Latest Offenders

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A sexual predator from Finchley who filmed his offences has been found guilty a court following a Met investigation.

Ross Davidson, 36 (24.02.88) of Station Road, Finchley was found guilty on Thursday, 25 July of several sexual offences at Wood Green Crown Court.

A Met investigation began in 2019 when Davidson was arrested at his home and his personal devices were seized. After careful examination, officers discovered that Davidson had kept seven videos of himself raping and sexually assaulting his victims.

Following charge details of Davidson’s initial arrest being made public, officers identified four victim-survivors in total, who came forward to report rape, sexual assaults, voyeurism and controlling and coercive behaviour.

Detective Inspector Wendy Bassett, who led the investigation, said:

“This investigation has developed over many years with several victim-survivors coming forward at different stages.

"Our team have worked incredibly hard to evidence each incident, support the victims and bring Davidson to justice. We take every report of a sexual offence seriously and will do our utmost to investigate no matter when the incident occurred.

“Davidson is a prolific predatory offender with no regard or care for the impact he has had on the victims. I am pleased with this result and hope it goes some way in providing closure to the victims.”

One victim-survivor reported to police that in 2013 Davidson sexually assaulted and raped her after an evening together. Davidson raped her, ignoring her cries for him to stop, all of which he recorded on his phone.

The second and third victim-survivors were identified after recorded footage was discovered by police following Davidson’s initial arrest. The separate recordings showed both victims being sexually assaulted in their sleep.

The fourth victim-survivor came forward most recently in January 2023, recognising Davidson’s name in the news. Working with the victim to record her statement, officers were able to evidence she had been recorded in one of the videos on his phone without her consent.

Davidson has been convicted rape; two counts of sexual assault and voyeurism. He was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing on Friday, 6 September at Wood Green Crown Court.

The Met is doing more to address violence against women and girls and listening to victim-survivors to ensure that people have confidence to report these most awful crimes.

At the heart of our new approach in investigating rape, the Met have a greater focus on the suspect’s life, with a shift away from the ‘credibility’ of the victim-survivor. This means that the victim goes through a less invasive process when reporting an incident such as rape, which officers know is already an incredibly difficult time for them.

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Christopher Smith, 75, of Glasgow Road, Southsea, was locked up at Portsmouth Crown Court after being found guilty following a trial. 

The sick pervert was convicted of three counts of raping a male aged 16 or over, seven charges of sexual assault of a male aged 16 or above, and two counts of causing a boy to engage in sexual activity. He carried out the horrific crimes between August 2021 and April 2022.

The sex offender has to register with police indefinitely upon his release.

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A north London hotel worker raped a hotel guest and sexually assaulted other women by touching their feet as they slept.

Ahmed Fahmy, 45, abused his position as a member of staff at the Anchor Hotel on Golders Green’s West Heath Drive to carry out his sick offences, targeting two members of the same group in January this year.

On Thursday, Fahmy was convicted of one count of rape and three sexual assaults, one of which had taken place while he was working at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Newham in March 2022.

Police on Friday warned that there could be more victims, and urged them to come forward if so.

Hendon Magistrates Court heard how a group of four women were staying at the Anchor Hotel when they became separated on a night out with three of them returning.

When they got there, they realised they did not have the room key, and Fahmy demanded one of the women withdraw £80 from a cash machine so that she could stay in another room.

She got into bed fully dressed apart from her shoes and awoke to find Fahmy licking her foot.

She told him no and to go away, but she was then woken a second time to find him doing a similar thing. The woman kicked him and again told him to go away.

Later that morning, the fourth member of the group arrived back at the hotel and told Fahmy she had lost her key. He manoeuvred her into his bedroom where he raped her.

The offending came to light when the women moved to a different hotel immediately after. One of the women again was separated from her friends in Regent’s Park and became distressed.

A park staff member called the police but she could not tell them where her new hotel was, with officers suggesting they go back to the Anchor Hotel where they hoped to find contact details for her friends.

She then started crying and told the officers that she could not return to the hotel as the manager had raped her.

During the course of the investigation, detectives linked Fahmy to two other non-recent sexual assaults, which largely centred on him touching women’s feet, including a sex attack on a woman while on a date in 2008 in Wembley’s Alliance Close.

Met Detective Constable James Gomm, who led the investigation, said: “Fahmy displayed a clear pattern of offending where he abused his position as a hotel worker to get close to his victims and carry out his crimes.”

DC Gomm praised those who had shared what happened with police, saying: “Your bravery has helped put a sexual offender behind bars and protect other women.

“There may be other victims of Fahmy and, if so, I would urge them to get in contact with police immediately – you will be listened to and provided with support.”

Fahmy will be sentenced at the same court on September 20.

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An aspiring social media influencer has been jailed after admitting to a series of sex offences against two teenage girls.

Reaquain Palmer came to police attention at the end of July last year when one of his victims confided in staff at her school about a sexual relationship.

The schoolgirl had known of Palmer from his viral Tik Tok account and was later introduced to him in person.

Palmer, then aged 23, invited her back to his flat and had sex with her on three different occasions.

When he was arrested a short time later, he denied ever having sexual contact with her but also made it clear he believed her to be at least 16 years old.

He also denied calling another schoolgirl and attempting to engage her in a sexual act over the phone.

Incriminating mobile phone messages, however, revealed he was well aware of the first girl’s true age but had still maintained his pursuit of her.

As the investigation continued Palmer then made a clear threat to one of his victims in a misguided bid to undermine the case against him.

He later pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15. He also admitted to engaging in sexual communications with a child and intimidating a witness.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 25 July, Palmer, now aged 24, of Carlton Road, Nottingham, was jailed for three years and eight months.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will tightly control his online activities and access to children in the future.

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An Edinburgh man has been released from custody despite pleading guilty to sending sexual messages and images of his genitals to a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

Robert Agnew contacted a social media account who he believed belonged to the child before sending vile sexual comments and a picture of his penis on the WhatsApp messaging service.

Agnew was caught out after it emerged the person he was in contact with was a member of a paedophile hunter group who subsequently confronted him at his home in the Ratho area of the capital.

The online sting was live streamed on the groups Facebook page and 37-year-old Agnew was arrested and charged after the police were called in to deal with the situation.

Agnew appeared at the citys sheriff court following his arrest in March this year and was remanded in custody. He was back in the dock for sentencing on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to a charge of indecent communication during a court hearing last month.

Prosecutor Cheryl Porter told the court Agnew contacted a Facebook account in the name of 14-year-old Stacey Sugden from Manchester but was in fact operated by a member of the hunter group Fleetwood Enforcers UK.

Ms Porter said Agnew told the girl he was employed by Fedex as a warehouse worker and he had begun telling her she was very pretty and asked her to move the chat to WhatsApp.

The indecent communication continued over the following five days and Agnew sent messages including asking to meet up with the girl and making comments about her genitalia.

The court was told he also asked what kind of underwear she had on and had sent images of his erect penis asking Do you like the photos?. He also sent messages stating come and join me in my bed.

Members of the paedophile hunter group filmed the confrontation with Agnew when they attended his home at around 11pm on April 5 this year and the police were later contacted.

Solicitor Gillian Simpson, defending, said her client had not applied for bail following his arrest and although he admitted sending the messages he had no intention of meeting up with the girl.

Sheriff Charles Walls said Agnew had pleaded guilty to a very serious matter and though the contact was wholly inappropriate he had committed a non-contact offence.

The sheriff said: Although meeting up with a 14-year-old girl was discussed ultimately it is suggested this was just fantasy and there was no real intention to carry through with this.

Sheriff Walls released Agnew from custody and was placed him under the supervision of the social work department for three years as a direct alternative to custody.

Agnew was also sentenced to carry out 260 hours of unpaid work in the community and had his name added to the Sex Offenders Register for the next three years.

Agnew pleaded guilty to sending sexual communications to a 14-year-old girl, who was in fact an adult, at his home at Ratho, Edinburgh, between March 23 and 29 this year.

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A teenage rapist who loitered outside a gym before kidnapping a lone woman at knifepoint has been jailed.

Arselaan Nawaz, 17, had cycled to the car park in Oldham at around 6.30am and waited until the woman arrived in her car. He was seen on CCTV ‘loitering’ around the area as she parked further away from the entrance to the gym.

Due to the time of day she was alone as she got out of the car. Nawaz approached her and told her to hand over the keys to her car whilst brandishing a knife, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

He then ordered her into the backseat as she pleaded with him to let her go. He told her he would ‘kill her’ if she shouted or tried to run. He drove them to an industrial estate before getting into the back seat of the car where he ‘kissed’ her.

Summarising the case, the presiding judge said Nawaz left the woman with a bruise to her neck before ordering her to remove her clothes and putting on a condom.

Nawaz then raped the woman as she wept, telling her to “shut up and stop crying”. After the attack he demanded her mobile phone, and used her sock to clean the interior of the car.

He then ‘arrogantly’ kissed her before leaving with her phone. He was later arrested, and found to have put his SIM card into her phone.

The 17-year-old was convicted of rape and possession of a knife following a trial.

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A man who raped a 13-year-old girl in a hotel after befriending her on a beach has been jailed.

Matthew Tallentire attacked the girl after she visited Blackpool in the summer of 2020, Lancashire Police said.

The 32-year-old was convicted of two offences of rape and one of attempted rape following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Appearing for sentencing at the same court on Friday, Tallentire, formerly of Blackpool but now of no fixed address, was jailed for nine years.
Police said the girl had travelled to Blackpool with two adults, and Tallentire had befriended them on the resort's beach.

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A newly released sex offender has been sent back to jail after he tried to hire a sex worker while he was staying in a hostel in Cornwall.

Christopher Wheeler had only been free for four days and was under strict licence conditions when police examined a phone he had just bought.

They found he had changed its settings to delete its internet history, which he was banned from doing by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which had been imposed when he was sent to jail the previous year.

Police suspected he had already started using his new phone to search for child abuse images because a download of his last device had unearthed 524 photos or videos and he has previous convictions for accessing such material.

The two police officers and the hostel manager were in the middle of examining his new phone when a text appeared from a prostitute asking why Wheeler had failed to make a rendez-vous in Camborne an hour earlier.

He was arrested, not for trying to arrange sex with the woman, but for breaking the SHPO by deleting the phone’s internet history, which was forbidden explicitly by the order.

It is the second time Wheeler has been jailed for breaking the order, having been sentenced to 20 months last August for trying to destroy evidence of him contacting children in chat rooms.

Wheeler, aged 31, of East Hill, Tuckingmill, Camborne, admitted two breaches of the SHPO and three counts of making, by downloading, indecent images or movies of children.

He was jailed for a year and four months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court. He told him: “The police found the internet search history function turned off, disabling the retention of your online activity.

“You clearly had been engaging in activity online in the days since obtaining the phone but the full extent of that cannot be ascertained. That is why the order is there. I see from the pre-sentence report that you continue to deny a sexual interest in children.”

Mr Ed Bailey, prosecuting, said Wheeler was released from his previous sentence on May 10 this year and visited by his police offender manager at the Meneghy House hostel on May 14 after he told him he had bought a new phone.

A text message arrived before Wheeler handed over the phone and he managed to delete it before the officers could see it, falsely claiming it was from his father. A second text arrived as police were examining the phone which was from a prostitute and asking what was going on.

He had also used the phone to set up a new g-mail account without telling the police, something else which was banned by the SHPO.

The images offences arose from a full download of the Samsung phone seized from Wheeler when he was arrested in July 2023 for the SHPO breach which led to him being jailed the next month.

There were a total of 524 items of which 141 stills and 101 movies were in the most serious category, effectively showing children as young as two being raped.

Mr Nick Lewin, defending, said Wheeler is not tech savvy and does not know how the internet memory function was turned off. He said he should have been dealt with for the images offences when he was sentenced last year.

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A sex offender who spent four years in prison has pleaded guilty to 'misleading police' one year after being let out.

Stephen Thorpe, of no fixed address, introduced himself to Swindon Magistrates' Court on July 23 as his new alias Herbert Hudson, as he pleaded guilty to not complying with sex offender notification requirements.

By law, sexual offenders who do not have a fixed address are required to update police with their whereabouts every seven days.

But while Thorpe had been telling Swindon police every seven days that he was homeless, he failed to mention that he was in fact staying with a vulnerable woman.

“This is a serious charge," said prosecutor Adam Cooper.

"Mr Thorpe/Hudson is a previous sex offender with five convictions and eight offences across a period of more time.

“Thorpe has been living with a very vulnerable individual since Christmas 2023.

"She, in her witness statement, said she has a schizoaffective disorder which leaves her with paranoia and stress, and unable to judge people properly.

“In that time the defendant has repeatedly told police he is of no fixed abode. They then found him at this property.

“This man does pose a danger and a risk of further offending. He has knowingly misled police as to where he lives."

Thorpe's most recent sexual offence in 2019 was deemed so serious he spent four years in prison and served the whole term before being released in 2023.

But his defence lawyer Mark Glendenning pointed out that despite secretly staying with a vulnerable female in Swindon: "His previous convictions are sexual offences against males, not females."

“He accepts that he has been at that address for the time period that he has known this lady.

"He hasn't told this lady about his previous history and he considers himself as of no fixed abode."

Chair of the bench Peter Searle told Thorpe that due to his previous convictions, this offence was too serious to be dealt with in by magistrates and must be sent to Swindon Crown Court.

Thorpe has now been released on conditional bail with the condition that he does not make any contact, whether in person or online, with the vulnerable woman he had been living with.

He will reappear at crown court on August 30, and a pre-sentence report will also be ordered.

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A woman recognised her rapist and "took matters into her own hands" in order to bring him to justice. Kevin Knox spiked his victim's drink with sleeping tablets before sexually abusing her as she lay powerless to resist in her own bed.

Months later, the 33-year-old attempted to attack her again in an almost identical manner. But the quick-thinking complainant rumbled his depraved plot and swapped their drinks around, meaning that he "ended up essentially drugging himself".

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard that Knox raped the woman in August last year before returning to her flat for a second time three months later, leading to an incident which saw him break into the address and steal a kitchen knife. Gareth Roberts, prosecuting, described the "strange circumstances of the case", with the victim having been "supplementing her income" by working as an escort at the time.

Knox, of Maplewood in Kirkby, initially met her as a "potential client" via the website AdultWork. They were said to have "come to an arrangement that he would pay her a sum of money in return for sex", namely £1,750, but he "had no intention of paying".

He instead spiked the woman's vodka drink with zopiclone, a sleeping tablet which was subsequently found in her system, leaving her "feeling extremely groggy" and "rendering her pretty much incapable" before "forcefully" raping her in her own bed. Knox then allegedly stole her bank cards before leaving, although he was subsequently acquitted of charges in relation to this.

Then, in November, he contacted her again "asking if he could pay for her services" using a different phone number and a false name of "Danny". She however recognised him upon him subsequently attending her apartment once more and "decided to take matters into her own hands".

Knox again poured two drinks, but she switched their glasses without his knowledge. He then "started to demonstrate signs of having been drugged" and was subsequently dropped off at a petrol station by the woman.

However, he then returned to her now empty flat once more and smashed a window in order to gain entry before stealing a knife from the kitchen. Police officers then attended the scene and found Knox "wandering about in a communal area" and "stumbling around" with the weapon.

Zopiclone was then similarly found in his system following his arrest. Traces of his semen were also detected during swabs taken from the complainant following the first incident.

Mr Roberts told jurors: "The crown say that, in August, he went round to the flat of an escort intending to have sex, whether she liked it or not and whether he was able to pay or not. The crown say that he saw her as an easy touch and that, a couple of months later, he went round to the same address with the intention of doing exactly the same thing.

"This time, in a strange turn of events, he ended up essentially drugging himself. Then, he broke into her house and armed himself with a knife - thankfully, the police intervened before he could use it."

Robert Wyn Jones, appearing for the prosecution yesterday, told the court that Knox has a total of four previous convictions for eight offences including burglary, but none for sexual offences. He was however subjected to a sexual risk order in 2016 due to "sexually exploitative behaviour towards adolescents and young females" and his "inappropriate sexual interests".

Simon Christie, defending, told the court: "It is of note that his antecedents are for different matters. His only sentence of imprisonment was in September 2016, when he received four months for a wholly different matter.

"He is now in a completely different position, facing, with little experience of the system, a substantial prison sentence. These are serious matters. He is educated. He has been a worker in bars and warehouses.

"He has the benefit of substantial family support. His parents are in court today, and others have supplied references speaking of the other side to the defendant - a respectable family man, a hard worker and a person who people can rely on.

"The defendant is in relatively poor health. He has depression, ulcers for which he has had surgery, Bell's palsy and kidney stones."

Knox was found guilty of three counts of rape and one of burglary by a jury. He was jailed for 12 years, of which he must serve at least two thirds before becoming eligible for release, and handed an additional two years on licence.

Sentencing, Judge Ian Harris said: "In my judgement, you never intended to pay her anything. You spiked her drink in the way she alleged and used violence on her to have intercourse with her.

"She was incapable of fighting you off. She was trying to push you away, but you ripped her shorts off and were determined to have sexual intercourse.

"Testimonials say what a great person you are and how honest, trustworthy and helpful in your community you are. From my observations, I do not find you to be honest, helpful or trustworthy." Knox was also handed an indefinite restraining order. He will be required to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

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A predator who systematically abused a boy and a girl aged six and three has been handed an extended jail sentence.

Defiant Luke Hall continues to deny any wrongdoing but was convicted after a trial of 10 counts of abuse against the vulnerable children. The 27-year-old was deemed a danger to children and was handed the 15-year sentence at Leeds Crown Court.

This included two counts of assault by penetration, four of sexual assault of a child under 13 and four of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard that the abuse took place over a three-and-half-year period in the Wakefield area. No mitigation was offered by his barrister because he continues to “vehemently” deny the offences.

The judge, Recorder Matthew Happold told Hall that he “engaged in grooming behaviour” before carrying out sickening and degrading sexual acts on the terrified youngsters. Hall, formerly of Blenheim View, Woodhouse, but now of no fixed address, was only a teenager himself at the time.

He said: “It was clear from the trial, it was evident the psychological toll your abuse has had on the children. The jury found it very difficult to watch [the video evidence given by the young victims].

“You continue to deny your offending. The best points that can be made is that you were young at the time of the offending and having had a difficult childhood yourself.”

He gave Hall a 14-year jail sentence, with a one-year extended licence period. He must serve two-thirds of the sentence before being considered for parole, rather than at the usual half-way point.

He was also put on the sex offender register for life and given a lifelong sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

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A predatory paedophile spent decades sexually abusing and raping young children, a court has heard. HGV driver Christopher Murray subjected three girls and a boy to a catalogue of horrific abuse at a number of different locations including in the cab of his lorry.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that some of the abuse was first reported to police in the 1990s but Murray was not prosecuted and went on to continue his sexual offending. A judge said she had no doubt the 63-year-old defendant should be considered a dangerous offender, and made him subject to a 24-year extended sentence.

Ruth Smith, prosecuting, told the court Murray subjected his victims to repeated sexual assaults and rapes, often accompanied by threats and physical violence. In a number of the incidents the defendant punched the young girls in the face when they tried to stop him raping them. He also told his young victims that if they reported what was happening nobody would believe them because they were just children.

The abuse was in fact reported to the authorities in 1997 and the defendant was arrested but due to "evidential difficulties" he was not prosecuted. The court heard Murray went back to his campaign of sexual assaults and rapes at a number of locations around Gwent and also in the cab of his lorry - at the time Murray drove a lorry delivering frozen food.

The prosecutor told the court one of the victims would later recall the feeling of being "crushed" under the defendant's 16-stone body weight and the smell of his old Spice aftershave as he raped her. The abuse of the children was often accompanied by acts and words designed to humiliate his young victims.

The court heard the offending lasted more than a decade and only stopped when Murray was sent to prison in 2001 for sexually abusing other children. After being released from his sentence - and undergoing courses designed to tackle his paedophilia - he resumed offending against children.

In a series of powerful statements read to the court, the victims of Murray's abuse laid bare the impact of the offending. All the victims described how the defendant had stolen their childhoods and innocence, and how their adolescence and adult lives had been blighted by feelings of shame and guilt. One victim described how she had turned to drink and drugs to try to block out what had happened to her - this led her into risky behaviours and she said her family "spent years worried they would find me dead in a ditch".

Another talked of the "deeply embedded wounds" left by the abuse and how he "grew up overnight" while another said as a child she "lost hope" the abuse would ever end, and in later life developed obsessive compulsive disorder and an unhealthy relationship with food. Murray's fourth victim described how she turned to self-harming and had been left suffering with anxiety, depression, nightmares and flashbacks.

Christopher Andrew Murray, now of Heol Llansantffraid, Sarn, Bridgend, had previously pleaded guilty to 32 counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child, assault by penetration, and rape when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has 10 previous convictions for 25 offences including two indecent assaults of a child in 1985 and three indecent assaults of a child in 2001 for which he was sentenced to four years in prison.

Matthew Roberts, for Murray, said there was little of merit that could be said for the defendant but said he had pleaded guilty to the offences before the court and not, as some offenders do in such historical sex cases, decided to "chance his arm" with a trial and put the complainants through the "horrendous prospect" of having to give evidence. He said it was clear from the pre-sentence report that the defendant "at last" had some insight into his offending, and he said though the words may sound "hollow" the defendant wished him to apologise to his victims.

Judge Vanessa Francis said Murray was a "relentless" and "predatory" abuser of children who continued to offend even after coming to the attention of police in 1990s and then serving a prison sentence and doing work designed to tackle his offending. She said looking at the offending before the court as well as Murray's previous convictions, she was satisfied a standard determinate sentence would not sufficiently protect the public and the defendant could properly be termed a dangerous offender within the meaning of the legislation and subject to an extended sentence.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Murray was given a 24-year extended sentence comprising 18 years in prison followed by a six-year extended licence period. He must serve two-thirds of the custodial element of the sentence before applying to be released but it will be for the parole board to determine whether he is safe to be released or not. He was also made the subject of a life-long sexual harm protection order designed to control his access to children, and will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

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A warped paedophile has been locked up for 16 years for the horrific sexual abuse of a young girl.

Scruffy Stephen Cooper, 61, of The Drove, Blackfield, inflicted misery on a girl aged four to six during a two-year period of torment in Basingstoke from March 2021 to March 2023.

Sick Cooper was convicted of four counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl under 13, sexual assault of a girl under 13 by penetration, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child under 13, and causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Cooper denied the offences but the predator was found guilty following a trial at Winchester Crown Court before being jailed for 16 years at Salisbury Crown Court.

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A sexual predator who approached a jogger and assaulted her on a canal path has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Charles Fraser Wood, 43, of Huddersfield Road, Bradford pleaded guilty to sexual assault and exposure following the attack which took place on the morning of Tuesday 9 April 2024.

Wood admitted to touching the victim inappropriately whilst exposing himself and performing a sex act as the victim was running on the canal towpath, alongside Station Road, towards Kildwick village.

Despite being extremely shaken by the incident, the victim bravely took a photo of Wood as he fled the scene before making her way to the main road. It was there that she looked back and saw Wood continue to expose himself as he hid in some bushes.

Following the incident, the terrified woman approached a passing dog walker who called 999 and waited with the victim until officers arrived.

A man matching the description and photograph provided by the victim was captured on dash-cam footage submitted by a member of the public in response to our media appeal.

https://youtu.be/20Zu7frax90

The footage was circulated to colleagues across both North Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police. Wood was subsequently identified by a West Yorkshire Police officer responsible for monitoring and managing registered sex offenders.

Wood was arrested two days later, and several items were seized from his home including two green jackets, a pair of grey jogging bottoms, a police baton, and a flip knife with a 3.5-inch blade.

Our officers also seized a pair of camo-colour Nike trainers from Wood’s car that had been wrapped in a large sheet of bedding.

The seized jackets matched the photograph taken by the victim and corresponded with what Wood was wearing in the dashcam footage. Additionally, the trainers matched both the description provided by the victim and the photograph she took, further connecting Wood to his crimes.

Our enquires also showed Wood’s mobile phone in the vicinity at the time of the attack and he was also positively identified as being the man in the area at the time by a witness.

Despite providing no comment during both interviews and initially maintaining his innocence, Wood eventually pleaded guilty to both offences.

He was sentenced at York Crown Court on Wednesday 24 July 2024 to two and a half years and given a three-year extended licence. 

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.

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Former Northwich man sentenced for sexually assaulting a child in Cheshire.

Daniel Peters appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday 21 June where he was sentenced to 24 months in prison suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 180 hours community service.

The 35-year-old, formally from Northwich, but now of Hermitage Street, Rishton, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a girl under 13 by touching.

During the hearing the court was told that Peter was a friend of the victim’s family and the group often use to socialise together.

Peters also had a young child himself and regularly offered to look after the victim, allowing her to sleep over at his house and taking them out on family day trips.

However, unbeknown to the victim’s family he also had a sexual interest in the child.

The first offence occurred in May 2020, when Peters was transporting the victim back to his home in Northwich for a sleepover.

As the pair were travelling in his van he pulled over into a layby and inappropriately touched her a number of times.

Later the same month, both Peters and the victim’s family went on a day trip to Gulliver’s World. While at the theme park the child described how they were on a ride when Peters grabbed her from behind and inappropriately touched her.

Peter’s offences came to light in March 2023 when the victim’s mum discovered a number of messages on her mobile phone.

Following the discovery, the victim spoke out about what had taken place. Peters was arrested and made a full admission to the offences.