Wavertree indefinitely.

The first incident took place at around 6.30pm on December 20 last year on Crosfield Road in Edge Hill. Raphael sexually assaulted a woman in her 60s and as she fell to the ground, a car stopped in the road and Raphael ran off.

The second incident occurred at around 7pm on December 28, on the footpath near to Liverpool Tennis Centre, off Picton Road in Wavertree. A woman in her 40s was walking her dog when Raphael pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.

Merseyside Police said following an extensive investigation, including CCTV appeals, Raphael was arrested in early January and charged with attempted rape and two counts of sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to the offences. He has since turned 18 which means he can now be named.

Raphael was jailed for 18 months and issued with a five year sexual harm prevention order. He was also given a restraining order against his two victims.