Latest Offenders

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A SCHOOL caretaker said 'he should be hung' after he admitted to arranging sexual acts with a child.

David Wolfe, of Elm Drive, Winkfield, was locked up after also admitting to sending a picture of his genitalia to a 13-year-old girl.

The 63-year-old was arrested after he tried to meet up with the child - who was really an undercover police officer - having brought condoms with him to a park in Windsor in the summer of 2020.

He comes before the court today as a broken man. He says he has destroyed everything, defence barrister Mark Kinsey told Reading Crown Court.

He was living a fantasy world online and he said the best thing that happened was the police coming and taking away his devices.

In his view, he should be hung. He says he is disgusted with himself and he is extremely ashamed of what happened.

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A MAN travelled across the country to meet and abuse an 11-year-old child in Southampton.

Daniel Castel-Nuovo of Harrogate Street, Netherfield arranged to meet and abuse the child after conversations they had online.

The 48-year-old travelled from his home in Nottinghamshire to Southampton on May 17 to meet them.

But instead he was met by officers from the South East regional Organised Crime Unit.

It was later found that he had brought items including sweets, condoms, lubricant, wet wipes and baby oil with him.

No real children were involved or harmed in the operation.

Castel-Nuovo was charged with with arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence on the same day.

Last Friday he pleaded guilty at a hearing at Southampton Crown Court and was sentenced that day to two-and-a-half years imprisonment.

He was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Inspector James Oxley, from SEROCU, said: Castel-Nuovos conviction following a proactive SEROCU investigation reflects our continued priority to protect children from sexual exploitation from those who seek to do them harm.

"HH Judge Burrell commented on the awful nature of the offence and the impact it had on his family, who were present in court. He will now spend time in prison where he can reflect upon his actions.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of child sexual abuse, please report it to your local police force. We will always follow up allegations of abuse, no matter when they occurred.

"Victims can talk in confidence to experienced Investigators and we can also help with access to a range of other support services.

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A man caught with more than a thousand images and videos of sadistic child abuse has avoided prison.

Lee Burnett claimed he had not deliberately sought out the vile images but had been sent them on messaging app Kik.

The 32-year-old had initially deleted hundreds of images but latterly took to ignoring the messages.

Fiscal depute Brian Young told Aberdeen Sheriff Court police executed a search warrant at Burnetts Fraserburgh address at 9am on April 16 last year after receiving intelligence in relation to the offence.

A systematic search was carried out and a Samsung phone and black tablet were recovered and examined.

A total of 686 category A, the most serious kind, images were found, as well as 571 category B and 218 category C images.

He was being sent this material and deleted it

All but 14 of the images were inaccessible, meaning they had been deleted.

However, 109 category A videos, along with 16 and 12 in categories B and C respectively, were also found, all of which were still accessible.

The images depicted children ranging from babies to 15-year-olds, including sexual activity with adults and sadistic sexual activity.

The videos, which had a total play length of almost two hours and 20 minutes, showed children between the ages of 2 and 14 engaged in sexual activity with adults and sadistic sexual activity.

Officers examining the tablet also found a Kik account which showed Burnett had been engaged in conversations with other users about indecent images of children and that indecent images had been shared over this platform.

Burnett, of Rowan Place, Fraserburgh, pled guilty to taking, permitting to be taken or making indecent images of pseudo-images of children between January 5 and April 8 last year.

Defence agent Stuart Flowerdew told the court his client appeared with no previous convictions.

You have never previously been in trouble

He explained Burnett had been sent the images over Kik and had not searched for them himself, adding: The type of material referred to is certainly not what he was seeking.

There were large numbers of inaccessible images, which had been effectively deleted.

He was being sent this material and deleted it, and then latterly just ignored it.

Sheriff Graham Buchanan said: Its acknowledged he was not searching for this type of material.

Addressing Burnett directly, he went on: I take the view here that I could not say a custodial sentence is absolutely inevitable in this case, partly due to the particular circumstances in which you came to commit this offence.

You have never previously been in trouble, and now, at 32 years of age, I think a more effective, positive way of dealing with you for this matter would be to impose a robust community sentence.

As a direct alternative to custody, the sheriff imposed three years of supervision, 140 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to complete the Moving Forward, Making Changes programme.

He also made Burnett subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.

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A sex offender from Hertfordshire assaulted his victim while she slept on a sofa.

The incident occurred in October 2017, when Richard Newman sexually assaulted his female victim after she had fallen asleep.

The victim later called 999 and Newman was arrested, but denied the allegations made against him.

The 51-year-old from High Street, Reed - near Royston - appeared at Luton Crown Court on Friday (June 24).

There he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, after being found guilty of sexual assault and sexual assault by penetration.

Detective Sergeant Amy Farmer, from Hertfordshire Police's Sexual Offences Investigation Team (SOIT), said: "Newman despicably took advantage of the victim as she slept.

"She was so traumatised by what had happened, that she was initially unable to speak during her 999 call to police as she could not stop crying.

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Rapist who was allowed to stay in care home attacked dementia victim, court hears.

A convicted rapist sexually assaulted a woman with dementia after he was allowed to live in a care home despite his shocking criminal history, a court heard yesterday.

Care home manager Katie Daysley was told he was a registered sex offender who had served jail time and had a history of sex attacks, violence and drug taking.

But instead of being moved out of the residential home in Hull specialising in the care of elderly people with dementia, Robert Carpenter was allowed to stay.

No plan was put in place to protect other residents, Beverley magistrates court was told.

After six months living in the home, and five days after it was visited by a police officer checking up on him, Carpenter was found committing a sex assault on an elderly woman resident with advanced dementia.

He was later convicted for an offence of engaging in sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder.

Yesterday Miss Daysley, 41, of Hull, went on trial after denying a charge under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 of failing to protect a service user from abuse and improper treatment resulting in avoidable harm.

The homes owner the HICA Group pleaded guilty to a similar offence of failing to protect service users from abuse. Jemima Stephenson, prosecuting for the Care Quality Commission, said Carpenter, now 68, was accepted into the care home for short-term respite care in January 2018 after being found by council officials living in appalling conditions and suffering from burns as a result of self-electrocution.

He told officials his criminal past was jail time for a drug-related stabbing.

In April 2018, social worker Claire Stewart discovered he had in fact served three jail terms with convictions for criminal damage, assault, wounding, grievous bodily harm and sexual assaults.

In March 1979, he had targeted a woman walking home from work, forcing a scarf into her mouth to stop her screaming before breaking her jaw, raping her and throwing her over a fence. He was arrested in 2009 following a cold case review of forensic evidence and later jailed for 18 months.

Mrs Stewart said she immediately told Miss Daysley of his full criminal history, realising there was a strong public interest concern. A deputy manager was also given details of his criminal past, the court heard. The court was told that Miss Daysley failed to carry out a full risk assessment or implement adequate mitigating steps to deal with the very clear risk.

She left her job in May 2018, a month before Carpenters serious sex assault.

A Hull City Council safeguarding manager said her department, which referred Carpenter to the care home, found out about his rape conviction only after the sex assault. Had they known earlier they would probably have recommended he be moved out, the court heard.

The case continues.

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Scott Light, 32, spent 19 minutes waiting inside the toilet of the bowling alley before shuffling towards his young victim and assaulting him physically

A man sexually assaulted a boy in the toilets of a bowling alley. Scott Light already had a history of attacking children when he targeted the eight-year-old.

Light, from Aberdare, went to the venue one evening last December and the way he looked at children near him caused one family to ask to be moved to another lane. They said the 32-year-old had "creeped the children out". He then went into the toilets and waited for 19 minutes at the urinals before an eight-year-old boy entered.

Prosecutor Claire Pickthall told Cardiff Crown Court: "The child began using the urinal and described the defendant shuffling closer to him. The defendant said: 'Can I?'"

Light then committed an offence of sexual touching for around five seconds. The boy described being in shock and running out as fast as he could. The adults who had taken him to the alley informed staff who entered the toilets and found one of the cubicles was locked with Light inside. The employee prevented anyone else entering the toilets and waited for police who attended soon afterwards and arrested Light. He gave a "no comment" interview. Ms Pickthall said the CCTV footage showed a "degree of planning" from Light in waiting 19 minutes for a child to enter.

The defendant, of Mary Street, pleaded guilty to sexually touching a child aged under 13. While employed as a railway worker in 2017 he was jailed for 18 months after admitting attempted voyeurism and possessing more than 2,000 indecent images of children. He had gone into the toilets of St David's shopping centre in Cardiff before placing a mobile under a cubicle door to film a dad and his two-year-old son.

Light is also awaiting sentence for offences dating back to 2006 in Northern Ireland when he attacked three children a boy and two girls. He has pleaded guilty to five counts of indecent assault and three of possessing indecent images. The victims came forward in 2018.

Speaking about last year's bowling alley attack the victim's mum said it had changed him from a "happy and carefree" boy to one who struggles with fear of public toilets and lack of trust in social situations. "His right to innocence has been eroded by the events that night," she added. "He asks: 'Why did he do that to me?' How do you explain to a boy that he was sexually assaulted? No child or his family should ever have to go through this."

John Ryan, mitigating, said the assault was "not prolonged" after his client had requested a "quick touch". He added: "In the past he has always had such thoughts and been able to manage but against the background of the Covid pandemic, loneliness, isolation, and boredom he went out to watch people to have some interaction. He drank significantly and this proved a disinhibiting factor which led to the offence."

Mr Ryan said Light has not "victim-blamed" and has made "frank admissions". But Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke pointed out that Light had denied the Northern Ireland offences in his interview with the probation service despite having already pleaded guilty to them. The barrister replied that he was "not sure where that came from". The judge also questioned Light's statement in the presentence report that he was not sexually attracted to male children.

Passing sentence Judge Lloyd-Clarke said the victim had been left "shocked and upset" by the attack. She added that only an immediate prison term would be appropriate given aggravating features such as Light being on bail for the Northern Ireland offences at the time as well as the comments he made in the presentence report. She imposed a three-year prison term and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

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Vile Robert Gibson was made the subject of a strict Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) in November 2020.

A child sex predator is back behind bars after breaching the conditions of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

Former UK Passport Office employee Robert Gibson, 44, was made the subject of a strict Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) in November 2020.

The order was imposed to protect the public after he was released from prison over a jail term imposed for sending a nude picture to someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl.

On Friday, Gibson, of Mimosa Road, Bridge of Weir, appeared in the dock from custody at Paisley Sheriff Court to admit breaching the terms of his SOPO by deleting his internet browsing history after watching pornography.

Procurator fiscal depute Dana Barclay told the court: Gibson was released from prison and made subject to a SOPO.

One of his conditions prohibits him from deleting internet browser search history, chat logs and text messages.

On April 11, 2022, PC McPherson received intelligence that Gibson has been searching for sexual content, including pornography, using the search engine Google.

Police officers attended at his home address and examined his phone.

It appeared there had been no access to sexual material on the internet history of the phone.

The phone was seized for further analysis, which detailed that the accused had accessed pornography and sexual content between March 4 and April 10.

The accused was arrested, had a telephone consultation with his lawyer and made no reply to caution and charge.

Defence agent Kirsty McGeehan told the court the beast is now unemployed.

Ms McGeehan added: This is an accelerated diet with Mr Gibson pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

He is subject to vigilante groups and lives a solitary existence.

Mr Gibson knew remote monitoring software had been installed on his phone.

At this time he started to drink to excess and pressed the self-destruct button as he clearly knew he would be caught.

He fully accepts a custodial sentence is inevitable in this case.

Sentencing, Sheriff Eoin McGinty said: Sexual Offences Prevention Orders are put in place to protect the public, particularly children and vulnerable people, so the court has to take these types of offences seriously otherwise these orders are toothless.

With passage of time your offending behaviour gets worse.

Sheriff McGinty jailed Gibson for 14 months, backdating this to his date of remand on April 19.

In December 2020, Gibson messaged four women he knew through his Facebook account, while at his home in Paisley.

But he had failed to tell police about the interactions and had deleted the Facebook and Messenger apps from his phone, and with it his activity on the apps which was another breach of his SOPO conditions.

In 2019, vile Gibson was caged for 15 months for sending a nude picture of himself to an undercover paedophile hunter.

He tried to groom someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl for sex - but she was actually an adult decoy.

He had actually been messaging a member of Wolf Pack Hunters UK, which roots out and identifies online groomers who target children.

They chatted through apps Skout and WhatsApp, with Gibson saying he wanted to teach her to kiss, that he wanted her to touch his private parts and that he wanted to have sex with her without wearing a condom.

After telling her sex is not sore he sent a photograph of himself naked with his private parts clearly exposed and his face visible.

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A LONDON man sexually assaulted a train passenger aged just 16 after she refused to give him her number.

William Roberts, of London Road, Thornton Heath, was locked up at Reading Crown Court last week after being convicted of sexual assault.

The 28-year-old will now have to sign the sex offenders register for ten years following his offending.

This comes after an incident in the evening of December 9, 2020, when the 16-year-old victim was travelling on a train from Oxford to Princes Risborough.

Roberts, who was in the same train as the woman, approached her and began repeatedly asking for her phone number.

When the girl refused to give Roberts her number, saying she was not interested and she was only 16-years-old, the London man sexually assaulted her.

He got up and walked down the carriage, but then he returned to her seat and put his arms out as if to block her from leaving.

Roberts then attempted to sexually assault the victim again before the girl pushed him away and escaped.

The 28-year-old was arrested at his home on January 6, 2020, when he told police officers he was only engaging in friendly conversation.

BTP Detective Constable James Egley said: Its clear from Roberts persistent actions that he is a danger to women and girls, and Im pleased to see him off the network and behind bars.

This was a truly distressing incident for the victim who has shown immense bravery coming forward and giving an account of what happened to her.

No one should be made to feel threatened whilst travelling on the network and we are actively taking serious action against sexual offenders.

I urge anyone who experiences or witnesses sexual harassment or a sexual offence on the railway to report it to BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40. We will always take you seriously.

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A MAN who recorded himself raping a sleeping woman has been sentenced to ten years in prison.

Cameron Hassan changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial after the jury had watched the horrific footage.

Hassan recorded his victims private parts before recording himself anally raping her, coupled with a running commentary of insults and foul language.

The rape, which took place in Ammanford on August 21, 2021, had been recorded on his victims phone.

The court heard that in police interview after his arrest Hassan claimed that the sex had been part of a role play and that his victim wasnt sleeping at the time.

However, Hassan, 32, of no fixed abode, changed his plea before his victim had to take to the witness stand last May.

His Honour Judge Geraint Walters heard that Hassan had a lengthy antecedent history and had appeared in court 39 times in relation to 92 criminal offences.

Although none of these involved sexual offences some of the charges had involved violence and threats of violence towards women.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court Hassans victim said that she had difficulty sleeping, waking up in the night sweating and having disturbing dreams.

She was depressed and had been prescribed medication for this. The attack had caused massive trust issues and she had become distant from friends.

She didnt want to see anybody and didnt trust people. She was worried about the effect of the attack on future relationships and had difficulty with intimacy, feeling uneasy if somebody tried to hug her.

She added that the trial had caused her months of distress.

I wish that he had pleaded guilty from the start, she said.

I have had ten months of hell worried that I would have to talk about what happened in a court full of people. I have been physically unwell with worry.

In mitigation the court heard that Hassan had expressed remorse for what he had done and was disgusted about his behaviour and the hurt that was caused.

The court also heard that Hassan had indicated that he would engage with the support available in prison.

At the moment at least you have no respect for women, said judge Walters.

It is hard to imagine an act of greater degradation to a woman than that which I both saw and heard on that film.

Hassan was sentenced to ten years in prison for the rape offence at Swansea Crown Court on, Thursday, June 23. The court heard that he will serve three quarters of his sentence.

He was also sentenced to three months in prison, to run concurrently, for the offence of sending a threatening message. The court heard that he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to this offence, which involved a different victim.

Senior Investigating Officer DI Melanie Havard said the victim had shown great strength and determination throughout the investigation and trial.

I must commend her tremendous courage in coming forward and the tenacity shown throughout the investigation, she said.

We appreciate this is not easy for anyone to do but the victim has expressed her gratitude to the officer in the case for her support and empathy throughout this process.

We hope this case demonstrates that Dyfed-Powys Police acts on serious allegations such as rape and sexual assault with officers working tirelessly to secure justice for victims.

If you are suffering because of similar abuse, please contact the police, or if you would rather speak to someone in confidence, New Pathways are an independent charity that will support you through every step of the investigation.

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THE victim of a child rapist from Bridgwater said he has had his life stolen from him.

He was speaking after Simon Wheaton, 37, was found guilty of multiple historic offences at the end of a trial at Taunton Crown Court.

The jury yesterday (Thursday, June 23) returned guilty verdicts on the following five offences:

- inciting a boy under fourteen years of age to commit an act of gross indecency;

- indecent assault on boy under the age of 14 years;

- indecently assaulting a boy, under 14, on at least two further occasions after that;

- rape of a boy under 16 years;

- rape of a boy under 16 years, on at least two further occasions.

In the early 2000s, Wheaton sexually abused a nine-year-old boy, including committing multiple rapes against him.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, disclosed the abuse to girlfriends over the years before finally opening up to a counsellor, who agreed to report the matter to the police on his behalf.

Officers worked with the victim to complete a thorough investigation, including speaking to the victims former partners and other witnesses.

In a statement, the victim said: I was only a child when Wheaton did what he did to me.

"He took advantage of me being young and trusting.

"He took advantage of this, using it to get what he wanted from me, to abuse me.

"He made me feel like it was my fault, that I would get into trouble, that I had no choice in what happened to me.

"He calculatedly used thing after thing to keep me under his control, taking away from me my dignity, my trust and my life.

"It destroyed my trust in people, my ability to emotionally connect with them, to be able to open up.

"The last 18 years of my life were stolen from me, by what he did to me.

"I wish I had spoken to someone sooner, but I spent too much of my life hating myself for what he did to realise that I was the innocent one.

Wheaton will be sentenced at Taunton Crown Court in August.

Investigating officer DS Charlie Pulling said: I would like to thank the victim for coming forward and showing incredible bravery by disclosing the awful abuse he suffered at the hands of this predatory paedophile.

"Wheaton showed no remorse for his actions towards a child who trusted him.

"I would like this result to give victims of similar crimes the confidence to come forward and speak to the police so we can help get them the justice they deserve.

Officer in the case DC Charlotte Hodgkiss said: I hope this shows other survivors of serious sexual assault that it is never too late to come forward and speak out.

"We recognise the courage it takes, and this is a prime example of justice being served.

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A man has been jailed for 17 years for historic sexual offences against a child.

Alan Dreha, aged 70, of Kirkby was jailed for 17 years, plus two on licence for 14 counts of sexual assault.

The court heard how Dreha subjected his young victim to sexual assault for a period of 11 years, between 1990 and 2001.

Following a trial, Dreha was convicted on Monday 16 May and sentenced yesterday, Thursday 23 June, at Liverpool Crown Court.

Detective Inspector Yoseph Al-Ramadhan said, Dreha denied his offending meaning his victim was forced to endure a trial. We welcome that he will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars to consider the consequences of his actions.

I would like to take this opportunity to praise Drehas victim for their courage in coming forward to report his crimes, and the dignity they have shown throughout the whole of this investigation.

While no sentence will repair the damage that Drehas abuse has caused, I hope that by seeing Dreha sent to prison for a long time, this will give his victim some sort of closure and allow them to move on with their lives knowing he cannot harm anyone else.

We are committed to protecting victims of sexual offences, and anyone who reports an incident to us will be safeguarded and supported throughout the investigation.

Anyone that has been a victim of a sexual offence, is concerned for the safety of someone they know or suspects someone to be engaging in this criminal activity, should come forward and speak to us. We have a team of dedicated staff who will expertly and compassionately deal with your reports and we will do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.

Time is no barrier to reporting offences and I would urge anyone who has been victim of a sexual offence at any time to come forward and we will do everything we can to help and support them.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Sarah Egan, a specialist lawyer with CPS Mersey Cheshires Rape and Serious Sexual Offences unit (RASSO) said, Alan Dreha repeatedly sexually abused this victim over many years, from childhood through to early adulthood. He was controlling, and manipulated and groomed the victim in order to satisfy his own sexual needs. He maintained her silence with threats. This has been an appalling, gross abuse of trust. He has shown no remorse at all for what he has done to his victim.

She has spoken of how difficult she found it to write her Victim Personal Statement. She said she felt controlled and manipulated throughout childhood. She still struggles to trust people, and it has severely affected her mental health, to the point where she has contemplated suicide. She said that it is such a lonely life you live when you are the victim of sexual abuse.

Dreha has spent the last thirty-two years living a lie and maintaining an image of a respectable life, whilst the victim has had to endure, and deal with, the consequences of the sexual abuse she has suffered. There is absolutely no doubt that Drehas actions have caused this victim grave harm.

The Crown Prosecution Service would like to thank the victim and family for the courage and strength they have shown throughout the proceedings, as well as the parties involved who have assisted in bringing a successful prosecution. We hope that the prosecution allows the victim to move forwards with her life.

Anyone with information or wants to report a sexual offence is asked to call 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers or you can pass information to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If youve been affected by sexual violence of any kind, support is available through the Police and Crime Commissioners Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities.

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A disgraced Leicestershire teacher who was jailed for grooming and abusing one of his students has been given a lifetime ban. Tony Fraine has been barred from the profession over future fears for students' safety.

Fraine, who taught at Hinckley Academy and John Cleveland Sixth Form Centre in Hinckley, was jailed in 2020 for the predatory behaviour which he committed against a 17-year-old pupil. The vile head of department had manipulated the teenager into the inappropriate relationship and coerced her into sending explicit images and messages.

He was jailed for two years. Now, the 39-year-old has been banned from ever teaching again in the UK after a disciplinary hearing by the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) took place.

The hearing was told how Fraine had become a newly-appointed teacher at the school in 2005, later rising to head of the science department in 2010. It was in 2019 when the first allegations of his predatory behaviour were made.

From here, he was suspended from the school and put on trial at Leicester Crown Court. It was here where it was heard how Fraine had begun the abuse by sending his victim flattering messages which then became sexualised. He also gave her a gift of underwear, while she later sent naked images after going along with his repeated requests.

After pleading guilty to two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, he was jailed for two years. Fraine is also currently subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and is on the sex offenders register for the same period.

For the TRA panel, they felt letting Fraine return to the classroom would put children at risk and harm public confidence. There was a strong public interest consideration in respect of the protection of pupils and other children given the very serious findings relating to sexual activity with a pupil and conduct associated with grooming, they said.

The panel considered that Mr Fraines behaviour in committing the offence would be likely to affect public confidence in the teaching profession if Mr Fraine was allowed to continue teaching, given the influence that teachers may have on pupils, parents and others in the community.

Saying the need to issue the ban was in the public interest, the TRA said they had to treat the case with the utmost seriousness, believing that a lifetime ban was both proportionate and appropriate.

The seriousness of the offences including the grooming behaviour which took place over a substantial period of time was a significant factor, they said.

Concluding the report, Sarah Buxcey, from the TRA, believed Fraines actions meant he could not teach again.

The panel finds that the conduct of Mr Fraine fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession, she said. Mr Fraines offending behaviour was serious, concerning sexual activity with a pupil, which ultimately led to a sentence of imprisonment, which I agree with the panel is relevant to his ongoing suitability to teach.

I have concluded that a prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest in order to achieve the intended aims of a prohibition order.

Fraine has 28 days to appeal the ban at the High Court.

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A PERVERTED pensioner subjected a young girl to appalling sexual abuse and took depraved photos as he did so.

Raymond Hughes was handed a sentence of more than a decade behind bars for his shocking behaviour.

The 74-year-old implored his victim not to tell anyone about the abuse as bad guys would hurt him, and he told police he hoped she would simply forget about what happened.

Hughes was charged with four counts of sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13 and one of taking indecent images of a child.

He was also convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch sexual activity, and he appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday.

Louise McCloskey, prosecuting, explained how the victim revealed to her family in January that she had been sexually abused.

She told her shocked and horrified family that she had wanted to speak out for a long time but was worried about what would happen next.

Police were informed and she was interviewed, explaining to officers that the defendant would make her sit on his knee while he showed her online pornography.

As she was forced to watch, he would perform sex acts on her, including penetrative activity which she said hurt.

He would also take photos of himself abusing her while she was naked and call her beautiful, telling her that she would be attractive when she grew up.

Police found 20 indecent images of her in his possession, two of which were categorised as category A the worst grading while eight were category B and 10 category C.

The victim also told officers that he would make her hold his penis while he urinated and performed sex acts on himself, as well as how he told her not to tell anyone about the abuse as bad guys would hurt him.

Hughes was arrested by police and interviewed, where he made full and frank admissions to the offences.

He said that he got aroused when she sat on his knee and when he touched her in a sexual way, while accepting that he performed penetrative activity with her, but never with his penis.

The defendant added that he regretted his actions very, very much and that he had hoped she would have forgotten about it.

An impact statement was read out in court in which the victim said she remembers in detail what happened to her.

It upsets me looking back as I was told it was completely normal, and I feel sick I could have thought something like that was normal, she said.

The abuse caused her to have problems sleeping, including nightmares about what he did, while she now has low self-esteem.

Reporting what happened to the police was overwhelming and stressful for her as it was difficult going through it again.

Representing his client, James Smith referenced his lack of any previous convictions and his ill-health due to chronic heart and lung conditions and long Covid.

This defendant is deeply sorry and ashamed for his actions, he said.

He knows he will have caused a lasting and serious impact, and he fully accepts the punishment which will be meted out by your honour today.

He is someone who will embrace rehabilitation, and he has a high motivation to comply with all therapies proposed.

Before sentencing, judge David Potter said: All along, you hoped she would keep your awful secret to herself.

What you did to her had a massive impact on her life and mental health. She was a happy and outgoing child, but her childhood was taken from her by your actions.

It is abundantly clear that the psychological impact of your offending is profound, and it is likely to be a life-long lasting impact.

Your life has been shattered, but so has that of many people because of your appalling behaviour.

These offences are so serious that only an immediate and significant period of imprisonment is appropriate.

Hughes, of Thurston Close in Hood Manor, was sentenced to 11 years and four months of prison.

Due to the nature of the offences, he is classed as an offender of particular concern and was therefore handed a determinate sentence.

This means he will have to serve two thirds of the jail term in custody before the case goes before the parole board to determine if he can be released, and if so, he must spend an extra year on extended license.

He must also sign the sex offender register, comply with the terms of a sexual harm prevention order and abide by a restraining order not to contact or approach his victim all for life.

Following the sentencing, DC Lauren Pedley, who led the police investigation, said: Being subjected to sexual abuse affects people in the most profound way, and I would like to thank the victim for the courage she showed in disclosing what Hughes subjected her to during her childhood.

While she will never be able to forget about what happened to her, I hope the fact that he is now behind bars facing the consequences of his actions provides the victim with some closure and enables her to begin to move forward with her life.

DC Pedley added: I hope this case and the significant custodial sentence that Hughes has received encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to us.

Cheshire Constabulary takes any allegation of sexual offences extremely seriously, no matter how long ago they relate to.

Any allegation will be thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority.

Victims should never feel ashamed to talk about what they have been subjected to.

They will receive the help and support they need from our specialist officers, as well as from other support agencies we work alongside, and all victims of sexual offences have the right to anonymity for life.

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A SCHOOLTEACHER has admitted possessing a catalogue of indecent images of children, as well as having extreme pornography involving animals.

Austin Betts, who taught at Woodlands School in Basildon, will be sentenced at Basildon Crown Court next week after pleading guilty to a host of offences.

The 32-year-old, of Mendip Crescent, Westcliff, admitted three charges of making indecent images of children, two charges of distributing indecent images of children, and possession of extreme pornography involving animals at a magistrates court appearance in May.

School bosses wrote to parents yesterday confirming that he had admitted the offences, as well as insisting that checks were carried out prior to his employment and they had co-operated with the police investigation.

The headteacher added that Brett has not been on the school site since July 2021.

It is believed he was suspended when the school was made aware of the allegations against him, although school leaders refused to provide any additional detail.

In a letter to parents headteacher David Wright said: We can confirm that Austin Betts, a former teacher, has pleaded guilty to making and the distribution of indecent images.

We want to assure the school community that we carried out all the required safeguarding checks before his employment and have cooperated fully with the police investigation. He has not been on the school site since July 2021.

While the schools leadership team are very shocked by this news, there is absolutely no suggestion that any of the crimes relate to students or staff at the school. If any members of the school community are affected by these events we would, of course, facilitate any support needed.

Brett will be sentenced on Monday at Basildon Crown Court after admitting the charges at Basildon Magistrates Court on May 24.

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Now Peter Cooke, aged 66, of Endon, has been jailed at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court

Pervert pensioner Peter Cooke has been jailed after he downloaded scores of horrific images of children being abused. The 66-year-old registered sex offender was convicted in 2009 of attempting to facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and four charges of making indecent images of children.

He was handed a nine-year extended sentence. And a year later he was jailed for a further 12 months with one year's licence for acting with intent to defraud the revenue. That meant he remained on licence until 2020.

But within weeks of his licence period expiring the defendant downloaded the child sex abuse photos. Some featured children as young as three.

Officers seized his laptop but returned to his home three months later and found another laptop which contained more indecent images. Now Cooke has been jailed for 10 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Antony Longworth said police attended the defendant's home on August 20, 2020 and he appeared to be anxious. His devices were examined and officers found 'ccleaner' - software which erases the use of the internet - and TOR browser, which contacts the dark web. The laptop was found to have 23 category A images - the most serious; 21 at category B and 126 at category C.

Mr Longworth said: "The defendant admitted he had been accessing and viewing indecent images for the previous two months. All the images were inaccessible. They had been viewed but attempts were made to delete them."

Police went to the defendant's home again on November 12, 2020 and seized another laptop. Mr Longworth said: "The officer was able to determine the TOR browser had been deleted from it. It was sent off to be examined and was found to contain 10 category C images."

The defendant accepted he accessed the indecent images. He said he looked at the images when he felt stressed. He claimed he did not get sexual gratification from viewing the images but felt disappointed with himself for looking at them. He said he bought the second laptop after the first was seized by the police.

Cooke, of Spinney Close, Endon, pleaded guilty to four charges of making indecent images of a child.

Paul Kay, mitigating, said the defendant has medical problems including colon cancer, a tumour on his liver and he is also being investigated for bowel cancer.

He said Cooke pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Mr Kay added: "He is very ashamed of what he has done. He would co-operate with anything the probation service could do to assist him, anything that could keep him at liberty so he could have his cancer treatment."

But Judge Sally Hancox said the sentence had to be immediate custody. She said: "He was but weeks away from the end of his licence period. After a device had been taken from his home images of children being sexually abused were found and he was in possession of applications which allowed him to access and hide images. When a further device was found by the authorities he continued to behave in the same way. He was told in 2009 what would be the consequences of any breach or if he acted in defiance of any regulation."

The judge told Cooke: "It is clear you are sorry for what you have done. But you are still somebody who indicates you got no sexual gratification from looking at the images. Why have you gone to them? Why have you gone to them again?"

Cooke was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years and remains on the sex offenders' register for life.