Latest Offenders

Description

A SHOCKED mother sat in a Carlisle court listening to a harrowing account of how her son had secretly viewed sickening child rape videos.

Former Broughton Moor man Ben Robinson-Brown viewed videos of children aged four, five and eight as they were raped and boasted to a contact of watching footage of a ten-year-old girl being gang-raped, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

As Judge Nicholas Barker passed sentence, he told the defendant his mother's face as she heard those distressing details showed her “disbelief and disgust”.

Robinson-Brown, formerly of Broughton Moor, Maryport, but now living at Wreay, near Carlisle, admitted five offences.

Three related to him downloading 29 indecent child images, 15 of them Category A, the most serious kind; one was possessing extreme pornography, and there was one count of distributing a Category C indecent child image.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts.

He said police acting on intelligence raided the defendant’s home and seized three devices, a laptop, an iPhone and an iPad. The illegal images included three videos, one just under a minute long and two just over a minute.

They showed men raping girls aged four, five and eight. All three victims were clearly distressed, said Mr Burke.

Another video showed sex between people and dogs. Mr Burke then outlined the evidence of how the defendant chatted online with a person, posing initially as a 14-year-old girl and then later discussing gang raping an 11-year-old.

The defendant also sent the contact a sexual image of a 10-year-old girl. The prosecutor said: “He tells [the contact] that he’s in the business of renting out eight to 15-year-old females and he is looking to trade in indecent images.

“He tries and fails to boast that he’s seen a 10-year-old female being gang raped – something he’d seen in a video.”

Marion Weir, defending, said Robinson-Brown had done much “soul searching” since his offending came to light.

The barrister said: “He’s an intelligent young man who in many ways is more mature than his 23 years. These offences were 18 months ago, and he says the person who committed these offences is very different to the person who appears in court.”

The defendant’s background included the pandemic and the death of his great grandmother, a person he regarded as his best friend.

“There’s nothing which can excuse the offending,” said the barrister. “He is disgusted by his behaviour and disappointed in himself; and distraught at the impact that this has had on those he loves.”

Robinson-Brown’s prosecution had led to the loss of friendships and a career opportunity with the RAF, she said. He felt genuine remorse, said Miss Weir.

Judge Nicholas Barker noted that the defendant, in his pre-sentence report interview, suggested he did nothing more than take part in perverted role play.

But the evidence – including the distressing videos of young children being raped - demonstrated a “significant sexual interest in very young children,” observed the judge.

Judge Barker remarked on how he had watched the face of a woman sitting in the court’s public gallery, whom he believed to be the defendant’s mother, as Mr Burke outlined the facts of the case.

The judge said: “[Her face] depicted, in my view, two strong emotions: one was disgust and the other was disbelief: disgust at what was being described and disbelief that you had done this – and that is an entirely understandable response because the material were involved with is simply disgusting and depraved.”

The judge noted the defendant had a background included substance abuse, debts and bereavement but he said an appropriate jail term would involve a four-and-a-half-month spell in custody but no meaningful rehabilitation.

Instead, he imposed a three-year community order, with 10 rehabilitation activity days, and a sexual offender treatment programme.

The defendant must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and he will be on the Sex Offender Register for five years.

The judge told the defendant: “You must address your sexual tendencies which you displayed by downloading these perverted images and communicating in that depraved way.”

Description

A man from Litherland has been sentenced to 29 years and six months for 29 counts of historical sexual offences against five children.

Stephen Finnigan, 63, of Longfield Road was sentenced today, Friday 5th January, for multiple counts of indecent assault, gross indecency and other sexual offences following a two-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Detectives carried out the investigation after receiving a report in 2014 of sex offences against a child which spanned a several-year period. Further victims also came forward, which led to a charge in 2022.

The crimes were historic dating back to the last century, where the offender breached a position of trust, as an instructor in the army cadets.

Merseyside Police wish to make it clear that the army cadets have co-operated fully throughout this operation and their assistance was invaluable.

Detective Constable Claire McDonald said: “The predatory behaviour displayed by Finnigan is utterly appalling and he will now spend years in prison for his depraved actions.

“His victims have showed immense courage and bravery to report the deplorable offences that Finnigan committed.

“Finnigan continued to deny the offences, which meant his victims had to endure a trial when they had to relive the horrific experiences.

“As you can imagine for victims of such an appalling crime, the impact on them is significant and long-lasting. I hope this sentence provides some comfort in knowing they did the right thing by reporting Finnigan’s heinous crime to us.

“I want to stress that time is no barrier to reporting offences and Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm, regardless of when the offences occurred.

“If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police.

“We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”

A spokesperson for the army cadets said: “The Cadet organisation has cooperated fully with Merseyside Police throughout the investigation and has clear safeguarding measures and procedures in place to ensure the protection and support of all cadets and adult volunteers, through security screening, rigorous disclosure checks and regular safeguarding training.”

Description

A man who plied a child with alcohol before sexually assaulting her has been jailed.

Colin Shaw, 51, gave his 15-year-old victim multiple cans of beer before touching her inappropriately and attacking her inside his home in Rotherham.

He put his hand up her top and inside her bra leaving his teenage victim traumatised, and the morning after Shaw encouraged her to stay silent and downplay what had happened to her.

Detective Constable Charlotte Adamson, from our Major Crime Unit, said: "Shaw took advantage of his young victim by plying her with alcohol before subjecting her to a sickening assault.

"To make matters worse, Shaw then encouraged her to downplay what had happened before touching her inappropriately once again.

"I cannot imagine how terrified she must have been after such a traumatic ordeal and I want to commend the bravery of the victim for showing courage beyond her years in reporting this to us.

"It's thanks to her bravery that this dangerous sex offender is now behind bars and I hope his imprisonment will bring his victim and their family some comfort."

Shaw, previously of the Worksop area, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault and not guilty of another following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

He was jailed for three years and four months at the same court on 22 December 2023 and has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Description

A 29-YEAR-OLD man who was exposed by a paedophile hunter group was later caught in a police sting attempting to chat to an underage girl, a court heard.

Matthew Appleton, of Hildyard Close, Hardwicke, was confronted by members of activist group the Guardian Angels when he lived in Leeds.

They caught him sending sexual videos to a decoy posing as a 12-year-old girl in October 2018.

Appleton was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years at Leeds Crown Court and ordered to complete a sex offender programme.

But within weeks of the suspended sentence order expiring Appleton was caught in a police sting which involved an officer posing online as a 13-year-old girl called Millie, Gloucester Crown Court was told on Thursday, December 14.

Prosecutor Alun Williams said Appleton was still on the sex offender register when, on February 1 this year, he contacted 'Millie' on social media and used 'highly sexualised' language.

Police visited Appleton's home on February 9 and found 91 indecent images and videos of children in all three categories on his phone, said Mr Williams.

An examination of the device confirmed he had contacted the decoy officer and used a cloud-based storage site used by sex offenders, the court heard.

In police interview Appleton claimed he did not know how the images got onto his phone.

Steven Young, defending, said: "He completed the sex offender programme that was aimed at preventing him from re-offending in the future. Obviously this was unsuccessful as he reoffended.

“He states that he doesn’t know why he was doing it and has difficulty accepting the position he is in."

Appleton pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child on February 1, 2023 for the purpose of sexual gratification. He also admitted possessing nine indecent images of children in category A, four images and four videos in category B and 72 images and two videos in category C on February 9, 2023.

He must complete 40 programme days, 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £340 costs and a mandatory surcharge and attend a monthly judicial review.

A sexual harm prevention order was imposed until March 18, 2030.

Description

A delivery driver from Peacehaven who raped a young girl and sexually assaulted another has been jailed.

In December, 2021, police received a report of a girl under the age of five having been sexually assaulted multiple times.

Officers visited the girl and her family to gather evidence and offer specialist support while Matthew Barca, 31, of South Coast Road in Peacehaven was arrested the same day.

During the course of the investigation a second victim – now a woman in her 20s – reported being raped and sexually assaulted by Barca when she was a child between 2005 and 2008.

Barca was aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the earlier offences.

He was subsequently charged with eight counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of rape of a child under 13, two counts of assault of a child by penetration and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was also charged with possession of indecent images of children.

At Lewes Crown Court on 4 August, he pleaded guilty to all counts.

At the same court on Wednesday, 3 January, Barca was jailed for a total of nine years and eight months, with an additional four years and four months to be spent on extended licence after the court found him to be a danger to the public.

He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order significantly reducing his access to children and digital devices, placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and given restraining orders against his victims.

Description

A man has been jailed for raping a woman.

Darren House, of Whiteacres Close in Gosport, was sentenced yesterday at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The 46-year-old was charged with one count of rape and one count of assault by penetration, relating to an incident which happened in Gosport on 3 May 2023.

The woman, aged in her 40s, provided a statement to be read to the court on her behalf: “I literally think about this incident most days. It makes me feel sick when I think about it.

“When I think about it, I get upset, I cry and shake. Even now. I feel humiliated and degraded by him. I have to live with this for the rest of my life.”

House was sentenced yesterday to 13 years in prison.

Description

Elvis Williams, 63, of Mosaic Close in Southampton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court (Tuesday 2 January), where he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his offences against a woman in her 60s.

Williams had previously pleaded guilty to two assaults on the victim, denying the charges of coercive and controlling behaviour, rape and intentional strangulation. A jury found him guilty of all offences at Southampton Crown Court on Friday 28 July following a five day trial. The court heard how on Saturday 4 March the victim ran from her home and asked for assistance from a nearby dog walker having been assaulted by Williams. Police were called and the victim told them that Williams had punched her a number of times and forced her to have sex with him.

She also reported how he had previously strangled her until she couldn’t breathe.

Officers arrested Williams and he was subsequently charged with rape, intentional strangulation, engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour and two counts of assault.

Description

A man sent "vile and explicit" messages to someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl he had met online. Jonathan Strain told the child he was looking "for horny girls who want video call fun" and said he wanted to "trade" nude photographs. He also told what he thought was a schoolgirl not to tell her friends about what was going on as it was their secret.

Swansea Crown Court heard the 37-year-old was actually engaging in sexual conversations with an adult who was volunteering as part of an online so-called paedophile hunter group. Sending the defendant to prison a judge told him he had an "unhealthy and deviant interest in pre-teenage girls".

James Hartson, prosecuting, told the court that in October 2021 Strain made contact with a profile on the Wink app purporting to be that of 12-year-old girl living in the Manchester area. After chatting with what he believed to a girl Strain asked for her mobile number and the exchanges moved to WhatsApp. The prosecutor said in reality Strain was communicating with a decoy account being operated by "in effect vigilantes" with an online group.

The court heard that over the following months the defendant engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the profile, encouraged her to perform sex acts on herself, and sent her videos of himself masturbating. He also called the girl "beautiful" and "gorgeous", said he loved her, and offered to be her first boyfriend saying they could do "boyfriend and girlfriend stuff" together. Strain also said he was looking "for horny girls who want video call fun" and offered to buy the child a mobile phone with a camera, and said he wanted to "trade" nude photographs. He told the girl she could trust him "100%". The court heard that during one conversation the defendant asked the girl if she had school the next day and told her not to tell any of her friends about what was going on as it was their "secret". 

The conversations lasted for around four months before the group operating the decoy passed the information to a paedophile hunter group in Wales and in March 2022 members of the local group went to the defendant’s address. Strain wasn’t at home but his details were passed to the police and later that evening he was arrested. The court heard that in his subsequent interview the defendant said he had lost his mobile phone before the conversations with the decoy took place.

Jonathan Strain, of Treherbert Street, Cwmann, Lampeter, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Ian Ibrahim, for Strain, described the defendant as "shy" and "introverted" and as someone who doesn't talk to anyone.

Judge Huw Rees said Strain had engaged in "vile and explicit conversations", and he told the defendant he had an "unhealthy and deviant interest in pre-teenage girls". With a 20% discount for this guilty pleas Strain was sentenced to four years and seven months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Strain will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Description

A British Transport Police (BTP) investigation has seen a man jailed for nine months after being found guilty masturbating on board a train in front of a lone woman.  

Mukesh Shah, 43, of Primrose Way, Wembley, was sentenced to nine months in prison for indecent exposure at London Inner Crown Court on 18 December 2023. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and subjected to a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. 

The court heard how, on 4 November 2022 at around 11.40pm, the victim was travelling alone in an empty Piccadilly Line carriage between Sudbury Town and Acton Town when Shah boarded the train.  

Despite the empty carriage, Shah sat diagonally opposite the victim and she noticed him staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable. It was then that she noticed he was exposing himself and masturbating.  

Bravely, the victim captured Shah on camera hoping it would deter him, when he didn’t, she confronted him and told him to stop and move away from her. He protested he hadn’t done anything wrong but moved along the carriage.  

The victim reported the incident to BTP along with the video, which was circulated within the police and lead to the identification of Shah.  

Investigating officer Detective Constable Mark Luker said: “This was a frightening and upsetting experience for the victim and I commend her bravery in confronting the offender, managing to capture an image of Shah and reporting this.  

“Shah’s disgusting actions have not only secured him time behind bars, but restrictions following his release to prevent him from repeating his actions in the future. 

Description

Undercover police trapped a pervert who was looking for "friends with benefits" when he started having explicit X-rated online conversations with a decoy 12-year-old girl.

Michal Warchol could not stop thinking about the girl and he bombarded her with messages calling her "babe", "beautiful" and "hot" in a bid to lure her into having sex with him, Hull Crown Court heard.

Warchol, 26, of the Orchard Park estate, Hull, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child and attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Richard Butters, prosecuting, said that undercover police set up a online profile in the name of a 12-year-old girl supposedly living in Hull. On January 6, 2022, Warchol made contact with the non-existent girl.

"He introduced himself as a 24-year-old from the Orchard Park area," said Mr Butters. Warchol said that he was looking for "friends with benefits" and he gave her his mobile phone number.

Online conversations took place between January 6 and February 7, 2022. "It was lengthy and sexual," said Mr Butters. On January 17, 2022, Warchol told the fake girl that he could not stop thinking about her and wanted to talk to her.

"The defendant kept engaging in conversations where he called her 'sexy' and used the words 'babe', 'beautiful' and 'hot'," said Mr Butters. "He used those words throughout the month to January 26." Warchol told the decoy girl: "We'll take you somewhere nice and hoping to get lucky on the end."

He later confirmed to her that he meant that they would go out for drinks and, if she wanted, he would have sex with her. He sent intimate selfie pictures of himself with explicit captions.

Warchol, who is Polish, had convictions for 13 previous offences but nothing for similar matters. The most recent was in 2020.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, mitigating, said that Warchol acted out of character. "He is remorseful and apologises for his offending," said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse.

"At the time, he was living rather a chaotic lifestyle." He was now seeking further work.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Warchol: "Your lack of relevant convictions and early guilty plea enable me to punish you in the community. Even if I sent you to prison, you would be coming out at some point.

"My ultimate job is the protection of the public." Judge Khan said that he believed that this would best be achieved by rehabilitation work on Warchol.

"If you are in breach of the order and it's a substantial breach, not just a technical breach, I would expect to impose, whatever judge deals with you, an 18-month sentence," said Judge Khan.

Warchol was given 200 hours' unpaid work, a 43-day sex offender treatment programme and 15 days' rehabilitation. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for five years.

"Breach that and you will be in serious trouble," said Judge Khan. "If you breach that, you know what happens. You go to prison." He added: "You can go. Don't come back."

Description

A man who 'claimed to be shy and private' secretly filmed himself having sex with a woman at his home.

Alistair Chase used a hidden camera to film the intimate encounter in his lounge at his home in Hartford, near Northwich in Cheshire. The devastated victim only found out after spotting the footage of the pair having sex on his phone, Chester Magistrates' Court heard.

She said was left feeling 'so violated' as she condemned his 'selfish sense of entitlement'. Chase, who works as a director for his parents' property management company, claimed he had 'difficulties' establishing relationships with women and said he recorded the intimate moments for himself.

The 43-year-old was ordered to pay £500 in damages at court and was handed a community order. In a statement, the victim said she had to take months off work following the ordeal and was left feeling like she 'wanted to die'.

She said she has been left struggling to sleep and now 'doesn't feel safe in her own home'. The victim said: "He told me he was a shy and private person who was fortunate to have a privileged lifestyle due to his parents.

"He does not have a mortgage himself and clearly has a selfish sense of entitlement. This has been incredibly traumatic and has been the worst experience of my life.

"Finding out that Alistair had taken an intimate video of us without my consent left me feeling so violated. It was traumatic to be watching those intimate private moments.

"My whole world just fell apart and I did not trust my own judgement anymore after this abuse of trust. I felt completely manipulated by him.

"I did not feel even safe in my own home and I have installed a new alarm and camera. I was stressed about my job and I did not feel the same person anymore.

"I just lost myself. Myself and my confidence has gone. My mental health is very bad due to anxiety. I receive weekly calls from my GP.

"I feel so powerless and humiliated. I had a breakdown and completely withdrew. I did not leave my bed for a month. I wanted to die.

"I had to take antidepressants as I was feeling suicidal. I took four months off work from a job that I love.

''I lost so much self-esteem and on my return to work, I was anxious and had lost confidence and did not want to be around people.

"It was problematic having to travel. I would not be comfortable to stay in hotels rooms feeling that I would be recorded again.

"Prior to this I had a great career path, great relationships, and no mental health issues. He's taken so much away from me.

"I have been told I will need to take medication for a few years to keep things as normal as possible. My life has become very small.

"I continue to pay for trauma and therapy sessions and will need to continue with them for some time to come. I feel ashamed for allowing this manipulative man into my lives.

"I'm told the hidden camera was in situ at the time of his arrest. This has been the most difficult and harrowing experience for me."

Lucy McGowan, prosecuting, said: "The complainant contacted police to report that the defendant had filmed her without her consent having sexual intercourse with him. The two videos were of them engaging in oral and penetrative sex in the living room at his home and the complainant handed the mobile phone to the police."

In police interview, Chase gave no comment other than provide a pre-prepared statement. This read: 'I accept I filmed myself and (the victim) engaging in sexual activity without her consent.

'They were kept solely for my own enjoyment. I regret doing this and I apologise for doing so.'

In mitigation, Chase's lawyer Martha Whitehead said: "He is someone who has had difficulties during his 20s and 30s in establishing healthy relationships with others. He said this was a way of recording intimate moments for himself and there is no suggestion of any distribution.

"He accepted his actions and apologised. He wishes to make it clear that he apologises again to the victim.

"He has no wish or no intention to contact her and he understands that a restraining order will be made by the court. He wishes to apologise in public to her for his actions which he can now see have deeply affected her.

"He does not wish to excuse or avoid responsibility for his actions. We accept that the impact on this complainant is significant but you must also look in detail at the background of this defendant."

Chase, of Grosvenor Avenue, Hartford, pleaded guilty to one charge of voyeurism. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order including 250 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days.

He was ordered to pay £500 in damages and to sign the sex offenders' register for five years. A two-year restraining order was also imposed and Chase's mobile phone and two laptops were confiscated.

Description

Colin Mark Hollands, aged 60, from Aylesbury, was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment at Aylesbury Crown Court today (22/12).

On 29 August, Hollands pleaded guilty to seven counts of adult sexual activity with a female child, four counts of assault of a child by penetration, three counts of rape, two counts of rape of a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of; indecent assault, sexual assault, causing a child to watch a sexual act and causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Hollands was arrested for the offences on 8 June 2023 and charged on 14 June 2023.

The offending occurred over a number of years in Aylesbury.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Collette Parker said: “This sentence brings justice to the victims and appropriately punishes Hollands for his reprehensible behaviour over a number of years.

“The horrific control, manipulation and abuse perpetrated by Hollands has had a significant impact on the victim’s lives.

“I would like to thank the victims in this case who have shown great courage, determination and dignity in their support for the investigation.

“We would not be where we are today without them taking that step forward and providing the vital evidence needed to prosecute Hollands. With their strikingly similar compelling accounts, a strong case was built against Hollands and he had to admit what he had done. 

Description

A "sadistic" paedophile forced children to perform degrading sexual acts on camera and threatened to distribute the images if they did not send more.

One of his victims was left crying in pain while begging the pervert to stop.

Alexander Tindal, 31, of Bridgend, sexually abused more than 30 children online over a period of two-and-a-half years, and continued to exploit girls after he was first arrested. The "isolated" defendant pretended to be a teenage boy and approached his victims on Snapchat before asking them for intimate photos of themselves.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Thursday heard Tindal forced one girl to send a photo of her little sister's genitalia to him, after threatening to disclose sexual images of her to friends, family and her school. When he was arrested by police, he was found with more than 23,000 indecent images of children, aged between 10 and 15-years-old.

Having been detained by police at his home in 2022, three devices were seized from the defendant as well as a mobile, a hard drive, and a desktop computer. During the examination of the devices, a thousands of indecent images were discovered and Tindal was found to have communicated with children and coerced them into performing sexual acts.

He was further arrested in September 2022, having been found to breach his bail conditions, after setting up further Snapchat accounts which he used to speak to child victims. After victims had been identified, they were visited by police and asked to provide a statement about their interactions with Tindal, who was found to have access to 19 Snapchat accounts under various names.

The first victim was 14-years-old when she was forced to perform sex acts.. She had sent the defendant close to 400 images, 45 of which were category A. The victim was first contacted by Tindal who claimed he was a 17-year-old boy, and encouraged her to send sexual images of herself. He became increasingly aggressive and threatened to distribute a video of a girl who looked like her to her, and would tell people it was her. When asked by the victim why he was doing this, he told her it was to "teach her a lesson".

In one message, she could be seen naked and crying in pain. She messaged Tindal saying "You're making me feel sick to my stomach. I so want to stop this, please I can't do this anymore". The defendant told her to carry on and she responded: "It hurts so f****** bad, I can't do this, please stop, I am f****** begging you." The abuse only came to a stop after the defendant was arrested.

The second victim was 13-years-old at the time of the abuse. Tindal was found with 100 category A images of the victim. When he became aware the victim had a six-year-old sister, he demanded pictures of her genitalia and threatened to "ruin her" if she did not. She subsequently sent the images.

In messages sent by Tindal to the victim, he said: "I am going to add your mother's number, I swear to f****** God, last chance you piece of s**, lie back and f*** yourself properly."

A further 19 victims were identified, with more who were unable to be identified. He used the images he had obtained to demand more extreme ones, or he would distribute the pictures, in some cases sending them to friends of victims.

A mother of one of the victims described her daughter as becoming "aggressive and angry". Another mother walked in on her daughter while she was performing a sexual act, and confronted Tindal but he taunted her and said the police would be unable to catch him.

The youngest victim was just 10-year-old. Another victim lived in Germany and explained to Tindal she had health issues, but he did not relent.

Tindal, of Hazel Tree Way, Brackla, later pleaded guilty to 24 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, nine counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, 10 counts of threatening to disclose a private sexual photograph of film with intent to cause distress, six counts of possessing indecent images, two counts of possessing prohibited image, and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images. The court heard he was of previous good character.

Defence barrister Adam Sharp said his client's best mitigation was his guilty plea, and was realistic the defendant would be receiving a "significant" term of imprisonment. He described Tindal as "socially isolated" and had been diagnosed with depression, and was previously hospitalised with a collapsed lung, which caused chest pain and shortness of breath. In 2021, he was hospitalised after taking an overdose of painkillers.

Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams described the nature and scale of the defendant's offending as "truly horrifying", and his treatment of his victims as "pitiless". He added: "The control you extorted over the girls thrilled you as much as the sexual gratification you obtained."

A probation report deemed Tindal to be a "very high" risk of harm to children. Judge Williams added: "You sadistically committed time to degrade so many girls and continued that abuse while on bail, unperturbed by your arrest , is the clearest demonstration of the risk you pose.

Tindal was sentenced to a total of 11 years imprisonment, with an extended licence period of four years. He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he can be considered for parole. The defendant was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.

Following the hearing, detective constable Martin Charles of South Wales Police said: “This is one of the largest cases our team has worked on, and the strength of evidence gathered gave Tindal no other option but to plead guilty.

"I am thankful for the other police forces across the UK and abroad who supported the investigation as well as our Digital Forensic Unit in identifying victims ensuring we can safeguard them from further harm. Most of all, I am grateful for the bravery shown by Tindal’s victims across the UK for talking to the Police and helping to put him where he belongs beyond harm’s way.

“Alex Tindal’s crimes are of the most sinister and predatory offences seen as most of the victims’ families were completely unaware of the abuse being perpetrated. The online world is an integral part of a child’s life but is often hidden from close family and those who would intervene to help a child if they fell victim to this particular type of crime."

Description

Now known as Damien Gibbons

An East Sussex man has been convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child online.

Following a three-day trial from Monday 18 December at Guildford Crown Court, Damien Gibbons, formerly known as Damien Cotgreave, 48, of High Street, Hailsham, was found guilty of attempted online sexual communication with a child.

At the time of his arrest in February 2020 for this offence, he was a Sussex Police officer.

He was later charged with the offence in the name of Cotgreave in April 2021.
He was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which severely restricts his access to children and computers.

The prosecution, authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service, followed an investigation by the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) of Sussex Police which began when information was received from a member of the public in February 2020.

POLIT crime investigator Michelle Shepherd said: "Cotgreave thought he was talking to a 13-year old girl, and engaged in very explicit sexual conversation, but he was in fact talking to an adult member of the public who reported their concerns to the police, and we immediately took action to arrest him and ensure no actual child could come to harm.

"We will always take action on such reports and anyone who has suspicions about this type of activity should contact the police immediately.

At the time of his arrest in February 2020, Cotgreave was a Detective Constable in Sussex Police but was suspended when he was arrested. At a separate public misconduct hearing in January 2021, he was found to have committed multiple breaches of professional standards, on evidence separate to this current prosecution, and he would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned.

As a result of this finding, he has been placed on the College of Policing Barred and Advisory list which will prevent his re-entry into law enforcement. The internal disciplinary investigation culminating in the misconduct hearing, resulted from information that came to light during this criminal investigation by POLIT.

Description

A tattooist who paid a teenage girl for sex in his tattoo parlour has been jailed. He gave her a tattoo in exchange for sexual favours and later told police he was "killing two birds with one stone".

Adrian Edwards, 57, of Newport, was found guilty of two counts of paying a child for sex, and not guilty of one count. He claimed there was no monetary agreement between him and the then 16-year-old victim, and she was 18-years-old when they first slept together.

But this was disbelieved by a jury following a trial at Newport Crown Court in September, which heard Edwards had intercourse and oral sex with the girl on a number of occasions. Their first sexual encounter took place at the defendant's tattoo parlour in Caerphilly, after the victim "pestered" him for a tattoo and told him "I'll do anything".

During his remarks at a sentencing hearing on Thursday, Recorder Dyfed Thomas said: ""You took advantage of that child Mr Edwards, as she was a child at the ages of 16 and 17 for your own sexual gratification. You promised payment of money and had sexual activity with her which was alleged and found guilty by a jury. You knew as an older man with money she would go along with what you suggested."

In his opening of the case to the jury, prosecutor James Wilson described the encounter as a "cold transaction". He added: "(The defendant) took her into the piercing room, locked the doors, and started to touch her. He bent her over the piercing bed and put his penis inside her. Afterwards he laughed and asked her what tattoo she wanted."

The court was told Edwards paid the victim for sex regularly, and she used the cash to buy alcohol and hair extensions amongst other things. They continued to meet with each other after the defendant began working at one of the tattoo parlours he opened in Cardiff.

Mr Wilson said Edwards continued paying the complainant for sex after she turned 18-years-old, but the jury were only concerned with the events prior to her 18th birthday. The victim contacted the police in 2019 and was interviewed about her allegations towards the defendant.

Edwards, of Caerleon Road, Newport, was invited to a voluntary interview with police which he attended. He claimed the girl asked him for money on a number of occasions before they had sex, and he had given £100. He told police: "She was all over me, she would come up, stroke me and kiss me, all kinds of things. I thought 'She obviously wants more money'.

The defendant described their relationship as "completely clinical". He described himself having a "high sex drive" and admitted to using prostitutes in the past. It was alleged he told police that sex between himself and the complainant was "consensual" and he paid her some of the time, and added: "No words were exchanged, it was an understanding.

Later in the interview, he told police he was "disgusted with himself" but didn't see what he was doing was wrong as "it was like a prostitute". He added: "It was killing two birds with one stone, passion and helping her out with money."

Edwards has a number of previous convictions including theft by an employee in 1984, tattooing a person under 18 in 2016, and other offences including matters of dishonesty, driving offences, theft and handling stolen goods.

In mitigation, defence barrister Julia Cox referred to her client's character and the work he had done with sporting bodies. She said: "He'd been involved with charitable organisations and involved with reputable sporting bodies not only towards his socialisation but his positive impact on others. He travelled the country taking part in darts tournaments and organised events on their behalf working closely with the national bodies."

Ms Cox also referred to the defendant's ill health, having suffered a stroke at a young age and has diabetes. She said the victim would have been able to legally consent to sex as she was not under the age of consent.

Sentencing, Recorder Thomas said the defendant continued to deny the offences, and minimised his actions by claiming the victim was over 18 at the time of the offences. It was said Edwards did not accept his actions would have caused harm, and referred tothe victim as a "liar and untrustworthy".

The judge added: "It's clear from reading the (pre sentence) report you think of yourself as the victim in this case. There's no remorse that has been expressed that would have been a mitigating feature but it's singularly absent in this case....

Edwards was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a restraining order for 10 years.