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A man who raped a woman while she was having a seizure has been jailed for nine years.

Steven Catlow had offered to walk the woman home from a gathering at a house in Peterlee on Christmas Day in 2019.

On the way home, the woman suffered a seizure and fell on the ground behind a row of shops in Peterlee.

As she came round, she realised 32-year-old Catlow was raping her as she lay face down in a muddy patch of grass.

The woman called police later that evening and an investigation was launched by Durham Constabulary.

The case took several years to come to court as Catlow had initially lied about what happened. But when his DNA was found in the woman’s underwear, he changed his story to say that consensual sex had taken place.

However, a jury sitting at Durham Crown Court found Catlow guilty of rape and he was jailed for nine years on Monday (August 12).

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: “I have consistently had to keep re-living what happened - I tried so hard to forget about it all, but it was constant, having to experience flashbacks every time I spoke about it.

“Because of his actions, I now don’t go out with friends, I don’t feel comfortable being out and socialising. I am constantly looking over my shoulder thinking the worst is going to happen.

“My mental health has been up and down constantly since that day. I can never look at Christmas Day the same again – he has ruined this day for me for the rest of my life.

“I even look at myself differently – truthfully, I look at myself and just see myself as someone to be used. I lost all respect for myself. Because of what he did to me that Christmas Day, nearly five years ago, I will never be the same again.”

Detective Sergeant Erica Kilburn, who led the investigation, said: “Catlow’s actions on that day were abhorrent – he preyed on a woman who was physically not in a position to help herself.

“He is a dangerous predator who abused the woman’s trust and took advantage of her in the most horrific way.

“I’d like to commend the woman who has shown incredible resilience and strength of character throughout this protracted investigation and court case. She was not thrown by Catlow’s lack of remorse, and I hope this result goes some way to alleviate the pain she has suffered over these past few years.

“I am pleased that Catlow is now behind bars and unable to harm anyone else. This result sends a strong message that violence against women and girls will not be tolerated, and any reports will be rigorously pursued.”

Description

A police officer sexually assaulted four women on the night he was hailed a hero at the Scottish First Aid awards.

David Jones, 36, was at the event at Glasgow's Radisson Blu hotel in March 2023 for his role in facing-down a knife-wielding man in Edinburgh.

He was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of groping a firefighter, a swimming instructor, her sister and a paramedic student.

He was given 150 hours of unpaid work. Police Scotland said Jones had been suspended and would face misconduct proceedings.

Jones, who had been an officer for six years, was recognised at the ceremony along with three colleagues for “heroic acts of bravery”.

The officers had faced a mentally-ill man with a knife while responding to reports of a gas leak. They provided first aid and managed to evacuate the area.

Jones, from Auchterarder in Perthshire, collected the event’s Chairperson’s Award with his colleagues.

Sheriff McIntyre told him: "It’s not lost on anyone that you were receiving an award that evening for your vital efforts and first aid.

"You made a considerable contribution to our community. None of that takes away from the obvious distress your conduct caused."

“Your victims were public servants celebrating their success that they were being commended for. You ruined that evening for them."

The trial heard how the award recipients had partied to an ABBA tribute act and DJ after the ceremony.

The 23-year-old paramedic student told the court how Jones made several attempts to dance with her.

She said he tried to grab her breast before putting his hand under her dress. The witness told the trial she had suffered from PTSD since the incident.

The 30-year-old firefighter said she felt a "distinctive bump on my back then a grab on my bum".

The swimming instructor, aged 23, told of an "uncomfortable interaction" with a stranger who groped her breast.

She said: "I told him to get away from me."

But the man remained near her group before he approached her sister.

She said she was "grabbed more vigorously" leaving her "uncomfortable and intimidated".

Jones was later thrown out by security for being drunk and encroaching on the personal space of the women.

He told the trial he "potentially" came into physical contact with them, but said he would have stopped dancing with them had they refused.

The father-of-two claimed he "did not know why" he had been kicked out of the awards.

He accepted he may have apologised to the one of the women, but that they were "mistaken by thinking it was something it was not".

His lawyer Christopher Shaw said his client maintains his innocence.

He added: “Mr Jones is a man with good character and knows his position is now untenable. His employment is now over.”

Ch Supt Helen Harrison, Police Scotland head of professional standards, said that damage is caused to public trust "by the actions of those who do not uphold the standards we expect in policing".

She added: "The officer remains suspended and will be the subject of misconduct proceedings."

Jones was found not guilty of a further three sexual assault allegations.

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre ordered him to do 150 hours of unpaid work, put him under supervision and on the sex offenders' register for one year.

Description

A private maths tutor who sexually abused a vulnerable teenage boy has been jailed.

Holly Rouse-Sweeney, aged 37, tutored the boy online before organising to meet him at her former Nottinghamshire home.

She then had sexual contact with him on several occasions – despite being aware he was under the age of consent.

Police were called in May 2023 when the boy’s mother found inappropriate WhatsApp messages on his phone.

After Rouse-Sweeney was arrested, officers found several incriminating diary entries on her laptop in which she detailed the abuse and even referenced the boy’s true age.

She later pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a boy, and four counts of causing a boy to engage in sexual activity.

Rouse-Sweeney, of Hebden Bridge, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (9 August) and was jailed for six years.

She was also added to the sex offenders’ register and made the subjection of a sexual harm prevention order which will tightly restrict her activities when she is released.

She was also handed a restraining order forbidding her from any future contact with her victim.

Rouse-Sweeney had claimed that her actions had been influenced by a long-standing mental health condition.

Description

A “depraved” sex offender who urged a young girl to sexually abuse her two-month-old relative in exchange for £1,000 has been jailed.

Ben Murphy, 31, also approached two girls while they were playing on the swings at a Sittingbourne park and made indecent suggestions to them which led them to run away.

Murphy, of Raite Green, Sonora Fields, Sittingbourne, also fled the scene in February last year but was arrested two days later after police spotted him on CCTV.

He was charged with inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and remanded in custody before a court appearance.

Murphy had already been due to attend court to be sentenced for several sex offences involving children between January 2020 and March 2021.

During this earlier period, he had contacted five separate children who did not know him, on social media platforms. Murphy asked his victims to send images of themselves, some in their underwear and others carrying out sexual acts.

In one conversation he incited a child to abuse their two-month old relative, and offered to pay her £1,000.

‘Murphy is a depraved individual who poses a considerable risk to young children...’

Murphy also sent indecent images and videos of himself to the victims and asked for private calls so he could further engage in sexual abuse. On another occasion in February 2021, he approached a further child in a Sittingbourne park and asked them to carry out a sexual act. The child refused and fled the scene.

Murphy had been arrested for these earlier offences and had pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to six indictments of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and four of possessing indecent images of children. Some of the images were of the most serious category.

As he was awaiting sentencing and subject to strict court bail conditions, he went on to commit the most recent offence when he attended the park near Balas Drive and Sonora Way, Sttingbourne, in February.

He pleaded not guilty to this later offence but was convicted on Friday, following a trial, to inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

On Tuesday (August 13) he was sentenced to six years in prison, of which he will have to serve two thirds before he is eligible for parole.

On his release he will have to serve a further two years on licence. Murphy will also have to sign the sex offenders’ register and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period.

Detective Constable Deniz Aslan said: “Murphy is a depraved individual who poses a considerable risk to young children in person or online. He made vile suggestions and sent indecent images to his vulnerable victims who were very distressed by his actions.”

PC Nadine Stanton, who investigated the most recent incident said: “Murphy showed himself incapable of following restrictions imposed by the court and a prison sentence was the only possible outcome.

“We would like to commend the young victims and their parents who have supported our investigation throughout and assisted us to bring this predator to justice. I hope the prison sentence imposed on Murphy will allow them to start to move on from their ordeal.”

Description

A paedophile had still not told his boss about his conviction for indecent images more than two months after admitting the offences in court.

Simon Lancaster, from Cardiff, was told by a judge that "anybody with any sense whatsoever" would come clean before police turn up at his workplace.

The 44-year-old pleaded guilty on June 11 to two charges of possessing indecent photographs. None of the images were in category A — the most serious type — but one was in category B and three were in category C. Lancaster, of Hillrise in Pentwyn, committed the offences between January 2019 and November 2022.

Wearing a smart suit, Lancaster appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court to be sentenced on Wednesday. District Judge Stephen Harmes asked when he planned to tell his employer about his offences, to which Lancaster said: "When it's necessary." The judge replied: "Okay. Well it will be necessary when police knock on the door to put software in your computer in work because there's a sexual harm prevention order. So anybody with any sense whatsoever would get ahead of that and tell their employer. You don't want police turning up to your workplace and saying you're a sex offender. They could have clients there."

The court heard that Lancaster has no previous convictions and works in Treforest. After reading the probation service's pre-sentence report Judge Harmes said: "I agree with the recommendation of the report. I'm not going to send you to prison. I think there are things in the report I'm concerned about, so I'm going to impose 25 days of rehabilitation activity and a 24-month community order."

The judge added that it would be "absolutely right" for Lancaster to do unpaid work, but he feared this would disrupt his rehabilitation activity and his work, so he instead imposed a fine of £1,000. Lancaster was also ordered to pay a £114 victim services surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs at a rate of £200 per month. "You will have to have your employer put some software on any computer in work," said Judge Harmes. "I can't leave that door ajar a little bit because the temptation will be there.

"It seems you have been let off too easily. What you have done is very serious and what you cannot do now is do it again. You will not have this sort of leniency and be able to rebuild your life and continue in work twice. If it happens again you will be going to prison. Do you understand?" Lancaster nodded and said he did.

Lancaster's devices which were seized by police will be destroyed. He will be subject to police notification requirements for five years.

Description

A paedophile who was snared by chat logs that showed him asking a teenage boy to send him sexual images has avoided a prison sentence.

Andrew Easton, 39, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted downloading and distributing disturbing indecent images of children to others on the internet.

Description

Sex pest Ross Madeley attacked a woman at a Covid lockdown party. The defendant was drunk and out of work when he carried out the attack.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the victim had tried to scream. But no noise came out of her mouth, the ordeal eventually came to an end, and she called in Staffordshire Police the following day.

Now Madeley - who is 25 years old - has dodged jail and been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. He had admitted two charges of sexual assault as well as three other sexual offences connected to the same incident.

Brian Williams, mitigating, said: "He behaved in the most appalling way. He accepts that. He said to me what he did was unforgivable. He is remorseful. There is a huge difference in many people between a 21-year-old and a 25-year-old. In the intervening period he has matured considerably. He can look back at what happened four years ago with a sense of shame. It was during Covid and he was not working. It led him to drink more than he should have done."

Recorder Sunil Khanna sentenced Madeley, of Guy Street, Bucknall, to two years in prison, suspended for two years. The sentence includes a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 150 hours unpaid work.

Recorder Khanna said: "These events occurred at the time of lockdown. You were feeling low and drank too much and described yourself as very drunk that evening. You behaved in an appalling way. I have no doubt she suffered psychological and personal harm as a consequence of your actions. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."

Description

A former offshore worker who was jailed over the attempted rape of a 12-year-old girl has been fined after he sexually assaulted an NHS nurse.

Thomas Donald, who suffers from poor mobility, pleaded guilty to slapping the female nurse by slapping her on the backside as she tried to assist him in getting into a shower at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Description

A dangerous rapist has been jailed as part of the Metropolitan Police Service’s ongoing commitment to protect women and girls from harm.

Victor Adegbesan, 34 (15.10.1989) of Inverness Street, Camden was sentenced to 6 years 7 months’ imprisonment at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday, 26 July. He was previously found guilty of two counts of rape after a trial at the same court on Friday, 3 May.

On Thursday, 22 July 2021 Adegbesan subjected the victim-survivor to a frightening and horrific ordeal when he raped her. An investigation began after Met officers quickly responded to a 999 call by the victim. The team worked around-the-clock to gather evidence and secured a charge the next day, keeping Adegbesan in custody and off the streets.

Description

A SEX offender from Barry has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. 

Daniel Breadmore, 50, of Barry Road, refused to handover a phone over to police officers.

The Sexual Harm Prevention Order prevents Breadmore from accessing any devices with access to the internet.  

In May 2022, he was sentenced to 18 months for four counts of possessing indecent images of a child.

In the same hearing he was sentenced for the offence of engaging in sexual communication with a child.  

On June 5, when police entered the address of the defendant, it appeared he had a phone in the pocket of his trousers.  

He handed over one phone, but when officers asked him to hand over a second phone, officers said he went ‘ballistic’, it was heard in court.  

The phone was found to have software that stopped the defendant from being seen through an IP address.  

There was no evidence there were videos on there but there was concerning content referring to incest, said the prosecutor.  

This was in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order made by Cardiff Crown Court on May 30, 2022.  

Breadmore pleaded guilty to breach of the order on Friday June 7, 2024, and was sentenced in court on August 8.  

The judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison and said the Sexual Harm Prevention Order will carry on for another eight years or so. 

Description

A MAN has been locked up for more than nine years after admitting multiple serious sexual assaults against a child.

Christopher Holdsworth, 38, appeared at Bradford Crown Court by video link from HMP Leeds to hear a powerful statement read by his victim.

The statement said the victim’s life had been “ruined”.

After being confronted about his behaviour Holdsworth denied any wrongdoing and threatened to beat people up for “spitting out lies”.

Holdsworth was jailed for nine years and six months by His Honour Judge Colin Burn, put on the sex offender’s register for life, and made the subject of an indefinite restraining order banning contact with the victim.

A sexual harm prevention order will be set at a later date.

Description

A man who used computer technology and real photographs of children to create sexual abuse images and encouraged the rape of children via the internet has been convicted.

Hugh Nelson, 27, has pleaded guilty to a total of 16 charges relating to child sexual abuse offences.

The CPS authorised five charges against Nelson after he was first arrested in June 2023 by Greater Manchester Police, and a number of his digital devices were seized and examined.

It was found that Nelson, of Egerton, Bolton, frequented internet chatrooms where he would exchange and sell computer-generated ‘artwork’ and discuss child sexual abuse with others.

Through these online chatrooms Nelson accepted requests from individuals who wanted him to create explicit images depicting children being harmed both sexually and physically, which he either sold in exchange for money or shared to others for free. Some of this computer-generated artwork requested used images of real children.

Over an 18-month period, Nelson admits he made around £5,000 from selling these images.

Following further examination of his devices by Greater Manchester Police, the CPS charged Nelson with 11 additional offences on 27 February 2024.

New evidence from these searches found that on three separate occasions, to three separate individuals, Nelson exchanged messages on chatrooms capable of encouraging the rape of children under 13

Description

A child sex offender could face another spell behind bars after breaching a court order.

Chrissena Lamar failed to comply with conditions imposed in 2017 after being jailed for a year following a conviction for sexual activity with a child under 14.

The 69-year-old, who was listed as male on court lists but identifies as a woman, had been placed on the sex offenders’ register and told to sign in at a police station once a year.

But the pensioner failed to check in with officers in Dover on March 28 – in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

It was not the first time Lamar had failed to comply with the strict conditions of the SHPO, having previously been found with a mobile phone police had not been informed about.

Referring to his client as “she” throughout the hearing, Lamar’s solicitor, James Langridge, told the court his client had mental health issues and had previously been in hospital for some time.

He conceded Lamar had not completed the annual registration in March, but argued the matter could be dealt with via a fine.

Deputy District Judge Claire Luxford decided against sentencing Lamar during a hearing at Folkestone Magistrates on July 31.

She instead asked probation to carry out a pre-sentence report, telling officers and Lamar that all punishments would be considered.

She told the defendant: “This offence is aggravated by your previous convictions and I order an all-options report on you, which will include the option of being sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court.”

Lamar, of Park Street, Dover, was granted bail and will next appear at the same court on the morning of October 3.

Description

A vile paedophile instructed women to sexually abuse their own children in ‘disturbing’ online chats. Persistent offender Kevin Watson has been locked up again for another series of disgusting crimes.

Police discovered the ‘extremely graphic’ chats on devices which he’d tried to hide when they checked up on him. After they made the grim discovery, Watson, 61, from Stretford, was hauled back before the courts and is now serving another jail sentence.

The sex offender realises he has ‘come to the end of the road’ and is ‘determined to make long lasting change’, according to his lawyer.

Minshull Street Crown Court heard Watson had previously been handed a sexual harm prevention order when he was locked up and in 2020. He thought he was chatting to who he believed to be a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, but in fact they were undercover police officers posing as children to snare paedophiles.

Last year, Watson was jailed for two years for breaching the order. Officers from GMP’s sex offender management unit attended his home and asked him to hand over electronic devices for inspection.

Watson handed over some of them, but after searching on his wireless router the officers realised there were a further two devices which he hadn’t disclosed. Two further devices were found hidden behind a gas meter and under some drawers in his bedroom.

By the time he was sentenced to two years, the devices had not been fully examined. But they eventually were and officers discovered further incriminating material.

“On these devices the police discovered text message threads between the defendant and four females,” prosecutor Joshua Bowker said. “All of the chat threads were extremely graphic and disturbing.

“They included the defendant instructing these women to commit sexual offences against their own children.” He added: “These four females are unknown, the police cannot identify who they are. They appear to be from other countries.”

Police checked up on Watson again in April this year, and he handed over a phone and laptop to officers. They discovered that he had been accessing ‘teen chat rooms’ on five separate dates, which he was banned from doing as part of the sexual harm prevention order.

Watson pleaded guilty to four counts of publishing obscene articles, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order. Defending, James Hudson said of the defendant: “He knows full well, if he continues on this path, sentences will just get longer and longer.”

Mr Hudson said Watson lives a ‘fairly lonely and solitary life’, and said his ‘daily consumption’ of alcohol affected his ‘judgement and control’. Watson is ‘determined to make long lasting change’ and ‘knows he can’t continue in this way’, Mr Hudson added.

Recorder Geoffrey Lowe sentenced Watson to a further two-and-a-half years in prison. “You are acquiring a very unenviable record for sexual offences,” the judge told him.

Description

Police discovered over 2,000 disturbing images or videos of children on a man's mobile phone following a tip-off from the National Crime Agency.

The collection included 1,638 pictures and 404 videos totalling 2,042 with 653 of them falling into the most severe category, Hull Crown Court was informed.

Jay Fleming, 26, from Bridlington, pleaded guilty to three charges of creating indecent images of children between April 2021 and March of the previous year. Prosecutor Michael Masson revealed Fleming was apprehended in Bridlington due to information provided by the National Crime Agency.

It was suspected that indecent images of children had been shared via Snapchat. Images were located on a mobile phone, including 382 picture files and 271 videos in the gravest Category A, as well as 614 images and 99 videos in Category B, and 642 images and 34 videos in Category C.

However, Snapchat had not been installed on the phone. Fleming made complete and candid admissions during his police interview, reports Hull Live. Emily Hassell, defending, stated there was no evidence to suggest that Fleming had tried to contact or had contacted children directly. He had no prior convictions and was assessed as having a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Tahir Khan KC admonished Fleming in court, declaring: "You accessed from the internet indecent images of children. Found on your device were a large number of Category A images and also Category A videos. Category B and Category C images were also found on your device as well.

"If you had not pleaded guilty to these offences, I would have sent you to prison for 18 months but you had the good sense to admit what you did.

"That makes a difference to a sentence of custody that I can suspend and a sentence of custody that would require you to go down those steps. I have a duty to protect the public, and children in particular, given the nature of the offending."

Subsequently, Fleming was handed down a one-year suspended prison term, coupled with a rehabilitation requirement lasting 30 days. Additionally, he is subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will be listed as a sex offender for a decade.