Latest Offenders

Description

A man who sent pictures of his dog to someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl in a bid to groom her has been jailed.

Scott Burke, 37, of Leverington in Cambridgeshire, contacted the "teenager" on social media in November 2021. She was in fact a police officer.

Cambridgeshire Police said he quickly sexualised the conversations and sent a photograph of his penis, along with one of him with his dog.

Burke pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to arrange, facilitate or commission sexual activity with a child and was jailed for two years and six months.

Burke, of Leverington Common in the village near Wisbech, repeatedly discussed sex and a desire to meet up with the girl during a fortnight of online conversations, Cambridgeshire Police said.

He claimed he had booked them a hotel room and suggested taking the girl to a sex toy and lingerie retailer.

On arrest, he told officers he had been hacked.

Burke also pleaded guilty to one count of being an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to cause or incite a girl aged 13-15 into sexual activity.

Description

A sex offender prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children has now twice since become involved in relationships with young mothers who were unaware of his past convictions.

Phillip Yarrow was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) after being convicted of sexual communication with a child and attempted sexual activity with a child, online grooming of a girl aged 13 to 15, in February 2019.

Durham Crown Court was told that the terms of the SHPO included forbidding him having unsupervised contact with any child under 16 where the parent or guardian has no knowledge of his convictions.

He was also made subject of notification requirements as a sex offender in which he must inform his risk manager if he lives at any address for more than 12 hours.

Jon Harley, prosecuting, said a complaint was received by a woman, with a daughter aged under four, who was using a dating app in December last year.

She began messaging the defendant, who was described as “32 and from Coxhoe”, for two weeks, before meeting him close to her address on January 2, after which he went back to her home, although her daughter was not present as she was staying with her grandmother.

Mr Harley said Yarrow did not stay over, but the following day, at 4pm, Yarrow went back to the woman’s home at 4pm, when he daughter was present.

He stayed for two hours but had little contact with the girl and was never alone with her.

Mr Harley said that the next day he went over at 7pm, but this time did stay over at the address, having watched tv.

The following morning he left after the woman booked him a taxi, and that would be the last time she saw him.

Mr Harley said throughout the defendant’s contact with the woman there was no mention of his previous convictions.

When it came to light he was interviewed by police and accepted responsibility for the offence.

The court heard Yarrow, 32, of Grange Crescent, Coxhoe, pleaded, or indicated he was guilty, when he appeared before magistrates last month.

Mr Harley said the defendant now has three convictions for ten offences, all sexual of some description.

The court heard that following his original conviction, in February 2019, he was dealt with back at court for making indecent photos of children and failing to comply with notification requirements as a sex offender, in June 2021.

Mr Harley said the latter offence was for staying at an address for more than seven days where the female householder, with two young daughters, was not informed of Yarrow’s past conviction.

There was also said to be a further breach of the SHPO in July 2022 by the defendant.

Martin Scarborough, for Yarrow, said he had found work, through an agency, at a glass factory prior to being taken into custody which prevented him from being able to seek to make the employment full-time.

Mr Scarborough said, relating to the latest offence, his client had little contact with the child, and none while unsupervised.

Judge Jo Kidd said not for the first time Yarrow has chosen to engage in a relationship with a mother of a young daughter having failed to inform them of his offending history.

She told him: “The sentences you have received have increased with each further breach and, so, the sentence I will pass now will be an increase on them.

“You have a clear history of disobedience of court orders.”

She said it appears that up to now, he has not stepped back from his, “risk-taking behaviour.”

Imposing a 20-month term of imprisonment, she warned the defendant if he commits further offences during his licence period, upon his release at the mid-point, it is likely that he will be readmitted to prison to serve the remainder of the sentence.

Description

A man who filmed himself raping a sleeping girl has been jailed.

William Studley, 19, from Huxley near Chester, was sentenced to five years six months.

Studley, of Huxley Lane, was 17 when he attacked the girl at his home, where she and a friend had gone after a party.

He was cleared of one count of rape and found guilty of another at Chester Crown Court on 6 December.

Cheshire Police said the victim and a friend had arranged to stay at Studley's home after a party in April 2022.

The victim fell asleep alone in an upstairs bedroom after starting to feel unwell. She woke up to find Studley raping her, the jury was told.

The victim told him to stop and he ran out of the room, but returned and sexually assaulted her.

She reported him to the police the next day.

Officers found video footage on Studley's phone which showed him sexually assaulting the victim as she slept.

Studley admitted sexual assault after he was shown the footage, and also admitted making indecent images of children.

But he denied rape.

DS Courtney Day said: "Studley initially denied all offences put to him, claiming that the victim had consented, but was left with no option but to plead guilty when footage of the assault was recovered from his phone.

"Despite the evidence, he continued to deny the full extent of what he subjected the victim to that night.

"What Studley put the victim through is truly horrifying, but thanks to courage the victim has shown, he is now facing the consequences of his actions."

Studley was also handed a 15-year restraining order and put on the sex offenders register for life at his sentencing hearing on Friday.

Description

An Exeter man has been sent to jail after he was caught by paedophile hunters sending sexual messages to decoy children online. Jamie Short used Facebook and WhatsApp to pester what he thought were 13 and 14-year-old girls.

The 51-year-old sent them disgusting pictures of himself and tried to get photos of the children in return. He suggested they have sex, masqueraded as a teenaged boy and even offered to pay £300 to one child to watch him pleasure himself.

He was traced and arrested by police. Short, of Chestnut Avenue, Exeter, has been given an 18-month prison sentence at Exeter Crown Court. The defendant, who has a history of violent crime, is already serving four and a half years for robbery.

Prosecutor Herc Ashworth said the first offence happened in November 2019 when Short contacted a decoy account of a 13-year-old operated by a paedophile hunter. He quickly turned the conversation sexual and offered to meet her when she came to Devon on holiday.

He then claimed to be a 14-year-old boy and sent the child naked images of himself. He also tried to call her via WhatsApp.

Then in March of last year he was at it again contacting another account - despite being on bail at the time. He claimed to be 17 years old and sent more perverted images of himself.

Mr William Parkhill, defending, said Short was living an isolated and lonely life at the time. He also has a degenerative muscle condition which means he can no longer use his hands properly.

The defendant pleaded guilty to three offences of attempted sexual communication with a child and two of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

His 18-month sentence will run consecutive to the robbery term he is already serving making a total of six years.

Short was given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to sign the sex offender register.

Description

A Dunfermline man sent an indecent image to someone he thought was a young girl.

However, the recipient of Ernest Nicholson’s photograph was, in fact, an undercover police officer.

Nicholson, 58, of Berry Law Place, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He admitted that between January 9 and 16 last year, he sent an image of a naked penis via social media to someone he thought was a child but was, in fact, an undercover police officer, and thus attempted to cause a child to view a sexual image.

He also sent sexual written communications to someone he thought was a child and thereby attempted to communicate indecently with a child.

Sentencing was deferred until March 14 for reports. He was put on the sex offenders register.

Description

A 31-year-old registered sex offender has been sent back to prison after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Freddie Millar, who the court was told also identifies as Xenia Jade Millar, previously of Northampton, was issued with the SHPO in 2017 after being convicted of raping a woman.

As a registered sex offender, Millar was required to abide by very strict conditions after leaving prison in September last year or face going back to jail.

These conditions included notifying police of any new relationship, any new social media accounts created, or the purchase of any devices capable of accessing the internet.

However, on December 8, 2023, when police officers from Northamptonshire Police’s MOSOVO Team spontaneously visited Millar, they found a laptop and a woman inside the address who claimed to be in a relationship with Millar. Neither the laptop nor the relationship had been disclosed to police.

Then on January 22, Millar was once again visited by the MOSOVO Team who discovered a mobile phone with multiple social media accounts that hadn’t been disclosed. They also found conversations which suggested Millar had once again formed friendships/relationships that police weren’t aware of.

As a result, Millar was subsequently charged with one count of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and one count of Breaching Notification Requirements.

After pleading guilty to both offences at an earlier hearing at Northampton Crown Court in December 2023, Millar returned to the same court last week (February 5) and was sentenced to one year and four months in prison.

Description

A man and woman exchanged hundreds of "vile" messages about young girls, a court heard.

Indecent images of children aged between four and 13 were found on convicted sex offender Colin Dawson’s laptop and phones after they were seized by police.

In court, Annette Punter, 65, from Wolverhampton pleaded guilty to being in possession of extreme pornography and was given a 20-month prison term, suspended for two years.

Dawson, 61, also of Wolverhampton, admitted making indecent images of children and was jailed for two years and four months.

Investigators had identified Dawson's home as being linked to online chats referring to child abuse.

Following her arrest Punter told detectives she was manipulated by Dawson, who police said she was in a relationship with at the time.

Both pleaded guilty to conspiring to take indecent images of children between 9 and 19 November 2018.

Dawson, of Merridale, also admitted making 44 indecent images on various dates between 4 November 2018 and 7 July 2020.

Punter, of East Park, admitted a further charge of taking and distributing indecent images of children between 2 and 5 November 2018.

Dawson will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life and Punter will be on it for 10 years.

Description

POLICE have praised the courage of an underage sexual assault victim following the sentencing of a “dangerous” Hythe man.

Brandon Foss (20) of Butts Ash Gardens, was recently jailed for 20 months after admitting seven counts of sexual activity with a child, which he committed between May and June last year.

Southampton Crown Court heard the victim was under 16 years of age.

PC Robert Thomas, who led the investigation, said: “It took a lot of courage and bravery for the victim to come forward and make these disclosures to us.

“I have nothing but the greatest admiration for this young lady, who fully supported our investigation and remained confident in our ability to get a conviction in court.

“I am so pleased for her that justice has now been served in this case, and that she has now seen Foss put behind bars, where he belongs.”

He added: “He abused her for his own sexual gratification, and must now serve time in prison, where he will have to reflect upon his crimes.

“While I know this result won’t rid the victim of the memories of what he did to her, I truly hope it allows her to move forward with her life, safe in the knowledge that he can no longer harm anyone else.”

Foss also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing class B drug, cannabis.

Judge Nicholas Rowland imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, which places restrictions on Foss to prevent further offending.

He was also ordered to pay £167 in court charges.

Description

Stuart Witham’s “vast” collection of vile images included sordid videos featuring children as young as five, York Crown Court heard.

Witham, 31, shared images with others in a Whatsapp group.

Prosecutor Brooke Morrison said that Witham was also having debauched video chats on a dark website where he would perform lewd acts in front of women and young girls and encourage them to do the same.

The father-of-two was also active on a private-messenger app on which he “offered to sell quantities of indecent images in exchange for Bitcoin and gift cards”.

He was finally nailed when an undercover police officer joined the Whatsapp group posing as a member and began chatting with Witham who sent him indecent images of youngsters and “bragged” about his vile collection of illicit images.

Police turned up at his home and brought him in for questioning when he owned up immediately to his depraved behaviour.

He was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of distributing indecent images and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13 years of age.

Witham, of Back Mayfield Terrace, Harrogate, admitted all the offences and appeared for sentence last Thursday.

Ms Morrison told the court: “The defendant was a member of a Whatsapp group in which he and other adults (had sexual discussions about) and shared indecent images of children.”

In June 2021, Witham had a Whatsapp chat with a man he presumed to be another member of the group but who was in fact an undercover officer.

“The defendant shared indecent images with the officer and showed him his collection of material,” added Ms Morrison.

After being trapped by the undercover cop, officers swooped on Witham’s home and seized his internet devices.

Forensic analysis revealed a huge cache of indecent material, namely 32,708 vile photos and videos of children, some of them extremely young.

They included 3,800 images of children rated Category A in their level of seriousness and featuring the sexual abuse of minors.

Ms Morrison said police also found chats in which he offered to sell indecent images of children in exchange for digital currency and gift vouchers.

She said forensic officers also found over 40 videos or “screen-recorded conversations” on the dark website.

“Those recordings show that whenever (Witham) was matched with another male, he quickly skipped onto the next user,” she added.

“As soon as he was paired with an adult woman or child, he would begin (performing a lewd act) on screen.”

Witham would move the camera so that the other user would see him doing the act.

On other occasions, he would message the user urging them to “show themselves” and to perform lewd acts.

In one video chat, Witham performed a sexual act in front of a nine-year-old girl and asked the child to “show (their) body on camera”.

Analysis of his internet search history revealed he had sought out “hidden-camera instructions”.

During police questioning, Witham admitted that he had sought out indecent images of children since he was 12 years of age.

He was charged only with the online offences committed in 2021.

Defence barrister Lucy Brown said that Witham, a working man who was married at the time, had undergone cognitive behavioural therapy and sought help from an offenders’ rehabilitation charity to try to curb his nefarious online behaviour.

She asked judge Simon Hickey to consider suspending the inevitable prison sentence, citing Witham’s “very traumatic” childhood and his deep remorse.

But Mr Hickey said it had to be an immediate jail sentence due to the “vast” number of images found on Witham’s devices.

He said although Witham had led an “industrious life” and had taken steps to reform himself, only an immediate prison sentence could be justified for such behaviour.

Witham was jailed for two years and ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years.

He was also given a 10-year sexual-harm-prevention order to curb his internet activities and contact with children.

Description

A 'despicable' sex beast who abused two females in West Lothian has been jailed for six years.

Kyle Sievewright, 20, was found guilty of eight offences, including rape, committed between 2019 and 2022 at the High Court in Livingston on January 17.

Today, Sievewritght received his sentence of six years in prison and a further three years extended sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Detective Constable David Bryce said: “Kyle Sievewright subjected the females to violent, sexual attacks over a period of time. He’s been found guilty of these despicable crimes and now faces the consequences.

“I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of justice to these females as they continue to move forward.

“Police Scotland is committed to bringing all perpetrators of sexual crimes to justice, regardless of when it happened. I would urge anyone who wishes to report a sexual crime to contact us. We will always investigate thoroughly and you will receive support from police and partner agencies.”

Description

Jason Cook (11/06/1974 ) of Coniston Road, Streford was found guilty of multiple counts of rape, attempt rape and one count of making indecent images and sentenced at Manchester Crown Court today (9/2/24) to life serving a minimum of 18 years in prison and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Between 2008 to 2017, Cook repeatedly sexually abused a girl who was just 12-years-old when the abuse started and following the sentencing this afternoon, the judge commented that it had been some of the worst the court had seen.

The sexual abuse came to the attention of detectives when the victim reported it to police in February 2018 and through a thorough police investigation, Cook was arrested on 1 March 2018 before he was questioned by detectives saying that it was just malicious allegations showing no remorse for his actions.

Description

Andrew Glyn Passmore, 41, from Hirwaun, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of attempt rape of a girl under 16, assault by penetration and sexual assault. 

In addition to the jail term, he will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life; will be the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 15 years; and has a 10-year restraining order placed on him.

Description

A Dunfermline man was caught with a sick stash of child abuse material, which included children having sex with animals, after meeting fellow paedophiles on Twitter.

Ian Dunbar’s stockpile of sick images and videos depicted boys and girls aged between three and 12 being raped.

Description

A convicted sex offender boasted online about raping and abusing a child.

In October 2019, Brian David Smith was engaged in an online chat with a man – who was actually an investigating officer from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) – during which he admitted to sexually abusing a child.

He had further phone conversations with the officer and arranged to meet who he thought would be a 12-year-old girl and planned to take her virginity.

Smith travelled from his home in Morecambe in November 2019 to the pre-arranged location in the North East only to find officers from NEROCU waiting for him.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempting to arrange of facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and while under caution said: “I don’t know why I did it. I’ve made a big mistake.”

When he was searched, Smith was found to be in possession of sex toys, sweets, and a mobile phone.

Later the same day, officer from the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team searched Smith’s home in Fairhope Avenue, Morecambe, and found indecent images of children and extreme pornographic images on several of his electronic devices.

Officers managed to track down the victim of Smith’s sexual abuse and she confirmed she was just eight years old when it started. It only stopped when she attempted to take her own life, such was the impact of Smith’s abuse.

He appeared at Preston Crown Court on Friday, January 19 and was jailed for 14 years, with three years on extended license.

Smith, 57, was convicted of rape, indecent assault, arranging or facilitating the commission of a sexual offence, and making indecent images of children.

He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the Sex Offender’s Register for life.

Description

A Sheffield man has been jailed for eight and a half years after raping a 12-year-old girl in a local park.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how 21-year-old Lewis Stacey deceived the young girl over Snapchat messages by using a false name and convincing her he was 15-years-old.

The victim initially met Stacey in June 2022, and during the meeting he raped her twice. Stacey then arranged to meet the girl again in a park in July 2022, where he led her into some bushes and raped her again.

Detective Constable Jason Earl, officer in the case, said: The young victim very bravely came forward and reported to the police what Stacey had done to her.

Upon his arrest, Stacey initially denied having ever met the victim and only entered a guilty plea when forensic evidence proved he was responsible for the offences.

This incident has had a profound effect on the victim and I would like to praise her for the tremendous courage and dignity she has shown throughout the investigation and court proceedings.

I am pleased that Stacey is behind bars where he can do no further harm, and I hope this sentencing allows the victim to attempt to move forward with her life.

South Yorkshire Police takes all reports of rape extremely seriously and will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.

Stacey, of Richmond Hall Road, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on 6 October 2023, where he pleaded guilty to four counts of rape of a child under 13.

On Thursday 8 February he was sentenced to eight and half years in prison, given a fifteen year restraining order restricting him from contacting the victim, and handed and given an eight and half years sexual harm prevention order starting upon his release from prison.