Latest Offenders

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A convicted sex offender who absconded from HMP North Sea Camp in November last year has now been arrested.

Paul Marshall, 54, was serving a life sentence for rape and wounding with intent.

Lincolnshire Police and their Nottinghamshire colleagues have been investigating since Marshall was reported missing from HMP North Sea Camp near Boston on November 22 last year.

Humberside Police shared an appeal last week saying they believe “Paul may now be in the Bridlington area” in East Yorkshire, and he was arrested in the Humberside area. This comes after there were previous sightings of him in Mansfield town centre, and in Doncaster.

On Monday (April 17), Lincolnshire Police said: “A 54-year-old man who was wanted after absconding from HMP North Sea Camp, in November, has been arrested. Thank you to everyone who shared our appeals.”

Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman previously said the “fault lies with the system that puts people in the wrong kind of prison” after Marshall absconded from HMP North Sea Camp.

The local MP later told The Lincolnite that, despite it being the first abscond since a tightening of the open prison system, it was a “sign of failure”.

He added that it is important to look at various factors when considering those placed in open prisons.

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A 47-year-old man has been jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting a woman in his car at 4am. A Detective from Kent Police has labelled the incident ‘despicable’ and has said tackling violence against women and girls is one of the forces key priorities.

Peter Wrotchford, formerly of Ashley Avenue, Folkestone, targeted the victim as she walked in the Tram Road area of the town at around 4am on September 4, 2022.

After raping the woman, Wrotchford then drove her to various locations near Folkestone and carried out sexual offences, before driving her to the address of a friend of hers. Once at her friend's home, the victim told her about the incident and it was reported to Kent Police.

An investigation connected Wrotchford’s vehicle a white Ford Connect being connected to the offence. The Police arrested him the day after the incident took place and he was charged with rape and sexual assault on September 6.

Wrotchford was found guilty of rape and sexual assault charges following a trial and was jailed for 18 years at Canterbury Crown Court on 14 April 2023. He will serve an extra four years on licence.

Detective Constable Chris Brett, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: 'Tackling violence against women and girls is one of Kent Police's key priorities and part of that work is bringing offenders like Wrotchford to justice.

'His actions on the night of this offence were despicable and I am pleased he will now be in prison, and off the streets of Folkestone, for a considerable amount of time.

'I would like to pay tribute to the victim's courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings, and I hope the quick arrest of this offender and the sentence now imposed assist her as she rebuilds her life.'

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The perverted behaviour of 27-year-old Windermere man Callum Spedding came to light after he was taken in by a police sting which involved an undercover officer posing online as a 13-year-old girl.

When police seized the defendant’s digital devices, they discovered that he was also sexually grooming a 13-year-old boy, though the victim was never properly identified.

Spedding, of Mill Brow, Droomer, Windemere, admitted six offences – one count of making an indecent image of a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual behaviour; and three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Tim Evans outlined the offences, which were all committed on dates in March, 2020.

The first set of offences related to the police sting, when Spedding began communicating online with a person who repeatedly identified herself as a 13-year-old girl.

During a series of online exchanges over several days, the defendant offered to buy her sweets and other treats – clothing, jewellery, and a phone; and he spoke to her about taking her to McDonald’s.

“It’d be cool to take you out and spoil you,” he told the ‘girl.’ As the contact continued, Spedding’s conversation became increasingly sexual, said Mr Evans. He spoke of wanting to meet her and described explicitly the sexual contact he wanted with her.

The court heard that the defendant encouraged the girl to “practice” certain sex acts in preparation for a potential meeting.

It was after police raided the defendant’s home and arrested him on April 1, 2020, that officers examined his digital devices, they found incriminating evidence that Spedding had also been grooming a boy.

Once again, the communication amounted to sexual grooming, with Spedding discussing sexual matters, including his desire to sexually abuse the child in graphic detail.

Jack Troupe, defending, said the defendant had struggled to come to terms with the offences he had committed. He was also struggling with mental health difficulties, said the barrister.

But with three years having elapsed since the offending, there had been no repeat of the illegal behaviour, added Mr Troupe.

Judge Nicholas Barker told Spedding that it was clear that he had genuinely believed he was communicating with children who were aged just 13. On March 20, 2020, he had clearly stepped up his attempt to sexually groom the girl, offering to buy her gifts.

He told the child he wanted to see her in swimwear.

In the days that followed, the communication became increasingly sexualised, with Spedding asking the “child” to send him indecent photos of herself.

The judge noted that Spedding had been “socially isolated” but he rejected the defendant's claim that his offending was triggered by the pandemic lockdown, given that the illegal behaviour began before the national lockdown.

The judge said: “You were socially isolated and you were suffering mental health conditions and continue to do so.” But a Probation officer had assessed Spedding as posing a “direct risk” to children, given the extent of his efforts to have sexual contact with the two 13-year-olds.

He jailed the defendant for 31 months and put him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. Spedding will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

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A paedophile with "an entrenched sexual interest in children that will never go away" is back behind bars for engaging in sex chats with a Filipino child. Franklyn John Williams, 75, also went money to the victim's mum in the Philippines.

Williams, from Penrose Court in Penzance, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child.

Prosecuting the case, Judith Constable told the court how Williams is a known sex offender and was jailed at Truro Crown Court for similar offences back in 2019.

He was released from prison and in January of last year two PCs attended his home to complete a risk assessment. They examined his phone and found a suspicious Facebook Messenger conversation. The girl he was communicating with was nine or ten-years-old and lived in the Philippines.

In the disgusting chats Williams complimented the girl and made lewd comments. Pictures were exchanged and he sent her a topless photo of himself in bed saying that he'd like to kiss her and wished she was there with him. Ms Constable added that Williams is considered a high-risk sex offender.

The court heard how Williams has sent money to the Philippines also also helped pay for a school out there. He sent money to the victim's mum which helped her pay for a washing machine.

Representing Williams, Martin Pearce said: "He has reached a low ebb and is asking for help. He doesn't understand why he commits these offences but he knows they're wrong and he is seeking help for his actions."

Sentencing Williams, Judge Simon Carr outlined the sexualised nature of the conversation and said the reasons were obvious why Williams sent money to Asia. He added: "You have an entrenched sexual interest in children that will never go away."

Judge Carr jailed Williams for 15 months, near to the maximum sentence he could legally pass for such an offence.

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Anthony Pitman, aged 51, from Pontarddulais has been sentenced today (14 April) to 21 years in prison for raping a teenage girl.

He was found guilty at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday 12 April of 21 offences which occurred over a period of seven years from 2010 to 2017.

The offences started when the girl was just 12 years old.

Detective Constable James Llewellyn from South Wales Police said, The victim in this case was abused in the worst ways possible and Anthony Pitman exploited her for his own pleasure.

I would like to praise her for the immense bravery she has shown in reporting what happened to police."

I hope this case will demonstrate that we will always listen to and support anyone who reports matters to us and offenders will be held accountable for the crimes they commit.

This sentencing sends a clear message that child sexual exploitation will never be acceptable, and we will ensure anyone who engages in this type of behaviour will be brought to justice, as we have seen today

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An ex-boxer who a judge says was "preoccupied with teenage girls" was caught with more than 26,300 indecent images of children.

Joe Wilson, 33, of St George's Road, off Hessle Road, west Hull, admitted three offences of possessing indecent images of children between April 2016 and January 2021. The images were part of a "disgusting" trade which led to sexual abuse against children, Hull Crown Court heard.

Stuart Bell, prosecuting, said Wilson had been arrested in his home in February 2021 after his activity online caught the attention of the National Crime Agency. Two phones were seized from him, reports Hull Live.

There were 20 images and nine videos in the most serious Category A, 120 still images and eight videos in Category B and 26,171 still images and 11 videos in Category C. They were in a "zipped" folder, a way of storing large numbers of images but taking up little space on the phone.

Wilson claimed that he had downloaded and viewed only 529 of these images. He had saved and accessed links to websites known for having indecent images of children.

There were 114 pages of internet history linked to the websites, with search terms including "little girls". There were also searches for "Lolita" and under-18 dating apps.

Chat logs showed he had communicated with girls aged from over 16 to under 18. Wilson had sent intimate pictures of himself and had received naked pictures back from one girl. There were no charges regarding this aspect, however.

Nigel Clive, mitigating, said Wilson had no previous convictions and he had finally pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial. "There is perhaps little to mitigate offences such as these," said Mr Clive.

Most of the images were in the least serious category and were in the "zipped" folder and were not accessed. Wilson, a groundsman, accessed images when he was in a "downward spiral" and he turned to pornography instead of drink or drugs. He was remorseful and had been assessed as being a low risk.

Judge Mark Bury said: "He is sexually preoccupied and likes girls under 18." Judge Bury told Wilson: "You have a sexual interest in teenage girls between 16 and 19. You were essentially looking for females who were under 18 but not necessarily under 16."

The vast majority of the images found were of girls aged under 16 but very few were under the age of 10. "You had a high sex drive and you were sexually preoccupied," said Judge Bury.

"Offences like this are always serious. There are victims. Children under the age of 18 need protection." Each image that was viewed meant that there were victims of abuse and people made money out of the "disgusting" market. "You need to leave alone teenagers who are not 18," said Judge Bury.

Wilson was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and 20 days' rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years. The two phones will be forfeited.

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A former bus driver has been jailed for six years for sexually abusing a teenage boy. Mark Gadsby, who worked around the South Derbyshire and East Staffordshire areas, committed the heinous acts when he was in his 20s, but his sickening crimes went unpunished for years.

The 41-year-old lived a normal life and was even featured in a national newspaper for weight loss before the victim, who was 13 when the abuse started, came forward to tell his story. He had been targeted by Gadsby after being driven to school by him on the bus.

It begun with text messages asking the boy to meet up, before Gadsby began to give the boy lifts in his Ford Fiesta and eventually began to physically abuse the victim on a country lane in Staffordshire. That abuse then progressed to taking place in public toilets and in Gadsby's mother's house when she was out at work, Derbyshire Live has reported.

As well as the physical acts, Gadsby also groomed the victim and threatened to tell others about the abuse, which "ruined his teenage years".

The victim, who is granted automatic anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act, released a statement, saying: I do get upset about it still and I just think why did he need to do that?

Its just the way of how controlling and overpowering and how frightened he made me feel but why would someone want to do that to someone whos 13-14 years old? He was just a big fat sweaty person, no one else would look at him, at 21 years old he shouldve been going out Friday and Saturday nights, not targeting a 13-year-old.

Gadsby, of Cross Side, Ashbourne, was sentenced at Derby Crown Court on April 3. He pleaded guilty to one charge of buggery and six of gross indecency with a child under 16.

Separately he also admitted to two indecent images offences after a number of indecent images of children were found on his phone. As well as his six-year jail term, Gadsby was also given a sexual harm prevention order will have to sign the Sex Offender's register for the rest of his life.

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A judge slammed the 71-year-old's "caveman attitude to consent and boundaries".

A pensioner nicknamed 'Dirty Dave' by locals asked police officers “are you supposed to ask permission these days?” when they questioned him about sexually assaulting a woman.

A judge at Derby Crown Court told 71-year-old David Hannah that he had “a caveman attitude to consent and boundaries” as he sentenced him for two offences.

Appearing in court on two counts of sexual assault, even his own barrister said his client’s views were “like a dinosaur” in relation to what he did.

Handing the defendant a two-year prison term, suspended for two years, Recorder Adrian Reynolds said: “If you do this to another woman in the next two years you will be going to prison.

“Don’t think just because you are 71 you are too old to think you can behave in this way and in many ways, I think the most significant piece of evidence, in this case, is when you told the victim ‘if you tell anyone you will be dead’ because you knew perfectly well what you were doing was wrong. This woman was not consenting and you disregarded that."

Mark Achurch, prosecuting, said the two incidents took place in 2019, reports Derbyshire Live. However, the woman did not report them until the summer of 2021.

He said on the first occasion Hannah went to the victim's address and while in the kitchen said to her “you need k******g by a real man” and kissed and licked her face.

The prosecutor said: “He tried to undress her and then undressed himself. His trousers dropped to the floor, he took out his [private parts] and tried to put it in her hand. She brought it to an end by bringing her knee up to his groin. She said before he left he said to her if she told anybody she would be dead.”

Mr Achurch said the second assault happened outside when Hannah approached the woman from behind and grabbed her breast and private parts.

He said: “A witness later spoke of the way the defendant is known as 'Dirty Dave' and that perhaps speaks volumes.

"He was arrested and said to the police ‘are you supposed to ask permission these days?’ he did not simply understand what the ramifications were. He also said ‘if you don’t try it on with someone they will think you’re gay’.”

Hannah, of Gorman Close, Newbold, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault against the woman, whose identity is protected by law. He has no previous convictions.

In a victim impact statement, the woman told how after it happened she did not want to take care of her appearance “so she would feel she was unattractive”.

Mr Achurch said: “She said to the police quite candidly that if she saw the defendant and had a knife in her hand she would consider using it.”

Will Bennett, his barrister, said: “His views are that of a dinosaur but that does not excuse his actions.”

As part of the suspended sentence order, Recorder Reynolds ordered the defendant to attend 45 rehabilitation sessions and placed him on the sex offender register for 10 years.

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A convicted sex offender was looking at ‘dog porn’ within weeks of being spared prison for sharing child sex abuse images.

Simon Jenkins, 62, received an 18 month jail sentence suspended for two years at Isleworth Crown Court in September 2021 for distributing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

But within barely a month he was searching Google for ‘bestiality images’.

Prosecutor Steven Molloy told a judge in Oxford on Thursday (April 13): “The defendant had [also] accessed a website which it would appear contained extreme pornography bestiality involving dogs.”

When the police caught up with him last summer, he was living at a new address.

Although the probation service was aware of the new address, he had failed to register it with the police - a breach of the requirements encumbent on him as a registered sex offender.

Jenkins, of Knowle End, Wormington, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court last month to possession of extreme pornography and breaching sex offender notification requirements.

Mitigating, Kellie Enever asked the judge to follow the recommendation in a probation service pre-sentence report and sentence her client without sending him to prison.

At the time, Jenkins had been drinking heavily and had not yet had the chance to start working with the probation service.

Since his arrest, he had got sober and was working in exchange for his bed and board at a caravan park. He received a very modest weekly income.

Ms Enever said her client had ‘no recollection’ of the bestiality material police were to find on his phone. He accepted that he had looked at them.

Recorder John Ryder KC told the advocate: “Speaking for myself, I’d have thought they were somewhat memorable.”

The judge spared Jenkins an immediate prison term. Sentencing, he told the defendant: “You must understand that it is an obligation to comply with all the terms of your court order and you’re not entitled simply to forget those terms.

“You have an obligation and it is your responsibility to act in accordance with it.”

In imposing a three year community order for the bestiality material and fining him £50 for breaching the suspended sentence order, he said: “I am not trivialising that. I am not trivialising the breach of a court order.

“As Mrs Enever said, these breaches occurred very early in the order and putting it, really, in practical terms the therapeutic aspects of it had had no opportunity to take effect.”

As part of the community order, Jenkins must complete up to 60 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions with the probation service and pay £85 in costs.

Ending the hearing, Recorder Ryder said: “Engage with this order and overcome this inclination.”

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A serial flasher has appeared in court after he was caught masturbating on a train again.

Bobby Garande, 29, appeared in court on Thursday April 6 after he pleaded guilty to masturbating on a Thameslink train on October 14, 2021. 

The sex offender is already serving a 27 month sentence at HMP Thameside for masturbating in front of a woman on the same train line on October 12, 2021. 

On that occasion he peered at the woman through a gap in the seats while fondling his crotch. 

The woman took a photo of him and when Garande got off at Bromley South she followed him until police arrived and he was arrested. 

Garande, from Thornton Heath, had also previously exposed himself to a woman on the number 50 bus in Croydon while two children were sitting directly opposite him. 

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court he pleaded guilty that on October 14, 2021, he outraged public decency. 

He was given a prison sentence of 26 weeks, which will be added to the 27 month sentence he was already serving. 

Garande has around 20 criminal convictions, ten of which are for sexual offences. 

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JAIL sentences have been handed to two teenagers who forced a terrified 15-year-old girl into an Appleby alleyway and raped her.

Levi Stephen Lee, 18, and Othie Danny Lee, 19, have shown no remorse for their horrific crime, which they committed in broad daylight in 2019, while they were in the town for Appleby Horse Fair.

As he passed sentence at Carlisle Crown Court, Judge Ian Unsworth KC contrasted the cowardice of the defendants with the courage of their victim, who has vowed that she will not let what happened define her.

Both defendants aged 14 and 15 respectively when they raped the victim were each jailed for five years and four months. They denied raping the girl but were convicted after a three week trial.

In court today, Judge Unsworth told the defendants: It is plain that this was a terrifying ordeal for [the victim]. ..She was no match for the two of you. You were both larger and stronger than her.

Having observed both defendants during the trial, said the judge, they had provided not even a hint of self-reflection or remorse.

You engaged in victim blaming, said the judge. I have no doubt that you put your heads together to create a wholly dishonest version of events which you tried to put before the jury

You are each without shame; you are each without remorse. The judge spoke of the victims description of how the double rape had turned her life upside down, affecting her so profoundly that she had to pull out of school.

She became suspicious of males, viewing them as a threat; and her sleep was badly affected. She had to sleep with the light on and this went on for two years after she was raped, said the judge.

Incredibly, as a result of her ordeal, she was subjected to bullying behaviour for which those responsible should feel thoroughly ashamed, said the judge.

Judge Unsworth quoted from the victims impact statement.

The girl had said of the defendants: My message to both of you is that you raped me on that day but it will no define me as a person. I have turned a corner in my life; and I am coming out of my shell.

Despite the young womans resilience, she did suffer severe psychological harm, ruled the judge. She is a remarkably brave young woman, whose bravery contrasts with your utter cowardice, the judge told the defendants.

Earlier, the court heard how the girls ordeal began when Levi Lee grabbed her by the hand and, according to some witnesses, she was then dragged and "frogmarched" along the street, over a bridge, and into an alleyway, away from CCTV cameras.

Othie Lee had quickly followed.

While in the alleyway the two teenagers had taken it in turns to rape the girl, while the other acted as lookout. She was treated like an "object", passed between the defendants to satisfy their sexual needs, observed the judge.

She manifestly did not consent, said the judge. The girl later told her mum she was scared of the two teenagers, and feared that they may have a knife and would possibly kill her.

Both defendants will be on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. They must serve at least two thirds of their sentence before they will be eligible to apply for release on parole.

Neither Othie Lee, of New Street, Bridgetown, Cannock, who now works as a gardener, or Levi Lee, a roofer, of Willenhall Lane, Walsall, had shown any victim empathy, the court heard. Defence barristers for both men highlighted their immaturity at the time of the offences.

After the defendants were led away to begin their sentences, Judge Unsworth commented on the professionalism and thoroughness of the police officers involved in what turned out to be a "highly sensitive" and "complex" investigation, singling out Detective Sergeant Michael Gilsenan for particular praise.

* When defendants commit offences as juveniles, as in this case, judges are legally obliged to impose sentences which are approximately half of what would have been imposed had the defendants been adult when they offended.

In this case, Judge Unsworth had determined an adult equivalent sentence of 11 years custody, bearing in mind aggravating and mitigating factors.

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Alvin Tuitt a 24-year-old man has been jailed for ten years for raping a 12-year-old girl in a disabled toilet at King's Cross last year. 

Paedophile Alvin Tuitt, from Lewisham, stalked his victim - who was travelling from Maryland station in Newham to King's Cross - on October 10 last year. 

After approaching her at Maryland station, Tuitt leant her a power pack to charge her phone and paid for her onward train ticket

He accompanied her on her journey and upon arrival to Kings Cross, took her to a disabled toilet where he raped her and then attempted to rape her again. 

She reported it to police later that day and Tuitt was arrested, charged and remanded within 24 hours of the offence taking place.

He was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to rape and attempted rape.

The judge sentenced Tuitt to 10 years' imprisonment for rape, with a five-year extended sentence on licence, and eight years to run concurrently for an additional count of attempted rape on the same girl.

He is also subjected to a life-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order and notification requirement for life.

The judge commended the victim for her bravery in coming forward and reporting this to police.

Detective Constable Mark Pink said: 'The victim in this case was 12 years old and was extremely vulnerable.

'She has been extremely brave in telling police what happened and providing testimony to assist the investigation. The effect that this incident has had on her life and that of her family cannot be measured.

'Tuitt is a predator with a previous conviction for a similar offence and he rightfully now faces a long time behind bars.'

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A transgender serial pervert who groped two woman volunteers at a church cafe and 'flashed her penis' during a work zoom call has been jailed.

53-year-old Jane Beck, who previously worked in the kitchen at the Fed Up drop-in centre in Stranraer, carried out the two attacks between 2021 and last year. 

The sex-pest, previously known as Graeme Beck was originally from Leeds, and had tried to play down the assaults as 'just a wee bit of Strictly.' 

Chillingly whilst living as a man in 2008, Beck was jailed for two years for attacking a sleeping woman he had found on a dating site for Christians and her 'transgender'-ism had been called into question by a previous victim who described her as a 'wolf in sheep's clothing.' 

The Scottish Prison Service declined to confirm to the MailOnline whether Beck has been housed in a male or female prison. 

However following the debacle that saw trans rapist Isla Bryson housed in HMP Cornton Vale earlier this year, the SPS took the decision to halt the movement of all trans prisoners with a history of violence against women into the female estate. 

Beck had initially used the service at Stranraer Baptist Church herself but had began volunteering in 2021.

Describing her offences, fiscal depute Imran Hussein had previously told Stranraer Sheriff Court how Beck had grabbed the first complainer's left arm and 'placed her right hand on the complainer's waist'.

There was also incidents where Beck would 'slide her body against the back' of the victim while walking past.  

Mr Hussein said: 'It was deliberate, sexually motivated and the complainer developed a genuine fear of the accused.'

Another victim accused Beck of touching her back and buttocks while at work and reported her to the police, resulting in his arrest in July 2022, reports the Sun. 

Beck was also investigated for a flashing incident during a conference call for Avon where she worked between  October and December 2021.

Beck's lawyer Michael Kilkerr attempted to argue down this offence at sentencing yesterday, saying: 'Due to her careless approach to the engagement in that video link with her colleagues it resulted in that offence.' 

However Sheriff Anthony McGlennan replied: 'I'm not sure you can call this offence careless.' 

Beck would attend calls wearing a 'loosely tied dressing gown with nothing on underneath' despite being warned about her dress, a court heard. 

The repeat offender had a litany of crimes to her name prior to the latest incident.

In 2008, Beck was jailed for two years and given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from going near children after he attacked a sleeping woman. 

Years later in July 2021, Beck now identifying as a she attacked again, this time in Dumfriesshire when she lunged at a woman's breasts whilst wearing a dress. 

Speaking to the Sun following her ordeal, the victim described him as a 'wolf in sheep's clothing.'

She said: 'If he was using his birth name Graeme, nobody would go near the animal.

''Beck must be treated as a man because he's a male sexual predator - and he should be put in a man's jail if that's how it ends up.

'Beck demanded to be called 'she' but was not remotely feminine, other than the clothes.

'Beck would continually grope me then laugh it off and say 'c'mon, it's us women together. We need to stick together.

After pleading guilty to groping the 47-year-old woman in November last year, Beck was given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for five years that banned her from 'any unsupervised contact with a child under 18 without prior approval of your supervising officer except when the contact is inadvertent.'

She was also prohibited from forming any relationships with people without approval from his supervisor.  

Yesterday, Beck was sentenced to 144 days behind bars and issued with non-harassment orders not to approach victims for three years. 

She was also made subject to a sexual offences prevention order of three years and put on the sex offenders' register for seven years.

Sheriff McGlennan said: 'I've considered carefully the submissions and the fact you are subject to a community payback order.

'Nevertheless these offences are serious and your record of offences includes a sexual offence in 2008.

'To deter you from further offending only imprisonment is appropriate.' 

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Miles Chapman's prison sentence was suspended because he was 'for the first time engaging with the courses being offered'

A paedophile who was found with child abuse images has been spared jail after he demonstrated 'real motivation' to deal with his issues, a court has heard.

Miles Chapman, 29, of Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday (April 12) where prosecutor Brett Williamson told how a police officer with the sex offender management team paid a compliance visit to Chapman on December 17, 2021, and found his phone contained pictures of “concern”.

The sick collection had four Category A abuse images - the worst type, 13 at Category B, and 25 Category C, in addition to 31 prohibited computer-generated images (CGI), the Liverpool Echo reports.

They featured young girls in age ranges such as eight to 10 years or aged about 10 to 12 being abused. Chapman’s stash also breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed for similar offences at crown court in Manchester several years ago when he was banned from having pictures of children under the age of 16 - whether indecent or otherwise

He gave “no comment” answers when interviewed by officers from Cheshire Police on August 25.

Chapman later pleaded guilty at the first opportunity at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Warrington on March 14 last month to posessing indecent images, three counts of making indecent images, one of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and one of possessing prohibited CGI.

Mr Williamson said Chapman’s criminal record showed a “long history of sexual interest in children” dating back to 2011, and convictions including making or possessing indecent images, failing to comply with community orders and the “notification requirements”, breaching a SHPO and detaining a child without lawful authority, for which he received a two-year community order.

In February 2022 he was sentenced to 16 months in prison with a further SHPO to last 10 years over indecent images.

Ben Stanley, defending, argued mitigation for Chapman’s guilty pleas and an offender management team report that said Chapman has been complying with his requirements since last leaving prison.

Mr Stanley said Chapman “spends a lot of time alone” and has “quite serious mental health issues”.

He said Chapman previously had “strategies for alleviating the negative feelings which are unhealthy”, but that now those “coping strategies have improved - he’s quick to distract himself with more positive activity” such as seeking support from friends.

He said the indecent image offences for which Chapman fell to be sentenced on Wednesday pre-dated his client’s most recent time in prison, which he said was Chapman’s “first significant taste of custody”, “gave him a real chance to reflect on his offences” and “instilled real motivation” to deal with his behaviour.

In addition, he said Chapman was diagnosed with autism at 18, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at 21, and suffers anxiety, having never held a job because he doesn't like going outside.

The defence barrister said Chapman had been referred for ADHD treatment and has been in touch with a group working with people with a “criminal background” and mental health issues, and would also be eligible for the Horizon sex offender programme.

Judge Simon Berkson sentenced Chapman to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation, and said he’d avoided immediate custody because Chapman was “for the first time engaging with the courses being offered”.

Chapman must also complete the Horizon programme, complete a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement and sign on the sex offender register for 10 years.

Collection, surcharge and deprivation orders - the latter for the phone - were made.

Judge Berkson said: “All your offending I’m to deal with occurred before you got your 16-month sentence and that sentence, having been imposed, is now having some positive effect upon you.”

The case, although a crown court case, took place at Chester Magistrates' Court.

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A 23-year-old man has admitted making and distributing indecent images of children.