Latest Offenders

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Kriss Strachan, now 25, was jailed for a further two years for his "aggressive and abusive" conduct and slapped with a 20 year legal ban on contacting or approaching his victim.

A jailed violent sex offender stalked a woman he'd known briefly in his distant past, "obsessing", researching her, writing her love notes from behind bars, and trying to control her life, all while serving a 12-year sentence for raping a 91-year-old.

Kriss Strachan, now 25, was jailed for a further two years for his "aggressive and abusive" conduct and slapped with a 20 year legal ban on contacting or approaching his victim. Strachan met his victim when they were both 16 - at a concert in 2013.

Falkirk Sheriff Court was told on Wednesday, December 14, that they kept in touch for few months, and met just once at her home, whereupon she told him she "did not want to pursue a relationship". The following year Strachan, then 17, committed what a judge called his "cruel and degrading" attack on the 91-year-old, forcing his way into her house in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, pushing her over, threatening to kill her, punching her repeatedly round the head, compressing her neck, removing her clothing, raping her, and infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease.

Then in 2017, two years into his sentence and despite her not having heard from him for three years, the stalking victim suddenly received a letter from Strachan, then in Polmont Young Offenders' Institution, Stirlingshire, later declaring his "love". She replied she was "not interested", the court was told.

Then in November 2018, she found a 15-second voice message from Strachan on her phone. It said: "What's this [I] am hearing about you're engaged to a fucking 40-year-old black guy?

"What's that a' about? You could have f***ing let us know before I was writing letters to you, ya steamer."

In a further message in 2019, he revealed he knew what kind of van her fiance drove and where he lived, and sent her three letters in 2020 - finally saying he was going to be released on a tag and would be "coming to see her" once he was out of jail.

The court heard the victim, now 25, was driven to take an overdose, but confided in her mother and her new partner. Her mother contacted Glenochil Prison, Clackmannanshire, where Strachan had been moved since becoming an adult prisoner, and the prison said they would block his phone.

However the calls and texts continued. Police were called in, and he was arrested and charged.

Appearing by video link from Barlinnie Prison, Strachan, of Bellshill, admitted stalking the woman, now also 25, for more than two years, from November 2018 to February last year (2021) while inside the two Scottish jails -- Polmont and Glenochil. Stephen Biggam, defending, said Strachan was "remorseful".

He said: "Knowing he was within touching distance of being released, he has managed to extend his incarceration by his own stupidity."

Imposing the extra jail tine and the 20-year non harassment order, Sheriff Craig Harries told Strachan that he had been "well aware" the victim did not want to hear from him. He said: "You began to contact the complainer once you were in custody. She made it clear to you by letter and telephone that she did not want contact from you.

"You were well aware from what she said, and her lack of response, that she did not want contact, but over the course of 27 months, you continued. In one of your later letters you even acknowledged she was ignoring your correspondence.

"The contacted contained abusive harassment of her. You aggressively challenged her about her being engaged.

"You provided knowledge about her personal life that you could only have discovered while within the prison. That is a particularly concerning aspect of the case and it shows the obsession that you had.

"In what would always be perceived by her as a threat, you stated you'd be coming to see her on your release. You continued to contact her by phone and letter professing love for her.

"You were, as both the legislation and common sense shows, stalking her. You caused her significant harm, her mental health suffered, she required medical assistance, and she was physically sick with worry.

"You tried to exert control over her life. The offence is significant aggravated by your previous conviction for a brutal sexual offence, and by your committing it from with the confines of prison, where she was entitled to have felt safe from you."

He added that a background report deemed Strachan to pose "a significant risk, particularly to females". Scottish Ministers may also order he should now serve a seven year extension that judge Lord Boyd imposed when he jailed him in 2015.

The judge said the rape had a "truly appalling" impact on the old lady involved. Strachan told police at the time: "I cannot believe I done it. I am scum."

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A HEREFORD man has been sentenced to three years in prison following his conviction for multiple sex offences.

Douglas Baker, 70 of Marlbrook Road, Hereford, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday, December 14.

He pleaded guilty earlier this year to five offences which he committed between 2019 and 2022.

The five charges for which he was convicted were two counts of inciting an underage girl to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual communication with a child, voyeurism – recording of a private act, and making an indecent photograph of a child.

Baker is now listed on the sex offenders register for life.

DC Harriet Wheadon-Hill said: "This sentence shows that abusing young girls will not go unchallenged or unpunished.

"Following extensive police investigations, together with the courage of the victims to come forward, we can uncover the truth and bring offenders to justice.

"West Mercia Police remains committed to seeking justice for rape victims and survivors of sexual abuse, and we, the police, and wider support services are here for them."

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A 58-year-old man has been found guilty on 22 counts of indecent assault in connection with incidents which took place over a decade.

Rodney Paul Webster, previously of Northampton, tried to maintain his innocence when accused of the assaults against the three survivors, who were all children at the time of the offences.

Forcing the case to a trial at Northampton Crown Court, which took place in September, the jury heard how Webster raped and sexually assaulted the trio on multiple occasions between 1978 and 1988.

After deliberating for two days, the jury found him guilty on all 22 counts.

He was sentenced last Friday (December 9) to 14 years and eight months in prison.

Lead Investigator – Detective Constable Kelly Roberts, said: “Webster thought he had gotten away with his crimes, living in freedom for more than 30 years, but this case proves that it doesn’t matter how much time has passed – we will do everything in our power to ensure you end up in prison for what you have done.

“These three children are now adults and they have lived with this abuse for a very long time. I want to thank them for their strength and resilience during this prolonged investigation and for giving evidence in court. I know what Webster did to them will never leave them but they can be proud that they spoke out and that he is now in prison because of their courage.

“No matter when a person has been a victim of crime, justice can be found, and this case proves just that.”

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A convicted sex offender from Peterborough has been jailed after he failed to tell police about his new address. Ishmael Khan, 40, was convicted of an indecent assault on a girl under 16 in 2006.

He was placed on a registration notification for an indefinite period following the initial conviction. This meant that he had to keep the police informed of personal details, including his main address and any addresses he stayed at for more than 7 days in a year.

In January 2021, Khan had told police he was living at a guest house in Eastfield Road, Peterborough. However, an officer carried out a routine check on August 23 and was told by a staff member that Khan had moved out a few weeks previously without saying where he was going.

His failure to notify police of his new address within three days meant he had breached the requirement of his registration notification. He also failed to complete an annual notification at a police station, which was due by January 27, 2022.

He was arrested in London in April. Khan, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on December 14. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with his Sex Offenders' Register notification requirements.

PC Lorraine Smart, from the Management of Sex Offenders and Violent Offenders team, said: “Khan showed a blatant disregard for the court order and we will always look to make sure sex offenders are adhering to their notification requirements. The prison sentence reflects how seriously the courts take this type of offence.”

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Two sick paedophiles were caught messaging one another on WhatsApp about child sex abuse.

Ricky Cavanagh, 38, was subject to a sexual harm prevention order at the time his phone was looked at by police, who had received intelligence he had been on a number of social media sites.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the order had been put in place in September 2016 when Cavanagh, of no fixed abode, had been convicted of a series of sickening sexual offences including attempting to cause a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutor Zabreen Alam-Cheetham, said that at the time of the breach of the order on March 18 this year, Cavanagh was managed by the Calderdale Public Protection Unit. She said: "The conditions prohibited him from making any attempt to delete any data from any device that can access the internet or refusing to show such history to a police officer." The court was told a number of concerns were raised in relation to Cavanagh due to him being "elusive" and reports which had been received.

Ms Alam-Cheetham said: "The defendant was seen by a public protection officer walking through Halifax town centre. He was stopped and spoken to and due to previous concerns and the conditions of his sexual harm prevention order was asked to produce items and he got out his phone, opened the device and the PC watched as he scrolled to media he had downloaded and deleted the Snapchat app from the device."

Cavanagh was detained and arrested and his internet history was lost but his WhatsApp conversations showed he was in conversation with another sex offender discussing the sexual abuse of children. A forensic download of his phone also showed Snapchat had been installed on nine occasions and uninstalled on eight occasions between February and March this year.

His Honour Judge Ahmed Nadim told the court Cavanagh was a "high risk sex offender." Cavanagh represented himself and said he was "happy with everything and happy to proceed."

He was jailed for 28 months and told: "You're regarded by the public protection unit as a high risk offender. Your behaviour in the community has caused the authorities some considerable concern. You're capable of plumbing to the depths of depravity.

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A sex offender who assaulted a woman and took pictures of her as she slept has been jailed for four and a half years.

William Wilson Allan sexually assaulted his victim after drinking with her and her partner, York Crown Court heard.

Allan had recently been released from a prison sentence for an unrelated offence in which he had threatened to firebomb another man’s house with the man, his wife and family inside.

Allan, 27, of York, had denied sexual assault and voyeurism, but was convicted by a jury.

As well as jailing him, Recorder Simon Jackson KC made him subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting the woman in any way for 10 years.

Allan will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Last month, a jury heard how Allan, the victim of the sexual assault and her partner had gone to the woman’s house together after drinking together at a different house.

Allan and the woman’s partner left her alone at the house while they went to buy cocaine in the early hours of May 1, 2021.

Believing they had gone for the night, she went upstairs and fell asleep, leaving her phone by her bedside.

But shortly afterwards the men came back, with some cocaine which they used. She was unaware of their return.

The partner told the jury how Allan had started using the woman’s phone and walking up and down the stairs.

He had left the house, leaving Allan alone in the house with the woman.

While he was out, Allan had gone upstairs and used the woman’s phone to take pictures of her as she slept, the jury heard.

As he took the photographs, he sexually assaulted her.

He deleted the photographs, but the woman found them some hours later in the phone’s deleted section.

She told the jury she knew who had taken the photographs because they included a blackened fingernail – and she knew that Allan had had an injured fingernail at the time.

Following his arrest and in court, Allan tried to blame the partner, claiming the partner had taken the photographs.

But the partner didn’t have a damaged fingernail, and police took photos of his hand shortly after the crime showing he didn’t have a damaged fingernail, the jury heard.

A year ago, Allan was jailed for 18 months for criminal damage and threats to commit criminal damage to a man's house.

York Crown Court heard last December how he had been drinking and taking drugs before those offences.

He has other previous convictions, including for violence but none for sexual offences.

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A 25-year-old paedophile serving a three-year prison term for inciting a girl to send him naked photos, has been handed a second jail sentence for abuse of a boy.

Declan Bailey, faced a judge once again, after it emerged he had seriously sexually abused a primary school aged boy, before he targeted the 13-year-old girl.

Bailey subjected the little boy to a string of sexual assaults.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the former Teesside University student abused his victim, now an adult, over 10 years ago. The victim didn't report what happened to the police until he read about Bailey being jailed for his sexual communications with a young girl, in 2021.

Bailey had targeted his 13-year-old victim on Snapchat, telling her he would rape her if she didn't send him explicit photos of herself. He was also found to have illegal images and videos showing children being sexually abused, on his phone.

Bailey was jailed for three-years for this in April 2021.

Police then began investigating him over the sexual abuse of the young boy. He initially denied everything but pleaded guilty in October, on the day his trial was due to start.

Bailey, of HMP Durham but previously of Park Road South in Middlesbrough, admitted three counts of the sexual assault of a boy under 13; and three counts of inciting the same boy to engage in sexual activity.

His barrister Nigel Soppitt said he was "on the autistic spectrum and he's not got a single friend in the world, as a young man."

Judge Jonathan Carroll told Bailey: "You had reached a stage in life where sexual curiosity had emerged in your mind. You turned these thoughts into physical actions.

"You did so against a young boy, who was in no way wanting, or capable of consenting, to your conduct.

"The risk you represent - the behaviour you demonstrated in your previous crimes and together with these offences - leads me to conclude that you pose a significant risk of causing significant harm. You are a dangerous offender."

Bailey was jailed for three-years-and-five-months. He was made subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order when he was sentenced for paedophile crimes in 2021.

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A convicted sex offender with an ‘unhealthy appetite for looking at images of young girls’ was sent to prison ‘yet again’.

Andrew Boyce, 44, was found to have one busted laptop and another in working order but 'hidden' when detectives visited him at home in Oxford on November 17.

Neither had been registered with the police – a breach of a sexual harm prevention order first imposed when he was convicted in 2016 of having indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Stefan Weidmann told Oxford Crown Court this week that the internet history for the past ‘several months’ had been deleted from the working laptop.

Both computers had been sent away for analysis by digital forensics specialists. Police were yet to crack into either device.

When he was interviewed at the police station Boyce ‘exercised his right to silence’, the prosecutor said.

Boyce, of Abingdon Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court last month to two counts of breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard he had a previous conviction from 2020 for flouting the order. On that occasion he had accessed literature describing child abuse and had also searched the net for a 10-year-old character from the Game of Thrones television series. He was jailed for 16 months.

Mitigating on Tuesday morning, Gareth James said his client was ‘realistic’ about his fate and knew he should have told the police about the laptop.

“He’s a gentleman who seems to suffer from the ill effects of depression and mental health conditions,” the advocate said.

Sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment, Judge Michael Gledhill KC said: “I’m not going to lecture you about your dishonesty and your lying to the police.

“I’ve read the pre-sentence report with very great care. I understand the difficulties that you have faced over the years.

“None of them amount to any sort of excuse for breaching a court order designed to protect young girls from your attentions.

“You have an unhealthy appetite for looking at images of young girls.”

The judge added: “I can’t do anything else than send you to prison yet again.

“Regrettably that means the help you need is probably not going to be given in the amount it would be if you were at liberty.”

He warned Boyce that, on his release from prison, the police ‘will be keeping the closest possible eye on you’.

The judge extended the defendant’s sexual harm prevention order, replicating the terms of the earlier order and imposing it for 10 years from the date of his sentence.

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Police found the defendant had downloaded 1,000 images of children being sexually abused and had joined an online dating site using a false name.

A convicted sex offender borrowed his mother's mobile to search for images of underage children after police had seized his own phone following the discovery he had been in communication with 12-year-old girls. Kris Maisey was on a suspended sentence at the time having previously been caught with a haul of child sex abuse images and was also the subject of a sexual harm prevention order designed to control is online activities.

Swansea Crown Court heard that in August last year 32-year-old Maisey was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for 24 months after pleading guilty to making – that is possessing – more than 1,700 indecent images of children. He was also put on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for the same length of time.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, said in August this year police officers carrying out a routine check on Maisey in the community examined the defendant's phone and found evidence he had been communicating with two 12-year-old girls. Though the nature of the contact was not sexual the discovery raised concerns and the Samsung phone was seized for further checks.

The court heard a detailed search of the phone found around 1,000 indecent images – including Category A images which show the most serious kinds of rape and sexual abuse – and also that Maisey had joined the Tinder-style dating website Wink using a false name. As part of his SHPO the defendant is prohibited from creating social media and other online accounts using anything other than his real name.

The prosecutor said when police returned a week after the original visit to arrest Maisey for possession of the indecent images they found him using a phone he had not told them about, a mobile which it turned out he had borrowed from his mother. An examination of this second phone found the defendant had been making internet searches for material about underage girls. He subsequently gave a "no comment" interview to officers

Kris Maisey, of Norton Road, Penygroes, Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Matt Murphy, for Maisey, said while being held on remand awaiting sentence his client had used his time productively and was taking qualifications and educational courses, and had also established a "society" in prison. Though the advocate did not give details of the nature of the group he stressed it was unconnected with the offences before the court.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Maisey that in August last year a judge had given him a chance, but instead of taking that chance he had continued to access images of child sex abuse and had "blatantly" breached the terms of his sexual harm prevention order. With a 20% discount for his guilty pleas Maisey was sentenced to 20 months in prison for the new offences and the judge activated eight months of the previously-imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making an overall sentence of 28 months. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence. The judge also made Maisey subject of a new 10-year SHPO.

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A career criminal has been jailed for at least 38 years for the “brutal sexually motivated murder” of law graduate Zara Aleena within days of him being released from prison.

Jordan McSweeney was caught on CCTV drunkenly lurching in the street after being ejected from a pub for pestering a female member of staff.

He followed three women and confronted a fourth before he targeted 35-year-old Ms Aleena as she walked home from a night out early on Sunday June 26.

McSweeney stalked her along Cranbrook Road in Ilford, east London before grabbing her from behind and dragging her into a driveway.

Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow KC said: "Despite being only yards from a public street and from residential properties, the defendant attacked Zara Aleena with a savagery that is almost impossible to believe.

"He repeatedly kicked and stamped on her head and body, he tore some of her clothes from her body in order that he could sexually assault her, and then he attacked her again, kicking and stamping on her face and neck, and returning several times to continue the brutal violence.

"Finally, once satisfied that she would no longer be able to report him for what he had done, he walked away, taking her mobile telephone with him which he threw over a garden wall, thus ensuring that neither she nor anyone else who might find her could use the phone to call for help.

"He walked back the caravan where he was living and the following morning, having hidden the bloodstained clothes and shoes he had been wearing during the attack, was seen laughing and joking with his friends; seemingly without any concern for what he had done or for the fate he had forced upon Zara Aleena."

Ms Aleena was found with severe head injuries and struggling to breathe.

Emergency services were called at 2.44am but she died in hospital from compression to the neck and blunt force to the head.

The court was shown CCTV of McSweeney as he stalked at least two other women before turning his attention on Ms Aleena.

Her family left court as grainy footage of the moment she was snatched was played.

How bloody fingerprint cracked Zara Aleena murder within hours
Ms Glasgow said: "Mercifully, the quality is not sufficiently good to see exactly what happened.

"Just after 2.15am, Jordan McSweeney grabbed Zara Aleena from behind with both arms.

"One arm appears to cover her mouth, and the other appears to go around her neck. He then dragged Zara Aleena backwards into the paved driveway… and took her to the ground in the corner of the drive.

"She did all she could to fight him off but she had no idea he was behind her and she must have been terrified as the bigger and stronger Jordan McSweeney dragged her into the darkness and out of sight from any potential rescuer."

Ms Aleena was found with severe head injuries and struggling to breathe.

Emergency services were called at 2.44am but she died in hospital from compression to the neck and blunt force to the head.

The court was shown CCTV of McSweeney as he stalked at least two other women before turning his attention on Ms Aleena.

Her family left court as grainy footage of the moment she was snatched was played.

How bloody fingerprint cracked Zara Aleena murder within hours
Ms Glasgow said: "Mercifully, the quality is not sufficiently good to see exactly what happened.

"Just after 2.15am, Jordan McSweeney grabbed Zara Aleena from behind with both arms.

"One arm appears to cover her mouth, and the other appears to go around her neck. He then dragged Zara Aleena backwards into the paved driveway… and took her to the ground in the corner of the drive.

"She did all she could to fight him off but she had no idea he was behind her and she must have been terrified as the bigger and stronger Jordan McSweeney dragged her into the darkness and out of sight from any potential rescuer."

A spokesperson said: “The actions of officers following McSweeney’s recall to prison were reviewed by officers from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards who found there was no indication of misconduct.”

In mitigation, his barrister, George Carter-Stephenson KC, outlined McSweeney’s “far-from-ideal” childhood in which domestic violence was “the norm”.

His mother was a drug addict and his father was largely absent, he said.

George Carter-Stephenson told the court McSweeney was “truly for sorry for what he has done”.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb queried: “Where is the evidence of that?”

The defence lawyer said it was what he had been instructed by his client to convey.

The senior judge replied: “That is not evidence I am prepared to accept.”

Mr Carter-Stephenson added that his remorse was demonstrated by his guilty plea and McSweeney had said that “when he thinks about it, it makes him feel sick”.

The judge adjourned the court briefly to consider her sentencing. She give the defence team the opportunity to see McSweeney in the cells and try to persuade him to come up to receive his sentence.

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A 35-year-old man has been jailed for 5 years and 6 months after committing further sexual offences against children two months after he was released on licence.

Jamie Lee Tye of Normandy Road in Louth was charged with two counts of breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), three counts of creating indecent images of children, and one count of possessing indecent images of children.

These offences took place between April and October 2021 when he was released on licence.

Detectives from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) received intelligence that Tye had committed further offences involving indecent images of children.

Following several enquiries, a warrant was executed on 13 October 2021 and Tye was arrested for making indecent images of children and for breaching the order. He was subsequently recalled to prison to complete the rest of his sentence.

Investigations continued whilst Tye was still serving his sentence and on his release on Friday 14 October this year, detectives re-arrested him. He was remanded in court on Saturday 16 October and was returned to prison.

Detective Sergeant Sam Ward from POLIT said: Teamwork was paramount to the success of this operation in keeping a dangerous offender off our streets. Id like to give thanks to my team of dedicated officers for their hard work in securing this conviction.

Detective Constable Laura Gavin, who led the investigation, said: Lincolnshire Police is committed to keeping children safe from harm and we will robustly pursue anyone who is suspected of this type of offence.

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A child sex offender has been jailed after pleading guilty to 14 offences committed against three child victims between 2001 and 2019.

Stuart Alexander, 56, was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison at Bradford Crown Court yesterday (Monday, December 12). He pleaded guilty to 14 non-recent indecent assault offences against three child victims.

Alexander, previously from Elland, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). An investigation into the offences began back in August 2019 and was conducted by Calderdale child safeguarding detectives when a report was made relating to one of the child victims.

The investigation into the offences was led by DC Katy Wilson of the Calderdale District Safeguarding Unit, who praised the bravery of the victims. In an official statement released by West Yorkshire Police, DC Wilson said: "Stuart Alexander abused the trust of these children who were in no position to defend themselves in the most abhorrent way, and the sentence he received reflects the seriousness of his actions.

"I want to praise the bravery of his victims who wanted to see justice done and who have supported our prosecution throughout. I hope they can have some sense of closure from seeing Alexander answer for his crimes and receive a significant custodial sentence.

“We would encourage any victims of unreported sexual offences in Calderdale District, whether recent or historic, to contact the police. I can promise victims that all reports with be thoroughly and sensitively investigated by specially trained officers."

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A sex-offender who failed to declare his conviction when he became a head chef at a pub and made sexual comments to a 14-year-old colleague has been put back behind bars.

Doncaster Crown Court heard on December 7 how Alun Sutton, aged 44, of Hazlebarrow Grove, at Jordanthorpe, Sheffield, had originally been given a custodial sentence for attempted child communication offences and he had been made subject to a restrictive ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

But prosecuting barrister Emily Hassall said Sutton got a job as a head chef at a Derbyshire pub after he was released from custody on licence and he failed to declare his conviction and his employer also failed to do a background check and the defendant came into contact with two female kitchen porters aged 15 and 14.

Ms Hassall added that during a Facebook communication from the 14-year-old girl who had been checking if she needed to work, Sutton had replied making a reference to oral sex and suddenly recalling her young age.

The judge – Recorder Alex Menary – said: “Your employer failed to carry out a DBS check. Nevertheless, you went to work there as a head chef. At that time you were the first point of contact for kitchen staff and the offences arise in this way.”

Sutton initially claimed to police he had not known the girls were aged under 16 and that he had not gained any sexual satisfaction during the Facebook communication because he said he is gay.

However, the defendant, who has nine previous convictions for 22 offences, pleaded guilty to two breaches of his SHPO relating to the undeclared and unsupervised work-related contact with the two girls who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

He also admitted a further breach of his SHPO after the sexual communication via Facebook with the 14-year-old girl, as well as admitting engaging in sexual communication with a child.

Benn Robinson, defending, said Sutton had been in a long-term relationship with his former husband and when that relationship had become difficult he had started drinking alcohol and that seems to be the foundation for his offending.

Mr Robinson added that Sutton had also worked a difficult shift and had just discovered his motorbike had been stolen so he had been drinking and was upset when he spoke to the 14-year-old girl over Facebook.

He said: “He started drinking throughout the course of the afternoon and by the time the evening comes around he is significantly inebriated.”

Recorder Menary highlighted that Sutton had already been convicted and sentenced to custody in May, 2020, for attempting to incite a sexual act with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

The court heard Menary’s ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order also prohibited him from having unsupervised contact with children aged under 16.

He told Sutton: “You were in a position of being head chef at the ‘hotel’ and these were young people and as pot washers they were at the very bottom of the kitchen hierachy.”

Recorder Menary sentenced to Sutton to two years of custody and stated that the length and terms of defendant’s SHPO would continue as originally outlined.

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A violent sexual predator pretended he was homeless before trying to drag a woman off a street late at night.

Joseph Holmes has been locked up for 10 years, as a court heard that his latest attack was the second time he has targeted a lone woman, walking through a city centre.

Holmes, 51, sat with a sleeping bag draped over him on Darlington's Duke Street in the early hours of December 18, last year. Police later found CCTV footage showing him following one woman - who managed to get away.

Holmes then sat and waited for another woman to walk past on her own. When he spotted a lone female - he followed her.

Prosecutor Sam Faulks has told Teesside Crown Court that when the woman crossed the street to get away, Holmes crossed the street too.

The woman then crossed back to the other side, and Holmes did too. He then got hold of his victim "and tried to drag her onto Raby Terrace where it is more secluded". 

A judge found that Holmes had intended to sexually assault the woman, but that his attack was stopped after a man saw him trying to drag her into a back alley and intervened.

Holmes, of Finkle Street in Bishop Auckland, pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault and assault on the day his trial was due to start - having previously denied the charges. The court heard that he has 111 previous convictions for 205 offences, including a similar attack where he dragged a woman to the floor in Durham city centre in 2017.

Holmes put his hand up the woman's skirt and sexually assaulted her. He was jailed for four years.

In an emotional statement, Holmes' latest victim - who is in her 30's - said she had problems with sleep and nightmares since the attack.

She said: "I wake up screaming due to the incident. I feel sad all of the time. I have severe panic attacks and I have been binge drinking to block out the memories of that night. I feel scared to be alone or go out in the dark. At times I have contemplated suicide."

Robert Mochrie, defending, said his client had not planned the attack, but that it was "opportunistic, whilst he was drunk.

"This is a man with significant problems himself," Mr Mochrie continued. "He is an alcoholic. He has related dementia caused by lack of vitamin B1."

Judge Benjamin Nolan told Holmes that he was "entirely satisfied, with your previous record, that you intended to sexually assault her. In your case, you pose a high risk for sexual assault and violence."

The judge categorised Holmes as a "dangerous offender" and jailed him for 10 years. He will sign the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.

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A sexual predator has been jailed for over two years for performing a lewd act near a children’s playpark.

Kevin Payne, 67, was under a strict court order not to go anywhere near children’s play parks following previous convictions for child-sex offences.

But on June 12 he parked his car at Valley Gardens in Harrogate and made his way to a wooded area near a children’s play area, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Brooke Morrison said a passer-by spotted Payne performing a lewd act in woods overlooking the play park.

Payne was “startled” by the passer-by, who spotted him through a gap in a hedge and shouted over to him as Payne ran away.

“The passer-by gave chase and (as) he followed Payne, he took a number of pictures of him before apprehending him and keeping him there until police arrived,” added Ms Morrison.

Payne was arrested and admitted breaching a sexual-harm prevention order which prohibited him from going within 100 metres of any recreational area where there may be children present.

However, he denied a separate charge of outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner, namely performing a lewd act.

Payne, from Bradford, was due to face trial today but admitted the offence at the last minute.

Ms Morrison said that Payne committed the offences in Harrogate while under investigation for downloading indecent sexual imagery online.

He was arrested for those offences in December last year after police monitoring officers paid him a routine visit to check he was complying with the sexual-harm prevention order following a previous jail sentence for child-sex offences.

Payne handed over his mobile phone on which police found internet searches for sexual images of children and an indecent photo of a child rated Category A – the worst kind.

They also found six images of extreme pornography, namely bestiality.

Payne admitted making an indecent image of a child and possessing six extreme-pornographic images following his arrest and was recalled to prison to serve the remainder of a six-month jail sentence imposed in June last year for making indecent images of children.

He was released from prison in January this year and went on to commit the offences at Valley Gardens in June.

The Crown proceeded to sentence on all matters today as the prosecution outlined Payne’s 40-year criminal history, which comprised 51 previous offences including many for indecently exposing himself in front of young girls and making indecent images of children.

His rap sheet also included voyeurism, kerb-crawling, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, serious violence, harassment, public disorder, and breaching court orders.

He had been given extended prison sentences in the past for child-sex offences as various judges deemed him a dangerous offender.

Defence barrister Derek Duffy said Payne “did not intend to be seen by anybody” in Valley Gardens when he carried out the lewd act.

He said that Payne had rented accommodation in Bradford before being remanded in custody, but he had since lost that and intended to live with a friend in Harrogate upon his release from jail.

He added that Payne - formerly of Ling Park Avenue, Bingley, but currently of no fixed address - was a retired man who had lost all contact with his family and was a “rather despondent” figure.

Judge Simon Hickey described Payne’s latest offences in Valley Gardens as “quite revolting” and told him: “You are, worryingly, 67, and you are still committing offences of this nature.

"Fortunately, the children were not to see what you did.”

Payne was given a 27-month jail sentence but will only spend half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence.

He was ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for ten years and the judge ordered that the sexual-harm prevention order would remain in place.

Mr Hickey said the named witness who chased and detained Payne would be paid £150 from the public purse for his “very-public-spirited” actions.