Latest Offenders

Description

Ryan Scott – who was born female – lured the schoolgirl back to their home after meeting up on Valentine’s Day last year.

A transgender paedophile carried out a sex attack on a teenage girl while living as a man. Ryan Scott – who was born female – lured the schoolgirl back to their home after meeting up on Valentine’s Day last year.

The 20-year-old, who uses the name Coral Scott, pounced on the girl, who was just 14 at the time, and tried to engage her in sexual activity. After being caught, Scott set up fake social media accounts to abuse and threaten the victim.

The sex attacker has been on remand on Polmont Young Offenders’ Institution and is in the female wing of the prison – despite identifying as male since childhood. Scott appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday under the birth name Coral and admitted to a series of charges.

Last night, the mum of the victim, who is now 15, said: “After it happened my child changed, she became withdrawn, even violent and wouldn’t speak to us. We knew something had happened. We didn’t know she had gone to meet someone.

“Then a friend got in touch and said this person had told others they were going to be meeting our daughter. They also said the person was called Coral Scott. We kept asking our daughter, ‘Who is Coral?’ She said he was called Ryan. We didn’t understand.”

The 33-year-old parent from Dundee, who cannot be named for legal reasons, added: “It was weeks later when she finally told us this person had forced her to do things she didn’t want to do. She said she was traumatised and paralysed with fear when it was happening.

“It broke our hearts to see what this monster had done to our little girl. It destroyed our beautiful daughter. She was a child and whether he was a man or a woman, this is an were adult preying on a child.”

Scott – designated on court papers as “Coral Scott, also known as Ryan Scott” – admitted “engaging in sexual activity with or towards” the 14-year-old girl. In court, the paedophile was referred to as Coral and is understood to be identifying as female in prison.

During a hearing, prosecutor Joanne Ritchie told the court the pair had developed a friendship on Snapchat through a mutual friend’s group. Describing the attack, she said: “She and the girl met at the McManus Galleries in Dundee. She and the accused then travelled to the accused’s address by bus.

“They were initially alone and sat in the living room watching movies. A short time later the accused’s friend arrived. The accused’s behaviour changed and she began to show off by kissing and sucking the girl’s neck, leaving bruising.”

Scott then tried to pervert the course of justice by sending the schoolgirl death threats. The sex attacker used fake social media accounts to target her. Scott was reported to police and then traced and charged on May 1 last year.

Nine days later, when already subject to six bail orders, Scott sent threatening messages to the girl. She received two voice messages from Scott, who said: “So see if I get the jail mate, you’re f***ed mate. You’re dead. You’re just a pure f***ing horrible c***.”

On April 29, the complainer was in her bedroom when she received a Snapchat voice message from someone called 'Bob', who was not known to her. When she opened the message, she immediately recognised her attacker’s voice. Scott said: “See the next time I see you, you better not be in my scheme or I’ll f***ing do you.”

The sex attacker is housed in the female wing of HMP Polmont in Falkirk, which houses remand and convicted youngsters of both sexes aged between 16 and 21. Scott, who turns 21 in June, could be moved to an adult prison if handed a jail term when she is sentenced on March 2.

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “We do not comment on individuals.” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is still facing questions over why male-born double rapist Isla Bryson was sent to a female prison.

Description

A dangerous sex offender is back behind bars after committing further offences just two weeks after being released from prison.

Craig Gilbert was previously locked up for inciting and attempting to incite four different children and was released from a 66 month extended prison sentence on licence in July last year. However within two weeks he was found to have offended again.

Police officers monitoring him went to the hostel in Elswick, Newcastle, where he was living to check he was complying with his sex offender registration requirements and his sexual harm prevention order and asked to see his mobile phone. On it, they found a sexual exchange with a girl who appeared to have been 16 in which he asked if she was still at school and offered to be her "sugar daddy".

A further examination of his phone showed he had deleted his browsing history, which he was forbidden from doing under the terms of the sexual harm prevention order. And he had also downloaded 11 indecent images of children, which were saved in a folder on his phone - with one showing a girl aged between three and five being raped.

Now Gilbert, 32, of no fixed address, has been given given a two year prison sentence, extended by an extra three years on licence, by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court after he admitted possessing indecent images of children, breaching his sexual harm prevention order and attempting to breach it.

Locking him up, Judge Edward Legard said: "This is a worrying case because it appears your period of incarceration and probation work has taught you little, if anything. You are clearly a persistent sex offender with entrenched sexual interests.

"It's clear you demonstrate an implacable refusal to address your offending and you are deemed unmanageable in the community. You have shown no remorse and you deliberately and wilfully offend without any regard to court orders, without any thought for the children you seek out to harm and with no insight and no awareness.

"It's quite clear you pose a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public, especially children."

Referring to the indecent images, the judge added: "Sadly, having read the pre-sentence report I suspect this might fall on deaf ears but I will try my best. These crimes are not victimless, far from it.

"Those who appear in these images are often young, highly vulnerable children, sometimes recruited from impoverished backgrounds, often forced to perform degrading sexual acts or exploited and abused by others purely to feed the sexual gratification of people like you.

"It's you and many others like you who are ultimately responsible for creating a market for this highly offensive and damaging material."

As well as the prison sentence, Gilbert's indefinite sex offender registration and sexual harm prevention order continue.

Jonathan Walker, defending, said: "There's a level of acceptance of responsibility on his part."

Description

A secret stash of covertly recorded indecent images of children and footage of a woman taken without her knowledge were found by a pervert's horrified ex.

Paul Baird's sickening actions came to light when his now-ex wife noticed explicit material on an iPad a child was using, which was linked to a Google account on the phone Baird was using. A court heard there were a number of videos, many showing children.

Rachel Glover, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "The videos show filming of them, focusing on their bare legs, their bottoms in swimwear and up their skirts...He focuses the camera on their private parts and under their skirts.

Baird's disgusted ex was left distressed and found discovering what he had been doing "traumatic and overwhelming", the court heard.

There were also 35 videos of a woman, including filming or attempting to film under her clothing. After finding out, the woman was left "devastated" and has suffered mental health issues and struggles to go out in public because when she does and sees people on their phone she feels an impulse to check they are not filming her.

Baird, 38, of Garth 24, Killingworth, North Tyneside, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to five offences of taking indecent images of children and one of voyeurism. He was jailed for 20 months and must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Judge Edward Legard told him: "Filming young female children purely in order to feed your sexual gratification is simply unconscionable. The lives of these young children can and often are permanently scarred. You and others like you must bear responsibility for it.

"What your ex wife has had to endure can only be guessed at. For her to discover, in the way she did, that the man to whom she was married was taking indecent photographs of children must have been profoundly shocking and distressing."

Mark Harrison, defending, said: "The defendant acknowledges, as he rightly must, that this behaviour, over a relatively short period in 2021, was absolutely disgraceful and amounted to a gross invasion of privacy.

"He has written a letter saying how sorry he is for the pain and upset. He was at a low ebb, drinking and misusing drugs when his mental health was in a poor state."

Description

A paedophile groomed vulnerable young girls into having sex with him in return for gifts of money and vapes. Even after being arrested and released on bail Benjamin Rodgers continued to prey on girls, persuading a third victim to sneak out of the her house in the middle of the night and go to a beach for sex. A probation report has concluded that Rodgers is a dangerous sexual predator.

Swansea Crown Court heard the father-of-two is an active member of his church and has gone overseas on missionary work. His barrister described his offending as "inexplicable".

The court heard the defendant, using the name Danny Thomas, communicated with his teenage victims on the messaging service Snapchat. After chatting with them he arranged to meet them both in the same house on the same day. After getting an Uber vehicle to deliver food to the address he had sex with the children before giving them £90 and vapes in return.

The offending came to light when the dad of one of the girls questioned her about cash she had. The matter was reported to the police and Rodgers was traced. The court heard Rodgers was subsequently positively identified by the girls in an ID parade. The defendant was arrested and questioned but denied the allegations and was released on bail on condition that he not contact any female under 18.

However Rodgers went on to engage another girl in conversation on Snapchat and got her to send him naked photographs. He then arranged to met the girl and persuaded her to leave her house in the middle of night and get into his waiting car. The pair drove to Three Cliffs Bay on Gower where they had sex. The court heard the girl's parents realised she had vanished and reported her missing to police. Rodgers returned the girl to her home just before 5am but his car was seen in the area by officers who were looking for the missing girl. He sped off but the details of his vehicle were noted.

In victim statements which were read to the court the three girls described the impact of the offending on their lives including flashbacks, panic attacks, feelings of anxiety and insecurity, missed schooling, and self-harm. One said Rodgers had made her hate her body.

Benjamin Richard Rodgers, aged 31, of Farm Road, Nantyglo, Brynmawr, admitted three counts of sexual activity with a child . He has previous convictions for theft matters. James Hartson, for Rodgers, said the defendant was an intelligent, articulate, and educated man who had gone to Cape Verde as a missionary as part of his work with the church. The barrister said the references before the court spoke of a loyal, honest, and hardworking husband and father to two children, and he described the offending before the court has an "not just out of character but an aberration of character" and as "inexplicable".

Judge Geraint Walters told Rodgers that what he had done to his victims would live with them for the rest of their lives and be a "recurring nightmare". He said he had read a letter written by the defendant in which he said he was sorry he had caused so much harm to the girls and said he wished he had "followed the standards his parents had set him". The judge said an experienced probation officer had identified the predatory and planned nature of the defendant's offending and had come to the conclusion he should be considered a dangerous offender in the meaning of the relevant legislation.

With a discount for his guilty pleas Rodgers was given a 16-year extended sentence comprising 12 years in custody followed by a four-year extended licence period. He must serve two-thirds of the custodial element of the sentence before he can apply for release but it will be for the Parole Board to determine if he is safe to be released. Rodgers will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to control his access to girls.

Description

A PERVERTED west Cumbrian man is facing a jail sentence after he admitted a catalogue of sickening online child sex offences.

The crimes committed by 32-year-old Cleator Moor man Martin Cole included him 'plying' a girl aged 11 or 12 with gifts and money and asking her to perform sex acts on herself and also to send him a video of her doing a striptease.

A prosecuting barrister at Carlisle Crown Court said the behaviour was part of an attempt by Cole to sexually groom his victim.

When he appeared in the dock, the defendant, of Greystone Place, Cleator Moor, entered guilty pleas to eight allegations relating to his behaviour in 2020. Those offences were:

• Downloading 1,809 indecent child images class as Category A, the most serious. He did this between January of 2020 and November of that year.
• A similar offence, involving 1,493 Category B indecent child images.
• A similar offence involving 2,489 Category C indecent child images.
• Possessing three extreme and grossly offensive pornographic images involving bestiality.
• Inciting a child – aged 11 or 12 - to engage in sexual activity, which he did between dates in March 2020 and December of that year.
• A like offence, when he asked the same female child to video herself doing a striptease.
• A like offence, when he asked the child to take sexualised pictures of herself.
• And causing a child to watch images of sexual activity.

Prosecutor Peter Barr told the court that police initially began investigating Cole for the indecent images offences but as they examined his online activity the investigation took on a more serious aspect because of what was found.

Defence lawyer Sean Harkin requested that pre-sentence background reports are prepared before sentence is passed and he asked the judge to grant Cole bail so that he can put his financial affairs in order before the inevitable jail term.

Judge Guy Mathieson told the defendant: “You have pleaded guilty to a series of offences, which attract an immediate custodial sentence. Having a relationship with an 11 or 12-year-old girl in which you plied her with gifts and money – whether in exchange for or in order to acquire – sexual images of her quite appalling behaviour.

“You will serve a custodial sentence.”

The judge went on to direct that the Crown Prosecution Service provide an explanation of why the case has taken two years to get before the court.

The judge agreed to grant Cole bail but told the defendant, who has no previous convictions: “I take the view that this is extremely serious offending.”

He put Cole on the Sex Offender Register, saying the period he will be on it will be determined by the length of his sentence. 

The defendant will be sentenced on March 3. On that day, the court will hear victim impact statements from the child involved and her mother.

Description

A sick paedophile who escaped justice for more than 40 years is finally behind bars.

Peter Suscenko, 72, was first reported for rape to social services in 1982 and although the crime was fully investigated it remained undetected at the time.

The case was reviewed by West Yorkshire Police's Major Investigation Review Team in 2018 and thanks to forensic advances in technology they were able to continue. These advances led to Suscenko, of Seldon Street in Bradford, being charged with a number of sexual offences and following a trial at Leeds Crown Court he was found guilty of rape and four counts of indecent assault.

West Yorkshire Police said the offences were committed against a young girl in Leeds in the early 1980s. Suscenko has now been jailed for 13 years.

Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Richard Ord, from the Major Investigation Review Team, said: "We would like to thank the victim for the great bravery and courage she has shown throughout the investigation and subsequent proceedings. We hope today’s outcome will give her some form of closure and allow her to move forward with her life, knowing that her attacker is finally behind bars.

“Suscenko probably thought he would never go to jail for what he had done, but advances in forensic technology meant we were able to fully review the evidence and charge him with these offences. Cases of such seriousness are never closed and the Major Investigation Review Team will continue to do all in its power to achieve justice for victims.”

Description

A Swindon man has been jailed after being found with more than 500 indecent images of children. Alun Eric Topp, 48, will spend just under three years behind bars after pleading guilty to multiple offences.

Topp, of Bexley Walk, Park South, was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on February 3 to 32 months imprisonment. He pleaded guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornographic images.

Wiltshire Police first received information to suggest that a Twitter account associated to a telephone number believed to belong to Topp had uploaded indecent images online. Officers attended Topp’s address shortly after and he was arrested.

Detective Constable Justine Parsons, from Wiltshire Police’s Child Internet Exploitation Team, said: “When Topp was arrested, a search was conducted of his home address and officers located 11 media devices which were seized for further analysis. One of these was found to contain illegal material.

"Following further extensive enquiries, a total of 542 category A images were found – this refers to images depicting the most serious child abuse.

“This case further highlights the ongoing work carried out by our team to identify offenders who not only access these images online, but also distribute them. I am pleased our extensive enquiries have resulted in a prison sentence for this offender.”

Description

A former soldier from Okehampton has been jailed for 14 and a half years for multiple historic sex offences against children. Stuart Hood, from Okehampton, sexually abused a boy and two teenage girls.

His offending started when he was a teenager himself in the 1970s and continued when he was a young adult. The prosecution in his trial described Hood as a bully capable of 'deviant sexual behaviour' who enjoyed assaulting his physically weaker victims. He chased one with a horse whip and stripped another naked.

Hood, aged 59, was found guilty of 11 offences of indecent assault and indecency with a child during a trial in January. He returned to Exeter Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced.

The trial heard how all three victims had, at one point or another over the years, told different people what had happened to them when children. The offences finally came to light until 2018 when the male victim went to police.

One victim said in a statement that his childhood had been made a misery by Hood's behaviour. "He is a sick, perverse and a sadistic liar,' he said. "I trust the sentence reflects the immeasurable harm he's caused me."

A second victim said she hoped that by coming forward people who have suffered abuse in their own lives will have the courage to go to police and not carry the shame of what happened with them.

The defendant told his trial the victims were lying. A number of character references were read to the court saying he was a hard-working married man.

Joss Ticehurst, defending, said Hood had committed the offences many years ago and since them had become a valued member of the community and devoted family man. He was a teenager himself when committing most of the crimes.

Judge Anna Richardson said: "People are not necessarily one thing or another. I accept you have been a good family man and a valued member of the local community. That does not change the fact to your victims you were a dangerous and violent abuser."

Hood will serve at least two thirds of his sentence in jail before he is considered for release.

Description

A MAN who committed a “significant” number of child sexual offences against a girl has been jailed for nine years.

Robert Taylor, aged 61, groomed and manipulated the 15-year-old and carried out the criminal behaviour over a three-month period.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard when the girl disclosed what had taken place to police, officers found more than 2,600 indecent images of her on the defendant’s phone.

Taylor, of Surrey Road, Poole, was found guilty of three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child aged 13 to 15 following a trial last month.

He admitted one count of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, seven counts of taking an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

The 61-year-old defendant was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by Judge William Mousley KC at a Bournemouth Crown Court hearing on Thursday, February 2.

Judge Mousley KC said Taylor had kept “souvenirs” of his sexual abuse as well as a raft of other indecent images of the girl.

“I’m sure you groomed her to comply with your demands,” Judge Mousley KC said.

He added: “You manipulated her emotionally.”

The judge said the defendant, who had no previous convictions, made the girl frightened of him.

Prosecutor Tim Moores read a statement from the child which detailed the significant psychological impact the abuse had on her.

She described having “horrific memories” more than a year after the offending.

The court heard Taylor refused to answer questions when confronted with the allegations. He later denied the penetration offence and the allegation he fondled himself in front of the child.

Mitigating, Nick Robinson said the defendant had written a letter to the court in which he said he was “deeply sorry for all he has done”.

Mr Robinson described the offending as an “aberration”.

Judge Mousley KC said the defendant tried to cast blame on the complainant, but he told Taylor: “There is only one person to blame and it is you.”

It was accepted by the judge that the crimes were out of character and took place during a difficult period in the offender’s life.

“You were convicted of the most serious offences because of the great courage and sustained determination of the complainant,” Judge Mousley KC said.

The defendant was handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A retired bus driver convicted of sexually abusing four teenage boys over a period of nearly 30 years, including arranging for them to have sex with his wife while he watched, faces a long prison sentence.

John Foster, 78, asked some of the young boys to have sex with his wife on numerous occasions while he encouraged them to do so and eagerly looked on. He was lying next to them in the same bed at the time.

Foster got to know the boys while he was working as a bus driver. He repeatedly abused them in his car, including on football or train spotting trips, and while one of them was on holiday in London and the Isle of Wight with him, Hull Crown Court heard.

Foster, of Main Street, Wawne, near Beverley, denied 28 sex offences, involving four boys, but he was convicted by a jury of 27 of them after a trial. The charges included indecent assault, indecency with a child, rape and attempted rape, between July 1973 and February 2002. He was cleared of one charge of indecent assault on the direction of the judge.

Tom Storey, prosecuting, said that the offences happened over a period of nearly 30 years. They took place after Foster got to know them and befriended them while he was working as a bus driver in East Yorkshire. He had previously lived in the Burton Agnes and Harpham areas, near Driffield.

The boys were usually aged 12 or 13 when Foster began talking to them and befriending them before taking them out in his car for trips. He had also given them free bus trips. The abuse began by touching the boys and then progressing to sexual activity.

Some of the boys were taken to watch football matches, including in Manchester and Hull, or to watch trains, something that Foster had an interest in, during trips to Crewe and London. The abuse took place during the journeys or while they were staying overnight away from home. Some of the incidents took place at Foster's home.

He allowed some of the boys to steer the car, either from the passenger seat or while sitting on his lap. "He would buy them cigarettes or give them money to do so," said Mr Storey. Foster would also, in some cases, buy them alcohol.

Foster, in one case, bought the gas aerosol Damp Start, usually used to help start a car engine, for a boy to inhale to "produce a high like glue sniffing". These were all used as rewards or payments in return for the sexual abuse that Foster was "inflicting on these boys", said Mr Storey.

It no doubt "increased their dependency" on Foster and the likelihood that they would spend time with him. "By virtue of their age, these boys were all vulnerable at the time they were abused," said Mr Storey.

As a bus driver, Foster was in a position of trust in relation to the boys. "At the time, they were, in law, incapable of consenting to what took place," said Mr Storey. "In short, they could not do so."

Foster was married at the time to Dorothy Ann Foster, known as Ann, and it was claimed that he persuaded two of the boys to have sex with her. This was allegedly while he, his wife and one of the boys were in bed together and he watched. He tried to persuade the other boys to do the same with her but either they or she declined to do so, claimed Mr Storey.

Foster took one boy to London for his 16th birthday and abused him, said Mr Storey. The boy said that he had suffered "three years of hell" because of sexual abuse. "He described John Foster as having destroyed him," said Mr Storey. "Eventually, he ended up cracking up and then going to the police." The incidents in relation to this boy were "harrowing" because they were "horrible" and had left physical scars.

Foster did not claim that there was any consent from the boys for sexual activity. "He says that the entire thing has been fabricated and this sexual activity never took place with anybody," said Mr Storey.

The matters came to light in 2019 when police went to speak to one of the boys on a completely separate, unrelated allegation and he told them that he had been sexually abused by Foster when he was aged 13.

Checks of records from 2015 revealed that a health worker had contacted police to report that one of her clients had allegedly been abused by Foster. That boy was contacted and he and his brother made allegations. Police also found that, in 2010, a fourth boy had reported to the police that he had been sexually abused by Foster when he was 13 but the police "inexplicably" did nothing about this.

Mr Storey told the jury that Foster had been convicted of similar offences before and after the period of the current charges. Foster had been convicted in 1961 of two offences of indecently assaulting a boy under 16, with seven offences of gross indecency taken into consideration.

In 2007, Foster was convicted of three offences of sexual activity with a boy under 16. The significance of these convictions was that they showed that Foster had a "propensity or tendency" to commit precisely this sort of offence against young teenage boys, said Mr Storey.

Foster was arrested in February 2020 and police found, at his home, an envelope with old photo booth pictures showing him as a much younger man with the two brothers. He denied all the sexual offences during police interviews or that his wife had been involved. He confirmed that he had been a bus driver between 1962 and 2006, had two children and that he used to be known as "Big John". He claimed that, if he took the boys out for free bus trips or car outings, it was because they were "all lonely lads" and he was doing them a favour by taking them out for the day.

He denied buying solvents for one of the boys to sniff and denied using sex toys. "He denied ever having a liking for young boys," said Mr Storey.

Foster had been on bail during the trial but he was remanded in custody after the jury verdicts to await sentence.

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A pensioner caught with an indecent image of a young girl on his laptop has claimed he was downloading old war films when the image appeared on his device.

Ronald Singer didn’t delete the category C image, though, and when police searched his device he was arrested, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

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He had horrific abuse movies and hundreds of disgusting cartoons

A vile pervert kept depraved films of children being abused in a file he simply called 'Keep Out'. The horrific file also had hundreds of cartoon depictions of material that was similarly vile.

Paul Taylor had search terms for underage images and bestiality when police analysed devices that they took from his Swadlincote home, Derby Crown Court heard. The 33-year-old was also found to have images of adults engaged in sexual acts with animals when he was arrested.

When questioned by the police over the sick material, Taylor, of Meynell Street, Church Gresley, said he had "no idea what's going on". Justin Ablott, his barrister, told the hearing: "There is a pre-sentence report that has been prepared." Judge Shaun Smith KC replied: "It's sad, not bad, he clearly needs help and help is available."

Handing him a three-year community order, Judge Smith said: "What you were doing was very wrong. People think that if you are just looking at the pictures then no-one is being hurt, but they are.

"The people in the images are being hurt and that is really serious. People like you look at them and because you do the people taking them carry on taking the pictures.

"When someone looks at them it gets them into trouble and here you are in the crown court. You have held down a good job and here you are looking at a potential prison sentence."

Serena Varatharajah, prosecuting, said police executed a search warrant at Taylor's home on February 17, 2021, and seized a mobile phone and a laptop. She said analysis of both was carried out and the abuse images were found in the 'Keep Out' folder, reports DerbyshireLive.

Miss Varatharajah said in total there were two moving images of the most serious category A which typically show adults engaged in sexual intercourse with underage children. The prosecutor said there was one video of category B, one category C, two extreme pornographic images and 625 prohibited images.

These typically are cartoon recreations or reenactments of real child abuse. Miss Varatharajah said: "The search history was looked at and there were searches for 'bestiality' and for sexual conduct with children.

"He was interviewed and said he had 'no idea what's going on' in terms of the images but confirmed the mobile phone was his and then answered 'no comment' to the questions he was asked."

Taylor pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession of extreme pornography and a further count of possessing prohibited images. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Smith made him the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order under the terms of which he is not allowed to delete his internet history and must let the police know of any social media accounts he has or creates along with their passwords.

He was also placed on the sex offender register for five years and under the terms of the community order must take part in a sex offender awareness course and attend 45 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service.

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A MAN has been jailed for raping a woman as she slept leaving her "depressed and anxious".

Southampton Crown Court heard Shane Truckle attacked when she fell asleep on a sofa at a property.

The woman has been left having nightmares after the attack in 2017. She reported it in 2019, with a police investigation ending in December 2020.

Truckle, 41, of New Road, Netley, was on Thursday jailed for six years and nine months.

A jury previously found him guilty of one count of rape at trial in December 2022.

In a statement read out in court, his victim said: “It had been on my mind all the time”.

“I don't like to go out for a meal and if I see people that look like him then I go into a panic.

"Whenever I go out somewhere I feel I am looking for him. I have nightmares, the re-occurring dreams of what happened.”

She added that the incident has left her feeling “depressed and anxious”.

The case was delayed after a technical error when police submitted a case to the CPS. It meant the file had to be resubmitted in January 2021.

Jailing Truckle, judge Nicholas Rowland said the rape has been “hanging over [the victim’s] head for some time”.

Addressing Truckle, the judge added: “This is on the face of it a spontaneous opportunistic offence by you taking advantage of a vulnerable victim."

Truckle's family left in tears as he was led down. The defendant was described by the judge as an “otherwise a hard-working family man”.

Prosecutor Paul Fairley said Truckle has previous convictions for theft, burglary, disqualified driving and drink-driving, but no past sex offences.

Defending, Michael Mason said that he has a full-time job as a site manager overseeing shop fittings.

Following the case, Detective Sergeant Claire Grant said: “This crime has had a lasting impact on the victim, and her life.

“It takes great courage for people to come forward and speak to us about incidents of this nature, and that should never be underestimated.

"I hope this case goes to show that regardless of how long ago a rape happened, we will work tirelessly to target perpetrators and provide specialist support to survivors.

“We want our communities to know that we stand with them, and will do all in our power to bring the offenders of these horrendous crimes to justice.”

A police spokeswoman told the Echo that “due to complexities in this investigation it took time to gather sufficient evidence to charge Shane Truckle”.

She added: “As with any investigation there are multiple moving parts that mean it can take time, each investigation is unique and as such time from reporting to file submission can vary."

Description

A former trainee police officer has been jailed for grooming as many as one hundred girls, as young as nine, by sending sexual messages and explicit images of himself online.

The disgraced student officer also requested pictures from the girls through TikTok, and was found with more than 1,200 indecent images and videos of children.

Jason Hicks, 31, was sentenced to four years in prison with a three year extended licence, put on the sex offenders' register and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will enable the police to monitor his online activity for ten years.

He was caught after the mother of a nine-year-old girl in Wiltshire found his messages on her daughter's phone and reported them to the police, who eventually realised they had come from Hicks.

The offences were uncovered while Hicks was in training to be a Devon and Cornwall Police officer.

He was immediately arrested and suspended and subsequently dismissed without notice.

Officers found more than 1,200 indecent images and videos of children on his laptop, iPad and other digital devices seized when a warrant was carried out at his home.

Hicks approached approximately one hundred girls all over the world on TikTok while claiming to be a 17 or 18-year-oldsixth former.

Hicks selected his victims from TikTok but then moved their conversations onto Snapchat before he used 'truth or dare' games to encourage them to strip off and touch themselves.

The girls included a 13-year-old from America who he asked to film herself and two eleven-year-olds from Sweden who he asked to send nude or semi-nude images.

He used Snapchat because their postings delete automatically. This meant police only recovered a fraction of the 100 contacts which Hicks admitted after his arrest.

He admitted everything in interview and told colleagues had been sexually attracted to children since he was a teenager but he was disgusted by his own actions.

Hicks, of Bishopsteignton, Devonfully admitted offences dating back to 2012 in his first police interview - telling detectives he felt relieved to have been caught.

He pleaded guilty to a total of 13 charges and was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday.

A psychiatric report concluded that he had a compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and was suffering from depression.

A Judge at Exeter Crown Court ruled that he was a dangerous offender whose release would have to be controlled by the parole board.

Hicks admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child - a nine-year-old girl from the South West - and inciting her to engage in sexual activity between March and April 2021.

He had befriended the girl online by posing as an older teenager on TikTok before moving onto Snapchat and exchanging sexually explicit messages with her.

The child's parents discovered she had been communicating with an adult male and contacted police in their area.

Enquiries later led officers to Hicks who was still in training and had not yet conducted any public-facing, frontline duties.

Devon and Cornwall Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team and Professional Standards Department urgently planned and executed a warrant at Hicks's home on 20 January 2022.

He was dismissed without notice following fast-tracked misconduct proceedings in February 2022 and has been placed on the College of Policing Barred List.

Hicks was convicted of a further four counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with children and another four of attempting to incite them to engage in sexual activity

He exchanged sexual Snapchat messages with four children he believed were aged between 11 and 13 between December 2021 and January 2022.

The victims have never been identified despite the best efforts of investigating officers. Analysis linked their IP addresses to the USA, Sweden and the Yorkshire area.

Hicks also pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of children between September 2012 and January 2022.

The images and videos found on his devices involved children as young as eight and included 127 in the most severe 'Category A'.

Hicks was also issued with a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the judge ordered the destruction of his digital devices.

He will serve three years on licence if he is deemed safe for release from prison at the end of his sentence.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Steve Parker said: 'We note and welcome the sentencing of Jason Hicks today for what are despicable offences.

'I would like to commend the bravery of the young victim in this case and her family in coming forward and reporting these appalling crimes.

'We remain committed to bringing perpetrators of such offences to justice and those responsible will always be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

'All police officers, including those in training, have a privileged role in being part of a Force responsible for the safeguarding of vulnerable people. The actions of Jason Hicks were wholly wrong and illegal and he now faces the consequences of that.

'Our Paedophile Online Investigation Team and Professional Standards Department acted swiftly as soon as these offences were brought to our attention and Hicks was immediately arrested and suspended. Accelerated misconduct proceedings meant he was dismissed soon after.

'Devon and Cornwall Police takes any reports of illegal or inappropriate conduct extremely seriously.

'All officers and staff are expected to abide by the Code of Ethics and ensure the highest standards of behaviour, both on and off duty.

'I can reassure the public that the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff work diligently to help to keep the public safe, uphold our high standards and provide an exceptional service to our communities.

'We will always take the appropriate action when standards fall below those expected and continue to learn from any instances where they do.'

Detective Inspector Simon Foster, who led the investigation, added: 'Devon and Cornwall Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team proactively seeks out offenders, no matter their position in society.

'This result demonstrates the commitment we have to safeguarding children in Devon and Cornwall.

'Our team conducts warrants following investigations into an individual's online activities which lead to arrests, charges, convictions and, most importantly, children being safeguarded and protected from harm.

'Our mission is to protect children from online predators, whether that be convicting offenders for possessing child sexual abuse material or protecting children who are groomed online.'

David Barnes, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS South West, said: 'Hicks used social media to find and contact young girls.

'He pretended to be a teenage boy, sending explicit messages and photographs while encouraging the girls to send him intimate images of themselves. At least one girl, aged just nine years old, sent photographs of herself to Hicks as a result.

'A swift investigation by the Devon and Cornwall Paedophile Online Investigation Team, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, enabled us to build a strong case that resulted in Hicks pleading guilty to a total of 13 charges.

'Women and girls have the right to feel safe everywhere, including online. We will continue to work in partnership with the police and other agencies across the criminal justice system to strengthen and improve our joint approach to tackling these appalling crimes.'

Both TikTok and Snapchat have been approached for comment.

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THE former headteacher of three West Berkshire primary schools has been caught with indecent images of children.

Gerry Heaton was a pillar of the education establishment, serving as an adviser to West Berkshire Council schools' Therapeutic Thinking Support Team (TTST) for vulnerable or troubled youngsters until his arrest.

But the 57-year-old was hiding a dreadful secret – since 2012, he had been hoarding indecent images of children at his home, many of them in the most extreme classification, Category A.

Mr Heaton was headteacher at Hungerford Primary School from January 2014 until taking early retirement in August 2017.

Previously, he was headteacher at Inkpen Primary School for more than eight years, from April 2008.

And before that, from January 2001, Mr Heaton had been deputy headteacher and acting headteacher at Lambourn Primary School.

He was serving as a specialist teacher at Theale Primary School in the months before his arrest and had served as school governor at Kintbury St Mary's Primary School.

Mr Heaton, a former pupil at John O'Gaunt School in Hungerford, was considered an inspirational educator to generations of youngsters.

He was also keen on amateur dramatics and was an enthusiastic member of the Kintbury Players.

But his reputation is now in tatters.

Mr Heaton, of Bradley Close, Kintbury, has admitted possessing hundreds of indecent images of children.

Specifically, he was caught with 124 images classified as Category C; 131 in Category B and 66 in Category A.

All the offences were committed in Kintbury between January 21, 2012 and September 9, 2021.

Mr Heaton, who was charged under his formal first name, Gerard, made the admissions during a brief appearance at Reading Magistrates' Court.

Magistrates ruled that the matters were so serious that they should be sentenced by a judge sitting at Reading Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

Mr Heaton was meanwhile released on unconditional bail.

He is no longer an adviser to the TTST, which aims to help young people who experience social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties.

All the above primary schools are state maintained, apart from Lambourn Primary School, which is managed by the Excalibur Academies Trust.

A spokesman for West Berkshire Council said: "We are aware of the ongoing criminal proceedings, and until they have concluded it would be inappropriate for us to comment."