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A FORMER Cumbria police worker previously jailed for sharing illegal images of children being sexually abused has been handed another lengthy prison sentence for similar crimes — and again branded a dangerous offender. 

David Robinson, now aged 56, was punished in 2015 for possessing and distributing indecent photographs of youngsters.

Robinson’s online chat with other paedophiles was of the “most sickening nature”, said a judge who imposed six-year custodial term. The judge concluded Robinson was a dangerous offender and imposed an extended licence period.

Carlisle Crown Court heard Robinson had offered to buy a child online in order to abuse them. He had decorated a room in his city home for a youngster and applied to be a foster carer for young boys.

The sentencing judge concluded Robinson — a front counter Cumbria police employee who was suspended and later left the force — “presented one face to the outside world, another deeply unattractive one online”.

Robinson was released from custody in October, 2020.

But he went on to commit new offences which were uncovered when a police constable conducted a home visit. “As part of that visit she looked at Mr Robinson’s Motorola mobile phone,” Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, told the crown court today (fri).

Police noted there were WhatsApp chats between Robinson, latterly of Garfield Street, Carlisle, and men from Indonesia.

However, some WhatsApp messages and call logs had been deleted. “This frustrated attempts by police to see the history of those conversations,” said Mr Rogerson.

Robinson had also engaged a “disappearing messages” function on WhatsApp. This, along with the chat deletions, were in breach of a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) imposed as part of his 2015 punishment to restrict his online use.

Indecent images of children — some in the most serious category A — were also found during an initial examination of Robinson’s phone. More illicit child pictures were located when the device was further analysed.

Robinson admitted a total of nine offences relating to breach of the SOPO, making indecent photographs of children and possession of extreme pornographic images which were also found.

Defence solicitor Jeff Smith, mitigating, said the “mistake” made by Robinson was to return to Carlisle on being released from custody in 2020. “He has been very isolated, very depressed. His doctor has prescribed antidepressants which he found very difficult to deal with,” said Mr Smith.

“He knows that custody is inevitable. He knows he will have to address the problems that he had.”

Judge Nicholas Barker imposed a 40-month prison sentence. Robinson must sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years with a new and indefinite prevention order imposed.

“I am satisfied that the reason you deleted the messages was because the context of those messages was of a sexual and indecent nature, relating to the sexual abuse of children,” concluded the judge.

Judge Barker also announced that Robinson should again be classed as a dangerous offender, and, as a result, he imposed an extended three-year licence period.

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A man has been jailed for 17 years after being found guilty of multiple child sex offences in Bootle.

Liam Brannan, 33, of Antonio Street, Bootle, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today, Monday 11 November, after a jury found him guilty of the following offences:

• Three counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13
• Six counts of sexual assault
• Two counts of rape

He has also been issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a Restraining Order and a lifetime requirement to sign the Sex Offender Register.

Brannan targeted his victim between 2019-2021, with the first offence occurring when she was 12 years old.

Brannan was arrested in March 2022 and following a complex investigation, he was charged in January 2024.

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A violent rapist has been convicted of repeatedly attacking a woman in Dundee over a five-year period.

After a 13-day trial at The High Court in Dundee, Patryk Kulczynski was unanimously convicted by jurors of ten separate charges on Friday.

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A former Keighley man who targeted and sexually abused a young girl during a sickening campaign has been jailed for 17 years.

Kyle Byfleet, 31, was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court last month of nine charges including rape of a child under 13, sexual assault and assault by penetration of a child under 13.

On Friday, the court heard that Byfleet, of Vicarage Lane, Beckingham in Nottinghamshire, was still struggling to come to terms with the conviction and maintained he is innocent.

But Judge Jonathan Gibson told Byfleet over a prison video link that he had been convicted of very serious allegations and the probation service had assessed him as being “a high risk” of committing further offences.

The nature of Byfleet’s offending meant he was treated as “an offender of particular concern” and the judge imposed an additional one year licence period on top of the 17-year jail term. Byfleet, who had no previous convictions, will have to serve at least two-thirds of the 17-year sentence before the Parole Board decide if it is safe to release him.

As a result of his conviction he will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life and comply with the terms of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Prosecutor Gerald Hendron told the court that Byfleet would give his victim rich expensive chocolates and show her pornographic videos. Mr Hendron said the youngster had seen a presenter on YouTube relating her own personal experiences of sexual abuse and it made the complainant appreciate that what was happening to her was wrong.

He said: “The complainant told him she had seen videos on YouTube and he should not do things because he would go to prison."

Barrister Camille Morland, for Byfleet, said he knew he was facing a long sentence and had expressed a wish to end his life. She added: “He will have to come to terms with the sentence your honour is going to pass today. He knows it is going to be a very long sentence indeed.”

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A sex offender from Felixstowe who was in a relationship with a teenage girl has been sent to prison.

Matthew Redstall, 50, of High Road, was jailed for two years at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday

He pleaded guilty to seven counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of possession of an indecent image of a child.

In 2019, Redstall entered into a relationship with a 17-year-old girl which eventually became sexual.

Redstall was first arrested in 2021 and charged in 2023.

In addition to two years in prison, the judge ordered Redstall to sign the sex offenders’ register and handed him a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

Det Con Laura Frelford, from Suffolk Police’s Safeguarding Investigation Unit, said: “I hope the outcome of this case reassures members of the public that we take such allegations of predatory behaviour extremely seriously and we work to safeguard victims as quickly as possible.

“We will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”

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A "controlling and manipulating" man who murdered his partner has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years.

Adam Barnard, 41, strangled Tara Kershaw, 33, on 19 January in a house where the pair lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

At his trial, the jury was told how Barnard had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting Ms Kershaw the day before he killed the mother-of-two.

Norfolk Police said it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which was conducting an investigation.

At a sentencing hearing at Norwich Crown Court earlier, Ms Kershaw’s family sat in the public gallery with a large framed photo of her.

Her sister, Tanita Salish, read an impact statement to the court where she claimed Ms Kershaw had been "let down by many people".

"We are told from a young age to trust the people in charge," she said.

"She was labelled a drinker and not listened to. We all know this could have been avoided."

Ms Salish said Ms Kershaw had used alcohol as a "coping mechanism."

Murderer 'manipulated professionals'

Before he was sentenced, the court heard Barnard was a sex offender who was convicted of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13 in 2016.

His defence said in the time he had spent in prison so far, Barnard had shown remorse for what he had done.

Sentencing him to a minimum term of 19 years, judge Alice Robinson said Barnard had killed Tara in a violent rage.

She said: "You manipulated the professionals you spoke with into thinking you were the victim not her."

Police said they had previous contact with the couple, including a call made by Ms Kershaw at about 18:00 GMT on 18 January.

She phoned officers in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and told them Barnard had hit her on the lip.

Barnard was arrested on suspicion of common assault, taken in for questioning and released at 22:50, with no further action taken.

He claimed their engagement had been called off that day and he had "asked for the ring back".

The following day - the day of the murder - police safeguarding staff from MASH and an independent domestic violence adviser called her mobile three times to check on her welfare, with the calls unanswered, police said.

Barnard then approached an officer outside Great Yarmouth police station, shortly before 09:00 the next day, 20 January, and said: “I think I’ve killed my partner.”

He claimed he did not know how long he had pinned down Ms Kershaw and had attempted to resuscitate her, then covered her with a blanket and passed out on the bed.

Barnard told officers he woke up the next morning, panicked and left the property.

He claimed Ms Kershaw had assaulted him with a lamp while he slept and that he had been restraining her when she died.

A post-mortem examination found Ms Kershaw's death was consistent with compression to the neck and there was evidence of injuries to the bones of her neck that had taken place four to seven weeks, five to 10 days and less than six hours before she had died.

Det Insp Alix Wright from Norfolk Police, said while she could not comment on the ongoing IOPC investigation, "lessons will be identified and lessons will be learnt."

"Barnard preyed on Tara's vulnerabilities. He blamed her for his actions and his violence towards her," she said.

"Nobody should feel unsafe in their own home, and I’d urge any victim of domestic abuse to report their suffering and come forward so they can be helped and supported.

"Our thoughts today remain with Tara's family."

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A former teacher and choirmaster, who is also a musician and had worked on TV and film projects, has been jailed for 12 years for child sex offences.

The offences concern 19 victims and span more than 40 years.

David Pickthall was made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2015 for his services to education and charity, and had worked on a number of TV and film projects.

A since-deleted online biography detailing his career achievements noted that he was the "musical voice" of villainous penguin Feathers McGraw in the 1993 short film Wallace And Gromit: The Wrong Trousers.

The 66-year-old, of Ingrave Road, Brentwood, Essex, also worked on the post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later and with a number of philharmonic orchestras.

Judge Mary Loram KC, sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court, told Pickthall: "You are without a shadow of a doubt a predatory and manipulative paedophile who has adapted his offending over the years."

She added: "If you hadn't been arrested you would have carried on."

The judge sentenced Pickthall to 12 years in prison, with a four-year extended licence period, and also made him subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

The defendant, who glared at the judge during sentencing, slowly put his jacket on afterwards before he was led to the cells.

He had admitted at an earlier hearing at Colchester Magistrates' Court to 29 child sex offences concerning 19 people and spanning more than 40 years.

The crimes were committed between 1980 and 2021 in Brentwood in Essex and Upminster in east London.

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A man who tried to rape a woman and then sexually assaulted her on Christmas Eve has been jailed.

Mason Wearn, 23, of Birch Close, Bordon, was jailed for four years and six months at Portsmouth Crown Court following his succession of sex attacks on the terrified woman on December 24, 2021.

The predator admitted a charge of attempted rape before he was due to go on trial and was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault. The offences happened in Portsmouth. 

As well as his incarceration, sex offender Wearn will also have to register with police indefinitely and was handed a five-year restraining order against the woman. 

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A sex offender who groomed a child online before meeting her in Swale has been jailed.

Asif Mirza was caught with the victim inside his car after concerns were raised by an alert Kent Police employee.

Mirza initially contacted the victim through social media at the start of 2024 and showed sympathy when she disclosed some personal issues that concerned her.

Having gained the girl’s trust Mirza pressured her to send him some indecent images.

They agreed to meet at a park in Sittingbourne on 2 August and, when the victim felt unwell, he encouraged her to sit in the rear of his car which was parked in Avenue of Remembrance.

Indecent act

Mirza then covered the windows to obscure the view of anyone walking past and committed an indecent act in the girl’s presence.

At this point a member of police staff walked past the vehicle and thought it appeared suspicious. Officers were called to the scene and, after knocking on the car windows, Mirza got out followed by the child.

He claimed she was his step-daughter but, when he was unable to give her full name, Mirza admitted they had met online and he was arrested.

Mirza, of Hubbards Close, Uxbridge, London, was later charged. At Maidstone Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to several offences including meeting a child following sexual grooming and sexual activity with a child.

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A prolific sex offender who was found with indecent images of children on his device has been jailed. Gavin Collins appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 6 November where he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The 40-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children, two counts of making indecent images of children, and two breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The case against Collins began on Tuesday 16 April, when officers from the Sex Offenders Management Unit attended Collins’ home address on Middlewich Road, Northwich, as part of the routine checks made to monitor registered sex offenders.

While at the address, officers used risk management software on Collins' devices to detect any keywords of concern.

The software alerted officers to a number of concerning searches and posts, indicating that Collins had been reoffending. He was immediately arrested on suspicion of possessing of indecent images of children and his devices were sent for forensic examination.

The seized devices were found to contain 92 indecent images of children - 91 category C images, and 1 category A image.

Following analysis of his devices, officers found Collins was also in breach of his SHPO after discovering he had been using a messaging app that destroys messages and images after 14 days.

Collins was subsequently charged with the offences and left with no choice but to plead guilty.

Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Keith Campbell said: “Collins has repeatedly demonstrated the high risk he poses to the local community, and he shows a complete lack of remorse.

“He thought he could go on to offend without disruption, but thankfully our officers were able to intervene and put him behind bars.

“The work of Cheshire Constabulary’s Sex Offenders Management Unit is paramount to ensuring sexual predators like Collins face the consequences of their heinous and despicable crimes.

“It is important to note that these crimes are not victimless, and I hope this result shows we remain steadfast in pursuing and bringing to justice those who engage in online child sexual exploitation and play a part in the sexual abuse of children in Cheshire and beyond."

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A convicted paedophile made sexual comments to who he thought was a 12-year-old after he had been made subject to a court order. He asked the decoy for pictures and said he was naked during their conversations.

Christopher Strong, 38, of Aberdare, was given a suspended sentence of eight-months imprisonment in 2022 after he was convicted of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. As a result he was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and sex offender notification requirements.

A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday heard the defendant breached the order after communicating with a social media account he believed to belong to a 12-year-old girl called Lily. He was actually talking to a decoy run by an "undercover operative".

The defendant's communications became sexual in nature, and asked the decoy if her parents checked her phone, talked about rubbing himself and asked her if she wanted to watch him rubbing himself. He asked the decoy for pictures of herself and told her he was naked.

Strong, of Nant Rowe, of Aberdare, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Sentencing, Judge Simon Mill said: "You are clearly a person with a sexual attraction to children. I find it absolutely staggering you'd go back to this sort of behaviour not long after completing the Horizon programme. You said you felt at a loss that it was not carrying on anymore. It just shows you were determined to offend."

The defendant was sentenced to 19 months' imprisonment. He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements for seven years.

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A Gravesend sex offender has received an extended sentence of 26 years for multiple child sex offences.

Matthew Jenkins was arrested on 8 August 2021 after Kent Police received reports he had targeted young victims between 2015 and 2021.

Officers also seized mobile devices and computers on which they found more than 350 indecent images and videos of children, including some within the most serious category.

Jenkins, of St George’s Crescent, Gravesend, was later charged with multiple child sex offences including rape.

He pleaded guilty to all the indictments at Woolwich Crown Court, and on Wednesday 6 November 2024, the 34 year old was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment.

He will have to serve 12 years before he can be considered for parole, after which Jenkins will have to complete eight years on licence.

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A sex offender has been before a court again after a housemate told police about a secret phone hidden in a box of washing powder.

The phone was not registered with Stuart Baker’s police supervisor, who discovered on it TikTok and Instagram accounts.

He has now been given another jail term after he admitted breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Baker was a teaching assistant at Corby Business Academy when he was first arrested back in 2017. A parent – whose children did not attend Corby Business Academy – found messages from him on social media accounts.

It emerged he had been posing as a 14-year-old to groom young victims into engaging in sexual chat.

He later admitted to ten charges of inciting children to engage in sexual activity and five relating to the making and distribution of indecent images of children. He was jailed for three years.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which banned him from a range of behaviours linked to his offending.

But in September 2018 he was back before the courts again and was convicted of multiple counts of sexual activity with a child and a sexual assault on a boy. The contact offences pre-dated his 2017 charges and spanned a number of years. He was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court to serve ten years in prison.

He was released after serving five years of his sentence and was closely supervised by a MOSOVO officer from Northamptonshire Police.

But he has repeatedly breached his SHPO and has received sentences of 36 months and 40 months for using undisclosed email accounts and an alias on social media since his first release.

He was recalled after his most previous breach and will not be eligible for release until at least 2028 when he will have to go before the parole board who will decide whether it is safe for him to be allowed back into the community.

He appeared before Northampton Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced after admitting three breaches of his SHPO including failure to notify his supervising officer of a phone, failure to disclose an email account and failure to disclose three social media accounts.

The court heard how Baker, now 47 and of HMP Bure in Norfolk, had been living with other adults in Northampton in May this year when another resident reported that he was keeping a secret mobile phone.

Prosecuting, Micaila Williams told the court that Baker had hidden the phone in a detergent box in the kitchen, which was discovered by police.

He provided the PIN to officers who discovered a Gmail account as well as TikTok, Instagram and Telegram profiles.

In mitigation, the court was told he was not using the accounts to communicate with children but with adult family members who had recently lost a parent.

He had also recently moved prison in order to access more help with his offending behaviour.

Her Honour Judge Lucking sentenced Baker to spend 10 months in prison, to be served concurrently with his present sentence.

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An “entrenched paedophile” exchanged images of young children being sexually abused with an equally depraved individual in the US, a court heard.

Lee Mole, of Blackhall Colliery, County Durham, encouraged his online American “friend” to sexually assault a young girl and asked him to then post images of the abuse on the internet.

Durham Crown Court heard that the nature of the Kick Messenger exchanges came to the attention of US Homeland Security, which led to the arrest of the abuser, in Oregon.

He disclosed having been in contact with a user of the site in the UK, going under the name ‘BigLadBrown181280’, with the email address of the defendant.

Annelise Haugstad, prosecuting, said offending images in category A and B of severity, featuring a girl aged between eight and ten being abused, were sent by the defendant to the man in Oregon.

Miss Haugstad said the nature of the discussions between the pair centred around how they enjoyed sex with very young girls and Mole incited the man in Oregon to abuse a two-year-old child, images of which were sent to the defendant, at his request.

The court heard that at the time of the exchanges with the man in the US, Mole was subject to inquiries by Durham Police over possession of indent images of children, for which he was to plead guilty before receiving a suspended 15-month prison sentence, in October, last year.

Miss Haugstad told the court he also has a similar conviction dating from 2015.

When questioned about the images exchanged with the man in the US, Mole initially denied knowledge of them, but then admitted it was something he had been involved in for six months.

Miss Haugstad said when asked about his sexual interest in children he conceded it was something which aroused him.

The 53-year-old defendant of Hardwick Street, Blackhall Colliery, admitted three counts of making, and one of distributing indecent images of children.

Vic Laffey, in mitigation, said Mole was “well aware” of the situation he was facing.

“He has, at least, been honest with the Probation Service in respect of the problems he has and my advice to him is that the only thing that may save him is that he has been on a two-year order and for one year he has made progress.

“He’s described as working positively with the Probation Service.

“The good work he has done will be effectively lost if he is to receive an immediate custodial sentence.”

Mr Laffey said the defendant suffers with various ailments and is in poor health.

Judge Jo Kidd said the context of Mole’s latest offending was that it took place while under investigation or on bail, pending a review of devices seized in January 2023, on which police were to find numerous indecent images of children.

“You engaged in chat with a man in the US using the Kick Messenger platform.”

Judge Kidd said the defendant incited that man to sexually assault a two-year-old child and sought to obtain images of the abuse.

She said to persuade him to send the images the defendant mentioned having abused young children himself, which she said, “may have been fantasy, but you were clearly inciting him.”

The judge said the defendant was part of a group of people interested in sharing images of the abuse of young children.

“It’s difficult to think of a more disgusting and serious example of these offences against the background of your previous offences.”

She said he had previously been given the opportunity to try to deal with his depraved interest to reduce the likelihood of him repeating it in future.

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A serial Aberdeen flasher has “worryingly” escalated his crimes to sexual assault after targeting a woman in a city centre post office.

Victor Rae, 53, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted touching his victim inside the branch at the St Nicholas Centre.