Latest Offenders

Description

A man has been sentenced to ten years in prison after a 23-year campaign of controlling, violent and sexual abuse directed towards three women.

George McDonald targeted his victims across a number of locations in Argyll and Bute between 2000 and 2022.

The 43-year-old knocked his first victim over the head with a piece of wood before threatening her with a gun.

McDonald struggled with the same woman outside a pub before opening the bonnet of her car and tearing out wires from the engine, disabling the vehicle.

The second woman was verbally and physically abused by the 43-year-old on a number of occasions, including on one occasion when she was left without transport.

McDonald tracked the movements of his third victim, broke her phone, read her messages and coerced her to share her social media accounts. 

He also physically beat the woman and threatened to kill her and her parents.

The man was found guilty of ten charges, including two domestic abuse offences and four sexual offences, at  the High Court in Paisley on July 29.

On Thursday, McDonald was given a 14-year extended sentence, with ten years in custody at the High Court in Edinburgh. 

He has also been added to the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Scotland’s procurator fiscal for High Court sexual offending, Katrina Parkes said:“George McDonald is a dangerous individual who subjected his victims to unimaginable trauma and abuse over a number of years. 

“It is thanks to the bravery of these women giving evidence that this prosecution has been possible. 

“I hope this conviction brings some comfort while sending a message that this type of offending has no place in Scotland.  

“I would urge any victim of similar crime to report it and seek support. You will be listened to and we will use every tool available in seeking justice.” 

Detective Inspector Cheryl Gebbie added: “McDonald was an abusive individual and it’s difficult to comprehend the distress and suffering he caused the women in this case.

“They showed an enormous amount of strength in reporting these crimes to the police and in doing so, McDonald will now face the consequences of his actions.

“If anyone is experiencing or has experienced any type of violence or sexual abuse, we have detectives dedicated to investigating such offences. Please report it, and be assured you will be fully supported and listened to.”

Description

A Bulwell man has been jailed after exchanging a series of explicit text messages with a vulnerable teenage girl.

William Howell, who began exchanging messages with the girl when she was only 13 years old, came to police attention when a report was made by the girl’s mother.

A forensic investigation of his mobile phone revealed multiple explicit messages sent over a prolonged period of time.

Howell, now aged 46, was well aware of the girl’s true age when the offences took place.

He later pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communications with a child.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, August 30, Howell, of Northall Avenue, Bulwell, was jailed for 11 months.

He was also made the subject of a sexual ham prevention order that will restrict his access to children and his online activities once he is released from prison.

Detective Constable Joanne Thompson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Howell was well-aware this girl was nowhere close to the age of consent when he exchanged these messages.

“His actions were totally indefensible and have understandably had a significant impact on this girl and her family.

“I am pleased he has now been jailed and hope this sentence serves as a reminder to others about the potential consequences of this kind of behaviour.”

Description

A child sex offender from Staffordshire has been sentenced to 16 years after the survivors came forward.

Kris Middleton, 39, of Baddeley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (4 September) after he was found guilty at an earlier hearing.

Our detectives questioned him in March 2021 after one of the survivors bravely came forward.

Since then, we’ve been working tirelessly to secure all of the evidence required to bring Middleton to justice.

Through the bravery of the survivors and our evidence, a jury found Middleton guilty on 15 counts following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 21 May this year. These include eight counts of sexual assault of a girl under 13 and seven counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Middleton was sentenced to 15-years imprisonment for his crimes, with an extended license period of one year, given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A child sex abuser has been jailed for 14 years after a jury saw through his lies.

David Spowage, from Rochester, committed offences including rape, sexual assault and taking an indecent image of a child, against a teenage girl in August 2022.

He was arrested and later charged after the victim reported the crimes.

The 39-year-old denied the offences but a jury at Maidstone Crown Court found him guilty at an earlier trial and on Friday, August 30 he was jailed for 14 years.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Ellie Allen said: Spowage targeted the teenager for his own sexual gratification.

He denied the charges and put her through the ordeal of a trial, hoping to not be found guilty but the jury saw through his lies.

I want to commend the victims bravery and courage in reporting his offending.

His lengthy sentence will ensure he can no longer harm anyone else.

Description

A convicted child sex offender is back behind bars after he downloaded images of abuse on a mobile phone he was barred from possessing.

Gavin Thornton was caught with the sickening child abuse images and videos when specialist police officers carried out an impromptu search of his home.

The 44-year-old was caught with more than 7,000 indecent images of children with more than 600 in the worst legal category.

Cole Cockburn, prosecuting, said the defendant was caught with images in September 2022 and again earlier this year when police searched his home.

He said: “In September 2022, police searched his home and discovered a number of electrical devices, including a laptop and a smartphone, which there then analysed.

“The images featured children as young as four subjected to various forms of sexual abuse.”

The court heard how the defendant was released on bail but continued to download child sexual abuse images.

He was convicted of similar offences in January this year and was given a suspended prison sentence.

Mr Cockburn said the defendant was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and notification requirement order as the result of the earlier conviction.

The court heard how Thornton had failed to register a new smart phone and a number of aliases he was using to contact people online.

Thornton, formerly of Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to breaching his SHPO, breaching the conditions of his notification requirement order, six charges of making indecent images of children and one of distributing an indecent image of a child.

Nigel Soppitt, mitigating, said his client had spent ten months in custody since his arrest which is the equivalent of a 20-month prison sentence.

He added: “In the short time from the order being imposed and his offending, he had engaged enthusiastically with the probation service and there were no problems at all in that respect.

“He is a man who plainly wants to avoid this compulsion he has.”

Judge Jonathan Carroll locked the convicted sex offender up for a total of two years and eight months for all offences after he activated his previous suspended sentence for the 'high risk' offender.

“You have already had two sets of previous offences, all of a similar type,” he said.

“When the police officer attended your home, you had two opportunities to make a clean breast of the situation, you were still committing offences.

“It is clear to me that you are at a level of risk which cannot be safely managed in the community.”

Description

A serving police officer who was jailed for possessing more than 500 indecent sexual images of children “should be appalled” by his crimes, his force has said.

Mark Rosebury, 38, was jailed for 18 months at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday (September 4) having admitted possession of images in all three categories, as well possessing extreme pornographic images and prohibited images of children.

Rosebury, of Earnshaw Road, Bacup, was a serving officer with Greater Manchester Police at the time of his arrest.

Detective chief superintendent Mike Allen, head of the force’s professional standards directorate, said a misconduct hearing will now be accelerated.

He said in a statement: “The public rightly expects the highest professional standards from those who serve in the police, and it is clear the actions of Mark Rosebury fall disgracefully below that.

“He should be appalled by his crimes and the impact his actions understandably have on the public’s confidence in the overwhelming majority of officers who are professional, decent, hard-working people who serve their communities day-in day-out.

“We have assisted our colleagues in Lancashire throughout this case to ensure that Rosebury is brought to justice for his crimes.

“Rosebury remains suspended from the force and following his imprisonment, legally we have now been able to stop his pay with immediate effect.

"A misconduct hearing will now be accelerated since there is no longer a risk to prejudicing criminal proceedings.”

James Heyworth, mitigating for Rosebury at the sentencing hearing, said Rosebury joined the police force in 2017 and had previously worked as a transport driver in the ambulance service.

In 2021 he was trained as a collision reconstruction expert, and he said in the pre-sentence report it was the numbness he experienced from this job that caused him to act in the way he did.

Niamh McGinty, prosecuting, said police attended Rosebury’s house on May 27, 2023, having received information concerning peer-to-peer file sharing.

Rosebury was suspected of using three IP addresses to access and download images – one linked to his home address and two connected to the East Lancashire Railway, where he was a volunteer.

His devices were seized and upon examination found to contain 257 category A images, 110 category B images, and 150 category C images, as well as three prohibited images of children and nine extreme pornographic images.

Judge Robert Altham said in sentencing Rosebury: “Each of those children is a living, breathing human being who had been exploited in a horrible way so you could watch.

“Your work cannot provide any excuse or reason for you to resort to watching the suffering of children.

“When police officers commit offences there is a loss of public confidence in the police service as a whole.”

A spokesperson for the East Lancashire Railway said Rosebury’s role with them required no interaction with the general public visiting the railway, and his role has now been terminated.

Description

A man who subjected a girl to repeated sexual abuse over the course of a year has been jailed.

Steve Adams started to abuse the girl in January 2019 before she was able to disclose the offences. 

The 67-year-old from Marine Parade, Sheerness was arrested and later charged with sexual assaults.

He denied the allegations but a jury at Maidstone Crown Court found him guilty and on Thursday 29 August 2024 at the same court was jailed for a total of 13 years.

Description

A convicted sex offender is facing another jail sentence for depraved online sex chats after he was snared for a third time by a paedophile hunter group.

Alan White, 62, previously of Richmond but now of Bedale, contacted what he thought to be a 14-year-old girl who was actually an adult member of an online vigilante group posing as a child, York Magistrates’ Court heard today.

He was subject to a strict court order at the time to curb his online activities following previous convictions for similar behaviour.

Prosecutor Martin Butterworth said that on September 3, North Yorkshire Police’s child online safety team were contacted by a paedophile-hunting group in South Wales who said that “a man called Alan” had been engaging in sexual chats with an adult decoy on an internet platform called RandoChat.

The decoy had pretended to be a 14-year-old girl and gathered incontrovertible evidence which was provided to police who turned up at White’s home in South End Avenue.

During his arrest, they noticed a Samsung tablet on his bedside table. When an officer checked the tablet, the RandoChat social media platform was open with the screen clearly showing the sordid sex chat with the adult decoy.

Mr Butterworth said the sex chats began on October 31, when White, under the nickname “Chalky”, sent a message to the decoy who said she was 14 and from Cardiff.

“The conversation became sexualised, with a request (by White) for a topless picture,” added Mr Butterworth.

“The conversation continued over a couple of days.

“Chalky then asked the ‘child’ to perform a lewd act and engage in sexual activity.”

Mr Butterworth said a further message in the chatroom was subsequently deleted by White, who was charged with attempting to cause or incite a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity, attempted sexual communication with a child under 16 years of age and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He admitted the offences when he appeared in court today, but magistrates decided that the offences were so serious that sentence should be transferred to the crown court.

The prosecution outlined White’s track record for similar offences, starting in 2018 when he received a 12-month suspended prison sentence at Teesside Crown Court for offences including sexual communication with a child and possessing indecent images of a child, after being snared by another adult decoy from a group called Keeping Kids Safe.

In February 2021, at the same court, he received a 28-month jail sentence and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order after he was again trapped by “paedophile hunters” while trying to talk to underage girls online.

In that case, White contacted a user in an online chatroom in December 2020. The user immediately said she was a 14-year-old girl.

Despite this, White told her she was “gorgeous” and that he’d like to kiss and touch her, then asked her to take her clothes off and touch herself in a sexual manner.

He also asked her for naked pictures, promising he would later delete them.

White will be sentenced for the new offences at Teesside Crown Court on September 16.

He was remanded in custody until then.

Description

A convicted sex offender who kept secret devices before selling them on has been jailed for repeatedly breaching his court order.

Harry Palmer, 22, was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order when he was previously convicted of offences against a teenage girl.

The order, which had been amended as a result of a previous breach, gave police the power to monitor all his electronic devices and also prohibited him from having any contact with girls under the age of 18.

Detectives launched an investigation after learning from the probation service that Palmer had sold a MacBook laptop without gaining permission from the police.

Inquiries found he had sold a MacBook laptop, a Samsung tablet and a Huawei mobile phone to CEX stores in Coventry and Bulwell.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the items were sold for a combined sum of £142 across three separate dates in August 2023 – and that he’d kept the Samsung tablet and Huawei mobile phone a secret from the authorities.

When his address was searched, officers found four bank cards that also had not been registered with the police – again putting him in breach of the court order.

Palmer, formerly of Astral Grove, Hucknall, later admitted to three counts of breaching his sexual harm prevention order and four counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on August 30, he was jailed for two years.

Palmer had only recently been released from prison on licence for previous breaches of the order and drugs offences.

Detective Constable Richard Johnson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Safeguarding vulnerable young people is a key priority for Nottinghamshire Police and we take a very proactive approach to monitoring known offenders.

“These court orders are put in place for a very good reason and we expect them to be obeyed. When we find that they are being flouted so brazenly we will take swift action. As Palmer has just found out there the subsequent punishments can be very severe indeed.

“I hope this case serves as a reminder to other offenders about the potential consequences of attempting to deceive us, and also hope that members of the wider public will be reassured by our ongoing efforts to keep the public safe from harm.”

Description

A child sex offender from Staffordshire has been jailed for more than two years after he was found guilty on three counts in court.

Shaun Willcocks, 63, of Bagnall, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to two-years-and-four-months imprisonment at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 23 August after he was found guilty of three child sexual offences:

• Two counts of the sexual assault of a girl under 13
• One count of causing a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity

We started investigating Willcocks when the survivor bravely came forward in June 2021 and told an adult what had been happening to her.

The abuse happened in 2015.

Detectives worked hard to gather all of the evidence possible to take Willcocks to court and support the survivor as much as possible.

Willcocks denied the offences but was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent in July this year.

As part of his sentencing, Willcocks was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for ten years.

Description

A former Cambridge University medical student on the verge of completing his studies has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to child sex offences. Lorcan Elliott demanded that boys as young as 13 send him indecent images while he was still a student.

Judge Philip Grey described Elliott's offending as "utterly selfish, manipulative, and exploitative" at a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday (September 4). He said Elliott played the role of a 'sugar daddy' during communications with victims.

Prosecutor Samantha Marsh said that Elliott had offered between £200 and £800 for some images and sent screenshots of his bank account to prove he had the money. There was no evidence that any payments had been made.

Summing up, Judge Grey described how Elliott used social media to find boys under the age of 15 who identified as gay or bisexual between January 2022 and May 2023, before speaking with them online and asking for explicit images. "All of the chats are highly sexualised; you are often very demanding and insistent that they provide you with what you want," he said.

"It was young boys that you wanted to find, that you wanted to induce into performing sexually on camera for your pleasure. The sexual pleasure and excitement that you derived from these chats is clear from the text of the chats themselves."

Elliott knew that his victims were children – at least one told him that they were 13 years old. He sent explicit pictures and videos of himself to some victims, as well as instructing them on the types of images and videos he wanted them to send him.

In all, Elliott possessed a total of at least 600 indecent images of children, 142 of which were category A – the most serious. "What you did is the sort of foul online behaviour that causes parents the world over to fear what their children are being exposed to online," the judge said during sentencing.

The 25-year-old from Orton Southgate, Peterborough, put his head in his hands and cried at times during the hearing. He was described by Judge Grey as 'academically gifted' and two of his professors had submitted letters in his support to the court.

The judge told Elliott, who was on the verge of qualifying as a doctor at the time of his arrest, that he could never be considered fit to practice. Elliott was arrested at his student accommodation in May 2023 after the IP address relating to his Snapchat account was traced to his parents' home.

Henry Oghoetuoma, defending, said his client was of previous good character and "fully understands the offences and that it is not a victimless crime". He said Elliott had lost his medical career, as well as friendships with peers.

Mr Oghoetuoma said: "When the police came knocking, he immediately owned up to it. He realises that what he did was wrong."

Elliott pleaded guilty to 22 charges at Peterborough Crown Court on August 2 this year. These included engaging in sexual communication with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, making or distributing indecent images of children, and distributing indecent photographs.

PC Alex Cochrane said: "The offences were committed over a sustained period with numerous victims here and abroad and it is clear Elliott knew they were children because some were wearing their school uniform. Although there was no physical contact between the defendant and the victims, this case highlights the potential dangers of online activity with unknown people.

"As a force we work tirelessly to detect and prosecute these types of crimes while protecting the vulnerable children involved."

He has been added to the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life and handed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order without a time limit. He will be barred from working with children and other vulnerable groups.

Description

A convicted sex offender was found with dozens of "disgusting" images of children after he continued his obsession with them and failed to learn his lesson from being jailed for previous similar offences.

His "despicable" behaviour helped to fuel the abuse of children that caused "lifelong harm" to them. He now understood the serious damage to children that was caused by the vile trade, Hull Crown Court heard.

Scott Lister, 53, of Ferndale Terrace, Bridlington, admitted three offences of making indecent images of children between July 7, 2021 and March 18, 2022 and another of breaching a sexual harm prevention order on March 17, 2022.

Amber Hobson, prosecuting, said that police were given information about indecent images of children being downloaded and seized a memory stick and a phone belonging to Lister.

There were 66 images and 71 videos on the memory stick. They included 10 images in the most serious Category A, nine in Category B and 47 in Category C. The videos included 28 in Category A, 21 in Category B and 22 in Category C.

On the phone, there were eight images in Category A, five in Category B and one in Category C. There were 17 videos, including six in Category A, six in Category B and five in Category C.

During police interview, Lister denied having a sexual interest in children. He claimed that he did not specifically seek out images of children but that he did look at areas of the internet where such material was. He claimed that he might have been intoxicated at the time.

Lister had convictions for 21 previous offences, including similar offences in 2016, when he had been given a sexual harm prevention order for life. He was in breach of that order by committing the latest offences.

Holly Thompson, mitigating, said that Lister had taken a long time to come to terms with the fact that he had a sexual interest in children but he realised the "disgusting and despicable nature of the offending" and that it affected the most vulnerable people in society.

He was "under absolutely no illusion" about the prison sentence that he faced and the offences were a "form of self-medication for him" but he knew, with hindsight, that it was not acceptable. He had been jailed previously.

Lister had been working self-employed, building models for war games that he provided to the public and to museums. "After his release from custody, he did battle public perception of the offence," said Miss Thompson.

Lister had struggled with isolation and alcohol misuse. "His alcohol usage is now zero," said Miss Thompson. "He understands what the difficulties are in his head.

"He is understanding of the harm to children who are depicted in the pornography, which is something that he has struggled with previously. He is now aware of the impact on others."

Judge John Thackray KC told Lister: "This is not a victimless crime – far from it. It's people like you, viewing this disgusting material, your actions, which fuels the abuse of children, causing lifelong damage to them.

"You have proved that your risk cannot be managed in the community. You have gone on to commit serious offences. Only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of an immediate custodial sentence."

Lister, who had been on bail, was jailed for 14 months.

Description

A sex offender who preyed on young girls and plied his victims with cigarettes, alcohol and money has been jailed.

Derek Lamond, 59, raped one victim and attempted to rape another during a campaign of abuse that spanned more than 20 years.

The former farmworker also offered the girls cash to expose themselves to him.

Lamond's crime spree began in 1995 and continued until 2017.

He has now been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Lamond targeted his victims at addresses in Fife as well as during car journeys elsewhere in Scotland.

A court heard how one of the girls was aged just four when the abuse began.

Lamond was said to have assaulted and raped her in a parked car when she was aged between seven and 10.

The second victim was preyed upon from the age of seven and suffered an attempted rape attack during an assault at a house.

Lamond denied any wrongdoing when interviewed by police, stating: "I think it has all been made up."

However, Lamond was last month convicted of 10 offences following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

His crimes included assault and rape, assault and attempted rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, and lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour.

Child victims affected 'well into adulthood'

Judge Lord Renucci stated: "The harm you have caused to the complainers has continued to affect them well into adulthood.

"This is your third conviction for sexual offences - with your continued denials I am satisfied that the risk you pose is significant.

"You continue to deny the offences. You continue to blame your victims and suggest that their actions were motivated by financial gain.

"There is no alternative to a custodial sentence and given the nature of the offences it must be a lengthy custodial sentence."

'Abhorrent campaign of abuse'

Lamond was handed a 15-year extended sentence - with 12 years in jail and three years on licence once released back into the community - on his return to the dock for sentencing on Wednesday.

He was also added to the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Katrina Parkes, Scotland's procurator fiscal for high court sexual offending, said: "Derek Lamond manipulated and exploited these young children in an abhorrent campaign of abuse.

"His victims have shown great courage and strength by coming forward and reporting him to the authorities."

Detective Constable Emma Moyes added: "Derek Lamond will now face the consequences of his appalling and predatory behaviour."

Description

A teacher who kissed a pupil in a school art cupboard before having sex with her in a hotel room has been locked up.

Sex offender Bradley Amphlett 'crossed a line' and kissed his student when she went to speak to him about her exam stress.

The 26-year-old soon started sending the girl 'explicit' messages and even asked her to call him 'daddy'. He would also 'fantasise' about their encounter within the art cupboard.

The pair later met up at a hotel room where they had sex. Nottingham Crown Court heard how Amphlett worked as an art and design teacher at Alvaston Moor, Derby.

He started 'flirting' with his victim when she was in her final years at the school, DerbyshireLive reports. Prosecutor Jonathon Dee said Amphlett's offending started during the last week of term.

The convict had given his phone number to the victim 'in case she needed emotional support'. Mr Dee added: "She said she had gone into his room to speak to him because she was stressed about exams.

"He got everyone out of the room and then went over to her. He hugged her and then turned her face up to his and kissed her.

"It is quite clear from what she said that he was shocked about this and knew he had crossed a line. The next day she had an exam but it was also the day that students were getting everyone to autograph a shirt.

"She asked him and he was initially distant but later, after the exam, she went back into his room and he kissed her again. Clearly by now any doubts he had were gone and in fact he told her to ask him to kiss her.

"She did and he took her into the art cupboard where no one could see them and kissed her again. She described this as more intense than the first kiss.

"By the Friday, she had left the school." The girl messaged Amphlett and then pair started 'communicating by text'.

Amphlett 'had clearly received a warning of some sort as safeguarding concerns had been raised about his relationship with her', the court heard. Mr Dee said: "The messages became more explicit.

"He was clearly encouraging her in this although she was responding in kind. He encouraged her to call him 'daddy' and engage in explicit 'sexting' and there are a whole series of very explicit messages where they are fantasising about sexual activity and what could have happened in the art cupboard.

"They arranged to meet up for the day in Nottingham with a hotel room booked so that they could have sex. They met up around 11am on the Saturday, they did not text again until 5.30pm the following day by which time they were both saying how fantastic the weekend had been."

Amphlett was arrested once police were informed. He gave a prepared statement to officers, denying the offence.

Dan Scothern, defending, handed the court a number of character references in support of the defendant. Amphlett, of Cordy Lane, Brinsley, Nottinghamshire, admitted meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual activity with a child and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual communication.

He was jailed for three years and eight months. Sian Hampton, chief executive of Archway Learning Trust, said: "On behalf of Archway Learning Trust and everybody at Alvaston Moor Academy, we are pleased to hear that justice has been served today.

"Given the very serious nature of the crime, we appreciate that this will cause shockwaves in our community, and all our colleagues are on hand for any students who may need some support."

Description

A 23-year-old Powys man with a clear sexual interest in children is beginning a six-year prison sentence after being found guilty of multiple child sex offences.

Callum Walker, from Presteigne, was described as highly manipulative by Judge Paul Hobson at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, September 2, who said he used his three female victims like objects.

Walker, who admitted some of the 10 charges against him but denied most of them, was found guilty at trial earlier this year.

Walker was aged between 18 and 20 during the period the offences occurred, between December 2018 and September 2021. His victims were as young as 12.

Walker denied five counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual communication with a child, but was found guilty of all five.

He admitted two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; sexual communication with a child; possession of indecent photographs of a child and possessing an extreme pornographic image.

He has been described by a probation officer as a high risk to young girls.

Prosecutors in the case said Walker began talking to two of his victims, who were friends, in the winter of 2018.

The defendant met one of the victims on Instagram when she was 12, said prosecutor Mr Jones.

The conversation moved to Snapchat and then video calling. It was sexual from the time they began talking and involved her displaying her breasts, vagina and backside. He groomed her into acting in this way.

There were gaps but continued communication in June 2021.

Mr Jones said two counts Walker faced related to a victim who had never been identified.

With another victim, Mr Jones said Walker lied about his age, telling her he was 17 when he was in fact 20.

It was sustained and persistent communication, said Mr Jones.

Two offences of sexual assault on a child, aged 13, in 2021, relate to the third victim.

Mr Jones said restraining orders were sought by all three victims, none of whom had wished to provide police with victim impact statements.

Ms Cox, representing Walker, spoke of the difficult upbringing her client had endured.

He has accepted there was communication over a period but not the degree of manipulation commented on, she said.

There was an element of roleplay and fantasy and there were mutual exchanges from both sides, with a degree of reciprocation from one victim, who appears to be perfectly content engaging with the defendant. There was a degree of a relationship between them."

Ms Cox said during the period of offending, Walker had to deal with his father being removed from the family home.

There were mental health struggles during the period of offending, she said.

Judge Hobson told Walker the messages he sent showed a manipulative side to him.

These offences involved three child victims," the judge said. "Yet you continue to minimise the seriousness of what you did, which was a particular concern of the probation officer.

You have experienced difficult matters in your life, but that does not begin to excuse the way you behaved towards your victims.

You put your own need for sexual gratification ahead of their welfare.

You have a clear sexual interest in children and you continue to deny or downplay it, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and the overwhelming verdicts of the jury.

You spoke of a hook-up culture but it wasnt this; it was child abuse.

Walker was jailed for six years in total. This includes three years for causing a child to engage in sexual activity; two years and three months for inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity; and nine months for sexual communication with a child with these terms to be served consecutively.

Furter periods of 18 months, 15 months and one month each for possession of child sex images and a pornographic image of a dog will be served concurrently.

The judge granted restraining orders for each victim, which will last 10 years. A sexual harm prevention order will last for the same period.

Walker will be subject to a notification period indefinitely meaning he will have to make police aware of any changes in accommodation, for example, forever. He was also ordered to hand over his mobile phone.