Latest Offenders

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A SEX offender caught by online paedophile hunters was spared an immediate jail term because he suffers from cerebral palsy.

Anthony Albert Witts gets around with the aid of a walker and had to be helped into the dock at Southampton Crown Court.

Witts, 63, of Mansel Road East, Southampton, thought he was in contact with two 13-year-old girls.

But it was a sting carried out by members of a group set up with the aim of flushing out adults who try to groom children online.

Witts, who had no previous convictions, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child in 2021 and engaging in sexual communication with a child in 2022.

Keely Harvey, prosecuting, said Witts sent naked and semi-naked pictures of himself to the people he thought were girls.

The first crime came to light after adult decoys identified and then confronted the defendant. He was arrested by the police and gave a no-comment interview but uttered the words: "I did not even realise."

The defendant was released under investigation and went on to commit the second offence.

Thinking he was in contact with another 13-year-old girl he told her not to be shy and said their contact should remain a secret.

Chris Gaiger, mitigating, said the defendant accepted he had been stupid - not just once but twice.

He added: "He can't give any explanation as to why he engaged in such behaviour again. He should have learned from the first time."

Judge Christopher Parker KC told Witts: "You plainly had a deviant sexual interest in children.

"You attempted to communicate with a 13-year-old girl, not knowing she was a decoy set up by vigilante paedophile hunters.

"When you were being investigated for that you did the same thing again with another supposedly 13-year-old."

Witts was handed a 22-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and was also made the subject of a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Parker told him: "If it were not for the fact you have cerebral palsy, there is no question you would have immediately been sent downstairs to custody.

"It's difficult to fathom how you could have been so stupid. Had these been real children, the damage caused by you cannot be estimated."

Judge Parker said Witts would go straight to prison if he committed another offence, adding: "Be in no doubt, if I see you again there's no way out."

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The victim of a sexual abuser said she wanted him to go to prison ‘so he can’t hurt me’.

Michael Hilton, 52, was jailed for six years at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (August 18) for repeatedly sexually assaulting his victim by touching her.

The Greater Leys man had used his acquaintance with the girl’s mother to sexually abuse her daughter over a number of months when she was barely of primary school age.

In a moving victim impact statement, which the victim read from behind a screen in courtroom three, she said: “I just want the whole thing to finish. I want Michael to go to prison so he can’t hurt me.”

She needed ‘all of this’ to be ‘over and done with’, she said. “I’m not happy. I’m not sad. I’m just numb.”

The girl said she wanted to do something in the future to help those who found themselves in the same position she had been in.

“I would really like to be a lawyer to help people like me,” she said in a quiet voice, muffled still further by the curtain behind which she spoke.

The girl, who is still under-16, cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Sentencing, Judge Maria Lamb said Hilton ‘exploited’ the trust the girl’s mother had placed in him.

“The situation was compounded as far as she was concerned by the fact you told her not to say anything,” she said.

“She said you said to her something bad would happen to her and you would both get into trouble and you, that is what you said to her, that she would get ‘really hurt’.

“That obviously had an effect upon her, because it was several years before she felt able to speak out even though she had an increasing awareness as she got older that what had happened to her was wrong.

“It was not until 2021 she felt able to voice to others what had occurred.

“I have heard her read out to this court this morning her victim personal statement and it makes for sad listening.”

Hilton, of Woodpecker Green, Oxford, was found guilty of seven counts of sexually assaulting a girl under-13. He had previous convictions in the 1980s and 90s for dissimilar matters.

Defending, Gareth James said his client was supported by a number of character references. In his own letter to the judge, Hilton asked her to consider not sending him to prison immediately but deal with his case in ‘alternative ways’.

Hilton’s advocate, Mr James, challenged the probation service’s assessment that his client was a medium risk of reoffending, suggesting it was in fact low.

He conceded that a prison service was inevitable, but asked the judge to keep the term as low as possible ‘commensurate with her judicial responsibilities’.

The defendant will spend half his six year sentence in jail before being eligible for release on licence. He will remain on the sex offender register for life.

Description

A pervert with an unhealthy interest in sexual images of children as young as four has been jailed after failing to learn his lesson from a previous conviction and continuing with his "addiction" to viewing the shocking pictures.

Andrew Joinson had been given a chance to turn his back on that type of offending through rehabilitation but he was caught with stashes of 441 indecent images, some of them in the worst category, Grimsby Crown Court heard.

Joinson, 48, of Merton Road, Bottesford, Scunthorpe, admitted three offences of possessing indecent images of children on September 28, 2021.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, said that the National Crime Agency contacted Humberside Police with information about illegal images of children that were linked to Joinson's address.

He was arrested and his electronic devices were seized. It was found that he had been searching for and uploading images to a Dropbox. Police found 103 images of children in the most serious Category A as well as 46 images in Category B and 292 in Category C.

They included children aged as young as four years old in all three categories. The vast majority of the children were aged between five and seven.

Joinson had a previous similar conviction in 2016 involving distributing and making indecent images of children and he had been given a 26-week suspended prison sentence and put on the sex offenders' register.

Bianca Brasoveanu, mitigating, said that Joinson was open with the police and made frank admissions. "The highest number of images were in the lowest category and there are no distribution charges for him," said Miss Brasoveanu.

Joinson, who is married with a son, had been assessed by the probation service as being at a low risk of reoffending. "This type of offending is a form of addiction, with all the associated risks, the first of which is relapsing," said Miss Brasoveanu. "This is exactly what happened to him."

Joinson was jailed for 10 months.

Judge Mark Bury told him: "You have been to court before for offences like this. You were not sent to custody on that occasion. You were given an opportunity of rehabilitation including a sexual offenders' programme requirement.

"Well, that didn't do any good. You are still offending. You are looking at images of children.

"It's wholly unrealistic to expect that you should be dealt with in any other way than an immediate custodial sentence when you have done exactly the same thing and carried on your addiction to indecent images of children.

"You plainly have a sexual interest in children, otherwise you would not be looking at these things."

Description

An online groomer has been jailed after being tricked by a paedophile hunter who was posing as a 13-year-old girl.

Gary Lewis was depressed and lonely when he contacted a woman on an adult dating site without realising it was a fake profile which had been set up as a trap. The decoy then told him she was actually only 13 but he carried on the conversation.

Lewis broke off the sex chats for a while but resumed them on his birthday just before Christmas last year because he had received no seasonal greetings and was feeling anxious, depressed and isolated.

He went on to suggest that the decoy, who was using the false identity of a girl called Charlotte, should perform a sex act on herself.

It led to him being confronted in the street by a group of paedophile hunters who spent 40 minutes humiliating him while screening the footage live to their supporters. His ordeal only ended when the police arrived.

Lewis, aged 48, of Manor Road, Camborne, denied attempting to inciting a child to sexual activity and attempted sexual communications with a child but was found guilty by a jury at Truro Crown Court last month.

He was jailed for three years by Judge Simon Carr, sitting at Exeter Crown Court, and ordered to sign on the sex offenders register for life. He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will allow the police to monitor his online activity after his release.

The judge told him: “At the time, you were living on your own and I accept you have mental health issues and a diagnosis of an unstable personality disorder, significant depression and a history of self-harm.

“That is the background but it is no excuse for what you did. A significant feature of this case is that the initial contact was through a site which requires users to be adults. You accept that many users use fake biogs and it is difficult to tell which is real.

“You moved the chat to WhatsApp at which point the illusion was gone and although it was an older person masquerading as a child, they made it clear repeatedly that you were communicating with a 13-year-old girl.

“The jury concluded that you could not reasonably have believed they were over 16. You continued over many weeks with numerous communications. I have no doubt you believed she was 13. You are 48 and a man of impeccable character.”

Mr Jason Beal, prosecuting, told the original trial that Lewis had sent messages over a considerable period of time leading up to one in which he invited the decoy Charlotte to touch herself sexually.

Lewis claimed at his trial what he knew he was talking to an adult decoy and went along with the chats in a game of cat and mouse.

Mr Piers Norsworthy, defending, said Lewis was suffering from serious mental health issues at the time and resumed the chats because he was lonely and isolated when he received no birthday of Christmas messages.

He said he had to undergo a gruelling experience at the hands of the paedophile hunting group when they confronted him and effectively detained him and that his ordeal only ended when the police arrived.

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POLICE have released the mugshot of a paedophile who was jailed for 17 and a half years for abusing two young girls.

Dominic Dewick was found guilty of 20 historical offences against the girls between 1993 and 2017.

Following a four-day trial, the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on each of the charges on August 4.

The court heard during the trial that one victim had been just seven years old when her abuse started, with it continuing until she was 15. The second victim was abused between the ages of nine and 12.

Sentencing Dewick, Judge Paul Thomas said: “The impact on the lives of those two girls, now women, has been utterly profound.

“There is, I’m afraid, little to no mitigation that can be identified on your behalf.”

Dewick was jailed for four years for the abuse of the first victim, and a further 13 and a half years for abusing the second victim. He will also serve an additional two years extended licence period.

Following the sentencing, PC Paul Kelly, the investigating officer for Dyfed-Powys Police, said: “I would like to thank the jury on the guilty verdict on Friday, August 4, and the sentence handed down by the Judge. 

“More importantly I would like to thank the two extremely brave and courageous victims in this case.

“They have both showed immense strength and character to firstly report the abuse, and also they have remained strong throughout the trial.

“This is an important message to everyone that justice can still be served years after any abuse.

“I hope that both the female victims in this case, and their families, who have been effected greatly by the actions of Dominic Dewick, can now try and move on with their lives and this gives them some kind of closure.”

Dewick, 45, of Harrier Road in Haverfordwest, had denied all charges, maintaining that both girls had fabricated their evidence.

“I would never do anything like that,” he told the jury in his evidence.

“That was sick.”

Nicola Powell, prosecuting, told the court at trial: “This is a man in complete denial, who convinced himself that he'd got away with it, all those years ago.

“But now his past has come back to haunt him.”

A statement from one of the victims was read out in court as Dewick was sentenced.

“I feel absolutely broken. A broken person inside and out,” she said.

“I was a child and very vulnerable when I was abused.”

James Hartson, defending, acknowledged there was little mitigation he could put forward, except that Dewick had no previous convictions.

“That’s rather offset by the fact that you have been offending for most of your adult life,” Judge Thomas directed at Dewick.

Dewick was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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A paedophile who amassed an enormous collection of child sex abuse pictures and videos sobbed as he appeared in Liverpool Crown Court yesterday.

Callum Latimer, 23, was caught with 165 indecent images and videos - including 58 of the most serious category A - on his phone following a police tip-off on November 30 last year. He also had 1,578 prohibited images of children.

Chat logs on his Samsung device also showed Latimer requesting indecent images of Japanese manga-style underage girls.

At Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, August 16, prosecutor Christopher Hopkins said images found on Latimer's phone showed young girls aged between three and 10-years-old.

Latimer, of Keswick Crescent in Warrington, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, possessing indecent images of children, and possessing prohibited images.

Anthony O'Donohoe, defending, said his client was of previously good character with no previous convictions. The court also heard the 23-year-old had "a number of significant neurodiverse conditions".

Judge Andrew Menary, sentencing, said: "It's plain that for a time you were active online soliciting or talking to others about these images and you acquired these images. They involve the serious abuse of very young children and it's for that reason people who possess these images and look for them in this way are encouraging this evil trade."

However, he decided not to impose an immediate prison sentence, saying: "A more constructive option would be to give you support within the community from the probation service."

Latimer cried as he was sentenced to a total of six months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was ordered to complete the Horizon programme for sex offenders, and carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. He was placed on the sex offenders register and given a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

Description

A fish and chip shop owner was confronted by online paedophile hunters after sending explicit messages and pictures to what he believed to be 12 and 13-year-old girls.

David Maynard, 43, thought he was communicating with young girls but they were in fact members of a group known as Defending the Innocent.

Norwich Crown Court heard he communicated with three profiles on a chat app called Wink, one pretending to be a 12-year-old called Chloe and others he thought were girls called Madison and Elle, both aged 13.

Prosecuting Chris Youell said: “While the adults were pretending to be those three girls he was chatting sexually to them, sending them pictures of his penis and making references to owning a chip shop.”

Video of him being confronted by members of the group outside the Fryers Delight, on Nelson Road North in Great Yarmouth, was live-streamed on Facebook shortly before he was arrested by police in July 2022.

Maynard, of Beck Avenue, Ormesby, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

A further three counts of attempting to cause a child to watch/look at an image of a sexual act will lie on file.

He ordered him to do 200 hours unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation days and to attend a programme to address his sexual offending. 

A 10 year sexual harm prevention order will also bar him from owning any device capable of hiding or deleting his online search history.

Description

A man who raped a 15-year-old girl in a public toilet and sexually assaulted two women has been jailed for six years.

Jacob Davies, 22, committed the offences in Orkney between February 2018 and January 2021.

Davies abducted the teenage girl, locked her in a public toilet and detained her against he will.

Court papers state Davies in a separate incident seized and compressed the girl’s neck in the same public toilets before raping her.

Another rape charge against the same girl stated that Davies entered a property uninvited and attacked her.

In an earlier incident, Davies attempted to kiss a woman before groping her over her clothing.

The same woman was also assaulted to the danger of her life.

Davies lifted the woman up and seized her by the neck which restricted her breathing which caused her to lose consciousness.

Another woman was groped by Davies at Stromness Community Centre in Orkney.

He also abducted the same woman who he detained in public toilets at a park near the community centre.

Davies, of Orkney, was convicted of the seven charges last month.

Judge Lord Arthurson said: “Make no mistake, the impact of your crimes has been utterly devastating.
“From the background report prepared, you continue to deny the charges as is your right.

“It is plain from the gravity of the offending you were convicted of, only a substantial custodial sentence is appropriate.
“The normal period of licence is not appropriate to protect the public from serious harm from you.”

Davies was given a nine-year extended sentence which includes six years behind bars and supervision upon his release of three years.

Michael Meehan KC, defending, told the sentencing: “These are clearly serious offences having regard to the number of the offences.”

Davies was put on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

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A stranger rapist who kidnapped a woman and sexually attacked her in some nearby bushes has been jailed for life after being branded a 'danger' to the public. Mustafa Hakim preyed upon the victim on the Bourne Brook Walkway in Selly Oak just before 8.45am on July 28 last year.

He put his hand over the screaming woman's mouth and then strangled her, warning he would kill her if she carried on making a noise. Hakim then picked the victim up and carried her to some bushes where he pulled down her trousers and raped her.

Following a trial earlier this year the 30-year-old from Rickyard Piece, Quinton, was found guilty of kidnap, rape, strangulation, assault by penetration and theft. The case has since been delayed for a psychiatric report but at Birmingham Crown Court today he was sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years and four months in custody, minus the days he has spent on remand.

Hakim bizarrely protested that it was 'not fair' he had been sentenced without his legal team, which he disposed of before his trial and represented himself. He maintained his innocence and made disturbing comments about the fact the victim had not attended the hearing. The court heard she has since become a 'recluse' and moved out of Birmingham to the countryside.

Hakim carried out the sickening attack a month after he had been released from prison for an offence of affray and two days after he had been caught looking over a cubicle in the ladies' toilet at Snow Hill railway station. He had been prowling the area in Selly Oak on a bicycle before sneaking up behind the woman on the Bourne Brook Walkway and carrying her away.

Judge Simon Drew Kc said: "It is clear to me you had been looking for a victim for some time. You chose a location not covered by CCTV. You laid in wait and then you attacked her."

Hakim snatched the woman's phone but she managed to call her boyfriend from her smartwatch, which resulted in him hearing the ordeal. The victim managed to struggle free and ran to a nearby resident who called police.

Hakim, who initially picked up a stick, fled the scene, changed his clothes and got on a bus to Acocks Green before being arrested. In a statement the victim said she had been left 'scared to be alone at any time whether in the day or the night' adding that Hakim had 'completely taken away my independence'.

It took her weeks to tell her friends what had happened to her and now described herself as a 'recluse' that 'doesn't socialise at all'. She added: "What this man has done to me. I'm not the same person anymore. I'm not me."

Hakim has 23 convictions for 43 offences including making threats with a knife, shoplifting and affray. Asked if he wanted to say anything he replied: "My legal team ain't turned up and that. I don't think that's fair."

He then went on a rant about the victim adding: "She knows she's lying you get me? If she was telling the truth and it meant that much to her she would turn up every day. All I know is it wasn't me, you get me?"

The trial heard that DNA taken from the victim was a 'billion to one times more likely' to have come from Hakim than anyone else, while she had picked him out in a identification procedure. CCTV caught him loitering at the scene prior to the attack and cell site analysis showed that he had the victim's phone afterwards.

Judge Drew told him that he had 'explained the risks' of representing himself prior to trial and reminded the defendant 'that's what you chose to do'.

He acknowledged Hakim had been assessed as suffering from 'delusional disorder' and was likely 'harbouring paranoid delusions' at the time of the offence. Judge Drew concluded he was a 'dangerous offender' after taking into consideration the nature of the rape offence, the fact he had still not taken responsibility, his behaviour in the train station cubicle two days prior, his criminal record and mental health.

He said: "Going forward I can see no obvious time in the future where you will not present a significant risk and substantial risk to members of the public."

Hakim began remonstrating again after the sentence was announced and asked to speak to his solicitors, to which Judge Drew replied: "You know you don't have any."

He will remain on the sex offender's register for the rest of his life.

Description

A man who raped six young women over a three-year period has today been convicted.

Kevarnie Queen, 19, known on social media as the ‘Brixton R Kelly’ met all but one of the victims - all under the age of 18 - through ‘SnapChat’, where he would flatter and groom them before arranging to meet. For three years he was a prolific sexual predator and an offender who had no regard for his victims, some of whom were raped on numerous occasions.

Queen was initially arrested on 8 April 2020 in relation to two offences of rape. He did not provide an account to police. He was subsequently arrested in June and again on 8 August 2022 for further offences of rape which he denied, claiming that the women were all lying and were part of a hate campaign against him. On 18 August 2023 the jury at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 22 counts of rape. He has been remanded in custody to appear at the same court on 13 October 2023 for sentence.

Laura Devitt, Senior Crown Prosecutor from the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit in London South said: “It has taken immense bravery and mental fortitude for the victims to come forward in this case particularly given their young age and the lasting impact these offences have had on all of them.

“Queen has clearly demonstrated he saw these young girls’ existence purely for his own satisfaction. Queen claimed he was a ‘player’ and knew how to make girls like him and that any activity was consensual.

“His misogynistic and deplorable actions have now been exposed for what they are, and these convictions ensure no further women are caused further irreparable harm at his hands.

“Every woman and girl should be free and feel safe to go about their daily lives, including walking alone, without fear of harassment or sexual offences. The CPS is committed to bringing offenders who commit crimes against women to justice.”

Description

A MAN has been jailed for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl multiple times on Christmas Day.

Convicted sex offender Nigel Yates, 57, was described by the judge as having “a deviant and unhealthy” interest “embedded in him for teenage and pre-pubescent girls”.

Yates, of Maes Y Coed in Llechryd, Cardigan, appeared at Swansea Crown Court after admitting three offences of sexually assaulting a child in Llangrannog on December 25, 2022.

Helen Randall, prosecuting, said the girl did not tell anyone about the abuse until she was next told they would be going to the defendant’s house.

Giving a statement in court, the victim’s mother said: “I’m still very much in shock about what’s happened.”

She added that although the victim “put on a brave face”, it was clear she had been affected by the abuse.

In interview, Yates denied the offences. He also made disparaging remarks about the victim.

He did plead guilty at the plea and trial preparation hearing.

Yates has four previous convictions for five offences. These include being convicted in 2001 of two offences of indecent assault of two children, making indecent images of children in 2015, and failing to comply with notification requirements - also in 2015.

The court heard that Yates would refuse to disclose his previous convictions to others.

David Singh, defending, admitted: “These are serious offences and they are clearly aggravated by Mr Yates’ previous convictions.”

He said that Yates’ best mitigation was his guilty plea, and that the defendant was “under no illusions” about the seriousness of the offences.

Mr Singh said Yates had been battling alcohol addiction “for many years”, and that he was motivated to work with the probation service to get “specific and targeted help”.

“You have persisted in displaying an unhealthy relationship in young girls,” Judge Huw Rees said, addressing the defendant.

Yates was jailed for 42 months – running concurrently for each offence. He was made the subject of a restraining order and a sexual harm prevention order, each for 10 years. He must register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Description

A 27 year-old man from Waterlooville has been jailed for a year after being found guilty of sexual assault by touching, following an assault on a girl at a pub in Southsea.

In the early hours of Saturday 25 September 2021 the teenager was approached by a man on the dancefloor at the One-Eyed Dog on Elm Grove and sexually assaulted.

On Thursday 17 August 2023, Promise Musemwa of Downs Close in Waterlooville was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court after being found guilty at the same court on 19 July. Judge Henry described Musemwa’s actions as “unacceptable” and “arrogant” upon sentencing.

Investigating officer DC Lauren Howard said: “I’d like to echo the Judge’s comments, Musemwa’s actions were totally unacceptable and I’m pleased that following a thorough investigation we have secured this result at court. It sends a clear message that we take all reports of sexual assault very seriously and will seek to secure justice for victims.

“We continue to work alongside a number of agencies to keep people safe within Portsmouth’s Night Time Economy, including Portsmouth City Council’s Violent Crime Reduction Unit and their licensing and environmental health teams, Street Pastors, South Central Ambulance Service, CCTV staff and security and staff at all of our licensed premises”.

Description

A housing association is facing questions over why it employed a convicted rapist who was out on licence from prison.

Ian Mycock was employed by Homes Plus this summer, within months of his release after three and a half years of a seven-year sentence.

The 39-year-old attacked a woman as she slept in bed next to her two-year-old son. His victim, Samantha Key said she was sickened to learn Mycock had been working for the social landlord in what is understood to have been a role supervising a team of maintenance staff.

StokeonTrentLive has heard from tenants who say the sex offender had visited their homes in the course of his work.

And Homes Plus bosses and the Probation Service are now facing demands for answers as to how the situation was ever allowed to happen.

The housing association, which is responsible for over 19,000 properties in Staffordshire and Shropshire, says that Mycock is no longer working for it, and that it will be beefing up the checks it does on all employees.

But the incident has raised questions about how robust its policies and procedures were prior to employing Mycock, who started working for the social landlord around a month ago.

His employment came to light when a Homes Plus worker known to Ms Key contacted her to tell her someone had been asking after her family.

Mum-of-five Ms Key, who has waived her right to anonymity as a victim of a sexual offence, said: “One of two things must have happened: either he’s not disclosed that he’s a sex offender because they’ve not asked or he’s not told them, and they’ve not done any kind of checks on him; or someone has thought it acceptable to send a rapist into people’s homes. Either way it is totally unacceptable.

“Where is the Probation Service in all this? Are they just taking the word of a sex offender that he’s declared his conviction to an employer? How can that be right?”

Mycock, who is from Stafford, was jailed in 2019 for the rape of Ms Key. She said he and his partner had been among a group of friends who had visited her home one day in August 2018. She said Mycock and his partner stayed overnight, and that she awoke in the early hours to find him sexually assaulting her in the presence of her sleeping toddler son.

As part of the conditions of his release in February, he is banned from entering Stone, where retail worker Ms Key lives and where Homes Plus manages properties.

StokeonTrentLive knows of three tenants of the housing association who have claimed Mycock has been in their properties in the Stafford area. One of them described Mycock arriving in a white van along with another male member of staff to assess work that needed to be done.

The tenant said she was now “very nervous to let anyone in”.

As well as his conviction for rape, for which Mycock will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life, he also has a now spent 2017 conviction for being caught in possession of two bags of cocaine worth around £100.

It is not clear whether Homes Plus asks applicants to declare if they have unspent criminal convictions, and the law makes clear that the burden is on the employer to ask the question, rather than on the applicant to volunteer the information.His rape conviction will never be legally spent.

But if an applicant is asked, they must tell the truth about any unspent convictions.

StokeonTrentLive has found that with roles currently available at Homes Plus, applicants are asked to apply online by submitting a CV and cover letter. Some job specifications mention there will be a need for a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check, but others do not. StokeonTrentLive has been unable to find evidence of any information on the Homes Plus website and vacancies portal about the declaration of criminal records or any request for them to be declared.

Homes Plus would not tell StokeonTrentLive whether it had asked Mycock whether he had a criminal record, or whether he volunteered the information.

StokeonTrentLive understands the Probation Service was aware of his employment, and that it was approved by a supervisor.

If an offender doesn’t seek approval, they risk being recalled to custody.

But there is no requirement for the Probation Service to check whether a sex offender or other convicted criminal it is supervising has declared convictions.

A probation supervisor will “make a judgement about approving any employment to ensure it does not undermine public protection”, according to guidance.

Sex offenders can be breaking the law by even applying for certain protected roles that involve working with children and vulnerable adults. And Homes Plus says that up to now it carried out DBS checks on staff who have “significant contact with vulnerable tenants”.

Ms Key said while she welcomed plans to toughen up procedures, she believed the employment of Mycock showed the housing association’s policies, and those of the Probation Service, had not been robust enough.

She added: “I can’t believe that it’s a question of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ even where employing sex offenders is concerned.

“And it’s incredible that no-one in the Probation Service seems to have asked whether he had told Homes Plus that he was a convicted rapist on licence, and whether they were okay with that.

“If he was going into people’s homes at all, then there’s every chance he was coming into contact with vulnerable people. And what about the duty of care to other staff working at Homes Plus? I understand some of them are livid they were working alongside a rapist and didn’t know it.”

As of this week, Mycock is no longer employed by Homes Plus, whether he resigned or was sacked has not been confirmed.

Generally, if an employee hasn’t been asked about unspent criminal convictions, they can only be sacked when one comes to light if the offence is relevant to the job they are doing.

They might also be sacked if employing them risked serious harm to the employer’s reputation.

Les Clarke, executive director of housing and care at Homes Plus’s parent company Housing Plus, said “immediate steps” were taken once the allegations came to light, in order to “safeguard our customers and colleagues in connection with this matter”.

He added: “We are deeply sorry for any distress or anxiety caused to customers and offer our sincerest apologies to anybody who has been affected.

“Housing Plus Group has procedures in place to deal with situations of this nature and they have been implemented as a matter of urgency. The member of staff is no longer working for the organisation.

“Housing Plus Group requires DBS checks for staff who have significant contact with vulnerable tenants and our intention now is to extend this to all roles where there is any contact with customers.

“We will be doing this retrospectively for all existing staff who do not already have DBS clearance.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Offenders on licence are subject to robust risk assessments before they can undertake work and must abide by their strict licence conditions – which if broken could see them returned to jail.”

Description

A convicted rapist who is already serving a lengthy prison sentence has been branded a "monster" and jailed again after a series of further sex offences against two more victims.

Drug user and pornography addict Andrew Shaw targeted two boys and has now been branded a dangerous offender who posed a "significant risk" of further sexual offences.

He blamed drugs for his behaviour, had a sexual interest in children and had a lack of empathy for his victims, Hull Crown Court heard.

Read more: Police found Hull cannabis factory after British Gas raised suspicions over high electricity use

Shaw, 44, formerly of Redcar Street, Hull, off Cleveland Street, east Hull, but currently in Leicester Prison, admitted four offences of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and another of sexual assault of a child.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, prosecuting, said that the offences came to light in July 2019 when the mother of one of the boys went to the police to report what had happened.

At the time, Shaw was serving a prison sentence of 10-and-a-half years at Full Sutton Prison, near Pocklington. He had been jailed at Hull Crown Court in July 2016 for two offences of raping a woman and also possessing indecent images of a child, committed in November 2014.

The latest offences involved Shaw committing sexual acts in the presence of a boy. Filming was also involved and Shaw watched pornography in the presence of the boy. On another occasion, Shaw targeted another boy.

Shaw was interviewed in Full Sutton Prison in 2019 and claimed that he was using heroin and crack cocaine at the time and denied being interested in younger people.

He denied any sexual behaviour towards the first boy and accused him of lying. He denied any offending towards the second boy.

The first boy later said: "He became my abuser and nothing more than a monster. He took away my innocence and childhood." The boy now "hid in the shadows" and suffered "crippling anxiety" because of what happened.

"I am ashamed of what happened to me," he said. "He has left me feeling forever scarred. With the help of my family, I will continue to be strong."

The other boy said that he began to struggle at school and he suffered anxiety for many years. "I am hoping that the therapy that I am receiving will help me to recover," he said.

Samreen Akhtar, mitigating, said that Shaw had written a letter of apology. He was doing work while in prison to address his sexual offending.

Shaw accepted that the combination of his addiction to cocaine and amphetamine and a daily addiction to pornography and chatrooms led to him engaging in child abuse. An online conversation about distributing to others the sexual footage that he filmed had taken place.

"He became a monster when his whole life revolved around sex," said Miss Akhtar. "He expresses disgust about his behaviour. It is his intention to return to Hull after his release."

Judge Kate Rayfield said that Shaw attempted to prevent the first boy from reporting what happened to him and there was an "element of grooming" because he bought expensive gifts for the victim.

"All of your victims were vulnerable in their own way," said Judge Rayfield.

"A custodial sentence is inevitable. Your offences are underpinned by a lack of empathy and a sexual interest in children. You appear to blame your use of drugs for your behaviour rather than recognising that your issues run far deeper than that.

"You denied the offences when you were initially interviewed and only admitted them relatively recently." Shaw had a lack of insight into his "own risk factors" and was a dangerous offender who posed a high risk of sexual harm. There was a significant risk of him committing further sexual offences.

Shaw was jailed for three years and nine months, to run consecutively to the sentence of 10-and-a-half years that he is currently serving. He will not be eligible to apply for release until he has served a total minimum of nine-and-a-half years.

Shaw will be on extended licence of one year after his release. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

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A comedian who has appeared on Channel 4’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown has been sentenced after being found with more than 35,000 indecent images of children.

Christopher Thomas Binns, whose character is hospital DJ Ivan Brackenbury, pleaded guilty last November to five counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing a prohibited image.

Derby Crown Court heard the 53-year-old was found to have thousands of images on multiple devices.

Binns, who has no previous convictions, was spared jail on Thursday, with Judge Shaun Smith KC handing him a suspended sentence.

Lauren Fisher, prosecuting, said 104 category A indecent images – the most serious – were found, along with 411 in category B and 34,946 in category C.

Ms Fisher also said three prohibited images were found, along with one category B and one C moving image.

However, Judge Smith warned that some of the images may have been duplicates.

Ms Fisher said all the images were downloaded between March 26 and November 21, 2020.

She said: “Between October 14 and 15, 2020 the National Crime Agency received information that the user of [the defendant’s email] had uploaded multiple category C indecent images of children.”

A warrant was executed at Binns’s address at Bole Hill, Calow, Derbyshire, and he was arrested, with 39 devices seized including a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and an iPad.

Ms Fisher said: “During the investigation, it was established that a third party of Mr Binns’s partner had been asked to sell several devices on behalf of Mr Binns.

“Those devices were also checked.”

The devices, including two hard drives, were found to also include thousands of accessible and inaccessible images, including 25,000 inaccessible category C images.

Matthew Hayes, mitigating, said Binns had not committed any other offences since this incident and referenced the impact of prescribed medication his client was taking at the time, but did not fully elaborate in court.

In an earlier statement to the comedy news website Chortle, Binns said: “Over two years ago, while under the influence of an overdose of prescription drugs for ADHD, which induced obsessive-compulsive disorder, I downloaded and deleted a very large amount of adult pornography over a short period of time.

“Within those downloads, it appears there was some child pornography which I had not sought out nor wanted.

“I have no sexual interest in children. I have taken and passed a polygraph stating I have no sexual interest in children.

“I am bitterly upset at the hurt this has caused my family, for which I take full responsibility.

“I will take my punishment for this and hope that my family are not further harmed by my actions.”

Judge Smith said Binns’s offending was “simply unacceptable” but deemed he does not pose a risk to the public, and is unlikely to re-offend.

He gave Binns a combined 10-month sentence, suspended for 15 months, made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, and ordered him to sign the sex offender register, both for 10 years.

He said: “You are sickened by what it was that you were downloading and looking at and, quite frankly, you don’t need me to tell you that you should be, because this kind of offending has real victims.

“It is right to say that had it not been for Covid, had it not been for the medication you were taking at that period of time, you would not be before the court, but the fact is that you are.

“You have returned to the law-abiding life that you were living before these offences.”

Binns’s character Ivan Brackenbury was nominated at the Edinburgh Festival for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2007, and he has also appeared on BBC drama Spooks and Channel 4’s IT Crowd.

Following sentencing, Holly Triggs, operations manager at the National Crime Agency, said: “Tom Binns deliberately collected a huge number of indecent images of children.

“Behind each one is an abused child who has had their wellbeing, innocence and privacy violated.

“Demand for images is a major driver of child sexual abuse globally, so we at the NCA are unrelenting in our commitment to protecting children from sexual abuse and bringing serious offenders to justice.”