Latest Offenders

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A man who distributed indecent images of children must register as a sex offender.

Alun Topp pleaded guilty to seven offences – six of which related to youngsters – when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (4 January).

The 48-year-old admitted three counts of making an indecent image of a child between December 2010 and February 2022.

He also admitted three counts of distributing an indecent image of a child between September 2021 and February 2022.

A further charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image – namely depicting a person performing an act of intercourse with a live or dead unknown animal – was also accepted.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction over the case, sending it to Swindon Crown Court for sentence.

The defendant, of Bexley Walk, Park South, Swindon, will next appear on 3 February. He was released on unconditional bail.

Topp was ordered to register as a sex offender. The time he will spend on the register will be determined by the judge during his sentencing hearing.

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David Fletcher, of Conygar Road, Tetbury, admitted five charges of sexual communication with a child and three of making indecent images when he appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates Court yesterday, Thursday.

Prosecutor Sue Gethin said Gloucestershire policereceived information that Fletcher had been chatting with a 12-year-old girl in a sexual manner on social media.

It is clear that the girl explained to Fletcher numerous times that she was aged 12," said the prosecutor.

"Fletcher correctly revealed that he was aged 61 at the time.

"The conversation continued between them in a sexual manner over a two month period, during which he sent her pictures of his genitalia and videos of him masturbating. He also sent her normal pictures of himself in the area in which he lives.

Fletcher admitted that between January 7, 2021 and March 13, 2021 in Tetbury, he intentionally attempted to communicate with a 12-year-old girl in a sexual manner which included sending videos of himself masturbating and encouraged her to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted that on November 12, 2020, he sent a picture of male genitalia to a 13-year-old girl and on April 17, 2021 he chatted to a 13-year-old girl about sexual acts and sent a picture of male genitalia.

On April 21, 2021, he communicated with 10-year-old and the conversation included his desire to experience sexual activity with a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old child at the same time.

Additionally, on the same date, he communicated with a 15-year-old in a sexual manner and sent a picture of a male genitalia.

Fletcher also admitted making indecent images of a child between December 31, 2019 and April 17, 2021, namely 310 images at category A, 177 at category B and 46 at category C.

The case was sent to Gloucester Crown Court where committed Fletcher will be sentenced on January 27.

Fletcher was placed on the sex offenders register and released on unconditional bail.

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An evil Scots rapist has been jailed for 'despicable' sex attacks against a number of victims.

Stephen Whyte was caged for 15 years following a sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday, January 5. The 47-year-old was convicted of a number of sexual and violent offences, including rape.

The crimes took place in the Fife area between 2006 and 2020. Officers say Whyte 'took advantage' of his victims, who were praised for their immense courage in reporting his abhorrent actions.

The outcome of the trial should "encourage survivors of sexual abuse to get in touch with police as reports are sure to be rigorously probed, regardless of their historic nature", cops added.

Detective Inspector Frank Keegan of Police Scotland said: Stephen Whyte took advantage of his victims over a number of years and he will now face the consequences of his despicable actions in prison.

His victims were incredibly brave to come forward and report Whyte, then give evidence in court. Our thoughts remain with them and I hope that todays sentencing will give them some comfort and help them move forward.

We remain committed to supporting victims of sexual crimes and thoroughly investigating those responsible by bringing them to justice, no matter how much time has passed. I would urge people to come forward to police and report it. They can be assured of being fully supported by officers and partner agencies.

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A perverted sex offender who thought that he was chatting on Facebook to two young girls aged 13 and 14 was trapped by a "self-styled paedophile hunter" who met up with police and showed them where the online predator lived.

Luke Lindley later brazenly tried to pretend that his Facebook account has been hacked and he turned violent when he was confronted and arrested by the police, Hull Crown Court heard.

Lindley, 28, of Sharp Street, Wyke, Hull, admitted two offences of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence between November 20 and 29, 2020 as well as two offences of assaulting a police officer as an emergency worker and another of possessing cannabis on December 1, 2020.

Julia Baggs, prosecuting, said that police went to Cottingham Road, Hull, at 8.20pm to meet with a man who had travelled from the Rotherham area. He had been working as a "self-styled paedophile hunter" and had set up decoy girls, supposedly aged 13 and 14, online. He directed the police to Lindley's home.

Lindley had chatted to the fake girls on Facebook Messenger and had said that he wanted to have sex with one of them. "He had been sending videos of himself committing sex acts," said Miss Baggs.

Lindley told police: "It wasn't me. My Facebook has been hacked." He was arrested but pushed a police officer away and resisted. Other police helped by taking hold of Lindley. One of them ended up on the floor, with Lindley on top of him. The officer's hand was bleeding.

While Lindley was in custody, three hand-rolled cannabis cigarettes were found on him. He later admitted during police interview that he believed that both fake girls were children.

He had convictions for 29 previous offences between 2012 and 2020, including two of arson, eight for violence and others for public disorder, criminal damage and possessing cannabis.

He had a conviction for a serious assault on his father, causing a fractured skull and two of assaulting police. At the time of the latest offences, Lindley was subject to a suspended prison sentence.

Connor Stuart, mitigating, said that Lindley did not now own a mobile phone. He had been on bail until the day of the court case and had been receiving help.

Sentence was adjourned for reports until February 13 and Lindley was remanded in custody because of the "high risk of offending" that he posed and the fact that the offences were committed while a suspended sentence was in force. A prison sentence was likely to be imposed at the next hearing for the "very serious" offences, the court heard.

Description

A sex offender pulled a drunk woman into a nightclub unisex toilet cubicle and attempted to rape her. The victim was unable to overpower the man who pulled down her underpants and tried to penetrate her with his penis.

Olaf Koranteng, 27, grabbed the victim's hand and pulled her into a toilet cubicle in Pulse nightclub in Cardiff on July 3 last year. He imprisoned her inside the cubicle and despite her protestations he refused to let her go.

The victim, who has lifelong anonymity, said she felt "disgusting" after the attack and is now petrified of strangers. Koranteng remained in the club and later appeared "confused" when he was arrested by police.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard the defendant had arrived in the UK from Ghana less than a month before he carried out the attempted rape. On the night of the attack, the married man had been searching the internet for casual sex and had used the search term "local slags".

The victim attended Pulse with her boyfriend, arriving at 3am. They both went to the unisex toilets at the club, and Koranteng made a comment to the couple. After using the toilets, the victim was unable to find her boyfriend.

Prosecutor Jason Howells said it was at this point Koranteng grabbed hold of her and forcefully pulled her into a cubicle against her will before locking the door. He pushed her against the back wall, put his hands around her neck and tried to kiss her. He tried to grab her hand and put it on his penis but she fought against him.

Koranteng then grabbed her underpants and pulled them down before rubbing his penis on her vagina. She said "What are you doing, get off me" and told the defendant she was with her boyfriend. She managed to unlock the door and escape. She then broke down in tears and told her boyfriend about the attack, before notifying a member of staff.

The victim described Koranteng as "larger, taller and stronger" than her and said the incident left her feeling scared. She told police "It's wrong, it's absolutely wrong."

The defendant, who returned to the dancefloor, was arrested at the club and told police he was having a "fun night meeting white people". During his interview, he said: "Am I going to get away with this? I have learnt my lesson".

Swabs were taken from Koranteng on which the victim's DNA was discovered and he was seen on CCTV approaching a number of women in the nightclub. The defendant, of Lower Cathedral Road, later pleaded guilty to attempted rape. The prosecution did not proceed with two counts of sexual assault in respect two women in the nightclub the same night.

In a victim personal statement read out to the court, the victim said: "In the beginning just after what happened I was unable to shower having to go to the sexual assault referral centre. I felt gross with the man's germs all over me. I felt disgusting and wanted a shower. I felt disgusting having swabs taken and not being able to have a shower before the examination was awful and humiliating.

"Following what happened I wouldn't go out on my own. I was petrified strangers would come up to me as I didn't know what they were capable of. I thought they were going to rape me like the man in Pulse. I don't know how anyone could do that. I will never have trust in anyone again.

"I was blaming myself a lot and would think if I could have done anything differently but I just know I couldn't have got him off me. I am now going to the gym to become stronger. I have been struggling mentally and I am still suffering now. I think I am fine and all of a sudden it will hit me."

The victim said she would never use mixed toilets again and is scared someone will drag her into the toilets.

In mitigation, the court heard Koranteng had come to the UK on his wife's Visa, which he viewed as a "golden opportunity". Defence barrister Josh Scouller said his client wished to apologise to the victim and was "ashamed" and "remorseful" for the distress he had caused her. The defendant claimed he was "drunk and tired" and "misread the signals in a major way". Mr Scouller said he failed to appreciate "cultural differences" in the UK and "took his behaviour too far".

Sentencing, Recorder Bilal Siddique said: "You have nearly managed to rape the victim having isolated her, overpowered her, removed her underwear, took your penis out and pressed your erect penis against her vagina, coming very close to penetrating her. At the last moment the attempt failed.

"You were clearly looking for women that night searching for, in your words, 'local slags' and spent the night alone in the club effectively trying it on with various women. You were looking for casual sexual encounters that night but that is not what this was. This was a stranger rape case."

Koranteng was sentenced to four years and one month imprisonment, with an extended three years on licence. He faces automatic deportation upon his release from prison.

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A convicted paedophile arranged to meet a 13-year-old ‘boy’ in a park after telling him he was looking for a ‘regular f*** buddy’.

David Cox, 57, began chatting with the ‘child’ online and immediately asked his age, where he was from and his sexual preferences. When the ‘boy’ said he was 13, from Manchester and didn’t like girls, Cox suggested they meet at Queens Park, off Rochdale Road, before adding that he was ‘looking for a regular f*** buddy’.

Over the next few days he sent vile sexual messages asking if the boy was “horny” and said he would teach him how to commit sexual acts. In July this year, Cox went to the park but was met by a vigilante group, and it became clear he had actually been speaking to an adult decoy.

The police were called and his bag was searched. It was found to contain lube and a torch, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Cox, of Monsall, had previously been stung in 2017, when he arranged to meet a 12-year-old boy in a children’s park, but again was met by a paedophile hunter group. Today (December 22), after pleading guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a boy following grooming, he has been jailed.

Prosecuting, Charlotte Rimmer said Cox began chatting with the ‘boy’, who was actually a member of the group, Saving Our Children.

After contacting the boy on July 22 this year, he queried his sexual preferences and told him he was 45. He then suggested meeting up.

He gave the boy his number and suggested messaging him on WhatsApp, before telling him he was ‘very handsome’, and asking if he smoked or drank.

“At around midnight, the defendant asked whether he felt horny, whether he was erect and said he would show him how to get [an erection],” Ms Rimmer said.

Cox then told the boy he would show him how to carry out sexual acts before telling him to ‘keep it a secret’.

“He also said he got caught out before with a younger guy. When asked what happened, he said he got away with it and said the other person was 12 and was about to [perform a sex act upon him] when he left,” the prosecutor said.

“The conversation continued and the defendant suggested they could be boyfriends. He also asked if his mum had put a tracker in his phone.”

On July 25, Cox agreed to meet the boy at Queens Park, in Harpurhey, but when he arrived he tried to run away after seeing members of the group waiting for him. It was then he was caught.

The court heard he had 19 previous convictions, one of which included similar offences of attempting to meet a boy following grooming.

“The defendant engaged in conversation on Grindr - this was with another decoy. He said he wanted to have sex and said he brought alcohol, poppers and lubricant,” Mr Rimmer said.

It was said he was HIV positive at the time.

Defending, Adrian Palmer said his client was expecting to get more time in prison for the offences. He said he was on medication which has seen the HIV become ‘undetectable’, meaning it cannot be passed on, and added that Cox had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In sentencing, Recorder Neil Usher said his only mitigation was his early guilty plea.

“You thought you were communicating with a 13-year-old boy, and you attended the meeting with lubricant,” he said.

“I am satisfied that you took that with you because you were intending to engage in sexual acts with the child.”

Cox, of Keyhaven Walk, was jailed for 28 months with an extended period of three years on licence after the judge found him to be a dangerous offender under the sentencing provisions. That means he must serve a full seven months in prison, then two thirds of the 28 month sentence before he is considered for release by the parole board.

He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign onto the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

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A woman did not know she was sexually assaulted until she was told by police after passing out on a train, a court has heard.

The victim took prescription drugs that rendered her unconscious on a Metro train from Gateshead to South Shields on the evening of April 19 last year.

During the journey she was preyed upon by Leon Clarkson, 21, who told witnesses he was her boyfriend and has now been spared jail.

They saw him repeatedly putting his hand down her leggings while she was totally unconscious and unable to sit up.

A woman who saw what Clarkson, from Houghton, Sunderland, was doing felt uncomfortable and messaged her boyfriend who called police.

He told the witness that she was just a bit dizzy, but when he got her to her feet and led her off the train at Four Lane Ends the onlooker messaged her boyfriend who called police.

Another passenger saw him carrying her and asked what was happening, but Clarkson said the victim had had a joint and her mother was going to pick her up.

When police arrived she was very drowsy from taking three diazepam tablets so she was taken to hospital.

The victim told Newcastle Crown Court: ‘I had taken medication before I got on the Metro and I have no recollection of what happened to me.

‘The police investigating the crime told me what happened. This made me feel ill and very anxious.

‘I didn’t know who this man was. I didn’t even know what was happening to me. I was very vulnerable at that point and I think it’s terrible he could do that on a Metro in front of other people.

‘I’m very worried he will do this again to a vulnerable woman or girl. When I see a drunk girl or woman I now always tell them to get home safe and I worry about them.

‘I truly believe if he is capable of doing this in front of witnesses on a busy Metro train he could do something worse to someone else.’

Clarkson, who was previously convicted for committing a sex act on a bus, admitted sexual assault.

Recorder Tahir Khan KC told him: ‘The complainant was completely at your mercy and you took advantage of her by touching her when she clearly could not be consenting.’

He ordered him to take part in a sex offender programme and was put on the sex offenders’ register for five years.

Defending him, Jamie Adams said that he was a vulnerable man and had apologised for what happened.

He said: ‘The unfortunate complainant didn’t know just how vulnerable this young man is. He has mental health problems and he was taking lots of cannabis at the time.’

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A judge wants to know how dangerous a paedophile is before he sentences him for sexually assaulting a woman on her own in the countryside.

It is the second time Nathan McCracken has been convicted of such an attack. He also has a previous conviction for a sexual crime against a child.

In 2020, he was jailed for driving up to a 16-year-old girl walking on her own in the countryside in Ryedale, getting out of his car, grabbing her from behind and sexually assaulting her.

He had been on parole at the time having been released partway through a prison sentence passed in April 2019 for attempting to incite a child to commit sexual acts.

McCracken initially denied sexually assaulting the woman east of York and maintained his denials up to the day he was due to stand trial at York Crown Court But after she attended court to give evidence against him, he changed his plea.

McCracken, 29, of Commercial Street, Norton, pleaded guilty in front of Judge Simon Hickey to sexually assaulting the woman and two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) made in August 2020.

The same judge had made the order when sentencing McCracken for the sexual attack on the girl in an attempt to stop him committing more offences. It included a clause banning him from approaching any lone woman in public. McCracken admitted breaching the clause.

The judge said he remembered the details of the offences for which he had sentenced McCracken in 2020.

He ordered probation officers to prepare a report on McCracken.

"I want to know if the probation service has any view of whether he is dangerous," he said.

The judge told the sex offender. "I also want to hear from the young lady (the latest victim). No doubt it has had a great effect on her. People are entitled to go about in North Yorkshire and not be molested by people like you."

Prosecuting, Simon Reevell said the second breach of the SHPO related to a computer. The SHPO had a condition that every time McCracken obtained a device by which he could access the internet he had to tell police about it within three days. But he had not done so.

The computer was not used by the defendant before police got their hands on it and examined it.

McCracken was remanded in custody. He will return to York Crown Court on February 7 to learn his punishment.

McCracken faced a second charge of sexual assault which he had previously denied. Following discussions between his barrister Michael Forrest and Mr Reevell, the prosecution decided not to try him on it alone and it was left on file, meaning it will appear on his police record but is not a criminal conviction.

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A 55-year-old man from Latvia has been jailed for sexually assaulting 2 young girls on the Isle of Wight back in 2011, more than 4 years after his victims reported their ordeal to Police.

Sergeis Jakobovskis, formally of Batchelor’s Barn Road in Andover, first appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court back in August 2020. He stood accused of 2 counts of sexual assault on a girl under 13 and 1 count of sexual assault on a female aged 16 or over.

It’s said that Jakobovskis intentionally touched the 2 girls, the youngest of which was just 8 years old. The matters only came to light when the victims, both now adult women, courageously reported the crimes to Police in 2018.

The case was sent up to the Isle of Wight Crown Court where it was heard for the first time in February 2021 – with an interpreter present. A plea and trial preparation hearing followed in April 2021, followed by another hearing in June. The trial got underway in February of last year but was halted in March, followed by a further case management hearing in early October.

It was later in October 2022 that Jakobovskis was found guilty of all 3 charges against him and he was remanded in custody.

The 55-year-old, who has been in the United Kingdom for over 11 years, was initially due to be sentenced on 12th December but it was only today (Tuesday) that he was finally sent down.

Appearing at the Isle of Wight Crown Court earlier today, Judge Mousley handed Sergeis Jakobovskis an immediate prison sentence of 4 years and ordered him to sign as a registered sex offender. He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

He was sentenced to 6 months in prison for sexual assault and 4 years in prison for each of the 2 counts of assaulting a girl under the age of 13 by touching. Each sentence will be served concurrently totalling a 4-year prison term.

DC Dave Widger of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary has said:

“Finding the confidence to report sexual abuse takes an incredible amount of bravery on behalf of the victim. I want to commend these two young women for their courage and patience throughout this investigation.

“For any victim, going through the criminal justice process is effectively being made to relive the trauma of what happened to you. I am so pleased that both victims got some very hard earned justice.

“Protecting children is a duty we take extremely seriously as police officers, and we will do everything in our power to bring child sex offenders like Jakobovskis to justice.”

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A convicted sex offender went on a burgling spree across Lancashire's Fylde coast, stealing jewellery, electronics and a Mercedes.

Zachary Jackson, 27, took a woman's wedding jewellery and piled up items at another house, ready for a return trip, Preston Crown Court heard. He has now been jailed for three years and three months.

During the first break-in, in June 2022, the householders returned from holiday to find their home in Westbourne Road, Lancaster, had been ransacked.

£500 in cash, and around £7,000 of sentimental jewellery had been taken, Stephen Parker, prosecuting, told the court on Friday (December 23). The homeowner said as a result of the burglary she no longer felt safe in her home and was unable to sleep at night.

"This has caused significant loss t her and her family - not only monetary but sentimental value", Recorder Michelle Brown, sentencing, said.

In September 2022, Jackson, from Blackpool, struck again, targeting a home in Mains Lane, Poulton-le-Fylde. The householders returned to the bungalow at 10.30am on September 3 to discover the gate was open and their Mercedes was missing from the drive. They went inside and found the bedroom had been ransacked with draws pulled out and a wardrobe left open.

A laptop had been taken, along with cash and jewellery including watches and bracelets - valued at around £10,000. Jackson, of Bold Street, was later stopped in the Mercedes, with another person and was arrested.

On October 1, a woman who lived alone at a house in School Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, returned from a friend's house at 9am and discovered she had been burgled. Bookcases had been moved in the living room and the TV cabinet was open. The living room and bedroom were a mess, with items being rummaged through and a Dyson hairdryer had been stolen. An enamel Japanese box had been opened and the contents strewn across the floor, Mr Parker said.

The woman was upset but thought this was 'her time' but a few days later, Murphy returned. On October 5 the woman arrived home at 9am and found a blue Ikea bag had been filled with items, a Bose speaker had been taken and items had been piled up, as if the burglar planned to return for them.

"These incidents have spooked me and I now feel on edge entering my property", she said. A few days later, a man was asleep at his home in Lanefield Drive, Thornton-Cleveleys, and heard a noise. He went back to sleep but when he woke he discovered a vintage electric guitar and a number of other items had been stolen.

CCTV and mobile phone data enquiries led police to an address in Bond Street, where it appeared Jackson had been living. Jackson, who has a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order after being convicted of a sex attack in 2014, had told the police he was homeless but items such as his passport and other documents showed he had been living at the address.

He pleaded guilty to five counts of dwelling house burglary, taking a vehicle without consent and reach of a sexual harm prevention order. He wrote a letter to the court explaining that at the time of the burglaries he was homeless and in the grips of an addiction to class A drugs. He apologised to his victims and said he has worked to tackle his issues while on remand in prison.

Recorder Brown said: "This was a targeted spree of dwelling house burglaries. One was at night and another was a repeat victim."

She jailed Jackson for three years to run concurrently for each of the burglaries with a further two months concurrent for taking the vehicle without consent. In addition, Jackson will serve three months for breach of a sexual harm prevention order by failing to notify the police of his address.

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Alexander Breslin sent the victim sexual messages, including a sordid video of himself performing a sex act, and got her to engage in sexual activity

A pervert is behind bars after he groomed a 14-year-old girl online then met up with her outside her school.

Alexander Breslin sent the youngster sexual messages, including a sordid video of himself performing a sex act, and got her to engage in sexual activity on Facetime, which he recorded. A court heard that the 22-year-old also discussed BDSM with the victim before he arranged to meet up with her outside her school.

Prosecutors said the pair "hugged and kissed" during the meeting before Breslin returned to his home in Northumberland. However, his lurid behaviour soon came to light after the girl confessed to her cousins that she'd met the pervert and her mother was informed.

Newcastle Crown Court was told her mum waited until her daughter was asleep before looking through her phone, and later her iPod, and found the messages, which had been sent over three-month period in 2019. The police were called and Breslin was arrested.

Now, Breslin, of Shepherd's Coate Drive, in Morpeth, has been jailed for 33 months after he pleaded guilty to meeting a child following sexual grooming, engaging in sexual activity with a child, causing a child to watch an image of sexual activity, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual communication with a child and possessing an indecent photograph of a child.

Sue Hirst, prosecuting, said Breslin and the victim started sending messages to each other after meeting in an online chat forum, where both had profiles stating their correct ages. The messages started out "normal" but Breslin soon asked if she wanted to "date" and the tone of their conversations turned sexual.

Although the girl's parents were aware she was talking to an older man, they had no idea of the sexual contact between them as she was doing it secretly on an iPod. Ms Hirst continued: "As the weeks passed, the complainant began to feel something had changed between her and the defendant. On September 23, she said they shouldn't be together. The defendant said he wanted her to meet him before breaking contact."

Ms Hirst added: "They arranged for his parents to drop him off at 3pm outside the complainant's school. He said he would wait outside the gate. He turned up as planned and they walked the route she usually takes home but stopped for a while and sat on a bench. They had a normal conversation then they hugged and kissed and she went back to her home."

The court heard that it was the following day that Breslin sent the victim a video of him performing a sex act and recorded her engaging in sexual activity as they spoke on Facetime. The following weekend, the girl confessed to her cousins that she'd met up with Breslin and her mother was informed.

Ms Hirst said: "Her mother waited until her daughter had gone to sleep then looked through the content of her mobile phone and was shocked by the sexual messages sent from the defendant to her daughter. The next morning, she spoke to [the victim] and examined the content of her iPod and found files on that device of indecent images of [the victim]."

In a statement, the victim said she'd been left feeling "isolated from both her peers and her family" and had become a "very anxious person".

Kate Barnes, defending, said Breslin had initially sought solace and support from the teenager before things turned sexual. She added: "It is a combination of his social isolation and mental ill health. There is a history of depression and self-harm. He has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder."

Breslin was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for the same period.

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The evil paedophile also served time for separately abusing a seven-year-old boy

A Galway man found guilty of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in the 1980s is back on the streets after serving time in prison for his crimes.

Anthony Spellman, who had lived in the UK before his conviction, is expected to have returned to the UK after he was freed from Midlands Prison just before Christmas.

Spellman was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in the 1980s.

Spellman was found guilty in Galway Circuit Court in 2020 of 20 counts of indecent assault for sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy between June 1984 and January 1986.

During the trial for those offences, the jury had not been informed that at that time he was convicted and serving prison time for abusing a seven-year-old boy.

It also emerged in court hearings that Anthony Spellman had received a Risk of Sexual Harm Order from South Cheshire Magistrates Court for sending explicit messages to a 15-year-old boy that expired in 2014.

The judge sentenced Spellman to a total of 16 months on counts one to 18, and another 16 months on each of counts 19 and 20.

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A high-risk sex offender who preyed on underage girls broke his court order when he bought an internet-enabled television using a benefit payment.

Jason Davidson was caught out when police turned up at his home unannounced and discovered the smart TV in the property at Waterloo Place, Inverness.

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A convicted sex offender disguised his car with fake number plates before going out and masturbating in front of a jogger on a busy main road, a court has heard. Darryl Price opened the door of the parked car and pleasured himself as the lone female passed by on the pavement before getting out of the vehicle and following her. He then jumped back into the car and sped off, and became involved in a high-speed chase with police as he tried to get away.

Swansea Crown Court heard Price has a previous conviction for exposure in similar circumstances when he masturbated in front of a group of teenager girls from a van. Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said on the evening of March 18 this year a female jogger on Margam Road in Port Talbot saw a black Ford Fiesta parked at the side of the road a little way in the distance - the car was facing her, and the passenger door was open

As the jogger approached the vehicle she saw a "smirking" man sat in the passenger seat with his trousers pulled down and his penis in his hand. The court heard Price gestured towards his penis and told her to "put your hand on this" - the woman responded by telling him to f*** ***. The woman continued on her way but Price got out of the Fiesta and began to follow her before turning around, getting back into the car, and speeding off - almost colliding with a passing car as he did so. The incident was reported to police, and the woman was able to give a partial number plate.

The court heard that a short time later an officer on vehicle patrol in Port Talbot spotted a car matching the description of the suspected Ford, and signalled for it to stop. Price responded by speeding away, and the officer gave chase. The prosecutor said the defendant raced through the town at speeds touching 80mph, overtaking numerous cars as he did so and at one point speeding over a zebra crossing on the wrong side of the road. The officer ended the pursuit as Price sped along the A48 dual carriageway towards the M4 junction.

The court heard the PC had been able to note the full number plate of the fleeing car, and checks showed the registration number displayed on the Fiesta actually belonged to a Peugeot registered to a woman living in Bridgend. Officers then set about checking the details of local sex offenders, and the offender manager in charge of Price said the defendant had mentioned to him in passing a few months earlier that he had access to cloned plates.

The Fiesta was subsequently found outside a garage in Cefn Cribwr, and when officers searched it they found a receipt for a McDonald's meal which had been purchased shortly before the Margam exposure - when CCTV from the burger joint's drive-thru was checked it showed Price at the wheel of the car. The fake number plates were found a few days later on farmland near South Cornelly, and tests found the defendant's fingerprints on them. The prosecutor said an examination of automatic number plate recognition cameras from around Port Talbot showed the Fiesta - which actually belonged to Price's mother - was displaying its correct plates shortly before the offence, and it was reasonable to assume Price had fitted the plates that evening in order to carry out the offence and avoid detection.

The court heard Price was arrested on March 25 after police spotted him walking through Pyle - he ran away from the officers through nearby gardens but was chased and caught. Darryl Ashley Price, 29, of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to exposure, dangerous driving, and fraudulent use of a car registration mark when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

He has previous convictions including for inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent - for which he was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 - drug-driving, and drugs and weapons offences. In 2018 he was sentenced to 28 weeks in prison for exposure after he had masturbated in front of a group of teenage girls from the driver's seat of a van in Port Talbot, and had asked them if they "wanted any". He was out of prison on licence for the GBH at the time of the Margam offence, and has since been recalled to prison to serve the rest of that sentence.

Rhodri Chudleigh, for Price, said the defendant had been living with his mother at the time of the incident, and had been using her car. He said his client had three children with three different partners, and was a plasterer by trade. He said Price recognised that his daily use of cannabis was a contributory factor in his offending, and said while in prison he had completed a number of courses including one on thinking skills

Judge Huw Rees described what happened on Margam Road as a "disgraceful incident" which had caused distress to the woman, and he told Price that in doing what he had done he had demeaned his victim and demeaned himself. With a one third discount for his guilty plea to exposure the defendant was sentenced to six months in prison and with a one quarter discount for the plea to the dangerous driving offence to nine months in prison to run consecutively.

He was also sentenced to six months for the number plate offence to run concurrently with the other matters making an overall sentence of 15 months in prison. Price will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant was also banned from driving for a total of 31 months. Price will be on the sex offenders register for the next seven years.

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A former priest who abused young boys for almost 20 years has been handed a suspended sentence after he breached a court order.

Disgraced cleric Daniel Gerard Curran was handed a three-month jail term, suspended for three years, today (Thursday) after previously pleading guilty to breaching his lifelong sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).