Latest Offenders

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A convicted sex offender has been jailed after he contacted a number of under-16 girls from a secret digital tablet.

Anthony Metcalfe adopted an alias in conversations with the girls on Snapchat from his home in an outhouse behind a relative’s address in Hartlepool.

The 34-year-old, who was a registered sex offender for life since he was convicted in 2015 of three sexual assaults on children, messaged the youngsters with comments, including ‘nice bum’ and ‘beautiful’.

His ban on contact with children was from a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which was also imposed in 2015 and he was later jailed for 16 months for breaching it five times, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said Metcalfe’s illicit tablet was discovered by police during a visit from his police offending manager on May 10. 

 She said the defendant had a list of names he classed as Snapchat friends and checks identified six were under 16 – two were aged 15, three were aged 13 and one was aged just 12.

“Direct messages had been sent to them such as ‘nice bum’ and ‘beautiful’ and this contact places him in breach of his sexual harm prevention order,” she added.

The court heard how the defendant had 25 convictions for 47 offences, including failing to tell a mother he was visiting at her home that he was a convicted sex offender.

Metcalfe, of Willow Walk, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to six breaches of SHPO and two breaches of his notification requirements. 

 Stephen Constantine, in mitigation, said his client could have an underlying mental health condition which he had hidden for a number of years.

He added: “The only real mitigation in this case is his guilty pleas to each count – given at the earliest opportunity.

“It is clear from the pre-sentence report that there may well be an underlying mental health issue.”

Judge Howard Crowson sentenced Metcalfe to two years and eight months for the breaches.

He said: “Given your history, I have a real anxiety about the risk that you pose. These are serious and persistent breaches, contact with six different children, some really young and at risk of very serious harm.” 

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A man has been convicted of sexual offences and animal cruelty offences in the West Lothian and Forth Valley areas.

Kevin Vivers, 56, was found guilty of 27 charges at the High Court in Livingston today (1 November, 2022) including rapes, sexual assaults and physical abuse of seven women between 1985 and 2020.

Vivers is due to be sentenced next month and he will be placed in the sex offenders register.

Detective Chief Inspector Steven McMillan said: "I hope the outcome at court can bring some comfort to his victims and their families.

"This conviction has only been possible due to the bravery and courage of those who came forward to report this horrific abuse and I commend and thank them for speaking out.

"This was a particularly difficult case due to the horrendous nature of Vivers’ crimes and the sickening animal abuse, which spanned several decades.

"I would encourage anyone who is experiencing or has experienced abuse to come forward and report it to police.

"All reports of abuse and sexual assaults, regardless of the passage of time, will be thoroughly investigated by Police Scotland and victims will be supported throughout.”

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A hospital security guard who tried to pass himself off as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character to probation staff has been jailed for the "torture" of a woman which saw him sexually assault her and burn her body with an iron.

Paul Thwaites, 40, used sexual and physical violence against the woman during the offences which saw him sexually assault her, punch her genitals, burn her body, and strangle her until she was unconscious before slapping her awake again.

Twisted Thwaites - who worked as a security guard at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield - then told a probation service worker the lines between consent and excitement had become "blurred," which a judge said he had done to try and show he had little control over his behaviour.

Leeds Crown Court heard on Monday Thwaites filmed sexual activity and "blackmailed" the woman - telling her he would release the footage. Prosecutor, Alex Menary, said Thwaites "restrained her around her neck and her next recollection was waking up with a buzzing noise in her ear and she became aware he was slapping her in the face to wake her".

The court heard the woman was also "encouraged" into sexual activity by Thwaites who told her "it would be fun" and she consented but he turned aggressive. Mr Menary said Thwaites, of Leeds Road in Wakefield, also punched the woman's genitals over five times and sexually assaulted her with a curtain pole and an aerosol can, during which she asked him to stop and tried to kick out. He also forced her to perform oral sex upon him.

The woman was also subjected to burns on her breasts and stomach by Thwaites who used a pair of straighteners and an iron to cause horrifying injuries. She reported his offending to police in May this year. Thwaites was arrested a day later and denied the offending. However, he later pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by penetration, oral rape and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to do so.

Dad-of-two Thwaites appeared in court via video link and his victim bravely faced him as she told him he had "destroyed" her life. In the victim impact statement, she said: "He completely destroyed me as a person. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, I can be washing up or driving and I have flashbacks of the things he did to me and I break down and cry.

"When I'm driving I have thoughts of letting go of the steering wheel and going into a lorry and the nightmare will be over."

The woman told the court she is on medication and has been signed off work indefinitely by her doctor. She added: "He completely killed me inside. It's going to take years and years to start getting to the old me. I observe things and realise I don't react to them as anyone else does. I have to make myself smile and laugh at things so no one worries about me but inside I just want to crawl into a ball and stop existing."

Mitigating, Michael Collins, said Thwaites is a "model prisoner" and has completed courses while being remanded into custody. A letter from Thwaites and a reference from his mother had been handed to His Honour Judge Robin Mairs. He said he had no relevant previous convictions.

Mr Collins said: "There is nothing that suggests he is going to repeat the commission of any similar offending in the future." The barrister said Thwaites accepted he had been "insensitive" to the woman's "reluctance" to engage in parts of sexual activity. Mr Collins said: "What the defendant would say upon reflecting on his conduct to which he has pleaded guilty is that he is disgusted by it. He would say that he doesn't recognise - and these are his words - 'that horrible man'.

"He is disgusted by his actions. His regret and remorse are genuine. He recognises he has done wrong and it is right he is imprisoned. He struggles to understand his behaviour and has been working and taking advantage of whatever is available in prison to begin to understand his conduct and how a man in his 40s without a history of violent or sexual offending commits these offences of such seriousness."

The court heard how the author of the pre-sentence report said Thwaite is "high risk" which had been elevated from the analytical testing available to the probation service. Mr Collins said the authors said Thwaites "failed to recognise the seriousness and consequences of his conduct" and he "doesn't understand that assessment as he has been clear that he does and can offer no explanation about why that has been put."

Mr Collins said: "He did have concerns that the author of the report wasn't listening with care to some of the answers he was giving. He doesn't know that but he's trying to explain what he thinks was a breakdown in communication. He can't fathom why the author asserts that when he clearly did."

Judge Mairs said: "Perhaps because he said the lines became 'blurred' and was at great pains to show himself as a Jekyll and Hyde character with little or no control of behaviour? Or perhaps because there was an air of confidence to portray himself as misunderstood?"

Mr Collins said Thwaites "does not shy away from what he has done and knows he is going to be punished for it".

Judge Mairs described Thwaites' crimes as "torture" as he handed him an extended sentence of 23-and-a-half years, made up of 16-and-a-half-years in custody and an extended licence period of seven years. He will have to serve two thirds of the sentence before going before the Parole Board who will determine if he is safe for release.

The judge said: "As the probation officer put it - you dismantled her emotional resilience to meet your own needs. You knew the seriousness of what you were doing." The judge said counts 2 and 3 (assault by penetration) followed consensual sexual activity. He said: "This was repeated sexual violence designed to humiliate, belittle and degrade someone for your own sexual gratification so you could enjoy your own encyclopedia of torture.

"With formidable courage she came to court today and read her victim impact statement. In her words, you took everything and destroyed her as a person. You have subjected her to a life sentence."

Judge Mairs said Thwaites' description of himself as a "Jekyll and Hyde" character was "just another persona to take blame for this offending." He was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life and was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Reacting to the sentencing, Detective Constable Matthew Sherriff, who was the investigating officer, said: I would like to thank the victim for her bravery and courage in coming forward and reporting these offences and to all those who supported the police investigation.

Thwaites is a dangerous individual who has been convicted of serious offences. These convictions will hopefully not only bring closure and justice to the victim but will ensure that he cannot harm anyone else."

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A paedophile who groomed a teenage girl by giving her sweets before sexual abusing her has been locked up.

Shop worker Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, of Pipers Hill Road in Kettering, handed her extra change and gave her free confectionery and soft drinks.

The 45-year-old then sexually abused her before the victim reported the offences to Northamptonshire Police.

Santhakumar initially denied the allegations when he was interviewed by officers and was charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child, four counts of inciting sexual activity with a child and two counts of possession of indecent images of children.

He pleaded guilty to some offences before his trial and was convicted of all remaining charges by a jury.

At Northampton Crown Court he was jailed for 11 years, with a further two years on licence.

Lead investigator Detective Constable Chris Waterfall, from Northamptonshire Police’s child protection team, commended the victim for her courage and said her support was vital to their investigation.

He said: “This case shows that sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence. Santhakumar gradually built trust with this girl through offering her free items and money off her purchases. It then escalated into this abuse.

“I welcome the sentence handed out to him as it means there is one less sexual predator on our streets and one less person able to harm children. I hope this result shows the seriousness with which Northamptonshire Police takes these offences and I want to reassure the public that we will continue to work hard to bring people like Santhakumar to justice.”

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 Christopher Kelly 56 of Cranbook Street, Radcliffe was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday 28 October 2022 to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and using the internet to contact girls under the age of 18.

Christopher Kelly was arrested in September following multiple online vigilante groups who reported that they had been communicating with Kelly using fake profiles of different 13-year-old girls.

Detective Constable Adam Gosling of the Complex Safeguarding Team, Bury division, commented: “Kelly’s actions are deplorable and completely unacceptable. The safety of our children is a top priority of GMP, and I hope this result sends a stark warning to offenders that these behaviours will not be tolerated.

“I would encourage anyone who has been affected by this case to please come forward and tell us what happened to you. We will listen and take your allegations seriously. Victims should not feel they are at fault when they are preyed on by offenders.

“GMP will do their utmost to thoroughly investigate all reports of this type of crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

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A convicted child sex offender from Devon moved in with a woman shortly after leaving prison but did not tell her the truth about his criminal past. Lee Savage, 41, behaved like he was part of the family and spent most of his time in Taunton, Exeter Crown Court heard.

He was banned from contact with children by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order but ignored its restrictions and did not tell police or probation that he was not living full-time at his registered address in Plymouth.

His lies were discovered when a suspicious family member Googled his name and discovered he was a registered sex offender with a history of grooming children. Savage swiftly left the property but was arrested by police and brought back to court.

The defendant, previously of Keyham Road in Plymouth, has been jailed for two years. He admitted breaching his SHPO and two offences of failing to comply with notification requirements.

Prosecutor Mr James Adam said Savage was released on licence from a jail sentence, imposed for attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming, in 2020. Instead of living at the Plymouth address he entered into a relationship with a mum-of-two in Taunton.

He moved into the family home and before his arrest in November spent 101 days in the Taunton area. He was never alone with her children in private and did not commit any sexual offences. Savage did offer to look after the children and gave the impression they were a family, said the prosecutor.

The relationship ended when his partner's sister searched his name on Google and found details of the 2017 conviction which involved him being caught by paedophile hunters. The sister posted details online and police investigated.

Savage failed to tell police he had moved address, putting him in breach of the notification requirements. By having contact with children without their parent's full and informed consent he breached his SHPO.

His now ex-partner said she felt angry with herself and feels as if she was groomed by letting Savage into her life. The defendant also has previous convictions, dating back to 2010, for sexual activity with a female child under 16 and possessing indecent photos of children. He also has a previous breach of his lifetime SHPO on his record.

Ms Evie Dean, defending, said Savage had a difficult childhood. He was released from jail at the height of the Covid pandemic and felt as if he had no stability. He accepts what he did and is sorry.

Judge Anna Richardson said: "Although you told police about your Plymouth address you in fact spent little time there and fully involved yourself in family life." She said it had been a persistent breach, he has a history of ignoring orders and begged for police not to be told.

She imposed a 10-year restraining order for him not to contact the family.

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A woman who was found with thousands of 'harrowing' child abuse images pretended to be mute when she appeared in court. However, despite claiming she suffers from a medical condition that renders her incapable of speaking, Lydia Chadwick later went on to talk in order to defend herself before a jury.

The 36-year-old, who has links to Aberdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf, had been found to possess more than 2,000 indecent images of children after police executed a warrant at her home address in Ulverston, Cumbria. Officers seized mobile phones and a laptop.

Over 700 of the images found were considered to be in the most serious category. Chadwick had already been found guilty at an earlier hearing but was sentenced last week (Tuesday, October 25) at Preston Crown Court, reports LancsLive.

She was jailed for three years for three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and possessing a prohibited image of a child. Officers revealed that she would talk about child sexual abuse online with other people and even sell indecent images of children.

Detective Constable Ryan Parker, Cyber and Digital Crime Unit, said: "Lydia Chadwick stored images on devices belonging to her depicting harrowing images of child sexual abuse. She would communicate online with other people to talk about child sexual abuse as well as selling indecent images of children.

"At the beginning of her trial Chadwick claimed to be mute, due to a medical condition which rendered her unable to speak - but later on she spoke to defend herself. Indecent images of children offences are far from a victimless crime.

"Not only do the images show children being abused, but demand for such images also then leads to further abuse occurring," he added. "We will continue to do what we can to target those who commit online child sexual abuse offences and bring offenders to justice."

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Haley had previously been sentenced in 2015 to more than six years imprisonment for a sexual assault and other offences related to indecent images of children.

Upon his release, he was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which restricted his use of devices able to access the internet.

Any devices he owned would need to be made available for inspection on request by a police officer or staff.

On September 5 last year, officers made an unannounced visit to his home in Ballard Close, Marden.

After examining his phone, police discovered the 40-year-old had been accessing hundreds of illegal images, which included child sexual abuse.

Haley would use an online alias, 'Amy', and discuss abusing children with other users. He also used apps to send and receive messages and images, with settings configured to delete after viewing.

Haley was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

He was further charged with breaching a sexual harm prevention order and for failing to comply with a notification requirement, relating to the sex offenders register.

The offender from Marden pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced on October 20to four years’ imprisonment with an extended licence period of a further four years. He will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Investigator Lee Sinden, of the Offender Management Unit, said: "Haley had been the subject of strict measures designed to reduce the risk of him reoffending. He has been unable to adhere to these restrictions and has demonstrated a clear determination to access illegal and harmful images, many of which include the horrific abuse of children.

"In passing this extended sentence, the judge has recognised he poses a serious risk of further offences to children. Sexual harm prevention orders are passed by the courts to help protect children and as this case shows, we will do everything we can to ensure those who ignore them face the consequences of their actions."

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An architect who molested a drunken fellow-graduate while she slept on a sofa after an all-you-can-drink 'bottomless Prosecco brunch' has been jailed for three and a half years. 

Oliver Smail, 31, who has a Master of Architecture qualification from Kingston University, groped the 29-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after they met on an all-day bar crawl.

When questioned by police Smail admitted: 'Obviously she is a pretty girl and I am a man so I may make a few moves.'

One of Smail's university friends even sent a text to a mutual friend saying the architect was: 'literally attempting rape on the sofa.' 

An Inner London Crown Court jury convicted Smail, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire of sexual assault by penetration at a two-bedroom apartment in Walworth on September 8, 2019.

The judge discounted the sentence by six months because Smail, a former Planning Support Officer with Aylesbury Vale District Council, had to wait over two years for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge him. He also placed him on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Judge Benedict Kelleher told Smail: 'You all ended up at a flat of your friend's. You had consumed a very large quantity of alcohol and took cocaine as did the victim, who also took ecstasy.

'By the early hours she had fallen asleep on the sofa and there can be no doubt she was asleep when you committed this offence.

'You had shown an interest that afternoon and evening in her and were attracted to her, but you had not behaved inappropriately and had not concerned her.

'You took that opportunity to assault her and when she woke she found you were penetrating her with your finger and had pulled down the underwear that she had been wearing.'

During the trial the woman told the jury from behind a screen: 'I remember him trying to touch me and moving to the other side of the sofa,' adding she woke at 6.30am with her underwear and tight spanx shorts around her knees.

She felt his hand between her legs and kicked him off the couch. 'I woke up and that's what was happening. There was a point in the night I was aware of him.

'I was aware of this because of the way he was touching me. I think he was completely out of it. Very intoxicated.'

The woman told the trial she began drinking in Dalston's trendy 'Jones & Sons' which offers a two-hour 'Off The Wagon' brunch of never-ending Prosecco.

'We were drinking for two-and-a-half hours,' she told the court.

She was celebrating a birthday and she and her two female friend's joined Smail's mostly male group and continued drinking cocktails at the nearby 'Three Sheets' bar.

Smail and friends Tom Madden and Alexander Hodgson-Doughty, who was celebrating his birthday, all know each other from the University of Kent.

They moved onto other local pubs and bars, continuing to drink and both the woman and Smail snorted cocaine during the evening and she also took an 'ecstasy' pill.

'I have been very honest that I took 'ecstasy' and cocaine. I have no recollection of who gave it to me, it was one of the three men.'

The group then took a minicab to Elephant & Castle with the vague idea of going to the Ministry of Sound nightclub, but instead bought a bottle of gin from an off licence and continued drinking at Alex's flat.

'I am not denying I was drunk,' she added, recalling a short chat she had with Smail that evening. 'I got the feeling he was flirting, but from early on I was not interested and made that clear.'

After a few rounds of gin and tonics at the flat Alex disappeared into his bedroom with the complainant's friend, leaving her to sleep on the living-room couch.

The next morning she burst into the bedroom to complain about Smail to her friend, who asked him: 'Did you finger my friend while she was asleep? Did you do that?'

The friend said Smail tried to hide under a pillow and replied: 'I thought she consented.'

When cross-examined he insisted he was referring to her consent to leg touching and nothing more intimate.

He quickly put his jacket on and left the apartment as the complainant's friend continued shouting and demanding the police be called.

Smail, who runs his own design firm, told the jury all he did was rub the woman's leg when he woke up in the middle of the night to find it in his crotch.

He was also drinking in 'Jones & Sons', where he also confessed to taking cocaine. 'It is not something I regularly do, it was pushed towards me during brunch.'

Regarding the complainant he said: 'I didn't find her sexually attractive,' but admitted texting a friend during the evening to describe her as 'cute.'

'I was really quite drunk,' he admitted, explaining his motivation for squeezing onto the couch was to sleep and not any sexual motive.

'I woke up with something rubbing against my crotch.

'I was in a very deep sleep, very hazy and my reaction was to feel the leg. I kind of rubbed it, squeezed it like a massage just to see if it was a girl or a guy or a reaction of some sort.

'She kind of squeezed my hand and rubbed it and nothing was said by anyone.'

Smail claims he got up to sleep in the spare room, but Alex told him it was being rented via Air B&B so he returned to the couch.

'When I woke up I was being kicked in the head. It was not a hard kick and I took it as a meaning she did not want me on the sofa I had been rubbing her calf earlier on.

'I was so dazed and confused. I did not understand why I was being kicked.'

Smail denied pulling down the woman's underwear. 'I was not aware of what she was wearing under her dress. I never moved any of her clothing.

'I only had one hand that was free at any time.'

He was questioned two weeks later and charged over two years after that. 'It was upsetting. I remember my heart racing and having this massive weight on my shoulders and having to trust in this system that I am going through.'

Insisting he would do nothing without the woman's consent he recalled the moment she kicked him in the head. 'I remember thinking: 'Oh God. I totally misread that situation.'

'I grabbed a pillow and slept on the floor until I was woken up by her friend pulling it away.'

In her victim impact statement the woman said: 'I don't think the assault will be something I can ever comprehend. I often wonder if there was more I could have done.

'I was vulnerable when he decided to assault me. I was asleep and had no way of defending myself.

'Since the assault I suffer panic attacks and drive myself into a state of panic. I have serious issues sleeping and wake up with night terrors.

'He waited until I was asleep and vulnerable before he attacked me. I believe his ego was hurt by me rejecting him earlier that night and took matters into his own hands.'

Smail's KC Chris Henley told the court: 'This is very sad in many respects. This is a man who has been through a great deal.

'He has a great deal of remorse and empathy for what this woman went through and his letter to the court is heartfelt with a real degree of understanding.

'His life is very different now than in September, 2019. He bitterly regrets going out with these people.'

Smail felt sorry for birthday buddy Mr Hodgson-Doughty's lack of guest numbers and felt obliged to stick with him that night, despite the evening descending into drunkenness and drug-taking, the court heard.

'He still finds it shocking and shaming what he did that night,' added the KC. 'His behaviour just wasn't out of character, it was off the scale.

'He has built up a business, but has found it very difficult to focus on that since the conviction and is on anti-depressants.

'It has been a publicly shaming experience with reports in the national press and Mr Smail has struggled to leave his house, wondering if photographers were waiting for him.

'When he last left court there was a man outside with a camera and he could not believe he was there to take a picture of him.'

Judge Kelleher told the first-time offender: 'The offence you committed was brief and there is nothing to say it lasted for more than a moment.

'You were still under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time. It was not a planned offence, but in an uninhibited and intoxicated state you made that fateful decision to do that.

'You were a man of completely good character with no convictions and many people have spoken very highly of your personal qualities.

'Your letter to the court expresses genuine and serious remorse on your part for what you did, but this is a case where your victim being asleep was particularly vulnerable.'

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The prolific offender has repeatedly breached sex offender notification requirements since 2004.

A sex offender told police he was staying at a youth hostel due to his pigeon allergy flaring up at his address.

Robert Jeffrey, previously of Darlington, has repeatedly appeared before the courts for failing to comply with sex offender requirements. He was handed a lengthy jail sentence on Tuesday after entering guilty pleas to five charges of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements, failing to comply with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and forging a vehicle registration mark.

At a sentencing hearing, Teesside Crown Court heard his crimes came to light in June when police raised concerns about Jeffrey's whereabouts and made several visits to his registered address.

Christopher Bevan prosecuting said: "The place appeared deserted and police carried out further investigations and were able to ascertain he was staying in a youth hostel in Richmond. Later, the police located the defendant staying in a tent in a secluded part of the grounds at another youth hostel in Northallerton where they arrested him."

The court heard the defendant had used black tape to make an 'E' on his car registration to avoid being tracked. Officers also seized a Samsung tablet which had several non-registered email accounts and a picture of a girl believed to be under 18. Mr Bevan said the image appeared to have been taken from a covert angle.

Asked why he was not at his registered address, Mr Bevan said: "He stated he is allergic to pigeons and could no longer stay at his address. He said he chose to stay at youth hostels because they are cheap."

The court heard the defendant payed for the stays with two bank accounts which were not registered with police.

However in mitigation, Jamie Adams stressed Jeffrey's sexual offending has been non contact and claimed he was forced to leave his address due to allergies, Mr Adams said: "He tells me the reason he left the premises was the reason he gave to the police he became ill because of the faeces of pigeons in the area. He complained about it to the landlord on numerous occasions and nothing was done about it. He headed out of the area to try and recuperate.

"He hopes in the future he can become a normal member of society and can engage with society."

During the hearing, Mr Bevan listed Jeffrey's previous crimes, they are as follows:

• The defendant was first convicted in Stroud in February 2004 for 10 offences of possessing indecent photographs of children. In the December of that year he was convicted again of failing to adhere to sex offender requirements.
• In January 2006, he failed to comply with requirements and was convicted in 2007 after attempting to meet or communicate with a child following sexual grooming.
• In June 2011, he was convicted at Shrewsbury for failing to comply with requirements, possession of an indecent image and breach of a SHPO.
• In October 2013, he was convicted of failing to comply with notification requirements and breaching a SHPO.
• In 2015, Jeffrey was sentenced in Shropshire for failing to comply with notification requirements and again in August 2018.
• In December 2019, he was sentenced before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe for failing to comply with notification requirements and in 2020 he was committed to Teesside Crown Court for further failings and was sentenced to two-years imprisonment.

Sentencing the defendant, Judge Jonathan Carroll said: "You have significant previous convictions. There are multiple and repeated failures to comply with notification requirements. You have persistently and relentlessly refused to cooperate with the orders that are in place that are primarily for public protection."

Jeffrey, 54, of no fixed address, was handed a 40-month prison sentence and banned from driving for 38 months. He must also pay a victim surcharge.

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This is the first picture of a man who subjected a woman to a terrifying sex attack after pushing his way into her home. Before she escaped the victim was threatened with being stabbed in the throat by Mohammed Ismail.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that Ismail had gone to the victim's address in the early hours of July 22 this year where he 'hugged and pestered her'. He returned some hours later and after forcing his way in told her to sit on the bed and produced £100 and offered it to her saying she was "his girl," said Harinderpal Dhami, prosecuting.

He then pushed her down on the bed and tried to kiss her neck, face and lips but she managed to struggle free and tried to flee from the room but the defendant pulled her back by her hair, at which point he picked up a lock knife and threatened to stab her. "He tried to pull her on top of him and then he got on top of her. He threatened her again, threatening to stab her in the throat," said Mr Dhami.

The victim did, though, eventually manage to run out of the room and sought help from a friend. In a statement she said that she suffered flashbacks and that she had had to move as a result of what happened. In passing sentence, Judge Andrew Smith KC said: "I am sure it was clear to you from the early hours that she did not want your attentions. Despite that several hours later you pushed your way into her bedroom.

"I am entirely satisfied you would not have stopped had she not escaped." He said it had been a "sustained and plainly terrifying" attack for which there was no justification. Ismail, 35, of Aston Lane, Aston, who had previously admitted a charge of sexual assault, was jailed for two years and three months. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Robert Tolhurst, defending, said Ismail had come to the UK from Somalia without a father figure as a refugee from civil war and that he suffered from PTSD, depression and anxiety.

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A perverted shopper was chased around a Tesco store after taking pictures of children in the toy aisle. A fuming mum ran after Dean Wood after noticing he had been taking snaps of her two young children.

He even tried to flee before being stopped by other members of the public, a court has heard. Indecent images and videos of youngsters were found on convicted sex offender's phone.

The mother noticed the 46-year-old, who appeared "dodgy and on-edge", holding his phone close to his chest and not looking at toys at around 2.30pm on February 12. He was around 4ft from the children, aged three and six, and seemed to be taking pictures of them, said Phillip Vollans, prosecuting.

Wood moved away to the Health and Beauty section and the mum decided to follow him and believed he may have been taking photos of other children, BirminghamLive reports. Mr Vollans said the woman called her husband, who was outside, and they confronted Wood, demanding: "Excuse me why are you taking photos of my kids?"

Mr Vollans said Wood was defensive and denied having taken pictures, but tried to flee the Sutton Coldfield branch when the family said they were going to contact store security. Police officers sent to the scene found he had been made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order in October 2011 after a conviction for a series of sexual offences.

In breach of the order, Wood twice refused to give the pin number for his phone and he was also found to have another phone at his home along with a Toshiba laptop. Mr Vollans said indecent images, both moving and still, were found on the phone he had used at Tesco.

Wood had admitted four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and three charges of possessing indecent images. He was jailed for four years and two months. Passing sentence, Judge John Butterfield told him he had taken pictures in Tesco "for sexual purposes".

He went on: "Your behaviour was serious and distressing for the parents who effectively had to chase you through the supermarket and grab the phone off you facing the knowledge their children had been photographed on a phone by a sex offender." Charles Blatchford, defending, said there had not been any physical contact with the children.

He said there had been some deception regarding the phone and laptop found at his home but he had been in regular contact with his offender manager. Mr Blatchford said Wood had a 78-year-old mother to whom he had given regular assistance over mobility issues and that, after going on the straight and narrow for some time during lockdown, his "bad habits had come back".

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Oliver Fox, who has to inform officers of a change of address within 72 hours as part of being on the Sex Offenders' Register, is now facing a possible prison sentence.

A sex offender is facing jail after he failed to inform police of his whereabouts for three days after leaving hospital.

Oliver Fox, who appeared on Chroniclelive earlier this month for urinating in front of disgusted patients in the A and E waiting room at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, was back in the dock less that four weeks later after he breached the requirements of being on the Sex Offenders' Register.

A court heard that the 45-year-old voluntarily admitted himself to hospital on October 12 but then disappeared without telling anyone where he was going. Under the rules of the Sex Offenders' Register, he must inform police within three days of a change of address or if he becomes homeless.

When staff at the hospital did finally get an answer on Fox's mobile, it was a stranger who'd just bought the device from him in the street, prosecutors said. Fox, formerly of Salters Road, in Gosforth, but now of no fixed abode, appeared in the dock in custody at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court to plead guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register.

James Long, prosecuting, said Fox admitted himself into hospital on October 12 but disappeared on October 22. Mr Long continued: "What's happened is, he's gone out on unescorted leave on a particular day and never returned. Staff try and phone him.

"There's some suggestion he's fallen off the wagon. They repeatedly try and phone him. Someone else eventually answers the phone and says they have just bought it off a homeless man, who they thought was on drugs. The defendant failed to notify the police of his new address. Having left the hospital on October 22, he had until October 25 to do so and he did not."

The court heard that Fox, who has one previous breach of the register on his record from July this year, was on a conditional discharge at the time, which was given earlier this month for the urinating in the hospital.

Steve Chambers, defending, said, until recently, Fox hadn't offended since 2003. He added: "His mental health is poor. When he's homeless, which he usually is, he has to tell the police every seven days that he's homeless. He was then accommodated at the hospital but left and became homeless again. He's surrendered straight away when he's realised his mistake."

District Judge Kate Meek adjourned the case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. She added: "You are now on bail, which means you have a duty to come back here on November 17 for sentence."

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A 29-year-old man from Suffolk has been jailed for three years after sexually assaulting a lone teenage girl in a park.

Ipswich Crown Court heard Reece Mason, from Marine Parade in Lowestoft, had approached the girl and tried to chat to her.

Mason took her phone number and called and sent her messages before approaching her again later on in Kirkley Fen Park and touching her inappropriately over her clothes.

Police said it left the girl extremely traumatised and shaken.

Following police inquiries, Mason was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual touching and meeting a girl under 16 following grooming.

Mason pleaded not guilty to one sexual offence and also to the grooming offence – both these offences are to lie on file.

Following a guilty plea to the second sexual offence, the judge in court sentenced Mason to a custodial term of three years in jail and an extended period on licence of a further four years.

Det Insp Matt Adams from Lowestoft CID said: "The victim showed great courage in coming forward and I hope [the] result offers some form of closure for them.

"I am sure the incident will stay with her for a long time but truly hope the fact that Mason has paid for his actions will encourage them to remain strong and brave.

"This case shows that police will investigate reports of sexual offences thoroughly, with officers working closely with the victims of such offences to bring offenders to justice.”

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A PAEDOPHILE has been locked up after he was tricked into meeting police officers when he thought he would be meeting a 14-year-old boy.

Frank Salmon, of Harbourne Gardens, West End, Southampton, was jailed for two year four months after pleading guilty to arranging and facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.

The 54-year-old expected to meet and sexually abuse a 14-year-old boy on June 23 this year in Shirley, Southampton. Instead, he was met and arrested by officers from Hampshire Constabulary and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu).

Detective Constable Colin Haynes of Serocu, said: ‘Thankfully no children were ever in danger during this investigation, but Salmon clearly intended to meet and carry out these acts on a minor until he was stopped by officers.

‘I am glad he recognised his guilt and will now spend time in prison reflecting upon his actions. The case highlights the hard work and dedication of the officers within Serocu and in police forces in finding those willing to carry out these acts and ensuring they face justice.’

Salmon was also sentenced to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.