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A Lincolnshire pensioner who admitted raping an under-age girl was today (Friday) jailed for 13 and half years.

John Bridgewood, 71, of Church Lane, Scredington, near Sleaford, pleaded guilty to nine sexual offences including a single incident of rape and sexual activity with a child.

An impact statement from the victim, who can not be identified, was read out during a sentence hearing at Lincoln Crown Court.

She described how she continued to suffer with flashbacks and nightmares, and no longer trusted anyone.

"He took away my innocence, he asked me to keep it a secret," she added.

The court heard Bridgewood had no previous convictions and gave a ‘no comment’ interview to the police.

John McNally, mitigating for Bridgewood, said his guilty pleas had spared the victim giving evidence at court.

"He took an important step in recognising what he had done," Mr McNally told the court.

Mr McNally added: "There is his age, he is 71."

The court heard Bridgewood had also spent 20 years volunteering with the British Red Cross and had been happily married for 48 years.

"His wife does not know how she will cope," Mr McNally explained.

Passing sentence Judge James House KC said Bridgewood's previous good character was of limited weight in a case of such gravity.

Judge House stressed Bridgewood did not desist until his victim reported the abuse.

Bridgewood was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

A restraining order was also made which prevents Bridgewood from having any contact with the victim.

Description

A 72-year-old former DJ, Nicholas Cooper, has been jailed for three years and four months after admitting multiple charges of indecent assault on a 12-year-old girl in the 1990s.

Then in his 40s and living in Mid Devon, Cooper groomed the vulnerable child while working as a DJ at parties and events. The offences began when he grabbed and kissed her on the lips; others occurred in his car, where he touched her bottom and breasts.

He preyed on the victim, making her write a card saying she loved him, and tried to conceal his actions by saying "nobody needs to know about this."

Prosecutor Rowan Jenkins noted "a degree of grooming." The victim, in a statement, described serious psychological harm she had bottled up for decades.

Defending, Lee Bremridge said Cooper, of Warren Close, Payhembury near Honiton, had previous good character and worked in agriculture and tourism.

Judge James Adkin told him: "Over a significant number of months you were involved in the sexual touching of this child."

Cooper must serve half his sentence in prison and sign the sex offender register for life.

Description

A Doncaster man has been jailed for more than two decades for a string of serious drug and sexual offences.

Hanzel Scott, 42, of Sovereign Court, Doncaster, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday (Wednesday 6 November) where he was sentenced for the below crimes:

• Conspiracy to supply heroin
• Conspiracy to supply cocaine
• Conceal / disguise / convert / transfer / remove criminal property
• Assaulting an emergency worker
• Five counts of rape
• Assault by penetration
• Attempted sexual assault by penetration

Scott committed the sexual offences against two 16-year-old girls in August and October 2022, and officers launched an investigation as soon as the first victim came forward to report his crimes on 2 November 2022.

Officers circulated Scott as wanted the following day, leading to him being arrested and charged with rape on 6 November 2022.

Scott’s second victim came forward on 16 May 2023, and Scott, who was in police custody at this time, was rearrested for further rape offences.

Scott pleaded not guilty to the sexual offences but was found guilty of all seven counts following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court on 23 August.

Officers had also been investigating Scott over his involvement in the supply of Class A drugs between June 2016 and June 2020.

Following a complex investigation, officers disrupted Scott’s drug empire, and arrested him for conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply heroin, and concealing criminal property on 9 March 2022.

Scott is estimated to have conspired to supply more than £680,000 worth of Class A drugs during the four-year period, and to have concealed his criminal earnings via the transfer of funds.

On 14 June 2023, Scott pleaded guilty to the three drug offences at Leeds Crown Court.

On Wednesday 6 November Scott was sentenced to total of 12 years in prison for the drug offences, and a further 12 years for the sexual offences, to be served consecutively.

He was also sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for assaulting an emergency worker, which will be served concurrently.

Scott will therefore spend 24 years in prison for his long list of crimes.

Passing sentence, Judge Reeds KC said that Scott was a “selfish bully who takes what he wants by force if necessary”.

Discussing Scott’s sex offences, Judge Reeds said that his actions were all about power and getting what he wanted, that he only cared for himself, and that he exploited the vulnerability of one of his victims.

Description

An 83-year-old paedophile could die behind bars for historic sex offences against three schoolgirls. 

Terrance Whittingham denied he had targeted any of the victims but was convicted by a jury after a trial. 

In harrowing impact statements read at Newcastle Crown Court the three women say the are still traumatised by their ordeals but one added: "I know he can never again do anything like this to anyone, which means I get peace."

Judge Gavin Doig jailed Whittingham for 13 years with a one year extended licence period.

Whittingham, of Colliery Close, Hebburn, was ordered to abide by a sexual harm prevention order and sign the sex offenders register for life. 

Judge Gavin Doig told him: "There is no doubt your offending has caused significant and lasting trauma to these women, who were and are telling the truth about you and have been throughout. 

"I would like to pay tribute to all for them for having the courage to come forward in the first place and perhaps having greater courage to see the case through." 

Whittingham was convicted of 16 offences of indecent assault and indecency with a child and attempted indecency, all of which he denied. 

David Callan, defending, said Whittingham, who has poor mobility, was of positive good character, served in the army and receives a war pension. 

Mr Callan added: "It's probable, with any sentence that gets passed, it may mean the defendant is going to die while in prison. This is not a defendant who views the future as a friend." 

Description

A trainee Church of Scotland minister has been placed on the sex offenders register after he was caught in an online police paedophile sting.

Trevor Martindale sent sexual messages to who he believed was a 12-year-old girl including asking the ‘child’ for pictures of her wearing her school uniform.

Martindale, 43, also repeatedly made references about sexual intercourse and agreed to meet up with the ‘schoolgirl’ at a future date while chatting to her on the social media apps Chatib and Snapchat.

But instead of being in contact with a young girl the trainee minister was in fact speaking to an undercover police officer who had set up the profile in a bid to snare online predators.

Officers raided his Edinburgh home in September this year and he spent three nights in custody before appearing at the capital’s sheriff court to plead guilty to communicating indecently with who he believed to be a child.

Martindale is now facing disciplinary action by the Church of Scotland who said it moved “swiftly and decisively” to suspend him as soon as the allegations emerged.

The disgraced clergyman returned to the dock for sentencing on November 1 where Sheriff Wendy Sheehan placed him on a supervision order and on the sex offender’s register for 18 months.

He was also sentenced to a programme requirement where he will have to attend sessions with the sex offenders rehabilitation programme Moving Forward 2 Change.

A strict conduct requirement was also issued that prohibits his internet activity and has banned him from having any contact with children under 18 and from attending at school and nursery grounds without prior approval from his supervising officer.

Martindale born and brought up in South Africa and after moving to the UK as a teenager he has been living in Scotland for the past 23 years.

Martindale has been in training to become a minister with the Church of Scotland over the past few years and has been undertaking ministry placements in several churches in the Edinburgh area.

A Church of Scotland spokesman said: “The Church moved swiftly and decisively as soon as the allegations made against Trevor Martindale came to light and he was immediately placed on administrative suspension while court proceedings were underway.

“His safeguarding clearance to work with children or vulnerable people has been revoked and the Church is taking further action in terms of its disciplinary procedures.”

Martindale pleaded guilty to indecently communicating with who he believed was a child, but was in fact a police officer, on social media apps Chatib and Snapchat on various occasions between September 11 and 13 this year.

Description

A man who has been repeatedly convicted of child sex offences has been jailed again for sending a 15-year-old girl "abhorrent" messages.

James Harbertson, 34, who was previously jailed for nine years for sexually abusing a child, used the handle GeordieBoyJames when he tried to illicit girls to perform sex acts online in 2022, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

After he was jailed for 32 months for offences against four girls aged 14 and 15, police found SnapChat messages to a 15-year-old on a mobile phone, which brought Harbertson back to court.

Harbertson, of no fixed abode, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and breaching a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) made in June 2013, and was jailed for a further four months.

'Dangerous' offender

Judge Tim Gittins said Harbertson had an "appalling record for being interested sexually in children".

Harbertson's first offence was in 2012 when he was given a community order for possessing indecent images of children.

The following year, he was deemed a "dangerous" offender and jailed for nine years for multiple counts of sexually abusing a child, for which he was also made subject of a SOPO for an indefinite period of time.

That order banned Hartbertson from having any contact with a child under 16 or deleting any logs of his internet activity.

In 2022, police seized a number of phones and found he had been messaging several girls between April and August who were "clearly under the age of 16" on SnapChat, which was a breach of his SOPO.

He had also deleted multiple SnapChat messages, which was another breach, and he was jailed for 32 months.

While he was incarcerated at HMP Durham, police found a further illegal chat Harbertson had had with a 15-year-old girl in June 2022, in which he said he wanted to perform sex acts on her.

Judge Gittins said the girl had never been identified but she "could have a been very vulnerable young girl" and the chat was "abhorrent".

Description

A MAN from Llandudno Junction sexually assaulted a woman in her bed and secretly filmed her getting dressed.

Christopher Benton’s victim said his actions have made her “feel like I’m living a sentence for something I didn’t do”.

Today (November 6), Benton, 31, of Conway Road, was jailed for four-and-a-half years at Caernarfon Crown Court (sitting at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court).

He had previously admitted charges of voyeurism and assault by penetration, and will serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody before being released on licence.

Prosecutor Simon Rogers said that, at about 4am on April 14, 2022, the woman awoke to find Benton touching her sexually, before he left.

This left her “in shock” and “dazed”, before she later stripped the bed and washed herself.

She later confided to her friends about what had happened, and they told her to contact police.

The woman did so later that day – when asked by police if Benton thought she was awake at the time, she answered: “No.”

Benton was arrested at his place of work on April 15 – during his initial police interview, he answered some questions but gave no comment to others.

His mobile phone was analysed, which recovered four videos Benton had filmed of the woman trying to get dressed.

These videos, Mr Rogers said, focused on the woman’s genitals, while she was unaware in all four videos that she was being filmed by Benton.

Benton’s DNA was later recovered from swabs taken from the woman – he answered no comment to all questions during a further police interview on May 22.

Extracts from the woman’s victim impact statement read: “I’m no longer that bubbly, happy person who used to enjoy a social life, and life itself.

“I question the ‘what-ifs’. It’s draining, and it exhausts me. My life has taken a huge hit with what has happened to me. I feel I’m not the same person anymore; I feel confused and hurt.

“I’m always doubting everything because of what happened. My emotions are all over the place, and daily life has become really difficult compared to before all of this started.

“I struggle to look in the mirror, as I don’t recognise who is standing in front of me. Sometimes, I don’t see a way out of this dark hole. The ‘what-ifs’ and the unknowns kill me daily.

“The whole situation has destroyed who I am and who I want to be, and I wonder if I will ever get that back.”

Defending Benton, who had no previous convictions, Simon Killeen conceded that “imprisonment is essential and unavoidable”.

But he asked the court to acknowledge Benton’s guilty pleas, and added: “Some people are better equipped than others to deal with custody. He is not somebody who is well-equipped.”

Benton lost his job as soon as his employers were informed of these offences, Mr Killeen said.

Sentencing, Judge Nicola Jones imposed an indefinite restraining order to protect Benton’s victim.

He will also adhere to sex offenders register notification requirements for life.

Description

THE taxpayer was put to unnecessary expense by a man who claimed hackers had put child sex abuse images on his devices.

But Aaron McHugh had the good sense to retract his not guilty pleas and admit his guilt, before being sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

Cheshire Police received information in April last year that an ‘xmaker2014’ Gmail address had uploaded suspected indecent images of children to a Dropbox account, explained Alaric Walmsley, prosecuting.

This email address was attributed to McHugh, who was arrested on April 6 by officers who searched his home.

They came across an iPhone and a laptop, with both submitted for a forensic analysis.

Following the search of his home, the defendant was interviewed by officers in the presence of his mother and a solicitor.

Here, he read from a prepared statement which declared that he had no knowledge of the images, and that he would be answering ‘no comment’ to all other questions, which he did.

Following an examination, authorities confirmed that incident material of children was found on both electronic devices.

In total, there were 39 images of children being sexually abused, 10 of which were graded in category A – the most severe category involving child rape – while 20 were category B and nine were category C.

On the iPhone, experts found three images at category C level in a Snapchat folder, but the court heard that these were inaccessible without sophisticated software.

More images were found in the cache of a Discord app, which were again inaccessible, but referenced sexual activity involving a 13-year-old child.

The court heard how the dates involved in possessing the material spanned back to May 2016, when now-21-year-old McHugh was aged just 15.

Following the examination, the defendant was interviewed again on December 11 last year, where he ‘exercised his right to remain silent’.

But he was subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent images of children by downloading them and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He initially denied the offences before Warrington Magistrates’ Court and the case was sent to the crown court for trial, after he claimed that his devices had been ‘hacked’.

A trial date was set for February next year, but in August he changed his pleas to guilty on all counts.

Mr Walmsley revealed that McHugh has no previous convictions, cautions or warnings on his record.

In mitigation, defence barrister Carmel Wilde said: “This is a young man who has never been before the court before.

“The offences were committed between the ages of 15 and 20, against a backdrop of being mentally abused by his stepfather.

“He was associating with the wrong crowd and was the victim of bullying throughout secondary school. He was in a wrong place, a dark place.”

It was said that with this ‘wrong crowd’, he was abusing nitrous oxide in balloons and cannabis ‘laced with goodness knows what’.

She said that her client is working in a bar in Warrington and needs to address the underlying issues in his offending, which he would be willing to do through a court order.

Before sentencing, judge Ian Harris said: “The offences are serious as, without members of the public willing to make images and distribute them, there would be no market for the indefensible abuse of children.

“Without people like you, there would be no market for this toxic trade. On a daily basis, children are being abused to feed businesses trading in this dreadful abuse.”

Judge Harris accepted ‘no doubt’ that the defendant’s background ‘had an impact on his offending behaviour’.

“The case crosses the custody threshold, but given the mitigation, I believe in trying to assist you in staying out of trouble instead of sending you to custody,” he added.

McHugh, of Robson Grove in Fairfield, was handed a two-year community order, including 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, the Building Choices programme and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was also told he must sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for the next five years.

In addition, orders were approved to deprive the defendant of his laptop and iPhone.

On McHugh’s initial denial of the offences, Judge Harris commented: “You initially pleaded not guilty and claimed that your computer had been hacked.

“You put the prosecution to unnecessary expense because of your failure to admit these matters in the lower court, so there will be a costs order.”

Despite an application by the prosecution for court costs in excess of £1,000, the defendant was ordered to repay £500.

Description

A predator who engaged in a filthy online chat with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl had repeatedly told her she was “too young”.

Married Kevin Wood, 43, was snared by members of an online paedophile hunting group.

Description

A man was jailed after he raped and stalked a woman. Dean Wall, of Pinehurst Avenue, in Anfield, was found guilty of rape and was sentenced on Tuesday, November 5, at Liverpool Crown Court.

The 37-year-old raped a woman at her home in Wavertree on Friday, March 15 and for this offence he was jailed for eight years and three months. He was also jailed for nine months after he pleaded guilty to stalking the same victim, with the two sentences to run concurrently.

Wall has also been issued with a ten-year restraining order against the woman and will sign the Sex Offender Register for life. Detective Chief Inspector Andy McCourt said: “I would firstly like to acknowledge the courage and dignity shown by the victim throughout this investigation.

"I sincerely hope that this sentencing shows that violence against women and girls will simply not be tolerated and we will work tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice. Wall denied rape but thankfully a jury found him guilty and he will now spend a significant time in prison for his appalling actions.

Description

A man from Stoke-on-Trent who asked an underage boy on Snapchat for sex has been jailed.

Jack Box, 22, of Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in prison at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (30 October) after he previously admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child and distributing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.

We arrested him after the victim, a teenage boy, came forward and told an adult what happened on 2 December 2022.

Box messaged the boy asking about what he looked like. Box then further messaged the boy and asked him for sex.

The boy blocked Box’s account after this and told someone about the messages.

We seized Box’s phone and found indecent images of children on it.

As part of his sentencing, Box was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Description

A sexual predator who got “a thrill” from preying on underage girls with explicit chats on Facebook messenger has been jailed.

Michael Hughes encouraged his three victims to perform sexual acts on themselves, and to send him images of them doing so.

The 62-year-old also sent the girls photos of genitals.

But, unbeknown to the pervert, he was in fact communicating with online paedophile hunters who had set up fictitious ‘decoy’ profiles as part of a sting.

Following his arrest in June 2021, he candidly confessed to police that the conversations had given him a “sexual thrill”.

But he also claimed that he had been simply giving “sex education” to one of the victims, and had asked another about “d**k pics” because he wanted to warn her about online dangers.

Hughes admitted multiple offences and appeared before Maidstone Crown Court for his sentencing hearing last Tuesday (October 29).

The offender, who was living in the Medway area at the time, groomed the three “girls”, purporting to be aged 11, 12 and 13, over a period of three months.

Maidstone Crown Court heard their ages were clearly stated from the outset of the chats with Hughes.

His explicit messages included instructions on how to masturbate, telling the 'girls' to "think of my c**k" and "think of me touching you".

Hughes told another that she was "pretty and bright" before asking if she wanted "to chat about sex", saying "We can be boyfriend and girlfriend on here".

Bartholomew O'Toole, defending, told the court the offences were “borne out of fantasy and disenchantment” after his 20-year-long relationship with his partner “turned sour and distant”.

He also told the court that Hughes had “succumbed to temptation” after answering messages that arrived in his inbox, adding that the victims were not ones “hunted down by a predator”.

But the lawyer said although the sex offender did not actually receive any indecent images or send images of his own penis, he did not “seek to demur” from his frank admissions made to police.

“He has expressed his shame, embarrassment and remorse,” added Mr O'Toole. “His words to his solicitor were ‘I very much regret this behaviour. I'm ashamed of myself for behaving in this way’.”

The court was also told that having been a boxing champion, Hughes used his building skills to work hard all his life and provide for his family.

However, his arrest has left him living in a caravan “in a field or garden”, said the barrister, and he no longer has contact with them.

But Mr O'Toole said the three-year delay in Hughes’s case reaching its conclusion was not his fault.

Having been interviewed in June 2021, his first appearance before magistrates was not until April this year.

These are disgusting offences…

He then pleaded guilty to a total of eight offences relating to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Jailing Hughes for three years, Judge Gareth Branston told him custody was inevitable.

“These are disgusting offences. You were potentially preying on vulnerable, young children,” he said.

On his release, Hughes will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years as well as indefinite sex offender notification requirements.

Description

A creepy Fife bricklayer stashed “numerous” secret intimate photos of his former partner that she did not know he’d taken.

Self-employed Steven Brown, of Ellisland Avenue in Kirkcaldy, secretly snapped pictures of his long-term partner while she was asleep, getting changed and bending over to pick up things.

Description

A Glasgow sex offender kept his past secret as he accepted a job to work in schools.

John Paul Hogg had been jailed in 2011 and later banned indefinitely from any role involving children. But, a decade later, the 46 year-old went on to take up the offer by an educational IT firm for a post that included "unsupervised" work in schools.

Hogg did not reveal his previous conviction - and it was only when background checks were made that it emerged at the last minute.

Hogg has now narrowly avoided a jail term as he appeared in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court. He pleaded guilty to a charge under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Act.

The date of the offence was March 1, 2022.

Hogg, of the city's Sandyhills, was ordered to carry out unpaid work as a concerned sheriff told him: "You should have been well aware of these restrictions."

Hogg had been locked up for 12 months in 2011 for a sex offence. He was later barred from "regulated work" with children indefinitely. Fiscal Lauren Donnelly said it was also explained to him that it was an offence to seek or do a job which involved this.

In 2021, he was temporarily employed as a service desk engineer with a company called RM Education. They work with the educational sector including providing technology and software. His line manager told him there was a full time post for that job with schools.

Miss Donnelly said: "He advised he thought he would be suitable for the role and asked if Hogg would consider applying." It was explained to Hogg that the role could involve "on-site" work which was "unsupervised".

This then meant Hogg would have to apply to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme given the type of job it was. Hogg said he was interested and accepted the offer. He was also given a PVG application to complete.

In March 2022, Disclosure Scotland - who makes checks on individuals being recruited for certain jobs - later reviewed this and it was only then discovered Hogg was "barred from regulated work with children".

Hogg was told the PVG application had been rejected.

The fiscal: "He was asked by (his line manager) if he was aware why this would have happened. He explained he was barred from regulated work with children.

"Hogg was asked why he did not make them aware of this. He stated: 'People always say they will do a check, but they do not'."

Hogg was initially suspended before being fired by RM Education. Disclosure Scotland went on to contact police.

He was charged in November 2022 and claimed: "In my job, we had no contact with children." Hogg's lawyer told the court the latest offence came from a "genuine misunderstanding" on his part.

Ciara Bradley, defending, said Hogg had been put on the sex offenders register for 10 years and this had ended in December 2021.

Miss Bradley: "He thought he was no longer required to disclose this offence to future employers.

"The company took on contracts with other agencies and entered into a contract with a school. That is when he was required to submit an application. He did so as he thought the requirements had ended."

Hogg was now said to have "turned his life around" and had another job in technology.

Sheriff Collete Gallagher said the offence "crossed the custody threshold", but she instead told Hogg to carry out 108 hours of unpaid work as part of an 18-month community payback order.

She stated: "Legalities are put in place to protect vulnerable people including children.

"Ignorance is no excuse for this matter. The fact you had a number of opportunities to disclose your previous conviction is a concern as is your attitude.

"I consider that this lack of insight presents a risk to the community."

Hogg was told again he should have no contact with children without permission from a supervising officer. He also has to declare "any romantic relationships" and get permission before he changes address.

Description

A man has been jailed for six years after sexually assaulting two women in Southport.

Peter Hudson, 52, of Cranfield Drive, in Cheshire, was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and was sentenced on Friday 1 November at Liverpool Crown Court.

The two victims, who both have vulnerabilities, were each sexually assaulted by Hudson in Southport.

The first incident occurred in August 2021 and the second in February 2022. Hudson was arrested in February 2022 and later charged following a complex investigation.

As well as a prison sentence, Hudson has also signed on the Sex Offender’s Register for life.

As a result of the sexual assault, both women suffered PTSD, panic attacks, insomnia and depression. 

His first victim, who is aged in her 20s, said: “My mental health deteriorated as a consequence of the sexual assault I was subjected to. It has affected my life in many ways. For months after the incident I suffered with awful nightmares in which I would relive what he did to me time and time again and eventually this developed into PTSD.

“I don’t trust any man now. Any man that has cause to speak to me in person, it puts me in a fear. Even after all this time I can’t relax and can’t stop thinking about what I’ve been subjected to.”

His second victim, aged in her 30s, said: “My mental health has really deteriorated since the assault and in more recent time I have been diagnosed with PTSD. I am very frightened going out anywhere.

“When I get in bed I start to worry, panic, have flashbacks of the assault. I have vivid nightmares and relive what happened. I have terrible insomnia and don’t get much quality sleep at all. I cry during the night and feel frightened.

“My day-to-day life has been affected because I just feel so depressed and anxious. I feel very isolated because I do not trust people and have become withdrawn.”

Detective Constable Nicholas Gray, who led the investigation, said: “Hudson displayed predatory behaviour and targeted his two victims, who had vulnerabilities, to carry out despicable sexual assaults.

“He also denied the allegations and therefore forced the two women to relive the ordeal in a trial. Thankfully he was found guilty and will now spend a significant amount of time in prison for his actions.

“I want to commend the bravery of the two women in reporting what happened and helping us to put this man behind bars. While no sentence will repair the trauma which was inflicted on his victims, I hope this sentencing will not only provide them with justice, but also encourage other victims to come forward and have the confidence in us as a police force to take reports seriously and ultimately ensure offenders are put before the courts.”