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An Ipswich teacher accused of having conversations about sex with girls he thought were as young as nine has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Richard Cook was previously found guilty of eight child sex offences and was before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday for sentencing.

Cook, now of Lambert Lane, East Cowes, previously denied one offence of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, three offences of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and an offence of arranging or facilitating a sex act he intended to do, namely engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl under 16.

The court heard he had hoped to meet one of the decoy 13-year-old girls in Christchurch Park for penetrative sex.

All the offences relate to conversations he allegedly had with adult decoys posing as three girls aged between nine and 14, over the messaging app Kik.

The offences are alleged to have been committed in July 2019 and the decoys were a mixture of police accounts and civilians from a paedophile hunter group.

The defendant was eventually caught when he was confronted by the paedophile group outside of his house. 

Cook also denied three offences of making indecent images of children on or before July 29 2019.

The charges allege that he made one indecent image and five videos in the most serious level A category, three images and 10 videos in category B and 19 images and five videos in the least serious level C category.

The 48-year-old father of two claimed his partner had wanted him out of her life and he believed she had installed the Kik messenger account to get him into trouble but she denied this when she gave evidence.

The defendant also said the pictures of his penis which were found on his phone and were sent to decoys were actually images he was going to send to his partner to rekindle sexual activity in his relationship.  

Defence barrister Juliet Donovan said the conviction has had a devastating effect on Cook’s family and mentioned he struggles with his health.

Judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley told the defendant: “You had every intention of meeting with the person at the end of your messaging and committing the offences”.

She added that both his partner and children “have been indirectly impacted as they will need to deal with the shame of what’s happened to you”.

Judge Talbot-Hadley then sentenced Cook to seven years in custody and imposed a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

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A prolific paedophile whose offending spanned 50 years will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after several abuse survivors bravely came forward.

Surinder Blah, 72, first caught the attention of detectives in 2020 when a man raised concerns over Blah’s behaviour in the 1960s.

Because these concerns related to a time when Blah was living in Leamington, Warwickshire Police took responsibility for the investigation.

In police interview Blah – who now lives on Orchard Way, Uxbridge, denied what the man had said entirely, branding it a ‘malicious allegation’.

In the wake of that investigation, two more people came forward – including a woman who Blah had started to abuse when she was seven.

The woman told detectives how Blah had continued to abuse her through the years and into adulthood.

She also identified another woman, whom Blah had abused when she was aged between 11 and 17.

This victim was found to be living abroad, but she assisted detectives by providing an online statement and later by flying to the UK to attend an in-person interview.

Blah was arrested at his Uxbridge address in July 2021 and in police interview he once again denied any offences.

At the time of the arrest, officers seized digital devices which were later found to contain extreme pornography and indecent images of children.

For his offences against the two women, and for the images found on his digital devices, Blah was subsequently charged with:

• Three counts of having Sexual Intercourse with a girl under 13.
• Eight counts of Indecent Assault.
• Six counts of Rape.
• One count of Making Indecent Photographs of Children.

And on Monday, 21 October this year, at Warwick Crown Court, Blah was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register - which he will remain on for the rest of his life. 

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A man has been jailed after he used social media to prey on young girls for sex.

Thomas Hall, from Salford, exploited his victims 'purely to satisfy his own twisted sexual desires' and even offered some of them money to find him someone younger, police said. He was also found with dozens of indecent images and videos of children on his phone.

Officers first started probing the 34-year-old in November 2020 after a 12-year-old girl received 'sexual communications' from a man in east Cheshire on WhatsApp. Police linked the messages to Hall and his former home in Cheshire was raided.

He was arrested and police seized a number of mobiles and devices. Cheshire Police said officers found more than 30 incident pictures of children, as well as 30 indecent images.

Seven 'extreme pornographic' images and videos and a bestiality video were also uncovered. Investigations revealed that Hall had been communicating with his victims using fake identities including a woman called Alex and a teenage boy called Jack.

Police said he would 'tell them fake stories' and manipulate them into sending him indecent images. Following an investigation, Hall was arrested and charged.

At Manchester Crown Court yesterday (October 24), Hall, of Rolling Street, Salford, was jailed for 11 years - plus three years on extended licence. He admitted four counts of engaging in sexual communications with a child and four counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

"He has shown no regard for his victims and no remorse"

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of a child and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Peter Taylor, who led the investigation, said: "Hall is a predator, he is manipulative, and used his age and experience to prey on young girls purely to satisfy his own twisted sexual desires.

"He has shown no regard for his victims and no remorse for his actions. His offending only came to an end when he was arrested by our officers.

"While none of the victims will ever be able to forget what happened to them, I hope that Halls conviction and the sentence handed to him will provide them with some closure." DC Taylor added: "Sexual abuse can happen anywhere at any time and the impact can be lifechanging.

"Therefore, its vital that parents and guardians engage with their children to warn them of the dangers of communicating with people via social media. It also important to check that they are using those applications safely and to keep an eye out for any warning signs of sexual exploitation.

"I hope that Halls convictions and sentencing encourages anyone who has been subjected to similar offending to report it to the police. They should feel confident that they will receive the help and support they need from our specialist officers and other support agencies we work alongside.

"All victims will be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, and any allegations will be taken extremely seriously and thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and the needs of the victim as our main priority."

Hall was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

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A registered sex offender has been sentenced to more than 20 years’ jail for raping a child and making her film indecent videos for him.

Jamie Thacker, aged 34, who has been previously convicted of possessing indecent images of children, had messaged the victim via WhatsApp and given her instructions to film indecent videos of herself.

The videos were discovered by a family member of the victim, and further disclosures were made that she had been previously raped by Thacker.

Thacker, who previously lived in Everton, near Biggleswade, pleaded guilty to 10 different counts, including rape, assault by penetration, and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

He was sentenced at Huntington Crown Court last Thursday (17/10) to 21 years in prison with a further five years on licence due to the danger he poses.

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A PAEDOPHILE who sent explicit images of himself to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl has said he committed the offence because he was lonely.

Jack Goodacre, 28, had admitted possessing indecent images of children in March but proceeded to send sexual messages to an account only months later while he was on bail.

Goodacre had contacted a decoy account in July when he asked if he could chat to the young girl called Melissa, Ipswich Crown Court heard on Friday.

A WhatsApp conversation followed which involved Goodacre sending messages calling her “pretty” and “cute”, before asking her if he would be her first boyfriend.

Abby Robinson, prosecuting, said: “He requested a photo of the decoy’s legs and sent two images of himself.”

One image was of Goodacre naked.

The conversation continued and the defendant told the decoy he would book a hotel room for the two of them.

He then sent her a video of him performing a sex act and an image of a sex toy.

A record of the conversation was kept by a vigilante group which was behind the decoy account, and Goodacre was reported to police who arrested him.

The court heard Goodacre, of Victoria Chase, Colchester, was already on bail when he was messaging the decoy account after admitting three charges of possessing indecent images of children – some of whom were as young as six – in March.

In July he then admitted one charge each of attempting to engage a child in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, and possession of category B images before being remanded in custody.

Mark Brown, mitigating, said: “He’s never been in any substantial trouble before. He was working in a full-time job and had his own flat.

“He puts his offending down to loneliness.

“He didn’t deal with going to custody very well and he broke down in the magistrates’ court.

“He has had the shock of his life going into custody.”

Sentencing Goodacre, Judge David Pugh said: “I don’t consider it appropriate to suspend this sentence, so the sentence is 16 months of immediate imprisonment.”

Goodacre was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register and will be subject to notification requirements for ten years.

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A man has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being convicted of domestic abuse and sexual offences in the Fife and Perthshire areas.

Jonathan Rhind, aged 29, committed these crimes between February 2020 and January 2022.

He was found guilty of two charges following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow and returned for sentencing today, Wednesday, 23 October, 2024.

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A sex offender has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison after admitting serious sexual offences against women in West Yorkshire.

Anthony Pilling (43) from Lymm in Warrington was jailed for 24 years at Leeds Crown Court on Monday ( 21st October) after pleading guilty to four offences of rape. 

The 43-year-old admitting three rape offences committed against a woman in Kirklees in July 2024.

He also pleaded guilty to an offence of rape committed against a woman in Calderdale in 2021.

Pilling had pleaded guilty to the offences in an earlier hearing at Leeds Crown Court.

The court heard Pilling had attacked both women in their own homes.

PC Alexandra Oldham of the Kirklees District Adult Safeguarding Unit, said: “We welcome the conviction of Pilling for shocking offences against two women in the very places where they should have expected to have felt safe.

“This substantial 24-year sentence reflects both the seriousness of the offences he committed and the devastating and long-lasting impact those offences had on his victims.

“I hope they can take some comfort from the sentence imposed on Pilling and knowing this dangerous, predatory, man will be off our streets for many years to come.” 

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A sex offender for Horley has been sent back to prison police found six internet-enabled devices at his home. Clive Edward Ellis has been subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) after his conviction for rape in 2007.

The 67-year-old man was sentenced on January 26, 2007, to a 999-month indeterminate public protection sentence after he was found guilty of the rape of a female aged under 16 over a period of approximately two years. He also was convicted of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children.

Ellis spent over six years in custody before being released on licence on April 24, 2013 and was subject to strict conditions placed upon him by his licence and SHPO. Officers from Surrey Police’s High Harm Perpetrator Unit (HHPU) conducted an unannounced visit at Ellis’ address on October 8, 2024.

There they found six internet-enabled devices, including two mobile phones, three tablets and a laptop which he had not disclosed, thereby breaching the conditions of his SHPO. Ellis was charged with three counts of breach of a SHPO and the devices were sent off to be forensically examined.

He was remanded in custody before being recalled to prison. He was also fined £253. Ellis will remain in prison indeterminately.

Detective Inspector Abigail Edey, from the HHPU, said: “The fact that Ellis has been sent back to prison indeterminately shows just how seriously orders such as Sexual Harm Prevention Orders are taken. It also demonstrates that we do carry out regular checks on offenders who have been released from prison and that robust action is taken.

"These orders are put in place to prevent further offending and to keep the public safe and we will always take robust action when we discover that the terms of these orders are not being adhered to.”

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A sex offender who targeted and assaulted a number of women and girls in Canterbury has been jailed.

In June 2024, four women and girls were followed by a man in the St Stephen’s area of the city. The man attempted to touch or grab the victims, before, in some cases, being deterred when they shouted at him.

On Wednesday 12 June, two officers were on patrol in the area when they noticed a man following a woman. The man matched the description of the offender given by victims in previous reports from earlier that month and officers quickly stopped and arrested him.

During the investigation, detectives determined that the arrested man, Athian Majak, was the offender for four incidents in June, as well as additional offences in December 2023.

Charges including indecent exposure, sexual touching, and attempted sexual touching were authorised against Majak, of Downs Road, Canterbury, which he admitted at court.

At Canterbury Crown Court the 20-year-old admitted all nine offences and was given a three-year custodial sentence in a youth offenders’ institute on Friday 18 October 2024.

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A lying child rapist claims that a sex offender order ‘takes away his human rights’.

Chris Leyburn also says that the Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) is “an inconvenience”. The 34-year-old told cops that he wasn’t aware that he had to declare his alias on Snapchat when he was caught with two phones in his mum’s car.

But his claims were dismissed after his sex offender history was resurfaced at Teesside Crown Court - outlining multiple breaches of the strict guidelines he must follow.

The Acklam man appeared at the Middlesbrough court, via video link from HMP Durham, for sentencing on Wednesday. He previously admitted two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with notification requirements.

The court heard that in 2006, Leyburn was convicted of raping two children. He also began relationships with women who had children so a sexual harm prevention order was imposed, prosecutor Dan Wilberforce said.

On September 12 at around 10am, two police officers went to arrest Leyburn after “information was passed” to the force regarding Leyburn’s use of Snapchat. At the time, he was travelling in his mum’s car.

After removing Leyburn from the vehicle, he was asked if he had any mobile phones. He replied no, lying to police. However a search of the car uncovered two mobile phones - a Motorola and a Samsung - stashed in the glove box.

WhatsApp messages between Leyburn and his girlfriend confirmed that the phone was his, Mr Wilberforce explained. Analysis of one of the phones showed that Leyburn had used the username ‘Lizardman1990’ on Snapchat and had been using the app since January.

Mr Wilberforce stated that failing to provide his mobile phone when requested was a breach of his sex offender prevention order. The use of a Snapchat alias - which had not been released to police - was a breach of his notification requirements. Mr Wilberforce told the judge that Leyburn has eight convictions for 23 offences, with 14 offences being of a sexual nature.

Judge Richard Bennett described the Snapchat usage as a “persistent breach”. He told the court that Leyburn has received a number of “length custodial sentences” for breaches of sexual harm prevention order breaches - but they appear to not to have “discouraged him”.

Leyburn, of Aylton Drive, Acklam, Middlesbrough, has eight breaches for not complying with notification requirements and six breaches of his sexual harm prevention order. Judge Bennett told the Middlesbrough court that Leyburn “claims the sexual harm prevention order takes away your human rights and is too restrictive”. Leyburn was jailed for two years.

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A perverted pensioner has been branded a "sexual predator" after he brazenly ignored repeated court orders and deliberately used false names to contact vulnerable children online in highly sexualised messages.

Blatant repeat offender Stephen Sweeting was "heavily convicted" and he had a long history of sexual offending dating back to 1968 but that did not stop him from trying to outwit the police by using an online alias, Hull Crown Court heard.

Sweeting, 72, of Bubwith, north of Howden, admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child, breaching a sexual harm prevention order and two offences of failing to comply with his notification requirements as a convicted sex offender.

Oliver Shipley, prosecuting, said that Sweeting was a "heavily convicted sexual predator with an established history of sexual offending" dating back as far as 1968. He had been jailed for two years on June 17, 2020 for attempting to communicate sexually with a child and breaching a two-year suspended sentence made in June 2019.

This was imposed on Sweeting, who was living at the time in Old Goole, for offences including making indecent images of children and attempting to communicate with a child, who was really an undercover police officer.

His convictions also included sexual assault in 1968 and 1971, sexual assault and indecent exposure in 1973, sexual assault and gross indecency with a child in 1973 and sexual assault of a girl in 1974 and 1977. He had a total of 43 previous offences between 1960 and 2020, 17 of them for sexual offences and 10 for breaching court orders.

The latest offences came to light on July 24 last year when police monitoring Sweeting's activities became aware that he was having online conversations, including on Snapchat, using an alias name that was not registered with the police. He was arrested on September 25 last year for breaching his notification requirements as a sex offender.

His home was searched and he admitted using unregistered names on social media and having sexualised conversations with young children. He had intimate images of his private parts and he had received indecent images. Police from Hampshire made contact with Humberside Police because Sweeting had been traced as having had grossly indecent conversations with a 12-year-old girl. He had sent her intimate images of himself. He had got sexual gratification from his actions.

"This defendant poses a high risk of sexual reoffending and he is a high risk of serious harm to female children," said Mr Shipley. "This is a serious breach. He has a history of disobeying court orders."

Sweeting targeted people that court orders were designed to protect and he made determined attempts to avoid detection by using an alias. "His previous convictions greatly aggravate this offence," said Mr Shipley.

Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that Sweeting pleaded guilty and he made frank and forthright admissions to the police. "He admitted to all his behaviour and then some," said Mr Hammersley.

"He does express remorse for his actions and he recognises the impact that his actions will have had on the children. There were real children reading these messages and it is likely to have an impact on them for a number of years."

There were long periods when Sweeting did not commit any offences. "When he doesn't have access to the internet, he doesn't commit offences," said Mr Hammersley.

Sweeting now had a just "brick phone" that allowed him only to make calls and send text messages. He had a "litany of health issues" and he had not worked for a long time before his retirement.

"This defendant has received almost every type of sentence and he recognises that he faces an immediate custodial sentence," said Mr Hammersley.

Judge Alexander Menary told Sweeting: "You are someone who has a long history of sexual offending. There are convictions dating from as long ago as 1968." Sweeting denied that he had a sexual attraction to children but his previous convictions suggested otherwise. "This was a very serious breach, causing or risking very serious harm," said Judge Menary.

Sweeting, who was on bail, was jailed for three years. He was given a sexual harm prevention order for life and he must register as a sex offender for life.

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An Inverness pensioner who was caught in a sting operation by members of three different paedophile hunter groups has been ordered to take part in a rehabilitation programme for sex offenders.

Raymond Paterson thought he was communicating with teenagers aged from 13 to 15.

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A Derbyshire man who used social media to blackmail children as young as 10 into sending him indecent images of themselves has been sentenced.

National Crime Agency officers arrested Grant Derek Giblin of Willington, Derbyshire – after an investigation found he had been using social media apps to contact children between November 2021 and August 2023.

The 29-year-old would target the children, aged between ten and 16, and befriend them to gain their trust and encourage them to send him images of themselves.

Once he had received these, Giblin would blackmail his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves before again sending the content to him.

He was arrested by NCA officers in January 2024 and charged with offences including engaging in sexual communications with a child under 13 and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Giblin pleaded guilty to all offences at Derby Crown Court in July 2024. He was sentenced to eight years in prison at the same court today (Wednesday, October 23). Giblin will have an extended licence period of a further eight years, be the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and be on the sex offenders register for life.

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Alexander Franczyk, 58, of Pritchard Close, Kingsdown was sentenced at the Old Bailey on October 22. He was found guilty by trial in August for multiple incidents of rape, one incident of attempted rape, multiple assaults by penetration and multiple sexual assaults.

Franczyk has already pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children.

He will also have an extended sentence of five years once released, added to the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and barred from ever working with children.

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A man from Southport has been jailed for multiple sex offences, including creating and sharing digitally altered pornographic images of children and women – known more commonly as ‘deepfakes’.

Karl Marshall, 47, of Rufford Road, Southport, pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, sharing a photograph or film of a person in an intimate state for the purpose of sexual gratification and voyeurism.

He was jailed for two years and two months yesterday, Tuesday 22 October, at Liverpool Crown Court.

A ‘deepfake’ is an image or video that has been digitally altered with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace the face of one person with the face of another.

In recent years, there have been examples around the world of people using the technology to add the faces of celebrities or public figures - most often women - into pornographic films.

Marshall used the faces of real women and children without their knowledge to create pornographic images and shared them online.

As part of a complex investigation, it was also found that between July 2023 and January 2024, Marshall made 266 indecent pseudo-images of children using AI technology.

In a Victim Impact Statement, one of the women who Marshall used to create pornographic images said: “Knowing those images of me are out there circulating the internet is so violating. It was like I was just a piece of meat he could objectify. After discovering the images I questioned why me? Why had Karl targeted me in such a way?

“I stopped making an effort, stopped wearing makeup and didn’t wear my hair down because maybe just maybe if I hadn’t done that before maybe Karl wouldn’t have looked twice at me and maybe it would prevent it from happening again.

“I’m not the same person I was before. My confidence is low, I question my judgement of others, I worry when a man looks at me for too long and panic that he may have seen the images. I’m permanently anxious and on the edge and struggle to sleep all because of Karl’s despicable behaviour.”

A second woman who was targeted in the same way said in her Victim Impact Statement: “I am a changed person. I don’t trust as I once did. I question has this person or that person seen the images of me? Have they been distributing them? I feel unsafe in my own skin. No one touched me yet I feel violated and used. It’s indescribable how dirty and weak you can feel when you have zero control over the situation you find yourself in.”