Latest Offenders

Description

A man who abducted an 11-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her has been jailed.

Samuel Cortez, of Nether Street, North Finchley, was sentenced at Harrow Crown Court last Thursday (November 10) for the abduction of the girl.

The court heard that the girl was at a bus stop near Sussex Ring in Woodside Park on September 30, 2021, when she was approached by Cortez at 4pm. 

 The girl was told he had a knife before she was grabbed by the wrist and taken to the park and sexually assaulted.

An appeal was launched after CCTV showed the suspect in the area and Cortez was arrested on December 15 last year. 

 Cortez pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a child under 13.

He was jailed for nine years for sexual assault and sentenced to three years and nine months’ imprisonment for child abduction, to run concurrently.

The judge ruled Cortez would be on licence for five years after completing his sentence and must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Constable Chris Finnegan of the North West Command Unit said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the young girl but she, with the support of her family, has shown immense courage and strength in supporting our investigation.” 

Description

A paedophile travelled from Northern Ireland to Merseyside and raped a girl in hotels and fields after grooming her on Snapchat.

David McMullan sent his teenage victim a string of gifts before flying over to sexually abuse her four times over the course of around 18 months. On one occasion, the 32-year-old plied her with drugs which knocked her out - before she awoke to find him having sex with her.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Friday, that the "sexual offences arose from an online relationship dating back to 2019". Frank Dillon, prosecuting, described how McMullan "initiated contact" with the youngster via Snapchat when she was aged 12.

He told her that his name was Sean Maxwell, he was 16 and from London - when he was actually approaching his 30th birthday and lived in County Down, Northern Ireland. The pervert would turn his phone off between 8am and 3pm to keep up the charade that he was at school.

After around three months of messaging, McMullan sent her a picture of his penis and "begged her to send him" indecent images of herself. Mr Dillon said: "She was reluctant to do so but he would persist with his requests and, adopting a form of emotional blackmail that was to characterise his contact, he suggested if she was not sending such pictures to him then she must be sending them to someone else.

"He went so far as to say that he would kill himself if she did not stop talking to this imaginary other boy. He would tell her that she did not love him, because if she did she would send him the requested pictures."

The two became "boyfriend and girlfriend", after which McMullan confessed his true location and said that he was aged 19 - later revising this to 23. He sent a parcel to her home on Valentine's Day containing a card with a picture of her face on it and a photograph of a man he purported was himself - as well as a teddy bear, a hoodie, £30 in cash, lubricant and a bubble wand.

The defendant travelled to see the by then 13-year-old four times, but first made a "reconnaissance mission" - taking an EasyJet flight from Belfast and staying at the Premier Inn in Birkenhead and the Village Hotel in Whiston over the course of his three-night visit to the area to "check how easy it might be to take her to a hotel room without challenge". When they did meet for the first time they went to a burger restaurant then took a bus to the Whiston hotel, travelling separately "as not to arouse suspicion".

Once in his room, McMullan gave her a Pandora bracelet. He told her he had cocaine and "pressurised her into" sniffing white powder from a key.

The substance caused her to fall asleep, and she woke up to find him raping her. After realising she was awake McMullan began kissing her, ran a bath and "picked her up and put her in".

On his second visit, he brought her chocolates and met her in a field near her home where he filmed them having sex. The vile predator met her again after school the same day, buying her a Dr Pepper and giving her a sex toy before taking her into woodland and raping her.

After travelling over for a third time, McMullan took the teeanger to the Birkenhead hotel - telling her to pretend to staff that he was her dad and he was visiting her from Ireland. He then raped the schoolgirl in his room despite her "repeatedly telling him to get off".

On his final visit, she was "extremely reluctant to meet him" but agreed to meet him in the field near her home after he said he "had wasted all his money making him come over to see her". While she was "really upset, crying and shaking", McMullan exposed himself to her and forced her to perform a sex act on him.

He made threats to distribute naked pictures and videos she had sent him to her friends and family if she did not "comply", as well as threatening to kill himself. At one stage, the sex offender "deleted any reference to him" from her phone and blocked her on Snapchat.

His crimes were uncovered when the girl reported the abuse to a member of staff at her school. McMullan was arrested at his home on Demesne View in Downpatrick in March this year.

Under interview, he falsely claimed he had began speaking to a 19-year-old woman with a different name on a dating app - either Tinder or Plenty of Fish. He stated she had blackmailed him by threatening to report him for sexual offences unless he gave her money and denied having pretended to be Sean Maxwell.

A statement which was read out to the court on behalf of the victim's mum said the family's "lives had been turned upside down". Meanwhile, her sister described how she "feels like nothing is real and everything is stressful and frightening".

Fiona McNeill, defending, said: "This is a distressing case with many troubling aspects. The impact of these offences has a ripple effect.

"That has been recognised, at least in part, by the defendant. The impact will remain with them for some time to come, if not forever.

"This is the first experience of custody Mr McMullan has had, and the prospect of a lengthy custodial sentence weighs heavily on him. He will spend his middle age in prison."

McMullan, who has no previous convictions, admitted four counts of rape on the first day of a scheduled trial after the complainant had given evidence under pre-recorded cross-examination. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a grey Under Armour zip-up tracksuit top, he was jailed for 19 years with an additional five years on licence.

Sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: "Over a period approaching two years you groomed, exploited and then repeatedly raped a young girl. You have no previous convictions, but that is of limited worth in these circumstances.

"I find them to be grave and very troubling offences, painting a very worrying picture of your personality. I am satisfied that you are a dangerous offender."

McMullan was handed a restraining order, a sexual harm prevention order and a notification requirement - all of which will be run indefinitely. Forfeiture of his Samsung phone was also ordered.

Description

 A PERVERTED pensioner who sexually abused a schoolboy during a weekend go karting trip to west Cumbria has been jailed.

Raymond Monks, 78, had pleaded not guilty to allegations of showing the boy a pornographic film before sexually abusing him in his motorhome during a trip to the Rowrah race track near Frizington more than a decade ago.

But after a trial at Carlisle Crown Court, Monks was convicted of both charges on evidence which a judge said was 'compelling'.

The jury heard that the youngster, aged under 13 when the abuse happened, was at the race track for a weekend trip organised by 58-year-old Andrew Fairley, who was recently jailed for systematically grooming and abusing the same boy.

Prosecuting barrister Rob Wyn Jones said that Monks, a married father, took advantage of the schoolboy because he knew that Fairley had already groomed him and he thought it was unlikely he would tell anybody.

In evidence, the now adult victim recalled how a group of boys had taken him to see Monks at his motorhome, where the defendant put on a pornographic video. He then sent the other boys away, closed the curtains and locked the door.

It was at this point that the abuse happened.

In his evidence, Monks accepted that he had been watching pornography when the victim and two other boys were in his motor home. Asked if it was appropriate to have watched pornography with schoolboys, he said: “Lads are lads.”

He added: “At their age, they’ve most likely seen it before."

Mr Wyn Jones suggested that he had a reputation among the boys at the racetrack for showing children pornographic videos. Monks denied being sexually aroused by the pornography or using it to facilitate the abuse.

Keith Harrison, defending, said what happened had been an isolated offence and was obviously far less serious that the prolonged and systematic abuse perpetrated by Fairley over a lengthy period.

In an impact statement, the victim described how the abuse – that perpetrated by both Fairley and by Monks – had left him suffering panic attacks, depression and paranoia, all of which he attributes to what happened.

He was haunted by memories of the abuse and found it difficult working with older men. “Raymond Monks did not groom me in the same way Andrew Fairley did - but he also took advantage, predated on me and abused me,” said the victim.

“He then threw me to one side and didn’t care that I was a child; he used me to satisfy his own sexual fantasies. He will never know how much pain and suffering he has caused me.”

Judge Richard Archer told the defendant: “You have been convicted by a jury on compelling evidence of the sexual abuse of [the boy].” The judge said he was satisfied that showing the boy a pornographic film was an intention precursor to the abuse, intended to help him achieve his goal.

“You used him for your sexual gain,” said the judge. “You used him for that short period of time and then discarded him.”

Monks had shown no remorse. The judge jailed him for six years and put him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. The judge also imposed a sexual harm prevention order, which will bar Monks from ever staying at a property where there a child, unless there is written permission from Social Services.

His use of the internet must also be subject to strict police monitoring. As the sentence was passed, Monks, of Greens Lane, Rossendale, Lancashire, showed no emotion.

Description

A man who agreed to give a schoolgirl a lift home from a party, pulled over into a dark side street and sexually assaulted her before raping her twice.

Mark Alderson then messaged the girl's mum to say that she was refusing to leave his car because she was so upset after other school children had called her "fat." But Teesside Crown Court has heard that when the 37-year-old dropped the victim off at home, she ran in crying and told her family what had happened.

Her dad called the police, and Alderson was arrested a few hours later. Alderson told police that the girl had instigated what had happened and that they had consensual sex.

On Friday, prosecutor Christine Egerton told the court that Alderson had previously given the schoolgirl cigarettes, a necklace and a bracelet. When she had become upset about being taunted, he told her she was, "pretty".

But after asking, "to see her belly" when she said she had been called fat, Alderson sexually assaulted her. He then pulled her clothes off whilst she sat in the passenger seat of his car, and raped her.

Ms Egerton said that the girl told police that she was "drunk" that night and that Alderson warned her not to tell anyone what had happened. In a statement, the victim said that her mental health had suffered as a result of what happened to her: "I have bad dreams and flash backs.

"I can't sleep or concentrate on my school work and I'm worried about my grades slipping. I feel angry and upset." Alderson, of Davidson Road in Darlington, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and to two charges of rape.

Nicholas Askins, defending, said that his client had pleaded guilty, "which is very unusual in these types of offences. He has also expressed significant remorse."

Mr Askins said that his client had lost his partner of 17 years, and his two children and " is not coping well in prison." Judge Howard Crowson jailed Askins for nine years and nine months and made him subject to a sexual harm prevention order, which prohibits him from having contact with any child under 16, for the rest of his life.

He was also made the subject of a restraining order, preventing him from contacting the victim for the rest of his life.

Description

A pervert used a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl and stream live video of her to his mobile phone.

Simon Tunstall, 45, set up the camera, which sent moving images of the girl to his mobile phone for approximately four weeks in May 2019. He initially denied the offences but later pleaded guilty to voyeurism and the production of indecent images of a child.

After being arrested, Tunstall's mobile phone was searched and a link to a camera was found, as well as four images of the girl in various states of undress. Tunstall, of Fleet Lane, St Helens, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday (November 11).

Prosecuting, Cheryl Mottram said Tunstall admitted he set up the camera after he was caught but denied it was for his sexual gratification. He initially pleaded not guilty to the offences but later changed his plea.

An impact statement from the victim was read to the court. It said Tunstall's acts "traumatised" her, and meant she has been "constantly on edge" since. The victim attempted to end her life due to depression she suffered after the incident.

She said: "I don't think I'll ever recover from the problems that Simon's actions have caused me". The statement continued: "I never wanted to be a victim but Simon has made me one".

Defending, Paul Becker said Tunstall "feels deep shame about his actions" and "understands the trauma and impact it has had on his victim". The barrister pointed to his client's lack of previous convictions, guilty plea and an "impressive work record" in mitigation, also telling the court Tunstall suffers with depression and anxiety.

Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall told Tunstall: "You installed a secret camera" and "did it for your own sexual gratification". The judge added the images were: "Sent to an email address called 'Size11', a reference to the size of your penis".

He told Tunstall: "You are struggling presently to accept your motivations for it" and said he needed to accept his motive was sexual. The judge added that the victim's "whole world came crashing down" after the offences and her mental health had deteriorated to a level where she "felt it necessary to take her own life."

The judge pointed to the length of time between the offences taking place and Monday's proceedings - essentially placing Tunstall under the terms of a suspended sentence during the last three years as he waited to be sentenced. He also said he was of previous good character and showed remorse for his actions.

However, Judge Woodhall was satisfied that only an immediate jail term would suffice as punishment. He jailed Tunstall for 12 months. The 45-year-old will also have to sign a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was handed a restraining order, keeping him away from the victim.

Description

A man who subjected a 15-year-old girl to ongoing sexual abuse and made her film herself engaging in degrading sexual acts has been found to be dangerous by Chester Crown Court and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment as part of an extended sentence.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Martin Steven Gill, 49, of St Clair Street, Crewe, sexually abused the girl over a period of several months.

He had met her and befriended her and they exchanged contact details, but the conversations quickly became sexual.

Over the coming months he forced the girl to film herself engaging in increasingly degrading acts. She would send him the images and he would store them on his computer.

He also engaged in penetrative sex with her at commercial premises in Crewe on a couple of occasions.

In April 2019, the girl ceased all contact with Gill, but he continued to ask for images. She told him he was lucky that she had not contacted the police. He didn’t contact her after that.

On 9 May 2019, police searched the defendant’s address and seized several devices.

The police discovered more than 2,000 indecent images of children on the devices, including hundreds in the most extreme category. It was clear that many of the images of child sexual abuse had been sourced and created by Gill.

He was interviewed but his victim did not feel able to support the prosecution. However, the case proceeded based on the evidence.

On 2 September 2022 he pleaded guilty to 15 sexual offences, including making and possessing indecent images of children, engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity.

On 11 November 2022, at Chester Crown Court, Gill was found to be "dangerous" and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment as part of an extended sentence.  

Senior Crown Prosecutor Chris Fontaine, a specialist prosecutor with CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit said: “Martin Gill subjected the victim to degrading acts of sexual abuse for his own perverted sexual gratification. 

“What he asked her to do was illegal both because of her age and the extreme sexual nature of the activity. But he didn’t care. Even when she stopped all contact with him, he kept asking for more images. He had no concern for the children being abused in the indecent images.

“We would like to thank the victim for finding the courage to provide a statement. Although she felt unable to attend court, the prosecution was able to proceed on the basis of other evidence which clearly showed him to be a paedophile. 

“The Crown Prosecution Service will work with the police to bring these offenders to justice if we have the evidence and the prosecution is in the public interest. In this case, clearly both tests were met.”

Description

A paedophile has been jailed for 21 years after two of his victims secretly taped his confession.

At Cardiff Crown Court a judge told Keith Edmonds, 86, he had no sympathy for the fact he would die in prison.

Edmonds, of Taff's Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf, did not realise one of his victims was recording him on a mobile phone when he apologised to them.

A jury found him guilty of 11 charges of sexual assault against four children under 13 between 2001 and 2015.

In the recording, Edmonds could be heard saying: "I'm sorry. I wish I could turn back the clock then I wouldn't have done it."

The tape was handed to police, but the father-of-two denied the charges, claiming he was tired and wanted to go to bed when he confessed.

He told the court: "I didn't do anything to them. I just told them what they wanted to hear so they would go away."

His four victims, now adults, told how they were left suffering from panic attacks, flashbacks and suicidal thoughts after years of abuse.

One told the court: "I was cheated out of a happy childhood. The constant dark cloud that has hung over me ever since has never diminished."

The court heard Edmonds has declining health and is under the care of a cardiologist.

Judge Michael Fitton KC told him: "I recognise that it is inevitable that you will die in prison. That is a matter that moves me to not a shred of sympathy for you.

"You are a man who is morally bankrupt and have shown no remorse. You ruined the childhood of four children, bringing shame, pain and emotional turmoil on them."

Edmonds was told he will spend two-thirds of his sentence in prison, meaning he will be 100 by the time he is eligible for parole.

He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and told to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Judge Fitton praised Edmonds' victims for their "commendable and extraordinary courage" in bringing him to justice.

Description

Following a thorough investigation by Hampshire Constabulary a 59 year-old man from Hayling Island has been jailed for 20 years after he admitted ten offences relating to the sexual assault of two children, who were under the age of two at the time of the offences.

Enquiries conducted on electronic devices seized during an ongoing investigation led to the arrest of Danny John Richards of Salterns Lane on Thursday 28 July 2022. He was subsequently charged.

Richards admitted the following offences at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday 13 October:

• Rape of a girl under 13 contrary to the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003.
• Two offences of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration contrary to the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003.
• Two offences of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching contrary to the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003
• Three offences of making an indecent photograph of a child.
• Two offences of taking an indecent photograph of a child.

He was sentenced to 20 years at the same court today (Friday 11 November). He will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for the rest of his life.

Detective Inspector Heather Noad said: “I hope today’s sentence goes some way in helping the victims and their loved ones begin to move forward with their lives after these appalling offences were committed. In this particular case Richards’ guilty pleas entered for all of the offences avoided the need for a trial.

“Our investigation started when the Internet Child Abuse Team (ICAT) received intelligence that indecent images of children had been uploaded to the internet from a specified IP address. A warrant was subsequently undertaken at an address on Salterns Lane on Hayling Island and a number of devices were seized. Ultimately indecent images of children (IIOC) were found on those devices, which directly led to and secured the charges against Richards.

"If you are concerned about offending of this nature please be reassured that we work incredibly hard to provide victims and their families with the support they need. We take all reports of sexual assault very seriously, and will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice.

"It is so important to us that people have the confidence to report any activity that could relate to offending like this to us, especially if this has happened to you or somebody you know. It is also important to us that survivors and their families are provided with the support they need, and we work in partnership with other organisations to ensure this happens."

Ashleigh Doy, CPS Wessex Senior Crown Prosecutor, said: “Richards subjected two innocent children to the most sickening crimes, all for his own sexual gratification.

“We take offending of this nature incredibly seriously and worked closely with police colleagues to build a strong case.

“This resulted in an entirely evidence-led prosecution, meaning Richards pleaded guilty at an early stage in the face of the overwhelming case against him.

“Our joint working and early engagement with police meant the case was prosecuted swiftly, so that justice could be delivered for everyone who has been deeply affected by this case.

“We are committed to bringing people to justice for serious crimes such as this and hope today’s result sends a clear message to other perpetrators.”

Anyone who has been a victim of child abuse, or has any information about this type of abuse, is encouraged to contact police on 101.

Alternatively, contact Child Line on 0800 11 11, or if you are an adult who has been affected, you can call the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.

Description

A twisted RAF engineer left his three-month-old son with brain injuries that could last a lifetime.

Doctors told the baby’s family ‘several times’ that the child ‘may die’ and that the next 48 hours were crucial to his survival.

The child had been taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in September 2019 with a brain haemorrhage, detached retina and multiple broken ribs.

Despite causing the life-threatening injuries, Richard Hardwick – who has since been convicted of unrelated sex offences – will only have to spend the next 22 months in prison after the Crown Prosecution Service charged him with causing grievous bodily harm rather than a more serious assault charge.

A furious judge Recorder John Hardy KC told prosecutor Corinne Bramwell: “It should have been a section 18 [wounding with intent] if not an attempted murder.” He later said: “As a human being it sticks in my gut.”

The court heard Hardwick, who served in the RAF for two decades and was based at Benson, tried to pile the blame on everyone but himself, telling the police when he was arrested that his wife and a childminder were the main carers.

Jailing him for just three years and nine months at Oxford Crown Court on Friday afternoon – the maximum sentence once credit for his early guilty plea was deducted – Recorder Hardy said: “The single count on the indictment to which you have pleaded guilty compels me to sentence you to a term of imprisonment that members of the public would rightly regard as woefully inadequate for this horrific crime.

“I am at a loss to understand why other, more serious charges were not preferred against you.”

Ms Bramwell told the court that the boy was first admitted to hospital on September 2, 2019, with ‘very severe’ injuries that a doctor believed were caused by shaking or brute force.

On September 14, he was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital with what turned out to be a bleed on the brain that was ‘highly suggestive of shaking’. He had ‘approximately seven’ broken ribs, a detached retina and ‘significant’ bruising.

The child had ‘various significant educational issues as a result of the injuries he sustained’. At the age of two he was assessed to have the speech and language skills of a baby.

In a victim personal statement, from which parts were read to the court by the judge, a family member spoke of the terrible impact the defendant’s stringing out the court process had had. She described his offending as a ‘vile, unthinkable crime’.

Turning to the public gallery, where the boy’s relative was seated with a friend, Recorder Hardy said: “This court cannot let this case pass without observing that [the victim] has had the most outstanding love and care and attention from those who now look after him.”

The judge questioned why the Crown Prosecution Service had charged Hardwick with causing grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Had a more serious charge been laid, the judge said he could have found Hardwick a ‘dangerous’ offender and imposed an extended sentence. That would have resulted in the defendant spending more of his sentence in custody before a lengthy period out on licence and supervised by the probation service.

The conditions for an extended sentence were ‘manifestly met’, Recorder Hardy said. He posed a ‘significant risk to members of the public’.

However, because he could not lawfully pass a jail sentence of more than four years once credit for the guilty plea was taken into account, the judge was unable to impose an extended sentence.

Mitigating, Julian Lynch said his client had recognised – albeit late – the ‘true gravity and appalling nature’ of what he had done. Hardwick had suffered a mental breakdown and struggled with ‘unplanned outbursts’.

Mr Lynch questioned the almost three-year delay in the police and Crown Prosecution Service charging his client with GBH.

Told that the defendant wished to apologise, Recorder Hardy said the defendant should keep any apology had had for his family ‘to himself’.

“No apology can possibly do anything to mitigate an offence of this nature,” he spat.

Hardwick, of HMP Northumberland, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing grievous bodily harm. He is currently serving a sentence, due to expire next year, for sexual offences – that case was not detailed by the prosecutor.

Following the hearing, the boy's relative said of the 'giggly' child: "He was absolutely adorable. Everybody fell in love with him." 

Asked whether she felt the child had received justice, she said: "No. He nearly killed a baby; there are drug dealers who get much longer sentences." 

Description

A "dangerous predator" has been jailed for 15 years for sexually assaulting a woman in her own home.

Monjur Khan, 32, forced his way into the property in Rotherham, in February, South Yorkshire Police said.

He then repeatedly punched the woman, who is in her 70s, before grabbing her by the throat, forcing her to the floor and assaulting her.

Khan was jailed on Thursday at Sheffield Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to attempted rape.

He also admitted two counts of attempted trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Det Con Megan Byne said the assault took place despite the victim's "heroic" attempts to fend him off.

She said the investigation into the attack revealed Khan had been seen in the area earlier the same day "behaving either inappropriately or suspiciously".

"We had a number of instances where Khan was knocking on doors, asking for water or saying he was looking for someone. In some cases, he made his way into peoples' homes," she said."This is clearly dangerous predatory behaviour, which suggests Khan had been looking for a vulnerable victim to attack that day."

Khan, formerly of Doncaster Road, Rotherham, was told he must serve an additional five years on licence once released.

Description

Jack Bowker was spared jail after sending Snapchat messages to an account he thought belonged to a child

A man who sent messages to a '12-year-old girl' about taking her virginity did not believe he was a paedophile.

On Wednesday (November 9), Liverpool Magistrates' Court heard that, between July and November 2021, Jack Bowker, 29, engaged in sexual conversations over Snapchat with an account he thought belonged to a 12-year-old girl. The conversations began innocently but became sexual.

Prosecuting, Callum Bryce said Bowker sent messages about "spanking" the 12-year-old's backside, lying in bed with her and getting an erection, having oral sex and taking her virginity. Bowker also sent selfies to the account but did not send any explicit images.

The account posing as the girl was actually run by the police. After receiving a warrant, officers searched Bowker's home on November 9, 2021 and seized electronic equipment, but they did not arrest him.

He attended a police interview in April 2022 and admitted to sending the messages. Bowker, of Twickenham Drive, Leasowe, then pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

In mitigation, Colin Rawson pointed to his client's lack of previous convictions, that he made a prompt guilty plea and had been fully cooperative with police. Mr Rawson said Bowker "has difficulties engaging with other people" and he "rarely leaves his own address", making contact with people primarily through social media.

Mr Rawson said Bowker's conversations with the account began nicely but "sexual contact crept into the conversation". He said the age of the 'girl' was "mentioned on several occasions" and Bowker "has to recognise he is an offender".

Sentencing, District Judge Timothy Boswell told Bowker, that though he was not actually conversing with a child: "You didn't now that when you engaged in chats" and said his reason for sending the messages was "to obtain sexual gratification".

The judge added: "You do not regard yourself as a paedophile". He explained this can happen with some offenders of this nature, adding: "Some people struggle to accept the type of person their offending makes them". Judge Boswell told Bowker there was "work to be done to challenge your perception of yourself".

Addressing Bowker, he added: "You knew what you were doing". and handed him a six month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Bowker was also given a seven year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, while he will also have to undergo a 30 day rehabilitation programme and perform 160 hours of unpaid work. The Sexual Harm Prevention Order requires Bowker to notify police of any device with internet access, while he is not allowed to delete or alter his internet history.

Description

A Northampton man has been imprisoned for 15 years after using a room rental website to target a woman before raping her.

Ion Cojan, aged 37, of Worcester Close, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday, November 8 after a jury found him guilty of raping a woman.

Andrew Fitch-Holland, prosecuting, said the victim was looking for a room to rent in Northampton and set up an account on a rental website, which contained her photo, name and age.

The court heard that Cojan contacted her to tell her he had a friend with a room to let. When the victim said she was no longer interested, Cojan told her she was “beautiful” and asked to meet on February 17, 2019.

Mr Fitch-Holland said Cojan picked the woman up from Northampton town centre in his car and she sat in the back seat, expecting to be taken for coffee as planned. However Cojan drove her to a secluded area by a lake, the court heard.

Mr Fitch-Holland said the assault went on for approximately 10 minutes before Cojan tried to pull the victim’s trousers down but she said no so he eventually stopped and drove her back into town. Cojan told the woman he would call her and they would have sex, blew her three kisses and drove off.

The victim walked home, feeling “disgusted” and “shocked” and then reported the rape to the police. In a statement, she said she cannot forget what happened to her and she does not trust men anymore.

Cojan was arrested and his mobile phone was seized; police discovered numerous searches for female users of a room rental website, which he was treating as a dating site.

Cojan has one previous conviction of sexual assault in 2009 when he pushed a woman onto a bed, held her throat and pulled her hair - preventing her from leaving. She was able to escape when he let go of her.

Rajiv Chopra, in mitigation, said Cojan is “genuinely remorseful” that he has “upset” the victim and wants to write an apology letter to her.

Addressing the judge, Mr Chopra said: “Please use your utmost discretion and leniency to give this young man a second chance.”

Her Honour Judge Lucking KC, sentencing, said: “You have a tendency to commit sexual offences against lone women by flattering them and then isolating them before subjecting them to sexual activity without consent.

“Your evidence at trial revealed your arrogance and misplaced sense of sexual entitlement.”

Cojan was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of five years. He was also placed on the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely.

Description

 A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed after he downloaded indecent images of children within weeks of a suspended sentence lapsing for similar offending.

Stuart Keith Waghorne, who lived in Bournemouth at the time of his crimes, was caught with more than 3,000 images obtained across a four-month period last year.

This criminal behaviour started less than a month after a suspended sentenced he received back in 2019 had expired.

Judge William Mousley KC jailed the 50-year-old defendant for 21 months at a Bournemouth Crown Court Hearing on Friday, November 4.

Waghorne, now of Bramley Hill, Mere, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and breach of a sexual harm prevention order. 

 Prosecuting, Sophie Johns said the defendant, who has worked most of his life as a butcher, was arrested on December 14, 2021, after police received information about his suspected behaviour. An analysis of his phone was carried out by officers.

A large number of still of moving images were found – 2,342 category A (the most serious), 414 category B and 249 category C.

Ms Johns said the material, which was downloaded between August and December last year, included children as young as two, with visible destress expressed by the victims.

The images were found across two applications on the phone as well Waghorne’s email application, with the majority of the files still accessible. 

 Prosecuting, Sophie Johns said the defendant, who has worked most of his life as a butcher, was arrested on December 14, 2021, after police received information about his suspected behaviour. An analysis of his phone was carried out by officers.

A large number of still of moving images were found – 2,342 category A (the most serious), 414 category B and 249 category C.

Ms Johns said the material, which was downloaded between August and December last year, included children as young as two, with visible destress expressed by the victims.

The images were found across two applications on the phone as well Waghorne’s email application, with the majority of the files still accessible. 

 The court heard Waghorne received a suspended sentence in July 2019 for similar offences of possessing indecent images.

The offences which brought him back before the courts started just weeks after the suspended sentence had lapsed. 

 Mitigating, Rob Griffiths said his client’s actions all stemmed from the breakdown of his marriage, which he described as an “unpleasant break up”.

Mr Griffiths said the defendant had set about trying to restore his masculinity following the seperation. After starting out watching adult pornography, the offender ended up at the “taboo” which brought him before the courts.

The barrister said the suspended sentence Waghorne received in 2019 did not contain any targeted programme to work on his sexual interest in children. He asked the judge to give his client a final chance, with there being a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Judge Mousley KC said he had concluded only the only appropriate punishment in the case was immediate imprisonment.

Alongside the prison sentence, the judge extended the sexual harm prevention order to run for 10 years from the date of the hearing. Waghorne was placed on the sex offenders register for the same period of time. 

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A "dangerous" convicted sex offender who thought he was communicating with teenage girls had been exchanging messages with "decoys" from a paedophile hunter group, a court has heard.

Paul Stone, 50, sent sexual messages online and via WhatsApp to what he thought were two girls under 16.

In fact, they were members of a group of paedophile hunters, who passed the messages on to police, who arrested him.

Norwich Crown Court heard Stone, of Jewson Road, off Palmer Road in the city had been communicating with the decoys between September 1 and September 12, 2022.

Jamie Sawyer, prosecuting, said Stone, a registered sex offender who was being managed by Norfolk Constabulary's public protection unit, had encouraged the decoys to engage in sexual activity and sent pictures and videos of himself to them as well.

He said the "most troubling" aspect of the case involved his previous convictions, which included indecent images offences in 2012 and attempted sexual communication with a child from March this year.

Stone appeared for sentence on Wednesday (November 9) having previously admitted two counts of attempting to cause or incite a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, against one victim between September 1 and September 12.

He had also pleaded guilty to another offence of attempting to cause or incite a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity, against another girl between the same dates.

In addition, Stone had pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements between March 31, 2022, and September 12, 2022, as well as three counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) between the same dates.

Passing an extended sentence of eight years and eight months made up of five years and eight months custody and three years on licence, Judge Alice Robinson said it had been "serious" offending.

Judge Robinson said it was a "particular concern" that he "fell into old habits" and as a result of his "continued and persistent sexual offending" regarded him as a "dangerous" offender who was a significant risk of serious harm to children as a result of sexual offending by him.

Michael Clare, mitigating, said the defendant admitted his offending from the outset and should be given "full credit" for his pleas.

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Shaun Wightman, 57, absconded from his trial in Sheffield before being caught in Scotland and eventually jailed for 16 years.

A paedophile who was found living with children after going on the run to Scotland during his trial has been jailed. Shaun Wightman, 57, had been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court last year but fled the Yorkshire city.

The beast had been charged with four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of causing or inciting a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity and multiple charges relating to engaging in sexual activity in front of a child and taking indecent images of a child.

In his absence, Wightman was found guilty of eight of the charges against the girl, with whom he had been in a "position of trust". The court heard he was re-arrested on October 31, after intelligence led cops to a property in Scotland. 

Officers they found the sick sex offender hiding out with children and he was hauled back to court. Appearing in court on Friday, November 4, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Examiner Live reports that judge Jeremy Richardson said he was in "no doubt" the abuse "would have escalated had she become older before what you did to her was discovered." The judge told how jurors were forced to view sick images that Wightman had taken of the child after he disappeared on the second day of the trial.

The Recorder of Sheffield said: "Eventually, on the fourth day the decision had to be made by the court as to whether to proceed in your absence to the defence case, final speeches and summing up. On October 25, 2022 it was thought, as a result of evidence from the police, that you were in Scotland. You were arrested on October 31, 2022."

Wightman admitted a bail act offence relating to his failure to turn up for trial. Rodney Eric Ferm, Mitigating, told the court that the sentence would be the longest the sex offender has served, having no crimes on his record since 1995.

Mr Ferm said: "It is a long sentence which will be hard to bear when you haven't been in that kind of environment and at the age he is at. He is not in the best of health - he had a motorcycle accident many years ago, around 20 years since then, but he has been unable to work and one of the effects of this is his mental health issues which were accepted by the Department of Health and Social Security and it has led him on more than one occasion to contemplate suicide."

The lawyer urged the court "to measure the sentence against that background" as Wightman had been placed on suicide watch and was undergoing tests for cancer.

Sentencing Wightman Judge Richardson told the court: "You were arrested in Scotland by the police hiding in a house where there were children. You were a fugitive from justice. This case involves the cruel abuse of a girl." He handed him a total sentence of 16 years imprisonment.