Latest Offenders

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A cowardly sex offender who groomed a teenage girl has been put behind bars for 10 years.

Thirty-two-year-old Thomas Todd befriended the victim and bought her presents before sexually assaulting her in 2017.

The victim courageously spoke to police officers in May 2018 after telling her mother Todd had abused her.

Todd refused to admit his offending to police and subjected the victim to a trial and lengthy court proceedings.

He then failed to attend court for the final days of the trial and was tracked down by police in Scotland following a manhunt.

Todd, of HMP Nottingham, was found guilty of sexual assault and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court.

He was jailed for a total of 10 years when he appeared for sentencing on Friday (1 December).

Todd’s offending began in the summer of 2017 when he started sending the victim messages asking her where she was and who she was with.

She later told detectives he treated her like ‘his girlfriend’ even though he was aware of her age.

He bought her gifts and sexually assaulted her when they were left alone.

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A convicted sex offender covertly attached a tiny camera to a woman's clothing so he could secretly film "upskirt" videos of her.

The illicitly filmed footage was found on Brian Cocker's mobile phone, along with a stash of child porn material filed as "Candid Teens." Cocker, 36, was banned from playparks and other areas frequented by children as part of a conduct order imposed at Perth Sheriff Court.

He was told to carry out 200 hours unpaid community work and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and under social work supervision for three years. The court was told that the spycam material - which clearly identified a female known to Cocker - was found during a routine visit by police officers.

Cocker, from Perth, admitted that between 20 April and 19 July 2021 he operated equipment beneath a woman's clothing to enable himself to observe her genitals, buttocks or underwear. He admitted doing it to obtain images of her bending over and trying to photograph her genital area without her knowledge or consent.

He also admitted a charge of having indecent images of children between 25 November 2020 and 24 July 2021. Cocker was first placed on the Sex Offenders Register in 2014 for grooming a 15-year-old girl for sex in a course of conduct which led to him being jailed for ten months.

He plied the youngster with alcohol during "frequent" sessions, despite knowing she was under-age. Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said police called on Cocker at home and he handed over his mobile, containing the folder of sickening child porn images.

The children depicted were as young as 14, and a further probe found the voyeuristic pictures of the woman who had been "upskirted" by Cocker.

Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: "He has been engaging with the Stop It Now programme, of his own volition, attending 30 sessions on a voluntary basis. He has expressed significant regret and remorse. Mr Cocker has a previous conviction for similar behaviour from 2014. For ten years he has managed not to engage in that kind of offending.

"He appreciates that had the previous case been more recent, a custodial sentence would have been inevitable, but it has been ten years and there are alternatives available."

Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC: "I note from the reports before me that you are at medium risk of sexual reoffending. You will have been made aware that a custodial sentence was at the forefront of my mind."

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A pensioner was found with a mirror as he attempted to spy on two young sisters while they were in showers at a Cromer holiday park.

Trevor Cator, 67, was seen by one of the girls on all fours after trying to peer under cubicles at Cromer Caravan Park.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told that he had claimed to police that a mirror found in his possession had been to read text on his mobile phone.

Stuart Cowen, prosecuting, said: “If you use a mirror for that the text will be backwards. The crown says there was a more sinister use.”

The two sisters, aged nine and 11, had been on holiday at the campsite on August 8 when they went into female toilets to use shower cubicles.

Mr Cowen said: “One of the girls heard something outside so she put a towel on and opened the door and saw the defendant on all fours within one of the toilets.”

She alerted her parents who confronted Cator who had fled into the male toilets and locked himself in a cubicle, the court heard

He later claimed to police that he had been caught short and rushed into the toilets without checking whether they were male or female.

Cator, of Barkers Herne in Cromer, pleaded guilty to attempted voyeurism.

The court was told he had previously been convicted of spying on two young girls changing in a cubicle at a Hemsby holiday park in 2013.

David Foulkes, mitigating, said there was no evidence his latest offence was more than an attempt at voyeurism. 

“What he saw was a girl emerging from a shower cubicle wearing a towel. He did not see into the cubicle and no recording was taking place,” he added. 

Committing him to be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on January 8, magistrates told Cator: "These girls should have been in a safe place. This offence is so serious you need a greater punishment than we can give." 

He was given conditional bail banning him from any UK campsite and any public showers.

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A man has been jailed for years after he stabbed another man in the back following a brawl. 

Florin Suta, 41, of Green Street, High Wycombe, was jailed for stabbing a man in the back in High Wycombe.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of Section 18 wounding with intent, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and failing to comply with notification requirements at a hearing at Aylesbury Crown Court on September 7.

He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday, December 1 and he will be on licence for two years after his release.

The attack happened following an altercation involving several people on Green Street at about 11.50pm on July 14.

READ MORE: ‘Illegal' tobacco and vapes are seized in Aylesbury

On arrival, police officers located the victim, a man in his thirties, with a stab wound to his back.

Several members of the public identified Suta at the scene and notified officers that he was in possession of a knife, so they arrested him.

CCTV footage showed that as the victim left an address along Green Street, Suta emerged from an adjacent alleyway and stabbed the victim once in the back.

The victim escaped and he was pursued along the road by Suta, who then fell over.

After arresting Suta, officers discovered he had been living at a different address to the one he provided and he had failed to notify the police.

He is a registered sex offender, meaning one of his requirements is to notify police of a chance of address within three days of any change.

Suta was charged the following day.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Will Blundell, of South Buckinghamshire CID, said: “Suta attacked the victim with a knife in a targeted attack intending to cause injury. He then pursued the victim, who was running away from him, and was only prevented from causing further harm when he fell over.

“Suta remained in possession of the knife whilst he himself made a call to the police during which he showed no remorse for his actions.

“A large number of members of the public came out onto the street due to the disturbance and thankfully, no one else was injured as Suta continued to walk along the road armed with the knife prior to officers arriving.

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A pet-collecting paedophile who sexually abused two youngsters has been jailed for 27 years.

Fraser Brennan subjected the children to sickening abuse which has left both of them traumatised. Newcastle Crown Court heard the 35-year-old was previously convicted of sexually assaulting two other youngsters when he was 15 or 16 years old. He got a community order for that then was cautioned twice for breaching a sex offender registration requirement.

In relation to the latest case, the court heard Brennan kept a selection of animals, including a bearded dragon, snake and rabbits and he admitted the pets were attractive to children, although a judge said it was unclear whether he kept them for that purpose.

Brennan denied offending against the victims but was convicted of two counts of assault by penetration on one of them and attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration on the other.

The abuse came to light after a school teacher was alerted and Brennan was arrested. He continues to deny any wrongdoing.

In a victim impact statement, one youngster said they are "more angry than ever" and has self-harmed. They added that they'll never forget it but hopes to use the experience to grow stronger.

The second victim said they have not been happy since the abuse and has depression, anxiety and has self-harmed.

Judge Christopher Prince jailed Brennan, of Camperdown, North Tyneside, for 27 years with an extended licence period of a further six years. He will also have to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Fiona Lamb, defending, said: "There's a different side to this defendant. His family are supportive of him."

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A man who raped a woman and forced her to have sex with other men while he watched has been jailed.

Gary Shaw also sexually assaulted another woman and engaged in controlling and coercive behaviour towards her.

He forced his victims to bravely recount their ordeals after denying the offences – but a jury at Derby Crown Court saw through his lies and after a trial in September found him guilty of rape, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent, controlling and coercive behaviour and sexual assault.

The 53-year-old, of Market Place, Belper, was sentenced on 15 November when he was jailed for 12 years and handed restraining orders banning him from having any contact with the women. He must also sign the sex offender’s register for life.

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A Trowbridge man jailed after sexually abusing young girl over six-year period.

65-year-old Richard Webb was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault at a four-day trial held at Winchester Crown Court.

The offending took place between 1996 and 2002. On 20 November, he was handed eight years’ imprisonment.

“I feel as though those years are lost to me. It feels like I have disassociated myself from most of my childhood”, the victim said.

“He ruined my life. I don’t think I will ever get over what he did to me. I will forever be trying to deal with the abuse I suffered.”

DC Lauren Barnard, from Wiltshire Police, said: “It is clear from the impact statement from the victim just how much she has suffered and continues to suffer to this day as a result of the abuse inflicted upon her by Webb.

“His actions have deprived someone of a happy childhood, purely for his own sexual gratification. His actions are abhorrent and I am pleased he will now serve a custodial sentence for his behaviour.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the victim for bravely reporting her ordeal to police – this was the first time she had ever spoken to anybody about exactly what she had been through.

“Without her bravery, we would not have been able to put Webb before the courts for justice to be served.”

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A depraved paedophile has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty by a jury of multiple sex offences against a child.

Scott Daniels abused the youngster, who bravely told her mother of her ordeal.

The victims mother informed Northumbria Police, and officers immediately launched an investigation into Daniels.

He was arrested and in interview denied that any of the offences against the victim had taken place.

Daniels, 37, was charged with three or more counts of rape of a child, three or more counts of sexual penetration and two or more counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, all relating to the same victim.

He denied all of the offences but was convicted by a jury following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in August, after which he was remanded in custody.

Last Friday, December 1, Daniels, of St Johns Green, North Shields, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a five-year licence period.

Daniels was also handed a restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim and given a sexual harm prevention order. He will also remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Natasha Wilson, of Northumbria Police, said: First and foremost, I would like to pay tribute to the victim in this case who, along with their family, has shown tremendous bravery.

No child should ever have to experience any type of abuse, and I hope this sentence shows we will absolutely not tolerate offenders like Daniels by bringing them to justice.

Det Con Wilson added: Daniels is a dangerous individual and it is only right that he is removed from the community and put behind bars for a considerable period of time where he cannot cause harm or suffering to anyone else.

As a Force, we will continue to protect our communities by pursing predators such as him, preventing these vile offences from being carried out and offering any necessary support to anyone who comes forward.

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Kieran O’Connor, of Dorleigh Court, Cwmbran, breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order given by Newport Crown Court on September 9, 2020, after sending messages to two teenage girls on Facebook.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the 21-year-old had been placed into a hotel as part of his prevention order.

However, the hotel had a smart TV enabling O’Connor to access Facebook and communicate with children.

Via Facebook O’Connor asked a 14-year-old to meet and do "dirty stuff". He also contacted a 15-year-old girl.

Judge Shomon Khan said: “You have been given chances before.

“Everyone has tried to work really hard for you, you are very determined to reoffend and are unmanageable in the community.”

The court also heard how O’Connor’s family had tried to ban O’Connor’s access to the internet and regularly changed their passwords.

O’Connor was jailed for 20 months for both offences to run concurrently, he was also ordered to pay a court surcharge of £156 three months after his release.

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Adam Dupuis was convicted of a catalogue of sexual offences against six victims, two of whom were aged under 16.

The offences, committed between 2014 and 2020, included sexual assault by penetration, sexual assault, exposure and non-penetrative sexual activity.

Dupuis, 57, of Acrefield, Preston, had denied the charges but was found guilty after a two-week trial at Preston Crown Court.

He was jailed for ten years and eight months and ordered to sign the sex offender register for life.

DC Lisa Hough, of South CID, said: “First and foremost I would like to commend the bravery of these victims who, after being abused by Dupuis were then forced by him to relive their ordeal by giving evidence at court.

“I welcome this significant sentence which takes a dangerous sexual predator off the streets for a significant time.

“I hope that this sentence may give other victims the confidence to come forward and speak to us safe in the knowledge that we will investigate professionally and sensitively and will do our best to put offenders before the courts.”

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Pervert Steven Hawkes was caught with horrific child abuse photos - after serving time for similar offending. The 42-year-old was jailed for 16 months in 2019 after he took personal photographs off customers’ computers at a Currys PC World store for his own sexual gratification.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard at the time he secretly copied hard drives while transferring shoppers’ data from their old devices to new ones which they had bought from the retail giant. He then viewed customers’ photographs – including a teenage girl’s school prom and pictures of women's breasts – at his home.

As part of the investigation, thousands of indecent images and films of children and extreme pornography featuring sex between humans and animals were also uncovered. He pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornographic images, computer misuse and possessing cannabis.

But he received no help to address his problem and in December 2021, while misusing alcohol, he returned to perverted ways. Now Hawkes has been sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court as the judge wants to give him a chance to receive treatment to address his issues.

Prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal said police received intelligence that the defendant's IP address had been used in connection with indecent images of children. They visited his address in Langley Street, Basford, at 7am on December 9, 2021.

Mr Dhaliwal said: "They seized two devices, a tablet and a mobile phone. They were analysed by experts. The tablet contained no indecent images. However there was evidence the device had been used to access folders regarding child sexual abuse."

Police recovered six accessible category A moving images from the phone; two category B movies; 58 prohibited still images and one moving image of a child; and one extreme pornographic image.

In his police interview in March this year Hawkes said he was misusing alcohol at the time. He said he was looking for that material so the police would arrest him and send him to custody.

Hawkes, of Langley Street, Basford, pleaded guilty to two charges of making indecent images of children; possession of a prohibited image of children and possession of an extreme pornographic image.

Hamish Noble, mitigating, said this offending was less serious than the 2019 matters but conceded his client's position was precarious because of his previous convictions. He said Hawkes did not receive much help to address his problem when in custody. He was released in April 2020, during lockdown, and had just two face-to-face meetings with probation in a 12-month period.

He said Hawkes is fortunate to have the support of his parents. But his finances were in a mess and he returned to alcohol misuse. Mr Noble said: "His position was quite bleak. He had no work, no money, debts, no relationship, and poor mental health. Alcohol may have acted as a disinhibitor."

Mr Noble said the offending happened during a two-week period. Hawkes has since consolidated his debts and reduced his alcohol consumption. Mr Noble added: "He recognises that is an issue. He can be punished in the community. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."

As part of the suspended sentence Hawkes must complete an iHorizon course; a rehabilitation activity requirement for 25 days and 160 hours unpaid work.

Judge Graeme Smith said: "This case is unusual because normally people who are found with indecent images are initially given a suspended sentence with a treatment requirement. If they then re-offend they are sent to custody.

"In your case, you were sent to custody the first time you offended. You were not given any assistance by way of treatment. The purpose of the court is not just punishment but also rehabilitation.

"The fact you have re-offended in exactly the same way would normally lead to immediate custody. However, the extent of your offending is less than on the first occasion and it is much shorter in terms of length. There has been a significant delay since your arrest in December 2021."

Hawkes was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

Judge Smith added: "This is to rehabilitate you as well as punish you. If you are unwilling or unable to change, be in no doubt what will happen next time, custody."

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A “high risk” sex offender who abused young girls from the 1970s up until his arrest in 2021 has been jailed for 14 years.

Grenville Blower, 66, had denied abusing three pre-teen and teenage girls in the 1970s, 1990s and between 2017 and 2021.

Sentencing him to an extended 14-year sentence at Norwich Crown Court, Judge Katharine Moore said: “I regard you as a dangerous offender with a pattern of persistent and repeated behaviour.

“Plainly you are sexually attracted to pre-pubescent and young pubescent girls.”

Blower, of Lexham Road in Litcham, near Dereham, was convicted of 10 counts of indecent assault.

He abused the first victim on "multiple occasions" some when she was aged under 13 and he was 15 but others when he was aged over 18. 

Philip Farr, prosecuting, said it was "repeated and persistent" activity which happened on "several occasions".

His second victim was also assaulted multiple times in the 1990s when he touched her while she was just 14.

The third victim was aged between six and 11 when she was abused by the defendant when he was aged in his 60s

One of the victims read out a statement stating she has "cried myself to sleep thinking about what he has done to me".

She said any time she thinks about what happened it "makes me upset" adding that ever since it happened she has been "scared of old men" not knowing whether they wanted to do the same things to her.

Another victim said he had tried to "bury so, so deep" what he had done to her as she "didn't think anyone would believe me" but had been in "utter turmoil" as a result of what the "monster" did to her.

She said the "horrific events" she had been through as a result of this "devastating ordeal" would never leave her.

Another of the victims said she had "kept this to myself" for decades and wished she had the courage to have come forward sooner.

Judge Katharine Moore said a probation report had described Blower as “high risk” and “in denial” about his offending. 

She said the passage of time “makes it difficult now to assess your maturity” when he began offending in the 1970s aged 15 but from age 18 he was “highly culpable”.

Making him subject to a 20-year sexual harm prevention order, she said it was clear his “sexual interest in young girls remains undimmed”.  

Stephen Mather, for Blower, said he is a “simple man” who is "not in the best of health" and was experiencing prison for the first time.

He added that he knew he needed to be punished but insisted these matters were the "only offending" he had committed.

He will serve nine years in prison and five years on licence and will be subject to sexual offending notification requirements indefinitely.

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A Wirral man has been jailed today, Tuesday 5 December, for kidnapping and breaching an order.

Robert Byrne, 56 years, of Fountain Street, Birkenhead was sentenced to five years and four months in prison with five years on extended licence after he pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was also issued with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order with three further conditions added.

A deprivation order has been issued in relation to clothing and radio seized by Merseyside Police.

The court heard that in February a 13-year-old boy was upset and had entered a Liverpool city centre shop in the early of hours of the morning, asking the shopkeeper to contact police as he was reported missing.

While reporting it to police via phone the shopkeeper saw Byrne walk past the shop and asked for his assistance, as Byrne had previously identified himself as an undercover police officer.

Wearing clothes similar to a police uniform, Byrne took the teenage victim to a nearby fast-food place where police officers tracked him down and arrested him.

Police took the young victim safely home.

After Byrne’s arrest, several items consistent with a police uniform were seized.

The investigation was led by Detective Inspector Victoria Tinsley from the Sex Offender Unit who ensure that sex offenders living in the community are closely monitored.

She said: “This was very disturbing incident where Byrne preyed up on the young victim’s circumstances of being vulnerable and upset.

“What was also alarming was that Byrne had previously told retailers that he was a police officer working undercover. This showed the lengths his predatory behaviour would go to in order to win the trust members of the public by impersonating a police officer. 

“Thankfully genuine police officers quickly tracked Byrne down, and the young victim was taken safely home before any potential harm came to him.

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A convicted sex offender failed to tell police of his whereabouts while living in a tent on the streets of Norwich.

Jon Hannon, 36, is required to inform police where he was living after being placed on the sex offenders register for life following a conviction in 2014.  

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told that when someone is homeless they are required to update police about their location every week.   

But the whereabouts of Hannon was not been known after he failed to keep police informed while living in a tent in April this year and on a second occasion when he was evicted from a homeless hostel.

Sally Harris, prosecuting, said: “You will appreciate how important it is for an offender of this type that the police do know exactly where he is residing.”

Hannon pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements.

He also admitted breaching a 24 week suspended prison sentence imposed after he was convicted for actual bodily harm in March.

The court was told he has 10 previous convictions for 19 offences including other breaches of court orders. 

Jonathan Perkins, mitigating, said on both occasions when he failed to notify police he had found himself abruptly homeless.

“Normally when a person is subject to notification orders they have annual sign-ins but when a person is homeless they are subject to a weekly notification with the police even if their tent is pitched in the same area as it was the week before,” he said. 

“So we have the unfortunate situation where those with the most unstable and precarious lives, who are generally the most vulnerable, have a burden that weighs on them 52 times more heavily than those with a place they can call their own.”  

Hannon was fined £240 and told to pay costs of £166. 

Magistrates told him: “Regardless of it being a burden, you must report to the police whether you like it or not.” 

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A man who attempted to incite a teenager into a sexual act when she was a passenger in his taxi has been given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Dale Purchase, aged 29, of Townshend Avenue in Plymouth, appeared before Plymouth Magistrates Court on Monday 4 December after being found guilty of Harassment on Friday, November 3.

The offences took place on January 12, 2023, where, across two separate taxi journeys, Purchase repeatedly made inappropriate and sexualized comments towards the teenager by asking her to touch his genitals and making sexual advances toward her.

Purchase was given an 18-week prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, and received a restraining order banning him on contacting the victim.

Sergeant Tom Ottley said: We take the fear of violence against women and girls very seriously and work tirelessly to ensure we are bringing people to justice while safeguarding victims.

Despite this case not being a typical incident of harassment, the importance of women and girls feeling safe in our society cannot, and should not, be understated.

I would like to commend the victim for her engagement with our officers, who have been tenacious in their pursuit of justice.

The Sexual Harm Protection Order comes with a number of stringent prohibitions, which are aimed to prevent further offending and protect vulnerable people from harm. This is further proof that Devon & Cornwall Police will use all available measures to safeguard our communities and protect the vulnerable.