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Description

A man from South Wales who travelled to Swindon to meet with a child has been jailed for multiple sexual offences.

Matthew Pritchard, from Bettws in Newport, was arrested in January 2024 after travelling to Swindon to meet what he believed was a girl aged under 13.

Instead, Pritchard was met by police officers who had been working with the undercover Online Investigations Team at the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).

Appearing before Swindon Crown Court on May 13, 34-year-old Pritchard pleaded guilty to five sexual offences and one charge of animal cruelty.

These include arranging a child sex offence, two counts of causing a child under 16 to look at an image of sexual activity, attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The sex offender was sentenced to four years in prison and concurrent sentences.

“Pritchard set out in January with the intention of meeting a young girl to sexually abuse. He clearly poses a high risk to children," said Detective Inspector David Wells, who led the team.

“Law enforcement agencies are constantly across the internet working to identify anyone looking to abuse or exploit children. Pritchard’s arrest was part of this ongoing work.”

Pritchard’s dog that he abused has now been happily rehomed.

Description

A predatory paedophile who silenced his victim for 25 years by using threats of suicide as a warped form of 'moral blackmail' is finally behind bars.

Mechanical engineer Howard Grieve attacked the girl around 1999 in Poynton, Cheshire when she was a minor and he 44, but then vowed to kill himself if she went to police saying: 'I won't be here anymore.'

The woman eventually plucked up the courage to go to the authorities more than two decades on, but Grieve falsely accused her of faking the attack. 

She was then left destitute and frozen out by relatives, and had to 'rebuild' her life both emotionally and financially, the court heard.

Despite suffering severe financial hardship, PTSD and other mental health issues including anxiety and depression, the victim gave a statement to police and bravely endured cross-examination in court to help convict her tormentor of one charge of indecent assault.

It emerged Grieve assaulted the victim in her home following a night out at the pub. 

At Chester Crown Court, Grieve, now 69, and of Enfield, Herts, was jailed for four years after Judge Steven Everett branded him a 'selfish man'

The judge said: 'He was forever blackmailing her, threatening to commit self-harm, and suicide, whilst at the same time really controlling her. There was a lot of moral blackmailing going on and his behaviour destroyed her life, destroyed her teenage years and adult years and she suffered with complex PTSD and other mental health issues, anxiety and depression.

'She was seeking support, seeking therapy, there was self-harm, she regularly suffered from panic attacks, insomnia, stress, feelings of isolation, difficulties with relationships. She talks about how he pretended to be the victim. When she gathered the courage to make the complaint, he made false allegations against her.

'Financially that caused problems and she had to rebuild her life financially. The effects on her have been significant, there has been significant psychological harm. One can only hope that she will get some sort of closure. This is something she may well live with for the rest of her life.

'I do not wish to understate the huge effects it had on her. She is worried that he will track her down.'

The judge told Grieve: 'Your selfish desires have had a huge effect and you have ruined her life. It is clear to me that you have absolutely no understanding or empathy - it is all about you.

'You destroyed her teenage years and her adult life, giving her all sorts of mental health issues that she would have not have suffered otherwise.

'Her personal statements made truly awful reading. They are the longest and most detailed I've ever seen. They talk about the complex PTSD that she is suffering and other mental health issues including anxiety, depression, support, therapy, issues of self-harm, fatigue, and insomnia.

'She suffered stress, isolation and relationship difficulties.

'Right at the end when she had the courage to tell police you told a pack of lies about her. You wanted her to be prosecuted as some sort of smoke screen to prevent you from being prosecuted. But you were prosecuted and she had the courage to stand up to cross-examination. That would have made this so much worse for her.

'I saw you sitting in the dock rather smugly, thinking that you had pulled the wool over the jury's eyes. Well, they saw through you and rightly so. Even now she is worried that you will track her down.

'The very fact that she was not able to tell anyone for 25 years shows the psychological harm that she suffered. Because she has suffered so much psychological harm I am satisfied that she has suffered severe psychological harm.'

Earlier, Prosecutor Simon Parry said: 'The complainant's mother was at home clearly unaware of what was going on. In the aftermath the defendant told her that if she said anything "I won't be here anymore."'

Grieve's barrister, Justin Hugheston-Roberts, said his client continued to maintain his innocence and added: 'He will not cope with custody well. He is a man who has to face up to what happened at a point decades ago.'

Grieve was also made subject of a lifetime restraining order and will sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He will be barred from ever working with children under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A CHRISTCHURCH man who raped and sexually assaulted a child has been jailed for five years.

Darren Marsh (22) of The Strete, committed the offences against the youngster, aged under 13, in New Milton last April.

He was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to rape and two counts of sexual assault.

On his release he will serve a 12-month extended period on licence and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and banned from contacting the victim.

Speaking after the case, detective constable Dawn Capper, of the child abuse investigation team, said: I am so pleased for the young victim that justice has now been served for them and their family, and that Marsh has now been placed behind bars, where he belongs.

While I know this result wont rid them of the memories of what Marsh did, I truly hope it allows them to move forward with their life, safe in the knowledge that he can no longer harm any other children.

She added: I also hope this sentence will reassure other victims that they will be listened to when reporting similar incidents.

We encourage other victims to come forward and speak to us. We take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and work hard to bring offenders to justice.

This should also be a very clear message to other offenders out there that we will always work tirelessly to ensure you are brought to justice.

I would also like to thank everyone else who assisted in getting this conviction.

Description

A "lonely" pensioner who exposed himself to two teenagers after following them home in a New Forest park claims he was “tricked”.

Brian Curtis indecently exposed himself to the two boys having followed them from a park in Blackfield.

Southampton Crown Court heard how in May last year, the boys, aged 11 and 13, had been in the park with their friends playing and hanging around.

As the group of friends began to leave, they spotted the then-86-year-old walking nearby, and approached him and asked him to take a selfie.

As the group were leaving, Curtis asked the boys if he should follow them – with one replying no but another jokingly saying yes, prosecutor Keely Harvey told the court.

He followed them and once they realised this, the court heard the boys started to “panic a little”.

They then stopped an unknown lady in the street who told them to take a different route.

After some time of not seeing him, they then returned to see if the man was still there. Curtis then told them to “put the cameras away”.

After this, the court heard the man “unzipped his trousers and showed his penis”, then telling the boys “you have to do the same”.

Ms Harvey said: “They were both very young, 11 and 13, and they walked away again and Mr Curtis followed still.

“When they asked him why he was following them he said it was on his way back home.”

The boys then approached another lady walking by and warned her of what had happened.

Curtis allegedly claimed to her that "the boys offered to show their penis if he showed his first", Ms Harvey said.

The police were called after this, and the court was told how Curtis claimed he had “been tricked”.

Mitigating, Audrey Archer, told the court the now 87-year-old “wishes to stress to the court that the boys had approached him and wanted photos with him".

She continued: "He made no attempt to approach them first.

“He crossed boundaries that day and behaved in a way that was entirely inappropriate.”

Ms Archer said that in her discussions with Curtis, who lives on his own at Hampton Lane in Blackfield, has always been “quite frank and candid” and what happened to him had an effect on him.

However Judge Brian Forster KC said: “Whatever occurred in the conversation there can be no justification for what you did. Children are children. Adults have to own the responsibility.”

He added: “Your behaviour was shocking. Your behaviour must not be repeated.”

Curtis was handed a 15-month imprisonment sentence suspended for two years and will be required to register on the sex offenders’ list for 10 years as well as carry out 45 days of rehabilitation.

He was also given a two-year exclusion banning him from returning to return to the park.

Description

A sex offender who served a lengthy prison sentence for repeatedly raping a young girl is now back behind bars for similar historic offences on a boy.

John Patrick Harrop, then 25, and from Darlington, received an indefinite prison sentence for public protection at Teesside Crown Court, in 2012, after admitting six specimen counts of rape and two of sexual assault on a girl under 13.

The judge passing sentence branded him as posing “a very high risk of sexual and emotional harm” to young vulnerable males and females.

That sentence was subsequently varied on appeal to one of ten years, with eight years’ extended licence period.

Durham Crown Court was told he was released from that sentence at the mid-point in the custodial element, and subsequently performed well under probation licence supervision with his risk factor to children lowered to “medium”, as he was said to have since been “re-integrated” into the community.

But, following a further complaint, made in 2021, about Harrop’s past sexual conduct, this time from someone who was a young boy at the time of the abuse, the defendant faced further charges, this time which he denied.

After a three-day trial at the court early last month, the now 37-year-old defendant, of Woodbine Road, Pity Me, Durham, was convicted on unanimous guilty verdicts of three counts of rape and two of sexual assault.

An impact statement was read to yesterday's (Monday May 13) sentencing hearing by his latest victim.

He told the court he felt that the defendant “took my childhood away”, adding: “As I grew older I realised what happened to me was so wrong, without speaking up about it.”

Robin Patton, prosecuting, said there has been no further offending by the defendant, who has undertaken courses under the direction of the Probation Service.

Jonathan Walker, for Harrop, said the offences for which the defendant was previously convicted have “many of the hallmarks” of the offences before the court now.

“They are ugly, horrible offences, but, arguably, not as grave as the offences for which he was convicted in 2012.”

Mr Walker described them as, “relics of the past”, since when the defendant has spent a lengthy period of incarceration.

“He was as close to having been a model ex-prisoner as can be imagined and his behaviour since his release has seen a complete lack of any offences.

“He impressed all of those with a professional obligation to look after him.

“These offences presented themselves in 2021 and he’s now to be separately sentenced for something which was part of the same pattern of sex offending.

“He’s served a lengthy period of imprisonment and this type of warped behaviour won’t be repeated.”

Recorder Tony Hawks said he accepted there was something of “an overlap” in the offences for which the defendant has spent a long time locked up and those for which he is before the court now.

But he said the complainant in this case made no disclosure at the time and the offending only came to light in relatively recent years.

Recorder Hawks said he noted from the probation documents before the court that the defendant continues to deny these offences and so he will receive no discount on his sentence, despite having committed no further offences in recent years.

He noted, however, that the defendant is no longer considered “a dangerous offender”, although he would be sentencing him as, “an offender of particular concern”.

As such, Harrop must serve two-thirds of the eight-year sentence imposed by Recorder Hawks before being eligible for release on parole.

He told the defendant: “If you admitted these offences when you admitted the others you would not be in the position you are in now.”

Harrop will also be subject to lifetime notification requirements as a sex offender.

Description

A 64-year-old who committed a sexual assault at a Glenrothes soft play centre has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

John McDowell, of Tofthill, Glenrothes, carried out the attack at Jumpin Jacks in the towns Fullerton Road on June 30 last year.

Description

A Metropolitan Police officer granted anonymity at a misconduct hearing despite being a convicted sex offender has finally been named and shamed.

PC Alex Law, 43, was pictured for the first time after his brave victim - who was under the age of 10 - came forward to speak of her two decades of fear and shame.

Law, then 15, twice indecently assaulted the girl who had been out playing in woods near his hometown of Hexham, Northumberland - 20 miles west of Newcastle - in 1996.

Law then secured a job with the Met any years later and hid his dark secret.

But in December 2022, the victim finally decided she had suffered in silence for too long and reported him to Northumbria Police.

Controversially, Law was allowed to remain anonymous at a Scotland Yard misconduct hearing on April 25 – three days after being sentenced to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment at Newcastle Crown Court.

Known only as Officer A, the force said he had pleaded guilty to two charges of indecently assaulting a female under the age of 14. Law was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

In an interview, the victim told The Journal newspaper in Newcastle: “He’s ruined my life. I could have been somebody so different.”

While Law got on with his life as a respected custody officer in London, hers spiralled downwards and she struggled to cope.

She said: “Growing up I felt like I was a weirdo, I felt dirty.

“He made me hate myself. I have made some not great life choices and been in some violent relationships because of him.”

The woman claimed Law sent her a picture of himself in his Met uniform, which encouraged her to come forward and speak up about “monster Alex” to protect other women.

Law, of Cedar Drive in Dartford, Kent and attached to Met Detention, was dismissed without notice by Assistant Commissioner Pippa Mills.

Law apologised and recognised it would be unlikely he would ever have been a police officer if the circumstances were known at the time.

Northumbria Police Detective Constable Phil Trotter, who led the investigation, said on Tuesday: “This conviction was only possible because of the bravery shown by the victim.

“She found the courage to speak out and trusted that our officers would listen and fully investigate what happened.

“I hope her brave actions act as an inspiration to other victims, who may feel it is too late to report historic abuse.

“It is never too late to come forward, and as a Force, we are committed to supporting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice.”

Met Detective Chief Superintendent Andy Cox added: “I am grateful to Northumbria Police for their investigation.

“He is now serving a prison sentence and has rightly been swiftly dismissed from the Met.

“We remain committed to ensuring those who are not fit to police are removed from the organisation.”

Description

Yesterday, Monday 13 May 2024, Stephen Newmarch (12/08/1966) of Broomfield Close in Bolton was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment after being found guilty of 15 sexual offences against two victims following re-trial at Manchester Crown Court in March 2024. The victims, now in their 30’s, gave evidence at his trial.

He will be on the Sex Offender's Register for life as well as being subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

This case arose after victims came forward to police in 2020, stating that Newmarch had been responsible for sexually abusing them in early 2000's, whilst he was an Educational Welfare Officer and a foster carer in Bury.

The court heard how one of the men made a statement to the police regarding a holiday he had been on with Newmarch and others when he was 14 years old. Newmarch had inappropriately touched him and when reported to other adults on the trip, he passed it off as “play fighting”.

Both of the victims reported being foster children in the care of Newmarch when sexual abuse occurred.

Description

A MAN has been jailed for 28 years for being found guilty of 57 counts of historic child sexual abuse - including in Herefordshire.

Gary Bennett, 61, of Shenstone Close, Bromsgrove will serve a minimum of 18 years after being sentenced at Worcester Crown Court.

His abuse took place over a nine-year period from 1995 and 2004 across many different areas including Leominster, Bridgnorth, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, Habberley and London.

There were seven victims in total six male and one female all of whom were children or teenagers when the abuse took place. The offences he committed included rape, attempted rape, buggery and indecency with a child.

The abuse was first reported to police in May 2018 and an investigation was launched immediately.

Inspector Julie Taylor, who led the investigation, said: This has been a long and complex case and Im pleased that Bennetts victims have finally been able to see him face justice.

The abuse he put them through is absolutely sickening and is something which will affect them for the rest of their lives.

I dont underestimate the immense courage it took for the victims to come forward, and Id like to commend them on their conduct throughout. Despite many delays in court proceedings, they have remained patient, dignified and determined.

Id encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault, whether as an adult or child, and whether recent or not, to get in touch with us. You will be taken seriously and you will be listened to.

Description

A paedophile who gave a boy Pot Noodles laced with drugs before sexually abusing him as part of a sickening campaign of assault and rape has been jailed for almost three decades.

Raymond Hawthorne subjected the boy and another male youngster to horrifying abuse over the course of a decade in the 1980s and 1990s, lavishing one of the children with trainers and a bike as he exploited him for his twisted desires.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the now 60-year-old 'preyed upon, groomed and sexual assaulted' his victims in the Birkenhead area; one recalled being aged as young as five when the abuse started before descending into rape.

His other victim described being given Pot Noodles during visits to Hawthorne's house, then 'remembering nothing' before waking up naked and realising he had been assaulted.

Robert Dudley, prosecuting, described how the pervert would put his hands down one victim's trousers and perform sex acts upon him. The behaviour continued for years and ultimately 'escalated' to him raping the boy on two occasions.

In a statement which was read out to the court on his behalf, the first victim said: 'It is only in the last four to five years that I have found a little peace and tried to put the past behind me.'

Hawthorne was said to have taken the second child on trips away to Blackpool and theme parks and 'bought him extravagant gifts' such as clothing, training shoes and even a bicycle, as well as plying him with alcohol and drugs. 

The now three-time convicted sex offender then 'smacked his bottom' and forced his hands into the child's underwear, sexually assaulting him.

Hawthorne, who was later said to have attempted to 'bribe' him with cash, denied his crimes when finally confronted decades later and claimed the allegations had been 'fabricated for compensation'.

The second complainant said that Hawthorne's actions had resulted in an 'indescribable impact' upon him. 

He added in his statement: 'I'm still finding it all difficult to process, the fact that justice has finally been done. I desperately want to start living. I want my life back, I want me back.

'He cannot harm any more children. This gives me hope for the future. I realise the past cannot be change. But my future can.'

Hawthorne, formerly of Crescent Road in Bolton, has a total of 23 previous convictions for 77 offences ranging from assault to prostitution offences involving boys as young as 12 as well as indecent assault.

The defendant represented himself in court on Monday, having last week sacked the counsel that represented him at trial. 

From the witness box, he stated that there had been 'no evidence whatsoever of any drug' being found in the Pot Noodles and reported that the complainant merely said the snack had 'tasted funny'.

Hawthorne also told the court that it's 'rubbish' that he had committed any sexual offences. 

He said: 'Being convicted of historical offences requires no evidence, just someone saying "he did that to me" and they are going to be believed. 

'I say I've not committed any sexual crime apart from selling sex. I just ask your honour to give me hope of a crime free lifestyle.'

Hawthorne was found guilty of two counts of rape, 10 charges of indecent assault and two offences of gross indecency with a child by a jury. 

He was jailed for 27 years, a term of which he must serve at least two thirds before becoming eligible for release, and handed an additional eight years on licence.

Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, Hawthorne showed no reaction as he was locked up and instead sat making notes with a pen and paper. He was also told to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Sentencing, Judge Gary Woodhall said: 'Your abuse of these two young children was the beginning of a lifelong obsession involving the abuse and exploitation of young boys. 

'I am perfectly satisfied that you are sexually interested in young boys and will use them sexually.

'You have continued to maintain your innocence. You maintain a complete lack of sexual motivation for any of your offending.

'All of this shows that you continue to have a complete lack of any insight into your own offending and deviant motivations. There is a complete lack of remorse... you continue to minimise your behaviour.

'You present as utterly unable to understand the harm you have caused to children by your actions. You have sought to blame everyone other than yourself.'

Following sentencing, Detective Constable Lauren Blackmore from Merseyside Police's rape and serious sexual offences team said: 'This result was only possible thanks to the sheer determination and bravery of his victims.

'Despite Hawthorne denying the offences, a jury saw through his lies and he will now spend a considerable amount of time in prison.'

Description

A sexual predator who abused vulnerable females has been jailed for 29 years after being categorised as a "dangerous offender."

Roy Foster, 63, raped two young girls and tried to rape another. He abducted his fourth victim by tempting her away with the offer of choosing a toy.

Teesside Crown Court has heard that Foster abducted the girl with the intention of committing a sexual offence. On Monday, Foster appeared in court, via video link from Durham prison, wearing a white shirt and a grey pullover.

Ian West, prosecuting, told the court that Foster had four victims - and each girl was vulnerable. He indecently assaulted his first victim and later raped her.

The attacks happened over 30 years ago and in a statement, the victim said: "For years and years, I've kept what happened a secret from my family and friends. It has eaten me alive from the inside out. He's been able to go about his life as he wanted to."

The woman reported Foster to the police in March 2023. The court heard that years later, Foster tried to rape his second young victim, after "plying her with alcohol" when he was drunk himself. "It would seem she was specifically targeted," Mr West said, "because he could rely on her not to resist."

Foster raped his third victim twice. The Middlesbrough court heard that Foster supplied her with drink and drugs. In court, she stood up to speak of her "anger, frustration and sadness" over what Foster did to her.

He targeted his fourth victim by offering her the chance of choosing a toy, if she came with him. The child went with Foster but a member of the public intervened.

Children's toys in bedroom

Mr West said that when police searched Foster's home, they found children's' toys in one of the bedrooms. "He had no children or grandchildren of that age," Mr West said. Foster, of Low Grange Avenue in Billingham, was convicted of all eight offences by a jury, after a trial in January.

He was found guilty of sexual activity with a child; three counts of child rape; sexual assault; abducting a child with the intent to commit a sexual offence; and two counts of attempted rape. Foster appeared to close his eyes for periods of time as the court heard mitigation from Paul Cleasby.

Mr Cleasby said that "there was no evidence that one of Foster's victims was affected by the alcohol he gave her. Alcohol wasn't used to facilitate this offence - it can't be said to have diminished her capabilities. Nothing I say is intended to diminish the seriousness of the offences against her."

Foster's barrister told the court that his client "collected bric-a-brac of all descriptions" rather than just toys for young children. He said that a psychiatric report had found that Foster is of "extremely low intelligence and has a learning disability".

"It's hard to understand if he knew the impact of his offending on others," Mr Cleasby added.

'Sense of sexual entitlement'

Judge Jonathan Carroll told Foster that, "in their different ways, all of your victims had some degree of vulnerability and in one way or another, all of them suffered at your hands. Despite your intellectual limitations, you had sufficient intellect to modify your grooming.

"You still don't recognise your criminal offending. You still continue to display, even at your stage in life, a sense of sexual entitlement."

The judge told Foster that he qualified for an extended sentence because he is a "dangerous offender." Foster was handed a 32-year sentence, made up of a 29-year prison term and a three-year period on extended licence, in the community. He will serve two-thirds of the 29-years before he is eligible for release. He must sign the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.

After the sentencing, Detective Constable James Limon said: “This case was a collaborative effort by Stockton CID, the Complex Exploitation Team and the Domestic Abuse Unit. Roy Foster is a dangerous sexual predator who targeted and abused vulnerable females, both adult and children, over the last 40 years.

“His youngest victim managed to escape harm thanks to the quick-thinking actions of a member of the public. Had that not occurred, Roy Foster would have likely committed further offences against that child.

Description

A 70-year-old man who carried out an "appalling catalogue" of sexual abuse against boys over three decades has been jailed.

Keith Lockwood, of Park Lane in Keighley, was described as a serial child abuser by detectives.

His offending took place in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s across the Kirklees district.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Lockwood had committed sexual offences, including gross indecency with a child and indecent assault, against seven boys aged under 16.

He was jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of 23 non recent sexual offences committed over a 30-year period.

The pensioner is currently on the Sex Offenders register and will remain so for life.

DC Gilly Hodds, who investigated the case, said: "Lockwood was found guilty by a unanimous guilty verdict of an appalling catalogue of offending against victims who were young and vulnerable.

"He forced those victims to relive the dreadful offences he committed against them by putting them through the ordeal of a trial, and I am pleased for them that the jurors saw through his attempts to evade answering for what he has done."

She added: "Victims in this case demonstrated exceptional bravery in coming forward and supporting both the police and CPS in taking action against a man who has been a serial abuser of children whilst in a position of trust."

Description

A sexual predator who attacked two women on Metrolink trams has been branded as posing a 'risk to females'. Tahir Ali, 37, groped a student after sitting next to her, and weeks later pressed his body against the bottom of a 16-year-old girl for his own sexual pleasure, in front of her mother.

University student Ali has been banned from using trams indefinitely after targeting his victims who were complete strangers, and had boarded trams at Exchange Square on the Rochdale and Oldham line. Manchester Crown Court heard that he has an 'appalling' criminal history, and has six previous offences of sexual assault on his record.

His lawyer said Ali's deviant behaviour is a 'compulsion' which he has been 'unable to resist'. Remorseless Ali, from Oldham, forced his victims to give evidence in court after he refused to admit his crimes. He was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty.

Prosecuting, Nick Ross told how Ali’s first victim noticed that he was staring at her while she waited to board a tram at Exchange Square on November 14 last year. When she got on the tram, Ali sat behind her but then moved to sit directly next to her.

Ali then began to move his hands up and down her leg ‘in a sexual manner’, Mr Ross said. He got up when the woman asked him to stop.

Weeks later, Ali boarded another Rochdale bound tram at Exchange Square, on December 22 last year. His 16-year-old victim was with her mother on the busy tram when she noticed a man pressing against her bottom.

When she turned around she saw that Ali’s penis was erect. Ali left the tram at Failsworth, where the girl’s mother shouted at him. He proceeded to board another tram heading back into the city centre.

“It is horrifying that you sexually assaulted a 16-year-old victim as her own mother was present in the tram carriage,” Judge Tom Gilbart told Ali. “You were travelling on the Metrolink system for the purposes of sexual gratification.”

Ali’s first victim said his behaviour was ‘disgusting’. In a statement read to the court, she said: “I don’t feel comfortable sitting on my own on the tram. I was scared at the time that he would follow me home.”

The 16-year-old said: “I felt like I couldn’t do anything to stop the male touching me. I felt like the male had power over me. I don’t want to see this male on the tram again. He is a risk to females. I want him to know that he can’t get away with what he has done to me.”

Mr Ross said of Ali, who was caught out on Metrolink CCTV cameras: “The Crown suggests he is a persistent sexual predator.” His previous sexual assaults include attacks on a woman in a shop and in a library.

When he was interviewed by a probation officer prior to sentencing, Ali continued to ‘completely deny’ his wrongdoing and claimed he’d been ‘set up’.

Defending, David Morton said Ali was enrolled in the first year of a business and finance university course prior to his incarceration. He said of Ali’s behaviour: “These are compulsions that he has been hitherto unable to resist.”
A sexual harm prevention order was imposed indefinitely, to prevent Ali from using the Metrolink system. Ali, of Kelverlow Street, Oldham, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault.

Description

A REGISTERED sex offender was snared by artificial intelligence as he flouted a strict court order by viewing perverted internet images of children.

Thomas Young, 34, had appeared at Carlisle Crown Court a decade ago when he was sentenced for inciting a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

As part of the punishment, Young was made subject to the strict terms of a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO). This imposed tough curbs on his online use for an indefinite period.

Young was twice brought back to court for breaching the SOPO, once in 2023 and then again in early February when he received a suspended prison sentence.

But within days of being spared jail, Young flouted the order once more.

“Police were first alerted on March 15 of this year by e-safe global software installed on the defendant’s phone,” prosecutor Brendan Burke told the city’s crown court.

“That software captures and screenshots any activity which the artificial intelligence detects to be of a suspicious or concerning nature.”

On that date, two indecent category C images were logged. Three days later, a further four were detected along with one image classed in category A — the most serious — involving a girl aged 12 to 14 years.

All images had been accessed via the Telegram platform. And Mr Burke said analysis showed that from February 11 — just days after his last crown court appearance — and March 18, Young had installed and then uninstalled the Telegram application a dozen times.

This was a flagrant breach of the SOPO, which was designed to make all such data available for scrutiny, and display internet history.

In addition, Young was found to have flouted sex offender notification requirements by failing to disclose two online usernames which had been active around the turn of this year.

When brought to court Young admitted making indecent photographs of a child, breaching the SOPO and twice flouting the notification requirements.

The category A image, said Mr Burke, had been captured by Young from a video of two hours, 31 minutes’ duration.

Defence lawyer Jeff Smith, mitigating, said of Young: “He can provide no real explanation as to why he finds himself in the position that he does.”

Young had been “lonely” and taken cocaine which, he suggested, may have altered his judgement and failed to impress upon him the consequences of his actions.

Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Young, latterly of Warwick Square, Carlisle, for 18 months. New strict court orders placing restrictions on him, and an obligation to regularly provide police with personal information, were imposed for 10 years.

“You knew that by doing those actions you were likely putting yourself, not just at risk, but of receiving an immediate custodial sentence,” Judge Barker told Young.

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A mum says she and her son were left prisoners in their own home after a 'monster' stole her son's childhood and threatened them in their own home. Dale Barker, 33, has been jailed for six years and nine months after he admitted sexually assaulting a child and possession of a knife.

But as Barker, of Cotton Tree Lane, Colne, begins his prison sentence, the mum and son are left trying to rebuild their lives which they say have been completely destroyed by their abuser. Barker befriended the mum when they met in a shop where he was working, but after a few weeks the woman noticed 'strange behaviour'.

"He kept buying gifts and things for my son and being overly pally", she said.

"It was grooming, but when I said I didn't want this anymore it went really, really wrong. I asked him to leave but he wouldn't go.

"He assaulted me in front of my son, but that charge was later dropped. It went into a whole spiral of awful things - knife threats, arson threats, everything."

As a result of the threats, the family home was safeguarded by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the family was given a priority to move home. As Barker remained on bail, the mother said she became hypervigilant, locking doors and gates and using a tracker on her son's phone.

Both mum and son suffered serious mental health problems and the son became suicidal and stopped attending school.

"I am constantly ill through stress and hypervigilance and my symptoms have manifested physically over the last 16 months", the mother said. She no longer feels comfortable around strangers and has lost her business due to the difficulties she has faced.

"Barker has destroyed our family. He has taken away my son's childhood which he will never get back and has to carry this for the rest of his life.

"He has attempted to take his own life and continues not to cope on a daily basis. My mental health is at crisis point.

"This has been the most difficult time of my life not only for the crimes he committed against me but for the hatred I hold against him for sexually assaulting my son. Barker has been able to freely live his life and I am incensed by this, that we have been treated like the criminal and have not had adequate protection from the courts. My son and I have been on the brink of mental collapse."

Judge Sara Dodd, sentencing, said Barker was a dangerous offender who posed a significant risk of serious harm to the public. In addition to the jail term, she imposed an extended licence period of three years and three months to protect the public.

The mother said: "The day he was sentenced was the hardest day of my life. I went through so many different emotions - relief, shock, fear. I honestly think he is a psychopath.

"I'd known him a few weeks and he was trying to get his feet under the table. My son has had to be so brave and grown up but I think the bravery and resilience he has shown has saved so many potential victims.

"Now Barker is behind bars he is able to go out with his friends without looking over his shoulder all the time. There is still a long way to go, and he will have to carry this forever, but it is a start to try to move forwards."

In addition to the prison sentence, Barker has been handed a 12-year sexual harm prevention order and made the subject of notification requirements - also known as the sex offenders register - indefinitely. Judge Dodd also made an indefinite restraining order to protect the family.