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Benjamin Hassell, 70, was found guilty of indecent assault during a trial after previously pleading guilty to seven charges of making indecent images of a child. The trial heard how in 1987, when the victim was just six years old, Hassell sexually assaulted her at an address in Southampton.

The victim came forward to speak to police to report what had happened to her in 2020, and an investigation was launched. Officers seized a number of electronic devices from Hassell, including a laptop, a digital storage device and an SD card. An examination of these devices revealed more than 2,000 indecent images of children.

Hassell, of Clarendon Road, Southampton, had previously pleaded not guilty to the indecent assault charge, however was found guilty of the offence by a jury. He was jailed for seven years and 10 months.

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Today, Friday 26 July, a man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after being found guilty of historical child sexual abuse in Liverpool.

Raymond Andrews, 57 years, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape and six counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.

His heinous offences was committed in Liverpool between 2014 and 2016.

Andrews, who is from Liverpool but has been living in Oldham, was also issued a restraining order, Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be required to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.

Description

A paedophile who sexually abused four children has been jailed for 16 years. All of his victims were under the age of 13-years-old.

Gary Hayes, 61, of Taff's Well, was found guilty of indecent and sexual assault of his victims. The offences took place over a period of 14 years from 2002.

Hayes, of Garth Street, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment, at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, July 19. He was subjected to sex offender notification requirements for life, an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and indefinite restraining orders.

Description

A man who admitted trying to have sexual conversations with children online has been given an extended sentence of more than eight years.

Stephen Poulter, aged 43, was using a chat site to have sexualised conversations with profiles he believed belonged to two 14-year-old girls.

In reality he was talking with a member of an online child abuse activist group, who went on to report him to Northamptonshire Police on February 18 this year.

Officers immediately attended and arrested Poulter, previously of Lindsay Avenue, Northampton, who was already under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed in 2021 following a previous conviction.

An investigation by the Force’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Unit (OCAIU) revealed how despite being told each ‘child’ was just 14, Poulter had sent them indecent images and videos of himself.

He went on to be swiftly charged with two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and one of attempting to cause a child to look at an image of sexual activity.

Poulter had refused to give the police access to his mobile phone despite this being a requirement of his previous sentence, resulting in him also being charged with breach of the SHPO.

He was also charged with possession of the Class B drug cannabis, which was found in his home upon his arrest.

Having entered guilty pleas to all charges at Northampton Crown Court in March, on July 10 he returned there to be sentenced.

Poulter was given an extended sentence – used for criminals convicted of specific offences who are deemed to be dangerous – made up of 40 months’ imprisonment and a five-year extension period on licence.

He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228, with orders made for the forfeiture and destruction of his electronic devices and the seized cannabis.

Description

A "deviant" pervert who had already been jailed for wanting to target young children for sexual abuse has been branded a "dangerous" offender after he reverted to the same "disgusting" behaviour.

Former Royal Navy serviceman David Parker, a convicted sex offender at the time, started chatting online to someone that he wrongly thought was the eager and willing mother of a 10-year-old girl but who was really an undercover police officer.

He brazenly and shamelessly told the fake mother that he wanted to have sex with her young daughter and that he would bring a cuddly penguin toy with him to keep the girl "entertained" while he abused her.

He had also been tricked the previous time by undercover police into thinking that he was talking to a like-minded sexual predator but he naively fell for the same trap again, Hull Crown Court heard.

Parker, 67, of Cherry Tree Lane, Beverley, admitted nine offences, including arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence, distributing indecent images of children and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Rachel Scott, prosecuting, said that, on February 21 this year, Parker became involved in online conversations with an undercover police officer, who was pretending to be a woman with a 10-year-old daughter.

Parker agreed to trade indecent images of children and he sent the undercover officer sexual images of children. He said that he would love to have pictures taken with the supposed daughter and that he would love to meet the girl and to have sex with her.

He sent a video of a male having sex with a child. Parker said that he would "play penguins" with the girl to keep her "entertained" and he sent an image of a penguin sex toy and discussed using them.

He said that he would love an eight-year-old girl. "Your girl is an ideal age," he told the fake mother. "He confirmed that he was serious about having sex with a child and it wasn't just a fantasy," said Miss Scott.

Parker suggested putting a gag on the girl's mouth. "He discussed meeting with the officer and her daughter," said Miss Scott.

"He discussed meeting the officer at a caravan, which he would pay for. It was agreed that the defendant would travel to the girl's home and stay over."

Parker eventually stopped the messages. He was identified and he was arrested at his home. He told police: "Not again" when he was arrested. He handed over a phone, which was registered with the authorities, but during a search, another phone was found hidden under a sofa cushion.

"That device had not been registered with his sex offender manager," said Miss Scott. Its deleted history included indecent images of children and extreme pornography.

During police interview, Parker admitted chatting online with adults about children but he claimed that he was "not stupid enough to meet them". He denied having a sexual addiction to children but he admitted that, in a fantasy world, he did.

Parker had convictions for 24 previous offences, including being jailed for 15 months in 2008 for possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

In May 2019, Parker, then living in Glebe Road, Brigg, was jailed for four years at Grimsby Crown Court for two offences of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence and four offences of making indecent images of children. He had been given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

During those offences, Parker was trapped in another secret police operation in which he wrongly thought that he was speaking to the stepfather of two children when he arranged to meet up at a motorway service station.

Parker was in breach of that order.

"This is a very serious breach," said Miss Scott.

Amber Hobson, mitigating, said that Parker did stop the most recent online sexual messages. "He acknowledges that his actions have been nothing short of disgusting," said Miss Hobson.

"He acknowledges that his behaviour is absolutely reprehensible. He is ashamed of what he had done.

"He never formed the intent to meet the person who he was conversing with and that's the reason that the messages stopped as he had determined that the conversation had reached a point that it needed to stop. He says that this was merely a fantasy.

"He was able to demonstrate good insight into the harm and ongoing harm caused by the distribution of that material. He had no intention of meeting the child." Parker had served more than 20 years in the Royal Navy.

Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC said of the fake 10-year-old girl: "Mercifully, this was a fictitious individual but you weren't to know that. You engaged in and started a conversation asking what age children she was interested in sexually.

"You agreed to trade in indecent images of children. You sent various indecent images of children. You have a deviant and unlawful sexual interest in children. You said that you would bring a cuddly penguin and also sex toys with that theme.

"You gave graphic detail about how you would engage in that sexual activity with that child. You believed that you were speaking to the mother of a 10-year-old child.

"You had every intention otherwise to progress the offence if it was possible to do so. There is a significant risk of serious sexual harm from you in the future."

Parker, who was already in custody on remand, was jailed for six years and nine months after he was described as a dangerous offender. He will be on extended licence of three years after his release from prison. He will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Description

A Ring doorbell pervert who twice tormented a Perth woman with his one-man “porn movies” has been spared jail.

Neil Beattie was caught engaging in a solo sex act on his victim’s front door video recorder.

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A repeat child groomer could be sent to prison after he was caught sending sexual messages to a decoy.

Former cabaret singer Darren Whyte, 34, told the ‘child’ – actually an adult – he would pay £15 for indecent images.

Description

A sexual predator from Finchley who filmed his offences has been found guilty a court following a Met investigation.

Ross Davidson, 36 (24.02.88) of Station Road, Finchley was found guilty on Thursday, 25 July of several sexual offences at Wood Green Crown Court.

A Met investigation began in 2019 when Davidson was arrested at his home and his personal devices were seized. After careful examination, officers discovered that Davidson had kept seven videos of himself raping and sexually assaulting his victims.

Following charge details of Davidson’s initial arrest being made public, officers identified four victim-survivors in total, who came forward to report rape, sexual assaults, voyeurism and controlling and coercive behaviour.

Detective Inspector Wendy Bassett, who led the investigation, said:

“This investigation has developed over many years with several victim-survivors coming forward at different stages.

"Our team have worked incredibly hard to evidence each incident, support the victims and bring Davidson to justice. We take every report of a sexual offence seriously and will do our utmost to investigate no matter when the incident occurred.

“Davidson is a prolific predatory offender with no regard or care for the impact he has had on the victims. I am pleased with this result and hope it goes some way in providing closure to the victims.”

One victim-survivor reported to police that in 2013 Davidson sexually assaulted and raped her after an evening together. Davidson raped her, ignoring her cries for him to stop, all of which he recorded on his phone.

The second and third victim-survivors were identified after recorded footage was discovered by police following Davidson’s initial arrest. The separate recordings showed both victims being sexually assaulted in their sleep.

The fourth victim-survivor came forward most recently in January 2023, recognising Davidson’s name in the news. Working with the victim to record her statement, officers were able to evidence she had been recorded in one of the videos on his phone without her consent.

Davidson has been convicted rape; two counts of sexual assault and voyeurism. He was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing on Friday, 6 September at Wood Green Crown Court.

The Met is doing more to address violence against women and girls and listening to victim-survivors to ensure that people have confidence to report these most awful crimes.

At the heart of our new approach in investigating rape, the Met have a greater focus on the suspect’s life, with a shift away from the ‘credibility’ of the victim-survivor. This means that the victim goes through a less invasive process when reporting an incident such as rape, which officers know is already an incredibly difficult time for them.

Description

Christopher Smith, 75, of Glasgow Road, Southsea, was locked up at Portsmouth Crown Court after being found guilty following a trial. 

The sick pervert was convicted of three counts of raping a male aged 16 or over, seven charges of sexual assault of a male aged 16 or above, and two counts of causing a boy to engage in sexual activity. He carried out the horrific crimes between August 2021 and April 2022.

The sex offender has to register with police indefinitely upon his release.

Description

A north London hotel worker raped a hotel guest and sexually assaulted other women by touching their feet as they slept.

Ahmed Fahmy, 45, abused his position as a member of staff at the Anchor Hotel on Golders Green’s West Heath Drive to carry out his sick offences, targeting two members of the same group in January this year.

On Thursday, Fahmy was convicted of one count of rape and three sexual assaults, one of which had taken place while he was working at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Newham in March 2022.

Police on Friday warned that there could be more victims, and urged them to come forward if so.

Hendon Magistrates Court heard how a group of four women were staying at the Anchor Hotel when they became separated on a night out with three of them returning.

When they got there, they realised they did not have the room key, and Fahmy demanded one of the women withdraw £80 from a cash machine so that she could stay in another room.

She got into bed fully dressed apart from her shoes and awoke to find Fahmy licking her foot.

She told him no and to go away, but she was then woken a second time to find him doing a similar thing. The woman kicked him and again told him to go away.

Later that morning, the fourth member of the group arrived back at the hotel and told Fahmy she had lost her key. He manoeuvred her into his bedroom where he raped her.

The offending came to light when the women moved to a different hotel immediately after. One of the women again was separated from her friends in Regent’s Park and became distressed.

A park staff member called the police but she could not tell them where her new hotel was, with officers suggesting they go back to the Anchor Hotel where they hoped to find contact details for her friends.

She then started crying and told the officers that she could not return to the hotel as the manager had raped her.

During the course of the investigation, detectives linked Fahmy to two other non-recent sexual assaults, which largely centred on him touching women’s feet, including a sex attack on a woman while on a date in 2008 in Wembley’s Alliance Close.

Met Detective Constable James Gomm, who led the investigation, said: “Fahmy displayed a clear pattern of offending where he abused his position as a hotel worker to get close to his victims and carry out his crimes.”

DC Gomm praised those who had shared what happened with police, saying: “Your bravery has helped put a sexual offender behind bars and protect other women.

“There may be other victims of Fahmy and, if so, I would urge them to get in contact with police immediately – you will be listened to and provided with support.”

Fahmy will be sentenced at the same court on September 20.

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An aspiring social media influencer has been jailed after admitting to a series of sex offences against two teenage girls.

Reaquain Palmer came to police attention at the end of July last year when one of his victims confided in staff at her school about a sexual relationship.

The schoolgirl had known of Palmer from his viral Tik Tok account and was later introduced to him in person.

Palmer, then aged 23, invited her back to his flat and had sex with her on three different occasions.

When he was arrested a short time later, he denied ever having sexual contact with her but also made it clear he believed her to be at least 16 years old.

He also denied calling another schoolgirl and attempting to engage her in a sexual act over the phone.

Incriminating mobile phone messages, however, revealed he was well aware of the first girl’s true age but had still maintained his pursuit of her.

As the investigation continued Palmer then made a clear threat to one of his victims in a misguided bid to undermine the case against him.

He later pleaded guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15. He also admitted to engaging in sexual communications with a child and intimidating a witness.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 25 July, Palmer, now aged 24, of Carlton Road, Nottingham, was jailed for three years and eight months.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will tightly control his online activities and access to children in the future.

Description

An Edinburgh man has been released from custody despite pleading guilty to sending sexual messages and images of his genitals to a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

Robert Agnew contacted a social media account who he believed belonged to the child before sending vile sexual comments and a picture of his penis on the WhatsApp messaging service.

Agnew was caught out after it emerged the person he was in contact with was a member of a paedophile hunter group who subsequently confronted him at his home in the Ratho area of the capital.

The online sting was live streamed on the groups Facebook page and 37-year-old Agnew was arrested and charged after the police were called in to deal with the situation.

Agnew appeared at the citys sheriff court following his arrest in March this year and was remanded in custody. He was back in the dock for sentencing on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to a charge of indecent communication during a court hearing last month.

Prosecutor Cheryl Porter told the court Agnew contacted a Facebook account in the name of 14-year-old Stacey Sugden from Manchester but was in fact operated by a member of the hunter group Fleetwood Enforcers UK.

Ms Porter said Agnew told the girl he was employed by Fedex as a warehouse worker and he had begun telling her she was very pretty and asked her to move the chat to WhatsApp.

The indecent communication continued over the following five days and Agnew sent messages including asking to meet up with the girl and making comments about her genitalia.

The court was told he also asked what kind of underwear she had on and had sent images of his erect penis asking Do you like the photos?. He also sent messages stating come and join me in my bed.

Members of the paedophile hunter group filmed the confrontation with Agnew when they attended his home at around 11pm on April 5 this year and the police were later contacted.

Solicitor Gillian Simpson, defending, said her client had not applied for bail following his arrest and although he admitted sending the messages he had no intention of meeting up with the girl.

Sheriff Charles Walls said Agnew had pleaded guilty to a very serious matter and though the contact was wholly inappropriate he had committed a non-contact offence.

The sheriff said: Although meeting up with a 14-year-old girl was discussed ultimately it is suggested this was just fantasy and there was no real intention to carry through with this.

Sheriff Walls released Agnew from custody and was placed him under the supervision of the social work department for three years as a direct alternative to custody.

Agnew was also sentenced to carry out 260 hours of unpaid work in the community and had his name added to the Sex Offenders Register for the next three years.

Agnew pleaded guilty to sending sexual communications to a 14-year-old girl, who was in fact an adult, at his home at Ratho, Edinburgh, between March 23 and 29 this year.

Description

A teenage rapist who loitered outside a gym before kidnapping a lone woman at knifepoint has been jailed.

Arselaan Nawaz, 17, had cycled to the car park in Oldham at around 6.30am and waited until the woman arrived in her car. He was seen on CCTV ‘loitering’ around the area as she parked further away from the entrance to the gym.

Due to the time of day she was alone as she got out of the car. Nawaz approached her and told her to hand over the keys to her car whilst brandishing a knife, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

He then ordered her into the backseat as she pleaded with him to let her go. He told her he would ‘kill her’ if she shouted or tried to run. He drove them to an industrial estate before getting into the back seat of the car where he ‘kissed’ her.

Summarising the case, the presiding judge said Nawaz left the woman with a bruise to her neck before ordering her to remove her clothes and putting on a condom.

Nawaz then raped the woman as she wept, telling her to “shut up and stop crying”. After the attack he demanded her mobile phone, and used her sock to clean the interior of the car.

He then ‘arrogantly’ kissed her before leaving with her phone. He was later arrested, and found to have put his SIM card into her phone.

The 17-year-old was convicted of rape and possession of a knife following a trial.

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A man who raped a 13-year-old girl in a hotel after befriending her on a beach has been jailed.

Matthew Tallentire attacked the girl after she visited Blackpool in the summer of 2020, Lancashire Police said.

The 32-year-old was convicted of two offences of rape and one of attempted rape following a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Appearing for sentencing at the same court on Friday, Tallentire, formerly of Blackpool but now of no fixed address, was jailed for nine years.
Police said the girl had travelled to Blackpool with two adults, and Tallentire had befriended them on the resort's beach.

Description

A newly released sex offender has been sent back to jail after he tried to hire a sex worker while he was staying in a hostel in Cornwall.

Christopher Wheeler had only been free for four days and was under strict licence conditions when police examined a phone he had just bought.

They found he had changed its settings to delete its internet history, which he was banned from doing by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which had been imposed when he was sent to jail the previous year.

Police suspected he had already started using his new phone to search for child abuse images because a download of his last device had unearthed 524 photos or videos and he has previous convictions for accessing such material.

The two police officers and the hostel manager were in the middle of examining his new phone when a text appeared from a prostitute asking why Wheeler had failed to make a rendez-vous in Camborne an hour earlier.

He was arrested, not for trying to arrange sex with the woman, but for breaking the SHPO by deleting the phone’s internet history, which was forbidden explicitly by the order.

It is the second time Wheeler has been jailed for breaking the order, having been sentenced to 20 months last August for trying to destroy evidence of him contacting children in chat rooms.

Wheeler, aged 31, of East Hill, Tuckingmill, Camborne, admitted two breaches of the SHPO and three counts of making, by downloading, indecent images or movies of children.

He was jailed for a year and four months by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court. He told him: “The police found the internet search history function turned off, disabling the retention of your online activity.

“You clearly had been engaging in activity online in the days since obtaining the phone but the full extent of that cannot be ascertained. That is why the order is there. I see from the pre-sentence report that you continue to deny a sexual interest in children.”

Mr Ed Bailey, prosecuting, said Wheeler was released from his previous sentence on May 10 this year and visited by his police offender manager at the Meneghy House hostel on May 14 after he told him he had bought a new phone.

A text message arrived before Wheeler handed over the phone and he managed to delete it before the officers could see it, falsely claiming it was from his father. A second text arrived as police were examining the phone which was from a prostitute and asking what was going on.

He had also used the phone to set up a new g-mail account without telling the police, something else which was banned by the SHPO.

The images offences arose from a full download of the Samsung phone seized from Wheeler when he was arrested in July 2023 for the SHPO breach which led to him being jailed the next month.

There were a total of 524 items of which 141 stills and 101 movies were in the most serious category, effectively showing children as young as two being raped.

Mr Nick Lewin, defending, said Wheeler is not tech savvy and does not know how the internet memory function was turned off. He said he should have been dealt with for the images offences when he was sentenced last year.