Latest Offenders

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A man has been found guilty of raping two teenagers on the same night in a Dundee car park.

Thomas Millar raped one of the girls in the back seat of a car and the other both inside and outside the vehicle.

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A sex offender who once tried to meet a young girl for sexual activity has been hauled back before the courts for breaching an order.

David Walls, 43, was handed a 28-month prison sentence at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Prosecutor Jenny Haigh told the court that Walls is a registered sex offender and on March 15, 2017, he was convicted after grooming a girl and attempting to meet her. She said the pair chatted over the internet and he offered her cigarettes and suggested meeting up for sexual activity.

However, Ms Haigh said the girl did not attend the meeting as she knew "it was wrong". Following the conviction, the defendant was made to comply with notification requirements but breached these in July.

The court heard police obtained a warrant and attended his home address however, it was clear he had not been living at the home. Officers then attended his brother's property and apprehended Walls after he tried to flee.

Ms Haigh said his phone was then searched. She added: "It was quite clear the defendant had been using the laptop and iPad at his brother's home. It was clear he had been staying there."

The prosecutor said the search revealed that he had been using Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook under alias names. She said the defendant has six convictions for 16 offences and has previously breached the order.

In mitigation, however, the court heard Walls admitted the offences and "with hindsight knows he needs to change his behaviour".

Walls of Rugby Street, Hartlepool was handed a 28-month prison sentence.

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A PAEDOPHILE has been locked up by the courts for his depraved online sex chats with someone he believed to be a child.

Simon Bright believed he was communicating in a sexual manner with a 12-year-old girl.

The 50-year-old engaged in disgusting communications with her, telling the girl how he wanted to be her boyfriend and take a shower with her.

But he was actually talking to an adult operating a decoy profile in a bid to root out online offenders with a sexual interest in children.

After being caught, Bright was charged with attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

The case of the prosecution was outlined by Max Saffman, who explained to Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, July 25, how the offences occurred over a four-day period between August 25 and 28 last year.

The defendant admitted, through his guilty plea to the charge, intentionally attempting to communicate with a 12-year-old girl for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.

He asked the ‘girl’ if she had a boyfriend and if she would like him to be her boyfriend, as well as telling her he wished he could join her in the shower.

Bright also asked her for photographs, asked her if she fancied him and asked her to talk sexually with him.

In addition, the defendant encouraged the ‘child’ to perform a sex act on herself and photograph herself doing so to send to him.

Bright, of Poplars Avenue in Orford, pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced by judge Simon Berkson to 28 months in prison.

He was also made the subject of sex offender registration and notification requirements for 10 years and a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.

In addition, the court approved an order for the forfeiture and destruction of his mobile phone seized by police.

Description

A former Durham cricket coach has admitted sexually assaulting a teenage player after being convicted of similar offences on four previous occasions.

Michael Strange, 63, appeared via videolink from prison for a 10-minute hearing at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court and admitted a single indecent assault charge on a 14-year-old in the Tyne and Wear area in the late 1990s.

Stephanie Cook, prosecuting, outlined that the offence was that Strange touched the boy while he was acting as a cricket coach.

Magistrates sent the case to Newcastle Crown Court on September 7 because their sentencing powers were not sufficient for the seriousness of the offence.

It was understood that Strange’s prison sentence for his previous offending was coming to an end soon, but that he would still be behind bars when this latest case was dealt with at crown court.

No details can be published which identify the victim in this case.

Investigators have now been in contact with the cricket authorities about Strange’s offending.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have spoken with the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and shared appropriate information.

“In doing so, we protected the right that all complainants and victims of sexual offences have to life-long anonymity, meaning they should not be named or identified in any way.”

Another victim, who was also abused by Strange when he was 14, has called on the ECB to hold an inquiry.

He said previously: “At the time, Strange was a trustworthy coach, a proven coach, someone who young cricketers did look up to, very knowledgeable.

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A disgraced former police officer who sexually assaulted a lone teenager as she walked home alone at midnight has been jailed for two and a half years.

James White, a former officer for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), admitted he had drunk four bottles of wine before getting in his car for a drive on 25 June, before carrying out an attack that was "the stuff of nightmares".The 39-year-old said he had not gone out to prowl for a lone female but when he spotted the teenager in a remote location in Darwen, Lancashire, he stopped the car and assaulted her.

Eve Salter, prosecuting, told the court the girl heard footsteps running up behind her. When White caught up he put his hands over her eyes, saying: "I don't want to hurt you".

He dragged her to the ground, causing grazes and bruises to her arm, torso and hip, before removing one of his hands from her eyes and putting it on her leg.The brave teenager took out her mobile phone and called her mum on Facetime. She tried to strike her attacker with the phone as the call connected, but White tried to knock it out of her hand.

She was able to take a photo of her attacker, who was wearing a distinctive t-shirt, before White ran away into the darkness, spooked by the girl's call for help.

The youngster was collected by her step-dad and reported the attack to the police.She said: "I don't know how to feel about the attack. I am just glad to be alive as I feared the worst was about to happen."The court heard White was dismissed from his role with GMP, serving the Bolton area, after he was convicted of four offences relating to the sexual harassment of female colleagues.

Tom Worsfold, defending, said his client recognised the court would have little sympathy for him and deserved to feel the shame he feels.

His step father, who has visited him in HMP Durham, said White told him he felt "he was torn between two different people - one good, one bad - and the bad one was winning"."There is a sense of tragedy that this person who was once a police officer in a position of responsibility could fall so low", Mr Worsfold said.

Sentencing, Judge Altham said: "What must have made this attack so frightening is that a 16-year-old who was on her own was targeted on the street.

"It is the stuff of nightmares for a stranger to wrestle you to the ground with the intention of sexual assault.

"If this was a planned attack where he has prowled for a victim before attacking her in this way, it is troubling, but it is equally troubling if all it takes is the sight of a lone female for him to run up behind her and assault her in this way.

"This young woman had to fight him off in the course of a violent attack. A man who can attack a young woman in this way - particularly with his background, is dangerous."

He sentenced White, of Suddellside Road, Darwen, to two years and six months for sexual assault with 10 months to run concurrently for ABH.

The judge also placed White on the Sex Offenders Register for 15 years, saying: "He will remain a danger to women for a significant period of time."

Description

A predator took advantage of a young girl’s “vulnerability”, growing in his bravado as he committed a series of increasingly serious sexual offences against her, a court was told.

Allen March was said to have been aware that the girl had been the victim of online grooming and was at a low in her life.

Durham Crown Court heard that the first inkling she received of his unwanted attention was when he sent her a message commenting on her body and breasts, which his victim now believes was the defendant seeing, “what he could get away with”.

March moved on to touching offences before he raped the girl for the first time prior to her 13th birthday.

Joe Cully, prosecuting, said the defendant's abuse of the girl continued for several years, before his victim finally gained the courage to speak up about his activities, having feared for a long time that she would not be believed.

The 58-year-old defendant, of Orchard Street, Crook, was charged with 18 sexual offences, including five of rape.

Despite his denials and claims that his victim was lying, he was convicted of all 18 offences following a week-long trial at the court in May.

The former taxi driver appeared back before the court via video link from nearby Durham Prison for today’s sentencing hearing.

Mr Cully said that important evidence emerged during the trial of March having sent a photograph of his private parts to another child and to a 17-year-old female passenger in his taxi.

The abuse victim’s impact statement was read to the court in which she said she was a “really vulnerable kid” when she first encountered March.

She said she suffered from low-esteem and had self-harmed as a result of his actions, which had badly affected her education.

In addition, she said she has suffered nightmares and flashbacks, and is nervous in the presence of men, refusing to answer the door to male delivery drivers or go alone in taxis or on public transport.

Chris Baker, for March, said he had no previous convictions, but added: “He has had his trial and knows there is no mitigation that can be put forward.”

Mr Baker said the defendant has his own health issues and “physical ailments” which he will have to endure during his, “very lengthy imprisonment.”

Judge James Adkin told March that he began grooming the girl from a young age and his complimentary message about her physique would appear to have been, “testing the water”.

The judge said some of the evidence heard about the sexual abuse of the victim, during the trial, was, “harrowing to listen to.”

Judge Adkin told March: “It’s said you’re previously of good character, but the more serious the offending, the less weight that holds.”

Sentencing him as, “an offender of particular concern”, he imposed the 23-year prison sentence with a one-year licence extension.

The result is that March will have to serve at least two-thirds of the 23 years, almost 16 years, before he will be eligible for release on licence.

He was made subject of a restraining order, relating to the victim, and registration as a sex offender, both for life, while he will also have to abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 30 years.

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A man who raped schoolgirl five months before she was sexually assaulted and murdered by her older brother has been jailed.

Jamie Starrs, 20, attacked the vulnerable Amber Gibson while she was asleep or unconscious at a property in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, in June 2021.

The innocent 16-year-old was later sexually assaulted and killed by her brother Connor Gibson, 19, in November 2021 but a statement she gave to police before her death proved crucial in bringing her rapist to justice. 

Starrs denied any wrongdoing and went on trial at the High Court in Lanark. However, Jurors took two hours to convict him of raping Amber and also raping a second teenager just two weeks earlier.

Starrs was jailed for ten-and-a-half years and two years of supervision upon release. Sentencing the double rapist, who appeared via video link from custody, Judge Thomas Welsh said: 'You have been convicted of appalling crimes against two innocent teenage girls and you have been assessed as being of very high risk of sexual violence on release.

'I am required to take into account your age and difficult upbringing - however, the crimes remain serious and grave, and I will impose an extended sentence.'

He said that he would have ordered 11 years to be served in custody but reduced this to ten-and-a-half years behind bars to take into account the time that Starrs has spent on remand.

The 20-year-old was also found guilty of a breach of bail conditions, and of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He has been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Giving a plea in mitigation, Michael Meehan KC, representing Starrs, highlighted that as he is under 25 the sentence must take into account sentencing guidelines which reflect that a younger person will have a lower level of maturity than an older person.

He said a report identified that Starrs shows 'cognitive and emotional immaturity'.

The lawyer had also urged the judge to consider his client's adverse childhood experiences when sentencing.

He told the court that Starrs was removed from parental care at the age of three and developed addiction issues from the age of nine. 

Mr Meehan said: 'He has a traumatic background from a young age which perhaps gives some degree of explanation.' 

Detective Constable Ross McCaig previously told the jury he had taken a statement from Amber after the sickening assault had been reported.

Her statement said: 'I was under the covers but when I went to get up I felt I didn't have clothes on my bottom half, my trousers were next to me on top of the covers.

'I saw that the guy Jamie was asleep in the bed with me, it was light enough to say that it was him. He then got up from under the covers and he was completely naked and he put on a red tracksuit and pulled out a blue windbreaker style jacket and I managed to put my trousers on underneath the covers. I told Jamie I was leaving.'

Later in a homeless unit in Blantyre, Amber became 'quiet' when discussion turned to a TikTok user being falsely accused of rape and she revealed it had 'happened to her'. A teenage boy told staff and police were called in before Amber told them she had been raped by Starrs.

She told officers: 'The reason I think I was raped was that I woke up in a bed with no clothes on my bottom half with a boy I had only met naked under the covers. I can't remember hugging him or kissing him at all.'

Commenting on the sentencing of Starrs, Detective Inspector Lorraine Wilson, of Lanarkshire division's rape investigation unit, said: 'Jamie Starrs subjected two women to violent sexual attacks and he is now facing the consequences of his despicable actions.

'The victims showed great strength in coming forward and reporting what happened to them. Despite one of the women having died before she was able to see justice being done, her evidence was key in securing his conviction.

'Our thoughts remain with the other victim in this case and I hope this sentence will bring her some comfort and closure.

The sentencing comes a fortnight after Connor Gibson, 20, was convicted of strangling his sister in woodland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in November 2021.

The predator had brought Amber to Cadzow Glen on the night of November 26, 2021, to carry out his brutal attack. 

He removed her clothes and assaulted her with the intent of raping the vulnerable teen, before strangling and beating her, and leaving her for dead in the woods.

Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday, November 26 and her body was discovered in Cadzow Glen at about 10.10am on November 28.

But in a revolting twist of fate, her body was abused by the man who first found her, Stephen Corrigan. The 45-year-old was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and breach of the peace by intimately touching and concealing Amber's body after discovering it, instead of contacting the emergency services.

The head of major crimes at Police Scotland said time should be spent remembering Amber Gibson rather than the two men who have been convicted.

Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Livingstone said: 'I'd like to actually give them as little thought as possible, to be honest with you.

'There's not any other words that spring to mind that I would describe them [as] other than depraved.

'I actually think that more time should be spent remembering Amber.' The senior officer said he hoped the convictions 'bring some degree of comfort' to the people who knew and cared for Amber.

He added: 'The actions of both Corrigan and Gibson leave them both beneath contempt.

'This was a challenging and complex investigation involving a range of specialist officers from within Police Scotland working closely with our partners in forensic services, all of whom I would pay tribute to for their professionalism and dedication whilst carrying out their work.'

Gibson will be sentenced on September 4 for a crime Judge Lord Mulholland described as 'depraved', while Corrigan will also be sentenced next month.

The day before Gibson was arrested on December 1, he posted a chilling tribute on Facebook to his sister, writing 'fly high' and 'I love you ginger midget'. 

'Amber, you will fly high for the rest of time. We will all miss you. Especially me. I love you ginger midget. GBFN (goodbye for now) X,' wrote Gibson. 

Gibson will be sentenced on September 4 for a crime Judge Lord Mulholland described as 'depraved', while Corrigan will also be sentenced next month. 

Meanwhile, Gibson's dad, Peter Gibson, was jailed for raping a woman back in April, before his son was found guilty. Reporting of the father's case was delayed until the end of his son's murder trial.

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A man who raped a woman in Congleton in 2021 has been jailed for more than five years.

Daniel Shaw, 32, of Burslem, was previously found guilty after trial of one count of rape.

He appeared in Chester Crown Court on Monday 7 August where he was sentenced to five years and six months.

The court heard in April 2022, a woman informed police she had been raped by Shaw in December 2021 in Congleton, following a night out.

She had managed to record the incident on her phone.

Shaw was arrested on 9 April 2022 on suspicion of rape and was subsequently charged.

When he was shown the video of the incident in interview, Shaw confirmed it was him in the footage but could not recall what took place and said he was drunk at the time.

He denied raping the victim but was found guilty on Monday 26 June after a six-day trial.

As well as a custodial sentence, Shaw was made subject to an indefinite restraining order, and notification requirements for life.

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A PERVERSE man who covertly filmed a child as she bathed has been jailed for 18 months.

David Quick, from Walton, hid his mobile phone with its camera pointing towards the victim.

However, the 53-year-old was caught after she spotted the Samsung’s camera lens poking out the top of a washbag, Chelmsford Crown Court heard.

Quick was confronted by the victim after she accessed his phone and found a naked picture of herself on it in January 2019.

Richard Potts, prosecuting, said Quick was arrested later that day and police officers examined his phone in the investigation which followed.

The prosecutor said they found 55 category B indecent images of children on it and at least 40 category C indecent images, of which at least 14 images and one video were of the victim.

The distressing content had been feeding into a series of apps on his phone and removed from his camera roll in a bid to hide them.

The victim’s mother said Quick’s crimes were “precise, calculated and devious”, adding: “He took something from her that was not his to take and he did so in an underhanded way.”

Quick, of Saville Street, Walton, admitted two offences of voyeurism, taking indecent images of a child and possessing both category B and C indecent images of a child.

He was jailed for 18 months on Tuesday afternoon.

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A 'lying' child rapist will spend 28 years in prison for his horrific crimes.

Predator Richard Williams was put behind bars at Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday. The Hartlepool man also received an indefinite restraining order and a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and will be subject to stringent conditions and monitoring upon his release.

In 2018, a third party reported that Williams had sexually assaulted and raped the victim. Enquiries began and the victim received specialist support while officers from CAVA (Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adults Investigation Unit) worked with other agencies to piece together what had happened over the years.

Williams, of Topcliffe Street, Hartlepool, was charged earlier this year and in May a jury at Teesside Crown Court found him guilty of raping a girl under 16, four counts of rape of a female over 16, indecent assault on a girl under 16 and indecent assault on a woman over 16.

Safeguarding Detective Chief Inspector Matt Murphy King added: “Williams lied and lied again, denying his actions even when there was the strongest of evidence against him. He did all he could to throw our enquiries off course but my officers shared a determination to achieve charges and bring him before the courts to face the consequences of his abhorrent actions.

“Williams’ constant lying also meant the victim had to endure the stress of a trial, but she took it all in her stride and showed great courage and strength throughout. I’d reassure our communities that we will always investigate thoroughly any allegations of abuse, no matter how long ago it took place.”

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A football coach who was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old in 2006 has been jailed for seven years.

Paul Edwards, 62, of Marling Crescent, Farmhill, Stroud, appeared at Gloucester Crown Court for sentencing on Friday 4 August.

Passing sentence, the judge, Recorder Neil Millard told Edwards: "That girl's life has been changed forever because you raped her."

Edwards was placed on the sex-offender register for life.

He has also been barred from working with children.

Prosecutor Giles Nelson said that during the summer of 2006 the 15-year-old girl had an argument with her father and sought refuge at the home of some people she knew in Minchinhampton, near Stroud.

"She was distressed when she arrived and was comforted by the occupants. Arrangements were made for her to stay overnight."

He said that Edwards was in the house and invited the girl to share the bed he was sleeping in. "She woke up a few hours later, to find that Edwards having sex with her."

The teenager told her sister the following day that she had been raped.

Mr Nelson said: "She was a child who couldn't have consented to sex. She was also sleeping when Edwards raped her."

'Lived a lie'

The victim reported the offence in 2020 with Edwards first being tried in January last year. However, the jury was discharged after failing to agree on a verdict.

Edwards was convicted after a retrial at Cirencester Court in June this year.

In an impact statement, the victim said the night was "one of absolute terror".

"Whatever happens to Edwards now, it will never be enough for what he did to me that night. He has lived a lie for the past 17 years," she said.

"I have been unable to go through with counselling as some sessions have been too much for me."

She said that, now Edwards has been sentenced, she hopes to resume counselling.

'You are a rapist'

The Judge Millard told Edwards: "You had been a football coach in the local community for much of your life.

"Your victim was vulnerable. She was distressed. You took advantage of her. You were drunk.

"Her life changed that day because of you. We now know you are a rapist, a child rapist."

Defending Edwards, Virginia Cornwall told the court that "at the heart of all this" was Edwards' drinking on that day.

"His life was football coaching in the community... [and] he has to face the consequences of his actions."

She added that she hoped the jury's verdict will give the victim some closure.

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A PAEDOPHILE “bullied” young girls between the ages of nine and 14 into performing sex acts on themselves online which he filmed.

Joel Gillard, 30, from Ebbw Vale used social media platforms like Instagram to abuse six schoolgirls across the UK including two from York.

The defendant “groomed” his victims when he was drinking heavily and taking cocaine while he was living in a van on the side of a mountain.

Gillard posed as a 15-year-old boy called Josh and would dare the girls to perform more and more explicit acts as if it were a game.

Some of them were blackmailed if they didn't do as they were told.

A judge told the “intelligent” cyber security consultant he’d had “no limits” as she jailed him for nearly 10 years.

She said he had been sexually aroused by the power he’d wielded over the vulnerable underage schoolgirls.

When the police went to talk to the nine-year-old victim she was playing with toys and colouring in pictures.

Detectives had to bring their conversation with her to an abrupt halt after they began to speak about Gillard because she started “crying hysterically”.

Gareth James, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court the parents of two girls in North Yorkshire made complaints to the police before Gillard was traced to Gwent.

He said: “Officers discovered screen recordings that showed that the defendant used social media accounts to engage with young girls.

“He was pretending to be a teenage boy and was having sexualised conversations with young girls.

“Those conversations involved the defendant coercing them to perform sexual acts upon themselves that included penetrative sexual activity.”

Mr James added: “Grooming behaviour was used against the victims.

“These offences involved a significant degree of planning and sexual images are recorded and retained and in each case there is a significant disparity in age.”

Gillard admitted six counts of causing or inciting an underage girl to engage in sexual activity and one each of causing a child to watch a sexual act and sexual communication with a child.

He also pleaded guilty to three charges of making an indecent image of a child.

Gillard had 313 category A images, the most serious kind, 88 category B images and 101 category C images.

The defendant also accepted possession of eight extreme pornographic images of bestiality.

He had no previous convictions.

Jeffrey Jones representing Gillard said: “The defendant feels disgusted with himself.

“He empathises with the victims and their families.”

Gillard is on the autism spectrum and “has problems making friends”.

Mr Jones added: “He has supportive parents who are here in court today.

“They scratch their heads. They are despondent.”

Judge Lucy Crowther told Gillard: “You had no limits.

“You recognised what you were doing was entirely wrong and you persisted.”

The defendant was handed an extended prison sentence of nine years and eight months.

Gillard will have to serve at least two-thirds of a custodial term of six years and eight months before being eligible for parole.

Once released he will be subject to a licence period of three years.

The defendant must register as a sex offender indefinitely and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 25 years.

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A CONVICTED paedophile has been sent to prison for refereeing a children’s football game and teaching a young boy a sexual gesture.

Registered sex offender Brian Tapper, 56, from Newport was barred from having unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16 after being jailed in 2020.

He was locked up three years ago for trying to contact 13-year-old girls online after being caught by paedophile hunters and undercover police officers.

Tapper was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) following that conviction which prevented him from having unsupervised contact with underage children.

The defendant, formerly of Pontypool, breached that condition on July 20 when he refereed a children’s football match played in the street where he lived in Newport.

Prosecutor Susan Ferrier said Tapper also taught one of the players a sexual gesture.

The defendant put his finger through a circle he’s made with his other hand, she told Cardiff Crown Court.

Tapper’s neighbours and the children’s parents were “totally unaware” that Tapper was a sex offender.

His offending only came to light when he told his probation officer he’d been a ref in the street football game.

Tapper pleaded guilty to being in breach of a SHPO.

Miss Ferrier said that, as well as being jailed for 14 months three years ago, the defendant also had multiple previous convictions for exposure which dated back to 1989.

He was also handed a suspended prison sentence in January this year for being in breach of a SHPO after he admitted using Snapchat without retaining the messaging app’s history.

Ben Waters representing Tapper said his client’s offending last month had shown “a lack of intelligence”.

He asked the court to take into account the defendant’s early guilty plea.

Judge Lucy Crowther told Tapper: “This was a very serious and persistent breach.

“It involved contact with children and you actually engaging with them on a personal level and you showed a sexual gesture.”

She jailed Tapper for 18 months for the SHPO breach and six months on top for being in breach of the suspended prison sentence she imposed earlier this year.

The defendant was told he would serve half of his two-year term in custody before being released on licence.

She imposed on him a new SHPO to last for another 10 years.

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A convicted paedophile has admitted 21 further offences of sexually abusing young boys while overseas.

Christopher Behn, 68, from Colchester, is already serving a nine-year prison term for abusing 11 children in Myanmar in 2016.

The new charges related to the abuse of boys, aged six to 11, in Vietnam.

Behn, who police described as a "committed and prolific transnational child sex offender", is due to be sentenced next month.

The retired engineer appeared in Chelmsford Crown Court by video link from HMP Albany on the Isle of Wight.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Europol and Dutch authorities identified Behn as a member of a Europe-wide network who travelled together to abuse children across the globe.

He was arrested at Gatwick Airport in February 2020, after investigators identified him as appearing in images with another member of the network - a Dutch national who was convicted in the Netherlands.

Behn was detained by officers before he could board a flight to Vietnam.

Photographs taken by Behn, showing him abusing children, were recovered from encrypted electronic devices.

His travel history showed he had visited Vietnam 18 times since 2006, along with trips to Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, India, and Myanmar, the NCA said.

He and the Dutch national had also written diaries that described in graphic detail the abuse committed by the pair on many of these trips.

In June this year, Behn was further charged with 23 counts of sexually assaulting a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity between 2008 and 2018.

He denied two of the charges, but will not face trial on those counts.

Phil Eccles, NCA operations manager, said Behn was "a committed and prolific transnational child sex offender, who dedicated years of his life to this criminal network".

"Behn and his like-minded friends conducted their offending in remote parts of the world and conspired together via encrypted chats in the hope of hiding their horrific offending from law enforcement," he said.

The agency said it had identified a further five men based in the UK believed to have links to the network and investigations were ongoing in a number of countries across Europe.

Description

A ‘DANGEROUS’ sex offender from Ingleton has been jailed for four years after he was trapped by a paedophile hunter group for the second time.

Robert Twaites was given a community order in 2018 that included a condition that he took part in a specialist sex offender programme.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday (Monday) that he had been caught by a paedophile hunter group sending sexually explicit messages to decoys posing as girls aged 13 and 14 and trying to meet up with them.

Despite completing the Horizon Programme, he was back online in January this year trying to meet up for sexual activity with what he believed was a girl aged 13, the court heard.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast told the court that Twaites engaged in conversations with the decoy saying he liked to go on dates and offering to buy her presents.

He suggested they could ‘meet in the woods’ but after he failed to turn up, members of the paedophile hunter group confronted him at his home and contacted the police.

When officers examined his phone, they found prohibited images of children.

Twaites, 33, of New Village, Ingleton, admitted charges relating to his attempts to cause or incite a child to engage sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Julian White, for Twaites, described his behaviour as self-destructive and said it was mind-boggling that he would continue to behave in the way he had.

“He went through the necessary rehabilitative process, but notwithstanding that, he continued to offend in an identical manner,” Mr White said.

He described Twaites as an isolated and lonely individual.

Judge Sophie McKone said that despite his denials, he had a sexual interest in children and posed a high risk of serious harm to them.

Although no real child was involved, if there had been he would have gone through with the intended abuse.

Judge McKone jailed Twaites for four years and added an extra two years’ licence because he was a dangerous offender.

He will only be released by the Parole Board after serving two-thirds of his jail term if they decide it is safe to do so.

Twaites will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life and he must comply with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.