Latest Offenders

Description

A school tutor was caught committing a sex act while wearing only a bra in a female toilet by a shocked mum and her young daughter.

Steven Ballantyne, a performing arts teacher, was in an unlocked toilet at a BP garage in Northumberland when he was seen by the woman and her five-year-old daughter. Another woman then also witnessed the disturbing scene.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ballantyne was employed by Northumberland County Council and worked in numerous schools on a supply basis. That career is now in tatters after a jury convicted him of outraging public decency and the council terminated his employment. 

 The offence happened at the filling station in Alnwick around 6.30pm one evening in January. The mother who saw him said in a victim impact statement: "I wish to say this has disgusted me.

"I'm in shock. I think it's wrong what he has done. My five-year-old daughter has seen this man."

The other woman who witnessed it added: "I wish to say I'm shocked by what I've seen. I was frightened and can't believe this male has been doing this in a public toilet. I'm disgusted and his behaviour is clearly wrong."

Ballantyne, 41, of St Georges Crescent, Alnwick, was sentenced to five months suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work. He must also sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order and was given a restraining order banning him from going to the BP garage in question or any female public toilet.

Judge Sarah Mallett said the most serious aspect of the case was the fact the act was witnessed by a young child. She added: "You remained for a lengthy period where you had been seen and remained for a time after you had been seen.

"You knew there was a risk a female or child or disabled person could see what you were doing. I conclude that was your aim. You did cause some distress and fear."

Peter Schofield, defending, said: "He still denies the allegation in terms of what took place. He very much regrets he is in this situation today.

"He has lost his good name. He has worked as a performing arts instructor for more than 20 years, leading up to the pandemic when he was furloughed.

"He speaks with some pride about his students. He was involved in 19 or 20 schools a week working on a supply basis, working for Northumberland County Council.

"He has had to close a bank of experience providing worthwhile tutoring for students. That's a real loss.

"It's horrific, with his background that he is appearing before the court in respect of something as humiliating as this. The fact he engaged in this conduct so close to home with the risk of people knowing him is bizarre in the extreme."

A Northumberland County Council spokesperson said: "It is the local authority's responsibility to ensure Northumberland's children and young people are safe in the environments they learn. For this reason, Mr Ballantyne was suspended from work on 2 February 2021 and following investigations into his behaviour by the relevant authorities we made the decision to terminate his employment in July 2021."

Description

 A sex offender who breached a court order when he masqueraded on Snapchat as 'Joker' will not spend any extra time behind bars. Paedophile Jake Bull was jailed in 2015 for sex offences and told he must sign the sex offender's register for life.

But the 28-year-old flouted rules which meant he had to tell police of any aliases he used, as well as when he moved house. The offences took place before Bull was locked up for robbery in May.

He has now been sentenced to 28 months in prison for breaching the court's requirements but it will run concurrently to his ongoing jail term. It means he will not spend any extra time behind bars despite breaking the law again.

 The convicted sex offender is now due for release from prison in June 2024, StokeonTrentLive reports. A judge heard how Bull has repeatedly broken court rules after being sentenced for sex offences.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told he failed to provide his bank card details to police, did not tell officers he was calling himself Joker on Snapchat and did not notify them when he moved house.

He moved from Newcastle Street, in Burslem, to Zamenhof Grove, in Smallthorne. Bull also offered cash to his former landlord so he could lie to police and say his tenant was still living at the address.

The defendant is already on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life. It follows an extended sentence of six years and three months handed down in 2015 for four offences of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Now Bull - who was jailed for 50 months in May following a knifepoint robbery - has been sentenced to 28 months in prison which will run concurrently to his present sentence. Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said Bull is due to be released from his current sentence on June 13, 2024.

He said: "At the time he was living a very chaotic lifestyle. He was homeless and using monkey dust. His position is now very different. He is now a trusted prisoner. He is a mentor for new prisoners entering the prison establishment."

He said the defendant wants to be a counsellor to help people using drugs on his release. Mr Muldoon added: "He is a relatively young man. He has an opportunity to come out of prison and become a person that society would welcome, not a person that society would want incarcerated."

Judge Sally Hancox said: "You made a request of your landlord to provide the police with false information on your behalf indicating that you were still resident at an address when you were clearly not and you had left some time earlier.

"At the time you were living a chaotic lifestyle. You were homeless and using drugs, monkey dust in particular, the cause of so much difficulty for those who use it in North Staffordshire."

Bull, of no fixed address, admitted three counts of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register and one count of doing an act intending to pervert the course of public justice.

Description

A man sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl on an Aberdeen bus and made a series of disgusting comments towards three underage girls during the journey.

Christopher Barron, 36, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted making repeated lewd remarks to the girls.

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A former canoe instructor from North West Leicestershire has today (Friday) been found guilty of non-recent indecency offences on young boys.

Michael James Hudson worked as a canoe instructor in North West Leicestershire between from the 1970s into the 2010s.

In 2020 the force received a report from man reporting he had been indecently assaulted on a number of occasions by Hudson when he was a teenager.

That investigation then led officers to contact another victim, who did report the offences against him to a third party in 2017 however wasn’t able to support the investigation at the time.

Following contact from officers he too agreed to support the case and provide evidence against Hudson.

After a lengthy investigation Hudson was charged with 10 counts of indecent assault on boys under the age of 16.

Today 81-year-old Hudson of Sycamore Drive, Moira, admitted his involvement in all the offences and was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison. 

Detective Sergeant Anna Blockley from the force’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU), said: “We are pleased Hudson has now been found guilty of the offences.

“This was in no way easy for the victims and has been a deeply traumatic time for them.  I applaud their courage in coming forward.  I hope this outcome will now help them move on with their lives and reassure them that their concerns were taken seriously, no matter how long ago the offences occurred.

“Hudson was an instructor at various canoe clubs in North West Leicestershire between the 1970s and 2010s.  We strongly believe there may be other victims of Hudson out there who for whatever reason haven’t come forward and reported the offences. 

“If this is you then we encourage you to come forward.  Please be assured your report will be dealt with by specialist officers who will support and guide you throughout the process.”

The Child Abuse Investigation Unit historic crimes team deal with all non-recent reports where the offences have occurred against children.  A dedicated team of officers help and support victims, and also liaise with partner agencies to ensure that support continues even after the case has been dealt with.

Description

A dangerous sex offender who had indecent images of children on multiple electronic devices has been jailed for five years. In December officers from the East MOSOVO (Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders) Team carried out a compliance visit at the home of Martin Blake after concerns were raised that he was not complying with the requirements of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Blake, 58, who had previously been convicted for child prostitution and numerous fraud offences, was already required to adhere to the notification requirements and a court order restricting his access and usage of the internet. During the visit carious electronic devices were seized, including an iPhone, USB sticks and a PC. After an extensive investigation, a mixture of Category A, B ad C indecent images were found on the PC, iPhone and five USB sticks. It was also found that Blake had committed a significant number of other breaches, including using numerous unregistered names and bank accounts, as well as failing to provide further devices identified in the investigation. Blake, of Redwood Drive, Longridge, pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children, as well as breaching his Sex Offender Notification Requirements and his SHPO. At Preston Crown Court earlier this week he was given the custodial sentence, a revised 10-year SHPO and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A vile pervert has been caged after his victim bravely set up a camera to catch him in the act of abusing her.

Michael Halliday, of Chorley, started his sickening campaign of abuse before his victim had reached the age of 12. The 67-year-old groped and kissed her on numerous occasions, Preston Crown Court heard.

Despite living in fear of Halliday, the victim bravely set up a secret camera to catch him in the act of abusing her. She then informed school, who reported the matter to police.

An investigation was then launched an investigation into Halliday. He was subsequently convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and two counts of sexual activity with a child under 16.

He has now been jailed for 30 months.

At Preston Crown Court earlier this month, Halliday, of Springwood Drive, Chorley, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life. He was also made subject of indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order conditions for when he is released from custody.

DS Samantha Bartley, of the South Exploitation Team, said: First and foremost I want to praise the victim for the incredible bravery she has shown throughout this process. I know Hallidays offending has had a profound impact on her and I hope the fact he has been convicted for what he did to her will be of some comfort.

Halliday is an opportunistic sexual predator who targeted his victim for his perverted sexual interests.

I hope this case clearly demonstrates that the Preston Child Exploitation Team takes all reports of sexual assaults, grooming and similar offences against children extremely seriously and will act upon any information we receive.

Description

A CHEF who was rumbled with a disgusting collection of indecent images of children has walked free from court.

Steven Finalls horrific stash included some of the worst categorised child sex images including toddlers being raped.

The 45-year-old was rumbled by police and subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent images of children (IIOC), one of possessing IIOC and one of possession of cocaine.

He was put before Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, however he was allowed to walk free due to his good prospect of rehabilitation.

Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, explained how the collection came to light after police executed a search warrant on January 13 at his home, which the court heard was in Warrington.

This came after the authorities received intelligence relating to Finalls suspected activities on the social media platform Snapchat.

Officers seized a Samsung tablet computer and a mobile phone during the raid, as well as a quantity of cocaine, with a forensic examination revealing the presence of IIOC.

In total, there were 190 depraved images and videos on his devices, including 36 graded as category A the most severe category with one showing a two-year-old child being raped.

The examination also discovered 32 category B images and 122 rated as category C.

Most were in cache files, having been deleted from the devices.

In defence of his client, Simeon Evans referenced his strong work ethic during his time working as a chef at The Swan pub in Winwick.

He also spoke of his guilty pleas to the charges, his lack of previous convictions and his acceptance of possessing the images during his police interview.

Before sentencing, recorder Mark Ainsworth said: You must understand that the court takes a very dim view of this sort of conduct.

The point that needs to be emphasized, time and time again, is that behind each of those images is a child being sexually abused.

If there was no marketplace for those images, and people like you looking on the internet searching for them, the abuse would not take place.

The circumstances of this case are such that, while I am obliged to impose a sentence of imprisonment, it can be suspended due to there being a good prospect of rehabilitation.

Finall, whose address in court was given as The Swan pub on Golborne Road, was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

In addition, he is now subject to a sexual harm prevention order for seven years, as well as sex offender registration requirements for the same length of time.

An order for the forfeiture and destruction of the devices and cocaine seized.

In a statement following the hearing, The Swan pub said: "We were utterly shocked and appalled to read headlines about a former member of our kitchen team, as this was the first time we had been made aware of his court case and sentencing.

"We can confirm he no longer works at our pub, and if any allegations had been made to us previously, we would have dealt with them in a swift and appropriate manner through our usual HR processes.

"Any comments made in court about support from his employer must have been around general support he received during his time working here.

"Everyone at the pub is so deeply upset and distressed by this, and we please ask you to understand that we have found out about this news at the same time as everyone else."

Description

A paedophile who pretended to be a woman to lure children younger than 13 into sexual activity has been jailed for 18 years.

Jonathan Woodward, 22, from Ashford, Kent, used fake social media accounts pretending to be a woman to lure children from all over the world into sexual activity online which he then recorded.

The pervert used software to identify where his victims lived, then blackmailed and threatened the young victims using their addresses to get them to send him more graphic material.

Police investigated Woodward last year when he was reported to police after a suspected indecent image of a child was seen on his mobile phone.

The paedophile was arrested and multiple electronic devices were seized from him when police raised his home.

Many of his victims were very young children, whom he abused between 2015 and 2021.

He pleaded guilty to 39 child sex offences and was sentenced to 18 years behind bars at Guildford Crown Court yesterday.

Woodward must serve two thirds of his 18 year sentence with a further eight years as part of an extended license on his release.

Sentencing Woodward, Judge Rufus Taylor called him: 'The worst I've seen for some while.'

The sex offender was charged with two counts of rape of a child under 13, and 20 charges of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Woodward was further charged with 14 counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and with making indecent images of a child, including the most graphic of category A content, as well as category B and C.

He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life, banning him from unsupervised contact with children and having electronic devices he can store images on unless police can inspect it.

Detective Inspector Antony Preston, from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team, praised the brave young victims who came forward to put the horrific criminal behind bars.

He said today: 'Woodward's behaviour has impacted countless lives, and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the bravery and courage of these young victims who have helped put this man behind bars for a long time.

'I would urge those using social media to speak out should they feel threatened or intimidated online, using online reporting functions or contacting Police to report such behaviour.

'This investigation and sentencing shows that there is no place for such vile behaviour. We will work tirelessly to ensure child sex abusers face the consequences of their actions.

'If there is anyone reading this who has been a victim of child sex abuse, I would encourage you to speak to us. We will do everything we can to support you.'

Description

A serial sex offender has been jailed for over three years for sexually assaulting an infant girl after “luring” her into an enclosed space.

Kenneth Stephen Fowler, 64, a drifter and heavily convicted paedophile from Knaresborough, assaulted and then performed a lewd act in front of the youngster, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Richard Herrmann said that Fowler had over 100 previous criminal convictions, of which 18 were child-sex offences.

Fowler’s last such conviction was almost 30 years ago, but on August 6 this year, when heavily drunk, he lured the young girl into a public enclosed space, put his arms around her and began touching her “excessively”.

He then tried to remove her clothing before taking off his own clothes to reveal an intimate part of his body. He then performed a lewd act in front of her.

Mr Herrmann said: “(The victim) said he didn’t say anything (and that) she felt scared and she froze.”

She then moved “very quickly” away from the enclosed area, after which an adult witness saw Fowler buckling up his trousers.

Fowler told the witness, in an “aggressive manner”, that he was “about to set fire to the place”.

Matters were ultimately reported to police who searched Fowler’s flat in Knaresborough and found among his clothes a pair of girl’s knickers.

Fowler, a homeless drifter, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure, sexual assault of a child under 13 and sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He initially denied the offences but ultimately admitted the latter two charges. The Crown ultimately quashed the exposure charge.

He appeared for sentence via video link today after being remanded in custody.

Mr Herrmann said Fowler’s wicked behaviour had caused “great distress” to the girl and her family.

The girl’s mother said her daughter had since had nightmares about Fowler and her horrifying experience: “She has been very quiet since it happened (and) doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Fowler, originally from Scotland, had 104 previous convictions for 223 offences dating back over 50 years. Eighteen of those were sexual offences, including many for indecently exposing himself in front of children.

In the 1980s, he was jailed on multiple occasions for indecent exposure with intent to sexually assault a female, and another offence of unlawful intercourse with an under-age girl. In one incident in 1988, he exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl and performed a lewd act in front of two young boys.

His last exposure offence was in 1994 but he continued to regularly appear before the courts for offences such as shoplifting and being drunk and disorderly.

In October 2019, he received a 16-month jail sentence at York Crown Court for arson and damaging property.

That offence, described as a “revenge” attack, occurred in August 2018 when he torched a charity clothes store for the homeless at the Wesley Centre in Harrogate run by Harrogate Homeless Project, which had helped him get back on his feet after years of living rough.

Fowler, who was again drunk and had some kind of “grudge” against the charity, also smashed a window with a hammer, causing nearly £1,500 damage.

The charity relied completely on donations such as clothes and the damage had resulted in severe disruption to the organisation.

Defence barrister Brian Russell said that after a 30-year gap in his sexual offending, Fowler had “for an inexplicable reason…suddenly reverted to entrenched behaviour which he had managed to avoid for almost (three decades)”.

Judge Simon Hickey told Fowler: 

“At the age of 64, you are still interfering with children…and were touching again an extremely young child.

“While heavily intoxicated, you were to lure this child into the public (enclosed space). She was scared; she froze.”

He said the child was clearly “in very great distress” and told Fowler: 

“I find you a worrying and dangerous individual.

“This has changed the little girl’s life and she even…stuffs toys under her bed (for fear of) someone like yourself being under (there).”

The judge said Fowler clearly had an “unhealthy interest in young girls”.

Fowler was jailed for three years and four months. He was told he must serve two-thirds of that sentence behind bars and would only be released when the Parole Board deemed it safe to do so.

Due to the judge’s finding of dangerousness, Fowler was told he would have to serve an extended three years on prison licence once he was released from jail, for the protection of young girls.

Description

A paedophile who was found with a hoard of sickening abuse images had shared some to other perverts online and videoed two children on his phone.

Jack Mellis, 22, was found in possession of 46 hours worth of category A indecent videos when police examined his mobile phone. Officers had seized his phone after they became aware he had been sharing child abuse images online. But worryingly, during analysis of his iPhone, an expert discovered two videos of young children which he had surreptitiously filmed himself.

Mellis, of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for making indecent images, distribution of indecent images, and voyeurism. He had pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.

Deborah Smithies, prosecuting, said on December 28, last year, police received information that Mellis had uploaded two category B indecent images - which depicted a 10-year-old girl - to Reddit. She said: "Police went to the defendant's home address on June 9 this year and spoke to the defendant, who said he may have inadvertently downloaded indecent images. His iPhone was seized and examined by an expert."

The court heard that following examination of his iPhone, a total of 113 category A images and nine videos were found, along with 128 category B images and three videos, and 457 category C images and nine videos. But as well as those indecent images, a concerning video was also discovered of a child that Mellis had secretly filmed himself by hiding his phone.

Ms Smithies said that analysis of his iPhone continued and on July 1, another video was discovered of a child that Mellis had secretly filmed - the court heard the video lasted 15 seconds. When Mellis was interviewed by police, he made "full admissions" and told officers he had "hundreds of images" and admitted he "obtained sexual gratification from viewing them". He said he would view images on a website and save some into a folder and "accepted sharing images with others".

Lewis Kerr, defending, said there was a "strong, realistic prospect of rehabilitation" and said since his arrest he had begun engaging with a foundation and had been in employment. He said that Mellis and members of his family had also spent over 100 days living in a Washington Travelodge since the offences. Mr Kerr added: "He is able to reflect on his offending and has shown victim awareness. He sincerely recognises the harm he has caused."

Sentencing Mellis, Judge Jo Kidd said he was found in possession of "46 hours worth of category A videos" and jailed him for 18 months and made him subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He will also be on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Description

A PERVERT has walked free from court, despite engaging in sex chats online with someone he believed was a young girl.

Terry Yates sent disgusting messages to the ‘girl’ – but this was in fact a member of a paedophile hunter group set up to catch child sex offenders.

The 39-year-old was subsequently charged with attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

But he was spared an immediate jail sentence to allow him to get the ‘help and treatment he needs’ outside of a custody setting.

Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, explained how Yates sent a Facebook friend request to the profile of a ’14-year-old girl’ operated by paedophile hunters on May 5 this year.

He then began to send messages to the ‘teenager’ on June 3, asking her to ‘look at my little willy’.

The defendant was made clear that the girl was only 14, but he continued to message the account, referring to her as ‘gorgeous’ and ‘his beautiful princess’.

As well as sending naked videos and photos of himself, married Yates asked the girl to send him a video of herself ‘giggling’ and photos of her in her school uniform.

He was confronted by paedophile hunter group members on July 2 at his home on Whitworth Close in Birchwood.

Cheshire Police officers were called to the scene and Yates was arrested.

The court also heard that the defendant lost his Amazon warehousing job as a result of his arrest, although he has since found further employment.

Ms Beesley added that Yates has one previous conviction for handling stolen goods back in 2004.

In defence of his client, Jeremy Rawson spoke of how the defendant has demonstrated a ‘clear acceptance of wrong, remorse and insight into the consequences of his offending’.

“He understands quite clearly, had this been a real individual, then he could not live with himself for what he has done,” he said.

 “The man in the dock, prior to this foolhardy, reckless and stupid activity, had a wife, a house, a job, a family and friends.

“He has managed to keep his house and obtain employment, but all those other ostentations passed him by, and he is effectively alone.”

Before sentencing, recorder Mark Ainsworth described the facts of the case as ‘frankly appalling’.

"This is what every parent fears. This is the sort of behaviour that causes outrage and disgust within society, and understandably so,” he said.

“It is clear that she made it known to you that she was 14 years of age, and yet you persevered.

"The impact on you will be significant. It means, effectively, that your marriage has come to an end.”

But he added: “I can ensure you receive the help and treatment you would clearly benefit from to ensure that this is not repeated in future. Whether you serve that sentence is a matter entirely for you.

“If for the next two years you remain out of trouble, then you can put this matter behind you and move on with your life.”

He sentenced Yates to eight months in prison suspended for two years.

The defendant must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

In addition, he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender registration requirements, both lasting 10 years.

Description

Lewis Grant, targeted victims from Edinburgh to Stirling, over a nine-year period. His offending started in 2011 when he had unlawful sex with a 15-year-old in Dumfries.

A man was jailed last week after being found guilty of raping three women in university halls or student flats linked to two Scottish universities – including in Stirling.

Lewis Grant, targeted victims from southern Scotland to Stirling, over a nine-year period. His offending started in 2011 when he had unlawful sex with a 15-year-old in Dumfries, report the Record.

Grant, now 28, went on to commit his first rape, of a student, in her halls at Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh, before raping two more women while he was a student at the University of Stirling.

One of the rapes involved BDSM [bondage, domination, sadism and masochism] and two of the rape victims were throttled by Grant to the danger of their lives.

One of them, a student in Stirling, described being lifted off the floor by Grant, a martial arts enthusiast, who had his hands round her neck as her legs dangled and she choked.

Another of his victims was beaten with a riding crop, waterboarded with Prosecco, burned with a blow torch, and choked until she thought she was going to die.

She contacted police with photos of her injuries. Police investigated to see if Grant had any former partners who might also have been raped or abused and Grant was arrested a month later.

Giving evidence from behind a curtain at the High Court in Stirling the victim said she had she agreed to take part in “rougher sex” with Grant and went to his room in Stirling University accommodation in Bridge of Allan.

Grant began to hit her on the head with an open hand, then his fist, before pushing her off the bed onto the floor, pinning her hands above her head, covering her entire face with a cloth, and pouring sparkling wine very slowly and steadily over her mouth and face – while raping her at the same time.

She said: “I was suffocating. The cloth was heavy on my face. I was in such a panic I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to say stop. He continued to pour the Prosecco until the bottle was finished.”

She said Grant then took the cloth off and thrust his fist under her jaw. She then scrambled to the bathroom where she found a tooth had chipped.

She claimed on another occasion, in Grant’s Stirling University bedroom, he had lit a kitchen blowtorch, telling her, “This might be fun to use when you’re not behaving yourself.”

Grant put out the flame, but burned the bare skin of her back with the hot metal of the blowtorch, leaving a 20 pence-sized scar.

She said she decided to break up with Grant after he opened the door of her bathroom – where she had locked herself in – with a large kitchen knife.

At the end of a five week trial, a jury of 14 deliberated for two days before finding Grant, of Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan, guilty of raping the three women, and assaulting two of them to the danger of their lives.

He was acquitted of raping two other women – the jury returning verdicts of not guilty and not proven.

Grant was also found guilty of having sex with the underage child in Dumfries.

Grant, who funded his studies at Stirling by working in a Bridge of Allan restaurant, had denied the offences, claiming all the sex and BDSM was consensual. He said the assault of one of the women whose life he endangered did not take place in the way she described, and had been self defence.

He insisted he could not have performed some of the acts, because a massive hernia had deviated his penis. All of his victims were, or had been, in relationships with him.

Judge Lord Summers deferred sentence until October 26 at the High Court in Edinburgh. He remanded Grant in custody.

He said continuing his liberty would not be appropriate because he had been convicted “of a number of serious sexual offences and assaults”.

Grant was also placed on the sex offenders’ register. Defence counsel Bert Kerrigan KC reserved mitigation.

Description

A 66-year-old man has been jailed after admitting to committing sexual offences against two children. Everet Winston Higgins, of Gloucester Road in Bath, has been jailed for 15 years.

Higgins pleaded guilty to five counts, including indecent assault, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and encouraging the taking of indecent photographs of a child. Higgins groomed and sexually abused the first victim after meeting her in the late 1990s when she was in her mid-teens.

A police investigation also found hed communicated with a second victim on social media, requesting indecent images. When he was arrested, officers found handwritten notes between Higgins and the victim, where hed made further requests for sexual acts. The victim told officers the defendant had sexually assaulted her when she was between eight and 12 years old.

In a victim impact statement, the first victim said: "As a young person, I was in a vulnerable position and Higgins exploited that. I mourn my teenage years as they were taken from me. Despite everything he has done to me and the subsequent police and CPS involvement as a result.

"I do not wish bad on him, but I believe that, whether he understands what he is doing is wrong or not, he will never stop. For the protection of other young people, I hope he receives a custodial sentence long enough to mean it is not possible for him to do this to anyone else ever again."

The second victim said in a statement: "It has been three years since the police intervened and Higgins actions are still impacting my life. I anticipate they will continue to impact me throughout my life, but it is difficult to foresee how."

Higgins was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court earlier this month, and as well as the custodial sentence he was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Judge Ambrose described Higgins' offences as "having a profound effect on the lives of his victims".

Investigating officer Carl Spicer added: "Both victims have shown tremendous courage and strength in coming forward and speaking about the abuse inflicted on them. Higgins has shown no remorse for the pain and anguish hes caused, which demonstrates what a manipulative sexual offenders he is."

Description

A convicted sex offender was caught in the police station car park talking into the mobile phone he should not have had.

Kevin Dale had gone to Abingdon police station on September 7 to get specialist ‘risk management’ software installed onto a different smartphone – in compliance with a court-imposed sexual harm prevention order.

But when the police officer came out of the station around an hour later with 49-year-old Dale’s ‘safe’ phone, she found him using another phone that he had not informed Thames Valley Police about, Oxford Crown Court heard.

Dale, who was out of prison on licence at the time, was discovered to have downloaded a number of apps onto the new phone – including Chatiw, which he has previously been jailed for using in breach of the court order.

Prosecutor Cathy Olliver said that, when he was found on the phone, he was talking to a number saved as ‘Mommy1010’.

“Mr Dale admitted instantly he got the phone. He said he was not trying to get sexual access to children. This time, he was talking to women online and, indeed, there were explicit sexual pictures of women he was talking to on the phone,” the prosecutor said.

He claimed to have been given the phone by his painter and decorator employer to take pictures of his finished jobs. But Dale failed to mention to his boss that his court order required his internet-enabled devices to be registered with the police.

Dale, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court earlier this month to breach of the sexual harm prevention order.

He was convicted in 2019 and 2020 for sexual communication with children, sending explicit message via chatroom apps. In 2020, when he was also dealt with for breaching his sexual harm prevention order, he received three years’ imprisonment.

Mitigating, Alice Dodd said that prior to his incarceration on remand, her client had lived at home with his elderly parents. Both relied heavily upon him.

She told the judge: “He knows he has let them down and is worried about how they will cope.”

Dale had struggled with the social isolation that came with his status as a convicted sex offender, the court heard. “He’s found it difficult to make friends because of that. He feels the stigma very heavily.”

Sentencing Dale to two years’ imprisonment, Judge Ian Pringle KC noted that he had been ‘very nervous’ when he was caught with the new phone in the police station car park.

“Rightly so,” he added, “because you’d been using on that phone the same online chat applications that you’d been using both in 2017 [convicted in 2019] and in 2020.

“Clearly, the message hadn’t got home to you at all.”

Description

A sex offender was caught on camera peering through windows in the early hours of the morning. His actions were described as "unsettling" by a judge.

Brandon Hughes, of no fixed abode, appeared before Mold Crown Court having breached a sexual harm prevention order that came into force after he was caught performing sexual acts upon himself whilst looking through the window of a home in Rhyl, said prosecutor Sarah Badwary.

She told the court how the ban is supposed to prevent Hughes from loitering outside residential properties without good reason or entering the boundaries of homes without express permission. Despite this, the 23-year-old went out into Denbigh on May 2 this year and ignored those conditions, the court heard.

It was said that, in the early hours of the morning, he was spotted wearing all-black clothing - including a scarf covering his face and a rucksack - by a police officer in the Denbigh area. He was later caught on CCTV approaching properties on Post Office Lane and lingering outside windows.

The judge, Rhys Rowlands, said that "luckily" for Hughes nobody caught him in person. He said that, nonetheless, it remained "incredibly discomforting" for people to find out at a later stage that someone had been lurking outside their home.

Defending, Sarah Yates, told the court how her client suffers with learning difficulties as well as alcohol and drug misuse which "causes him to act in a rather odd manner". She told the court how Hughes intends to move away from the area with hopes of getting onto a university course so that he may "build a better life for himself".

Judge Rowlands told Hughes - who has breached his court order on four different occasions - that the contents of his backpack, which were not disclosed in open court, added to the "unsettling" display of behaviour. He added that: "The people of Denbigh are owed a break from your totally depraved behaviour."

He jailed the 23-year-old for two years overall for the breaches. Hughes was also ordered to pay out £156 towards a victim surcharge.