Latest Offenders

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A sex offender who raped a young girl in Birmingham has been jailed for 18 years.

Daniel Guest carried out a sickening series of attacks against the girl over five years. Guest told the girl – who was under 16 - on a number of occasions not to say anything about the abuse, telling her no-one would believe her. Thankfully, she bravely came forward and reported him, resulting in his arrest.

When interviewed by officers, Guest even tried to blame the girl for making up stories and looking for attention. Despite this, a strong case was built against Guest, and he was convicted in May of rape of a child, sexual assault against a child and causing or inciting sexual activity with a child. Guest, from Birmingham, was sentenced on 2 August and will also be on the sex offenders register for life.

‘We are committed to investigating and convicting sexual predators who abuse young children’

Detective Sergeant Nicky Simms, from the Complex Child Abuse Investigation team, said: "I would like to commend the victim in having the courage to report this matter to the police, and to relive the horror of this abuse.

"I hope this conviction shows that West Midlands Police are committed to investigating and convicting sexual predators who abuse young children, and I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of any such offences to come forward.

“We have specialist officers who will support you through every step of the investigation and criminal justice process. We also have links with a number of partner agencies who can support and offer you the opportunity to have your voice heard and not silenced by your abuser.

"By coming forward, you could not only get justice for yourself, you can also be a part of protecting other people who may become victims of this kind of abuse."

Description

A man has been spared jail after sexually abusing a girl when he was 10-years-old by acting out his porn fantasies.

Daniel Shufflebotham-Reeve, now 25, played out sex acts on a younger girl he’d watched in online pornography, a court heard.

At the time, Shufflebotham-Reeve, of Kidlington, Oxfordshire, was not brought to justice, despite the victim's teacher being aware of the allegations.

The police only became involved in 2019 when the defendant walked into the business where his victim was working. 

After a conversation with her partner, she reported the abuse she faced back in primary school. In court, she said much of her life has been spent "crying and refusing to leave the house" because of the sexual abuse.

A jury at Oxford Crown Court last month found him guilty of four charges, including rape and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

In a victim impact statement read to Shufflebotham-Reeve’s sentencing hearing on Wednesday (September 20), the woman said: "So much of my life has been wasted crying and refusing to leave the house due to extreme anxiety, all because of him and what he did to me."

She would "never forgive" her abuser or understand why he carried out the sexual abuse, she said.

The court heard that he had played out sexual acts he had seen in pornography watched on his laptop.

He both sexually assaulted her and got the girl, who was younger than him, to carry out sex acts on him.

Shufflebotham-Reeve warned his victim that, if she did not do as he asked, he would "tell everyone and no one would love her".

Sentencing, Judge Maria Lamb told the defendant, who continues to deny that the incidents happened: "You committed upon that little girl acts which no child should have to endure. She wanted none of it."

Had he been an adult when he carried out the abuse, he could have expected years behind bars, the court heard.

However, because he was only just of an age when he could be prosecuted, it was likely he would have received a type of youth court community order – called a youth rehabilitation order – had his case been dealt with when he was 10 or 11.

By law, judges dealing with adults who committed their crimes when under-18 must take into account the sentence a defendant would have received if they were dealt with as a child.

Judge Lamb imposed a two year community order, saying: "I think, taking all these matters into consideration, the likely sentence had I been dealing with you as a 10-year-old would have been one of a youth rehabilitation order.

"The circumstance of the offending cry out, it seems to me, for the type of help that would offer.

"I can see no reason for departing from that approach to sentencing, where you have gone on to lead a life in which you have not offended further."

The judge gave an extensive set of sentencing remarks, recognising the sensitivities of the case. She noted that the defendant and his victim had been known to each other and, as children do, had ‘held hands’. 

"Sadly, that acting out of adult acts went beyond the playground and on occasions when the two of you were together in your bedroom you showed her the discovery you had made on your laptop: pornography,” Judge Lamb said.

"You wanted to do the same with her and you told her you wanted to copy it and the expressions she remembers you using to her – for example, ‘you’re making me this way’ – was you I am sure, echoing the sort of expressions you had heard spoken by adults in the footage that you had viewed."

She added of the victim: "She said that you told her if she did what you wanted, whether that was an act done to her by you […] or getting her to do acts to you […] if you complied with that it wouldn’t happen again.

"If she didn’t do it, you would tell everyone and no one would love her. She was scared to go to your house because she feared what might happen. She was more scared of the consequences if she didn’t.

"She was ashamed of what you had made her do and, of course, it goes without saying she has no cause to reproach herself for that which you did to her." 

The judge hit out at the ‘corrosive impact’ on children of watching adult pornography, quoting from a pre-sentence report written by an experienced probation officer.

"‘It,’ he says, ‘would be difficult to overstate how damaging the consumption of pornographic material could be to a child’s sexual development.’ He refers to the corrosive impact of the routine consumption of online pornography and that is as far as adults let alone children are concerned.

"With those sentiments, I agree."

Mitigating, Sumita Mahtab-Shaikh said her client had been suspended from his job as a receptionist at the Premier Inn. There were question marks over whether he would be able to continue working at the hotel.

He was supported by a number of character references that spoke of ‘highly of him now’, the barrister said.

Description

A man attempted to rape a young woman at a party then tried to paint her as a liar. Joshua Harries' victim was left so traumatised by the attack that she barely left her home for weeks afterwards.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Harries was sober when he targeted the woman, who had been drinking. The judge, Recorder Greg Bull KC, said: "She became extremely tired and in my judgement she became drunk... He took advantage of her knowing she was more or less helpless."

Harries, then 23, took the woman to a bedroom, removed all of her clothes and sexually assaulted her. The woman later described a feeling of "freezing up". Harries thought she was asleep as he then attempted to rape her, but she resisted and prevented the rape, the court heard.

Read next: Man caught selling cleaning product for 'chemsex' in airport bust

He pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and attempted rape but was convicted by a jury. During the 25-year-old's sentencing hearing, prosecutor Ffion Thomas read a harrowing statement from the victim. "I felt completely helpless," the statement read. "He made me feel degraded, like I was just an object. He took away my power to speak or fight back. I blamed my own body for freezing up. Even when I made it clear I was not consenting, he continued.

"Having to undress in front of officers to get swabs for evidence, I felt even more degraded. For weeks after, I went into a depression. I struggled to leave the same spot on the sofa. I rarely left the house unless I was with someone and it was in daylight hours. I was scared if anyone saw me.

"I am now very wary of every single person I'm around and this heightens my anxiety. I've attempted to get therapy. Because of court delays, and not being able to give evidence for so long, my mental health has been highly impacted due to a lack of support. If [Harries] had admitted what he'd done to me in the first place I wouldn't have had to face the trauma of reliving that night in front of a courtroom of strangers.

"Knowing how few sex offences get to court and convicted, I now feel a sense of relief. All I wanted was for someone to listen to me and know what he did was wrong... I can now begin the healing process."

Harries, of Berw Road, Tonypandy, has one other conviction, for drink-driving last year. Beth Evans, mitigating, said that offence happened because he was struggling with the "stress" of the attempted rape and sexual assault allegations.

Ms Evans added that since the trial her client has apologised for the sexual offences. But the judge responded by pointing out Harries told lies to the jury by claiming innocence.

The defence counsel continued: "He has now been candid. He hasn't sought to minimise his actions to the probation service. It is unusual to see such frankness following a conviction after a trial. He understands that by having a trial, his actions were selfish."

She said there was a "totally different side" to Harries' character and that he still had the support of his mother, his partner, and his partner's parents. He has "always been in work", she told the court.

Recorder Bull told Harries: "Your crocodile tears to the probation officer cut little effect, I'm afraid, with me. [The victim] could have been prevented the trauma of waiting for the matter to come to court. You called on the expertise of a King's Counsel to cross-examine the complainant. That is your right and I do not hold it against you, but it shows the depths you were prepared to go to brand the victim a liar. Well, you failed."

The judge jailed Harries for five years and imposed a 10-year restraining order. He will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Description

A Luton man who fled the country after raping a teenage girl has been jailed for 11 years.

Dawood Khan, 41, attacked the girl in a flat in Luton in March 2022 after spotting her alone and distressed in Milton Keynes. He offered to help her and arranged a taxi to an address in Luton, where he raped her.

But his brave victim later managed to leave the property and used a member of the public’s phone to call for help.

Khan fled the country, but three months later he was extradited back to the UK from France, after he handed himself in at a Paris police station. In May this year, he was found guilty of rape at Luton Crown Court following a two-week trial.

On Friday (August 11) Khan, of St Mildreds Avenue, Luton, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with an extended three years on licence due to his dangerousness.

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Donat Cantrell was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court of a string of offences against the youngster who was 10 or 11 at the time. The 57-year-old is already serving a lengthy jail sentence following an armed stand-off with police Horsforth in March last year.

But he was handed a new nine-year extended sentence this week, which will only begin when his existing 10-years-and-eight-months sentence expires.

The court heard that Cantrell had groomed the youngster and bought her gifts, including a bikini. On one occasion, he invited the youngster into his motorhome on her own and closed the curtains before undressing himself.

He told her he needed to wash himself and asked her to help, before asking she remove her clothes. He then washed her touching her body, including her vagina. He masturbated himself and made her touch his genitals before performing a sex act on her. He later told her not to tell her mother and that he was “like a grandad”.

On another occasion, he invited the girl into a bathroom and made her masturbate him with the promise of £20. He then took her to a B&M store the next day and gave her the cash, telling her she “earned it”. He also showed her a pornographic video.

Cantrell, formerly of St Helena’s Caravan Park in Horsforth, was found guilty after his trial of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual assault of a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, assault of a child by penetration, sexual assault of a child and causing a child to watch a sexual act.

Mitigating, Rebecca Young said Cantrell has problems with drink and drugs which she said did not excuse his behaviour but “went some way to explain it”.

This was shot down by Judge Tom Bayliss KC, who said he could not understand the correlation. He told Cantrell: “You were in a position of trust with that child. You tried to corrupt the child with gifts and then with money. It’s difficult to think of a more cynical and calculated attempt to sexually abuse a child.”

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A man stole a handbag, a bank card from a house and items from a supermarket in a crime spree in Newport. Cardiff Crown Court heard how Robert Devney, who refused to appear before the court, has been required to register as a sex offender indefinitely since 2004. On October 18 last year, he attended a police station to register as having no fixed abode, meaning he should have notified officers of his whereabouts a week later, but he did not.

On December 31 last year Devney entered a house in the early hours of the morning and stole a Natwest bank card, which he was caught on CCTV using at a service station in Newport at 2.48am, spending £33.76. On February 8 of this year, he stole £76.50 worth of goods from Sainsbury's in Newport. He returned to the same store the following day stealing items worth over £62, but this time he was detained and the items were recovered.

On April 7 of this year, he again failed to comply with his registration requirements, and on April 20 he failed to surrender at Newport Magistrates' Court. On June 25, he entered a different Sainsbury's store in Newport and stole items worth £14.75. From there Devney went into an office to the rear of the store, and unsuccessfully tried a safe, but did steal a handbag belonging to a staff member.

Devney, 50, of Chepstow Road, Newport, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court in his absence having been convicted of two counts of failure to comply with notification requirements, fraud by false representation, three counts of theft from a shop, failure to appear before Newport Magistrates' Court, and a non-dwelling burglary.

No mitigation was offered on behalf of Devney as his barrister was not given any instructions. Her honour judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke sentenced Devney to three years and four months in prison.

Description

This Derby voyeur secretly filmed a female carrying out sex acts so he could watch them for his own gratification. Derby Crown Court heard how Lucas Smith’s victim had no idea he had caught her on camera and viewed what she was doing.

But his offending came to light and he was charged with multiple counts of voyeurism. Now, the want-to-be university student is on the sex offender register for the next five years.

Handing him a nine-month community order, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “You summed this offending up best yourself when you said what you did was stupid. It was really, really, stupid.

“You recorded it and she did not know but importantly you weren’t going to do anything with it such as share it or put it on the internet. You did it for your own gratification and you can’t do things like that.

"It was stupid, it was also criminal and I am going to sentence you for being stupid but at least you spared her from having to come to court and give evidence.”

Dawn Smith said the offending took place when Smith, formerly of Lismore Court, Sinfin, and who gave the court a new address of William Street, in the city centre, was a teenager.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism. Anna Soubry, mitigating, said her client lives with his father and grandparents and hopes to go to university this autumn.

Judge Smith told him: “When you go to university you will have to go to the local police station there and tell them where you will be living and you will need to tell the probation service where you are living.” The victim’s identity is protected by law.

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Fernando Camutari, 41, lured his 21-year-old victim back to his home in Sheffield after a night out in the early hours of June 8, 2019.

She was able to call 999 on the rapist’s phone and she could be heard on the call pleading with Camutari to stop.

Police raced to the home on Mordaunt Road and arrested him as he and the victim were leaving the property.

Camutari denied the allegations throughout. At first he insisted the woman hadn’t been inside the house, despite CCTV showing them going in together.

He then denied any sexual activity had taken place – but forensic evidence proved otherwise.

Camutari was charged in 2020 with one count of rape and two of sexual assault.

Description

A Welshman filmed himself performing a sex act on a bus in sight of a young girl sitting nearby. The offending only came to light after former steelworker Christopher Howells lost his phone outside a rugby club and it was found by a passer-by.

When the Good Samaritan looked at the phone to see if he could find the owner's details he saw photographs which troubled him, and he immediately took the device to the police. Sending the 58-year-old to prison a judge told the defendant it was clear he had gained sexual gratification from his behaviour on the bus.

The judge said he had no doubt relived the experience while watching the footage over again. He also noted that Howells had been assessed as posing a high risk of harm to children.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on June 17 this year a man walking near Pyle rugby club noticed a mobile phone on the ground and stopped to pick it up. He said the man took the device home with the intention of seeing if he could identify its owner and return it.

But when he looked at the phone he saw pictures of a young girl on a bus - photographs which were taken from behind and which appeared to have been taken without the child's knowledge. The man immediately took the phone to Bridgend police station, and there officers carried out a full examination of the device.

On the phone police found a three-minute video clip showing a man performing the sex act on himself on a bus while sat across from a young girl. The court heard the child, who could see what was happening, has never been identified.

The prosecutor said police also found a photograph of the defendant's driving licence on the phone, and that led them to Howells' front door. The defendant was arrested and subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview.

Christopher Howells, of Ffordd y Goedwig, Pyle, Bridgend , had previously pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He had also originally been charged with outraging public decency - an offence contrary to common law - but the prosecution did not pursue that charge.

The defendant has previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and for failing to provide a specimen for analysis.. John Allchurch, for Howells, said the references before the court painted a picture of a decent and hard-working man.

He said his client had cared for his mother for many years and under the burden of those responsibilities had turned to drink. The advocate said at the time of the offending Howells had lost his job at the steelworks and was drinking a bottle of vodka a day.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said it was clear that Howells had derived sexual enjoyment from the what was happening on the bus. He said that enjoyment was no doubt repeated when the defendant subsequently watched back the footage he had shot.

The judge noted that the author of the pre-sentence report on the defendant had concluded that due to factors including the nature of the offending, Howells' attitude, and his mistrust of professionals, he posed a high risk of harm to children. Judge Thomas jailed Howells for 15 months.

The defendant will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Howells will be a registered sex offender for the next ten years, and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period of time.

Description

Daniel Hudson aged 35, was sentenced on Thursday at Leeds Crown Court for the offences, which occurred at an address in Leeds against a 14-year-old girl.

Hudson, from the Lupset area, was found guilty of five sexual offences against the victim.

The trial heard how Hudson had befriended the victim, buying gifts and food for her to make her think she was in a romantic relationship with him. It also heard how the sexual abuse had started once he had secured her trust. 

Detectives in Wakefield opened an investigation in June 2020 after reports were received of Hudson’s offending. 

Detective Constable Ashleigh Gath-Clark, said:

“This has been a complex investigation spanning over three years.

“Daniel Hudson was responsible for a catalogue of appalling sexual abuse against this vulnerable child.

“These were awful offences that he committed, and I would like to commend the victim for their courage and bravery in coming forward and reporting the offences to the police at a young age. 

“This was a challenging investigation and I welcome the sentence that has been passed. I hope that it provides reassurance to the victim and their family, as well as the wider community.”

Description

A former police officer has been jailed for more than seven years for sexual offences against a vulnerable 13-year-old girl he met online.

Haider Siddique, 22, was arrested after a bus driver spotted him acting inappropriately in March last year.

He had joined West Midlands Police in 2021 as a student officer and the force called his offences "sickening".

The NSPCC said his "targeted grooming and sexual abuse of a vulnerable girl was a terrible breach of trust".

It added: "Having undertaken training to become a police officer, Siddique should have known the devastating impact child sexual abuse can have on the victims."

It also commended the bus driver for speaking up.

At Birmingham Crown Court in January, Siddique pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual activity with a child, and resigned while in custody.

The force said an expedited misconduct hearing was held in private after his guilty plea and he would have been dismissed if he had not resigned.

It also said he had never been deployed in an operational role.

Deputy Chief Constable Scott Green said: "This was a sickening criminal act by a former student officer and I know his fellow officers will be repulsed by his behaviour."

As well as his prison sentence, Siddique will be on the Sex Offender Register for life.

He is also subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from internet contact with anyone under 16 and barring any unsupervised contact with anyone under 16, unless their parents are aware of the offences.

Description

A man who installed a spy cam in a staff bedroom then claimed he hadn’t been ‘perving’ on female colleagues has been spared prison.

Steven Bradley’s lie that the hidden camera had not been working was unmasked when police found a series of clips, including one showing the 47-year-old installing the equipment.

The former care home worker admitted voyeurism but denied possession of a series of indecent images of children that were found on his wife’s iPad and another computer device.

He was convicted last month, with jurors rejecting his claims that he had no idea how the vile material got on his electronic equipment.

Summing up the case to the jury, Judge Michael Gledhill KC suggested there was no such thing as the ‘porn fairy’, a mystical creature claimed by teenage boys to leave filthy material in woods.

Bradley returned to Oxford Crown Court on Friday (August 11), when he was given a six month suspended prison sentence with 150 hours’ unpaid work.

Prosecuting, Brian Reece said Bradley had contacted a colleague in 2021 apologising for ‘betraying her trust’ and saying she would not see him again.

It transpired he had hidden a ‘spy camera’ in a staff bedroom at a supported living block. He claimed he had ‘seen nothing’ as it did not work, although that later proved to be a lie and the device was working.

The court heard Bradley told another of his female colleagues that he was ‘into her’, Mr Reece said. “[He] enquired if he had a chance with her. He didn’t.”

When his devices and an iPad belonging to his wife were analysed, they revealed he had more than 200 indecent images of children although only one apiece in the worst categories of A and B.

Mitigating, barrister James Hay said Bradley suffered from an ‘adjustment disorder’, a mental health condition affecting his ability to cope with stressful situations. His partner was standing by him.

Sentencing, Judge Gledhill told the defendant he should have accepted legal advice and pleaded guilty to the three counts of possession of indecent images.

“It was complete nonsense,” he said of the man’s defence. “Who else could have put them there but yourself?”

Bradley, of Haydon Road, Didcot, will remain on the sex offender register for seven years. He was given a sexual harm prevention order limiting his access to the internet.

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A man has been given a 16-year prison sentence for a string of sexual crimes and violent offences in Lincoln.

Jud Green was found guilty of several offences, including two rapes, sexual assault, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment after a trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

Green, 34, was also given an extended period of six years on licence under supervision upon his release.

Det Insp Lee Nixon described Green's crimes as "horrific".

Police said Green, of no fixed address, had been arrested after a woman came forward in December 2022 to say he had physically and sexually assaulted her and raped her.

While Green was on bail, a second woman reported Green had assaulted her and broken her jaw.

As a result, he was arrested again before being charged and remanded into custody.

'Never shown remorse'

Following his trial, Green was found guilty of two rapes, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, sexual assault, witness intimidation, false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He had denied those charges, but he admitted criminal damage and intentional strangulation.

After Green's sentencing at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday, Det Insp Nixon, from Lincolnshire Police, said: "Jud Green has been brought to justice after carrying out these horrific crimes.

"He has never shown remorse for the harm he caused to the victims.

"I want to pay tribute to the bravery of the victims coming forward to report these crimes, and whose evidence was absolutely vital in securing this outcome."

Green's victims had "shown incredible courage", Det Insp Nixon added.

Description

A depraved nurse who ran a respiratory ward during the Covid crisis turned to online sex offences for 'comfort' - keeping a hoard of sick images and sharing obscene stories about children.

Rebecca Ruler, 32, kept a hoard of sadistic child abuse images and published sick sexual articles about children and babies for a group of paedophiles, a court heard.

Preston Crown Court heard that Ruler had been on the frontline of the Covid crisis, working as a ward manager at Royal Bolton Hospital. Kim Obrusik, defending, said: "It was the worst time in recent history that someone could be working on those wards."

But, prosecuting, Peter Barr said: "It was she who initiated the discussions by expressing her sexual interest in children. There was no evidence of coercion."

Ruler has now been handed a suspended prison sentence, reports LancsLive. Mr Barr told Preston Crown Court that between April 2021 and April 2022, Ruler downloaded 151 category A child abuse pictures, along with a further 101 at category B and 134 category C images.

She also created five obscene articles into an internet chat with five paedophiles. When questioned, she claimed the conversation was instigated by a man she was in an online relationship with and she was using the chat to impress him.

Ms Obrusik said Ruler had mild depression which was aggravated by her work, as she saw patients she had cared for dying alone, without their family or friends, on a daily basis. "As we come out of the pandemic it is easy to forget the horrors of what was occurring. The demands, both physically and emotionally, can not be quantified."

Ruler's relationship broke down, she began struggling with her body image and she found it difficult to confide in people close to her.

"She encouraged the contact from males in respect of these types of discussions as she realised this was a way to receive male attention", Ms Obrusik said. "She was feeling that she would never gain any sexual interest from males and this is how she got that interest."

Judge Richard Gioserano said: "Seeking comfort from strangers is one thing but she knew these were paedophiles."

A pre-sentence report stated Ruler, who now works in a supermarket, has "significant remorse for her actions". "Prior to this she was a woman of exemplary character, working in a job that is known to be very giving through what was and remains to be the most difficult period for the NHS in living memory", Ms Obrusik said.

Ruler, of Springfield Road, Coppull, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images and five counts of publishing an obscene article.

Sentencing, Judge Gioserano said: "I have asked myself how it is that your thinking became not just distorted but so depraved that you committed these eight offences. I will start by stating the obvious: distorted thinking, no matter how depraved, does not in itself attract a criminal sanction.

"It may of course attract moral outrage but moral outrage is no basis for sentence. You are not being sentenced for distorted thinking or depraved thinking in itself. You are being sentenced for acting on that thinking by downloading indecent images and engaging in messaging about sadistic and sexual abuse of very young children.

"I have assessed the risk that your messages could have depraved and corrupted others that might have read it. It is possible that the recipients could have shared your messages with other paedophiles but that was not your intention. There was no intention that your messaging, as depraved as it was, should go beyond the five people in the chat.

"I am asked to consider whether your work as a nurse on a respiratory ward during Covid played a part. I do not wish to underestimate the emotional and physical impact upon you. It clearly did take its toll, not only on you but on your relationship with your partner. It might have been that that was what led you to seeking comfort from strangers but that is not necessarily uncommon. People in difficult emotional circumstances may take value from anonymous online contact with strangers.

"This is not a court of morals. I am not here to judge that. But you moved from that sort of contact to active criminal contact with paedophiles. Even if the distortion in your thinking could somehow be explained by the emotional toll of your work at the time, I can not see how that can mitigate for your offending."

He handed Ruler a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered her to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work. She must also complete 35 days of rehabilitation activities including a one-to-one sex offenders course, and has been made subject to a five year sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders' register.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council confirmed they are aware of the sentencing.

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A disgraced PE teacher who had sex with a former pupil has been jailed.

Steven Laverty was banned from teaching 10 years ago after his wrongdoing first came to light. But he has only now faced justice over his sickening sexual activity with the girl, whose life was said to have been "destroyed" by the abuse of trust.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court previously heard that the now 48-year-old had sex with the ex-student during the noughties after she had left the school where he taught, but while she was still under age of 16. Laverty falsely claimed that she had been aged 16 at the time.

Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, described how the teenager was left self-harming and feeling "isolated" as a result of his offending. She was also said to have been left under a "dark shadow which she feels has destroyed her life".

Laverty, of Stuart Road in Walton, was previously banned from the profession after he was found to have "showed a failure to observe proper boundaries in relation to his professional position" in a "clear abuse of trust". But he did not face prosecution at this time as he had instructed his victim to tell investigators that she was 16 when they had sex.

This was despite a panel having found that the dad-of-two had also "grabbed a 14-year-old boy in the groin" during a PE lesson. Laverty then took a temporary job as an arts teacher at a school in Greater Manchester, where "he pushed a 12-year-old pupil out of a classroom and pulled another across a floor".

He has no previous convictions. Charlotte Kenny, defending, told the court yesterday afternoon: "The court heard very clear evidence on the fact that the defendant was drinking heavily around this time and evidence about the very unfortunate circumstances of his mother's death and the impact that had on him.

"The defendant says, as a result of that, he internally went off the rails. This was a gross error of judgement at a time when the defendant was in a very dark place, coming to terms with the death of his mother in the most tragic circumstances.

"This offence happened a long time ago now. Mr Laverty has been an excellent father.

"He is still in employment and he had been invited back to work in all the circumstances. He can continue to provide."

Laverty was found guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child by a jury and cleared of a further nine counts. He was locked up for three years on Thursday and told to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: "You knew she had been your pupil. The jury were sure you did not reasonably believe she was 16.

"The fact you find yourself in this situation after all these years is entirely of your own making. It is clear she has been deeply traumatised by what happened to her.

"I cannot conclude that you are genuinely fully remorseful. The only remorse you have is for the situation you find yourself in now."