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A horrified home owner was arrested in his own home in front of his wife for offences committed by a paedophile living in his annex. Police were actually after sex offender Peter Quinton, 31, who later suggested to police the homeowner may have had something to do with it.

Quinton, formerly of Bodmin but more recently of Gloucester, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

Prosecuting the case, Ryan Murray said that on July 27, 2021, police executed a warrant at an address in Bodmin following intelligence from an online paedophile investigation team that linked the IP address to child pornography being accessed online. Mr Murray described how police initially arrested the property owner before realising Quinton was living in an annex.

Quinton provided devices and on a laptop found five Category A images, one Category B and two Category C. All were stills and depicted children aged between one and seven. Quinton was also found to have made searches relating to child abuse images and made file names relating to toddlers and babies. The homeowner said that had he realised Quinton was a sex offender he'd never have allowed him to live there.

Quinton largely remained quiet during interview but suggested the homeowner may have had something to do with the accessing of the sick material. The court heard how Quinton had been convicted of similar offences in 2015 and given a non-custodial sentence.

Representing Quinton, Nicholas Wragg said that he had been in a stable relationship and stable employment for many years. Mr Wragg added that Quinton suffered abuse as a child which had a "profound effect" on him and also witnessed domestic abuse. All of this is said to have "distorted his thinking later in life". He has also been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which causes impulsive behaviour.

Sentencing Quinton, Recorder John Trevaskis said it's sadly a fact of life that those who commit crimes involving abuse are often the victims of abuse themselves. He added that as a result Quinton developed an unhealthy interest in sexual activity with children, and although he hadn't actively abused any children himself, the interests of people such as Quinton result in children being raped and abused all over the world.

Recorder Trevaskis said that in Quinton's case there is considerable mitigation, despite his "deeply intrenched and inappropriate interest in indecent images of children". Recorder Trevaskis noted Quinton's family support and that of his wife, and deeming him "a realistic prospect of rehabilitation" sentenced him to a two-year community order, with 300 hours unpaid work and a rehabilitation requirement to address his offending. Quinton was also made subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

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A former Army cadet instructor, who ruined the lives of five young boys by sexually abusing them, was jailed for almost 30 years on Friday.

A judge told 63-year-old Stephen Finnigan: You were a determined predator. You abused your position of trust and responsibility and power over each of these boys. Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said that as he denied all the allegations and was convicted after a trial, he 'forced each of the victims concerned to attend court and be branded liars'.

Jailing him for a total of 29 years six months with an extended one year licence, the judge said that Finnigan had groomed the boys with cigarettes and beer and caused them severe psychological damage.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Finnigan, of Longfield Road, Litherland, Liverpool, committed the offences over a 12 year period in the 1980s and early 1990s with some overlap but mainly in succession.

He was an army cadet instructor and colour sergeant and was based at both Grace Road in Walton Vale and Browns Lane, Netherton when the offences occurred. Four of the victims were cadets and the fifth was the son of a friend. They ranged in age from eight to 14, explained Trevor Parry-Jones, prosecuting.

Finnigan also took cadets to Altcar firing range and camping trips in Royden Park on the Wirral where he sexually assaulted one of the victims. The boy was so traumatised that he slept outside the tent all night and got hypothermia.

Mr Parry-Jones said that the Army Cadets were seen as a means of instilling interest and pride in boys and was a potential route into the regular army. Sadly that could not be said to have been in the mind of the defendant who by his convictions seemed to have used the Army Cadets as a means of providing him with a source of boys whom he could groom and thereafter abuse," he said.

Those boys did not gain the security that they should have enjoyed and as was revealed in their evidence they suffered considerably both as a direct result of the assaults but also in their emotional development.

He said that many of the victims came from poor families and the defendant was popular as he provided cigarettes and beer which he also took to a flat where boys gathered.

One victim went to the police after reading about the Jimmy Saville abuse and left a message but did not follow it up. He effectively buried it as did the second victim, who was aged about 12, when Finnigan began assaulting him culminating in buggery. His life effectively collapsed, he resorted to drugs, said Mr Parry-Jones.

The third victim who was assaulted at Royden Park eventually told police what had happened after seeing an article in the local media about Finnigan receiving a medal for 'exceptional service' to the Army Cadets.

The next cadet victim, who Finnigan attempted to have anal sex with, read his own graphic impact statement to the court on Friday, in which he told how his life had spiralled out of control and led to him committing various offences and being imprisoned. It was only when his solicitor encouraged him to tell her about his past, convinced there was something in his background, that the details emerged and the police were informed.

Merseyside Police then began to investigate and were able to trace the previous reports made and re-interview the victims, said Mr Parry-Jones.

The court heard that the fifth victims family had regarded the defendant almost as an uncle. His family life was poor and Finnigan gave him the attention he craved and groomed him. He told his dad about the abuse but he severely beat him and social services intervention failed to result in a police investigation.

Two other impact statements were read to the judge in which those victims also told how they had been left haunted by his attacks.

The court was told that Finnigan only has one previous offence but this was in 2012 for assaulting a cadet by setting fire to his hair as he believed it was too long and this led to the end of his Army Cadet involvement.

He had been convicted of 29 offences involving indecent assault, indecency with a child and an offence which would now be charged as rape. Finnigan, who appeared via video link, continues to maintain his innocence. He had claimed they had conspired together to get him into trouble.

He repeatedly shook his head during the proceedings and smiled when sentenced. He was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

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A Chesterfield rapist who left a woman suffering nightmares and anxiety has been jailed.

Rys Turner’s vile actions were uncovered after the woman came forward and told officers of the rape after he assaulted her in March 2023.

In a statement read out at court, she explained the devastating impact that the crimes had on her. She said: ”I’ve been taking sleeping tablets because my thoughts keep me awake at night and I don’t want to fall to sleep and have anymore nightmares about everything.

“I don’t think my life will ever be the same after this.

“I just want to be left alone, I don’t want to see anyone and I don’t want to speak to anyone either.

“I’m so closed off from the outside world it’s affecting my anxiety even more.

“Sleeping is still a massive struggle, the nightmares put me right back in those traumatic moments, they feel so real I’m waking up in a panic.”

The 26-year-old, of Littlemoor, Newbold, appeared at Derby Crown Court on 15 December when he was jailed for six years after admitting rape.

He was also handed a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with the victim for 16 years and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

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A SHOCKED mother sat in a Carlisle court listening to a harrowing account of how her son had secretly viewed sickening child rape videos.

Former Broughton Moor man Ben Robinson-Brown viewed videos of children aged four, five and eight as they were raped and boasted to a contact of watching footage of a ten-year-old girl being gang-raped, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

As Judge Nicholas Barker passed sentence, he told the defendant his mother's face as she heard those distressing details showed her “disbelief and disgust”.

Robinson-Brown, formerly of Broughton Moor, Maryport, but now living at Wreay, near Carlisle, admitted five offences.

Three related to him downloading 29 indecent child images, 15 of them Category A, the most serious kind; one was possessing extreme pornography, and there was one count of distributing a Category C indecent child image.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke outlined the facts.

He said police acting on intelligence raided the defendant’s home and seized three devices, a laptop, an iPhone and an iPad. The illegal images included three videos, one just under a minute long and two just over a minute.

They showed men raping girls aged four, five and eight. All three victims were clearly distressed, said Mr Burke.

Another video showed sex between people and dogs. Mr Burke then outlined the evidence of how the defendant chatted online with a person, posing initially as a 14-year-old girl and then later discussing gang raping an 11-year-old.

The defendant also sent the contact a sexual image of a 10-year-old girl. The prosecutor said: “He tells [the contact] that he’s in the business of renting out eight to 15-year-old females and he is looking to trade in indecent images.

“He tries and fails to boast that he’s seen a 10-year-old female being gang raped – something he’d seen in a video.”

Marion Weir, defending, said Robinson-Brown had done much “soul searching” since his offending came to light.

The barrister said: “He’s an intelligent young man who in many ways is more mature than his 23 years. These offences were 18 months ago, and he says the person who committed these offences is very different to the person who appears in court.”

The defendant’s background included the pandemic and the death of his great grandmother, a person he regarded as his best friend.

“There’s nothing which can excuse the offending,” said the barrister. “He is disgusted by his behaviour and disappointed in himself; and distraught at the impact that this has had on those he loves.”

Robinson-Brown’s prosecution had led to the loss of friendships and a career opportunity with the RAF, she said. He felt genuine remorse, said Miss Weir.

Judge Nicholas Barker noted that the defendant, in his pre-sentence report interview, suggested he did nothing more than take part in perverted role play.

But the evidence – including the distressing videos of young children being raped - demonstrated a “significant sexual interest in very young children,” observed the judge.

Judge Barker remarked on how he had watched the face of a woman sitting in the court’s public gallery, whom he believed to be the defendant’s mother, as Mr Burke outlined the facts of the case.

The judge said: “[Her face] depicted, in my view, two strong emotions: one was disgust and the other was disbelief: disgust at what was being described and disbelief that you had done this – and that is an entirely understandable response because the material were involved with is simply disgusting and depraved.”

The judge noted the defendant had a background included substance abuse, debts and bereavement but he said an appropriate jail term would involve a four-and-a-half-month spell in custody but no meaningful rehabilitation.

Instead, he imposed a three-year community order, with 10 rehabilitation activity days, and a sexual offender treatment programme.

The defendant must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and he will be on the Sex Offender Register for five years.

The judge told the defendant: “You must address your sexual tendencies which you displayed by downloading these perverted images and communicating in that depraved way.”

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A man from Litherland has been sentenced to 29 years and six months for 29 counts of historical sexual offences against five children.

Stephen Finnigan, 63, of Longfield Road was sentenced today, Friday 5th January, for multiple counts of indecent assault, gross indecency and other sexual offences following a two-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Detectives carried out the investigation after receiving a report in 2014 of sex offences against a child which spanned a several-year period. Further victims also came forward, which led to a charge in 2022.

The crimes were historic dating back to the last century, where the offender breached a position of trust, as an instructor in the army cadets.

Merseyside Police wish to make it clear that the army cadets have co-operated fully throughout this operation and their assistance was invaluable.

Detective Constable Claire McDonald said: “The predatory behaviour displayed by Finnigan is utterly appalling and he will now spend years in prison for his depraved actions.

“His victims have showed immense courage and bravery to report the deplorable offences that Finnigan committed.

“Finnigan continued to deny the offences, which meant his victims had to endure a trial when they had to relive the horrific experiences.

“As you can imagine for victims of such an appalling crime, the impact on them is significant and long-lasting. I hope this sentence provides some comfort in knowing they did the right thing by reporting Finnigan’s heinous crime to us.

“I want to stress that time is no barrier to reporting offences and Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm, regardless of when the offences occurred.

“If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police.

“We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”

A spokesperson for the army cadets said: “The Cadet organisation has cooperated fully with Merseyside Police throughout the investigation and has clear safeguarding measures and procedures in place to ensure the protection and support of all cadets and adult volunteers, through security screening, rigorous disclosure checks and regular safeguarding training.”

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A man who plied a child with alcohol before sexually assaulting her has been jailed.

Colin Shaw, 51, gave his 15-year-old victim multiple cans of beer before touching her inappropriately and attacking her inside his home in Rotherham.

He put his hand up her top and inside her bra leaving his teenage victim traumatised, and the morning after Shaw encouraged her to stay silent and downplay what had happened to her.

Detective Constable Charlotte Adamson, from our Major Crime Unit, said: "Shaw took advantage of his young victim by plying her with alcohol before subjecting her to a sickening assault.

"To make matters worse, Shaw then encouraged her to downplay what had happened before touching her inappropriately once again.

"I cannot imagine how terrified she must have been after such a traumatic ordeal and I want to commend the bravery of the victim for showing courage beyond her years in reporting this to us.

"It's thanks to her bravery that this dangerous sex offender is now behind bars and I hope his imprisonment will bring his victim and their family some comfort."

Shaw, previously of the Worksop area, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault and not guilty of another following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

He was jailed for three years and four months at the same court on 22 December 2023 and has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

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A 29-YEAR-OLD man who was exposed by a paedophile hunter group was later caught in a police sting attempting to chat to an underage girl, a court heard.

Matthew Appleton, of Hildyard Close, Hardwicke, was confronted by members of activist group the Guardian Angels when he lived in Leeds.

They caught him sending sexual videos to a decoy posing as a 12-year-old girl in October 2018.

Appleton was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years at Leeds Crown Court and ordered to complete a sex offender programme.

But within weeks of the suspended sentence order expiring Appleton was caught in a police sting which involved an officer posing online as a 13-year-old girl called Millie, Gloucester Crown Court was told on Thursday, December 14.

Prosecutor Alun Williams said Appleton was still on the sex offender register when, on February 1 this year, he contacted 'Millie' on social media and used 'highly sexualised' language.

Police visited Appleton's home on February 9 and found 91 indecent images and videos of children in all three categories on his phone, said Mr Williams.

An examination of the device confirmed he had contacted the decoy officer and used a cloud-based storage site used by sex offenders, the court heard.

In police interview Appleton claimed he did not know how the images got onto his phone.

Steven Young, defending, said: "He completed the sex offender programme that was aimed at preventing him from re-offending in the future. Obviously this was unsuccessful as he reoffended.

“He states that he doesn’t know why he was doing it and has difficulty accepting the position he is in."

Appleton pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child on February 1, 2023 for the purpose of sexual gratification. He also admitted possessing nine indecent images of children in category A, four images and four videos in category B and 72 images and two videos in category C on February 9, 2023.

He must complete 40 programme days, 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £340 costs and a mandatory surcharge and attend a monthly judicial review.

A sexual harm prevention order was imposed until March 18, 2030.

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A delivery driver from Peacehaven who raped a young girl and sexually assaulted another has been jailed.

In December, 2021, police received a report of a girl under the age of five having been sexually assaulted multiple times.

Officers visited the girl and her family to gather evidence and offer specialist support while Matthew Barca, 31, of South Coast Road in Peacehaven was arrested the same day.

During the course of the investigation a second victim – now a woman in her 20s – reported being raped and sexually assaulted by Barca when she was a child between 2005 and 2008.

Barca was aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the earlier offences.

He was subsequently charged with eight counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of rape of a child under 13, two counts of assault of a child by penetration and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was also charged with possession of indecent images of children.

At Lewes Crown Court on 4 August, he pleaded guilty to all counts.

At the same court on Wednesday, 3 January, Barca was jailed for a total of nine years and eight months, with an additional four years and four months to be spent on extended licence after the court found him to be a danger to the public.

He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order significantly reducing his access to children and digital devices, placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and given restraining orders against his victims.

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A man has been jailed for raping a woman.

Darren House, of Whiteacres Close in Gosport, was sentenced yesterday at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The 46-year-old was charged with one count of rape and one count of assault by penetration, relating to an incident which happened in Gosport on 3 May 2023.

The woman, aged in her 40s, provided a statement to be read to the court on her behalf: “I literally think about this incident most days. It makes me feel sick when I think about it.

“When I think about it, I get upset, I cry and shake. Even now. I feel humiliated and degraded by him. I have to live with this for the rest of my life.”

House was sentenced yesterday to 13 years in prison.

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Elvis Williams, 63, of Mosaic Close in Southampton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court (Tuesday 2 January), where he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for his offences against a woman in her 60s.

Williams had previously pleaded guilty to two assaults on the victim, denying the charges of coercive and controlling behaviour, rape and intentional strangulation. A jury found him guilty of all offences at Southampton Crown Court on Friday 28 July following a five day trial. The court heard how on Saturday 4 March the victim ran from her home and asked for assistance from a nearby dog walker having been assaulted by Williams. Police were called and the victim told them that Williams had punched her a number of times and forced her to have sex with him.

She also reported how he had previously strangled her until she couldn’t breathe.

Officers arrested Williams and he was subsequently charged with rape, intentional strangulation, engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour and two counts of assault.

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A man sent "vile and explicit" messages to someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl he had met online. Jonathan Strain told the child he was looking "for horny girls who want video call fun" and said he wanted to "trade" nude photographs. He also told what he thought was a schoolgirl not to tell her friends about what was going on as it was their secret.

Swansea Crown Court heard the 37-year-old was actually engaging in sexual conversations with an adult who was volunteering as part of an online so-called paedophile hunter group. Sending the defendant to prison a judge told him he had an "unhealthy and deviant interest in pre-teenage girls".

James Hartson, prosecuting, told the court that in October 2021 Strain made contact with a profile on the Wink app purporting to be that of 12-year-old girl living in the Manchester area. After chatting with what he believed to a girl Strain asked for her mobile number and the exchanges moved to WhatsApp. The prosecutor said in reality Strain was communicating with a decoy account being operated by "in effect vigilantes" with an online group.

The court heard that over the following months the defendant engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the profile, encouraged her to perform sex acts on herself, and sent her videos of himself masturbating. He also called the girl "beautiful" and "gorgeous", said he loved her, and offered to be her first boyfriend saying they could do "boyfriend and girlfriend stuff" together. Strain also said he was looking "for horny girls who want video call fun" and offered to buy the child a mobile phone with a camera, and said he wanted to "trade" nude photographs. He told the girl she could trust him "100%". The court heard that during one conversation the defendant asked the girl if she had school the next day and told her not to tell any of her friends about what was going on as it was their "secret". 

The conversations lasted for around four months before the group operating the decoy passed the information to a paedophile hunter group in Wales and in March 2022 members of the local group went to the defendant’s address. Strain wasn’t at home but his details were passed to the police and later that evening he was arrested. The court heard that in his subsequent interview the defendant said he had lost his mobile phone before the conversations with the decoy took place.

Jonathan Strain, of Treherbert Street, Cwmann, Lampeter, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Ian Ibrahim, for Strain, described the defendant as "shy" and "introverted" and as someone who doesn't talk to anyone.

Judge Huw Rees said Strain had engaged in "vile and explicit conversations", and he told the defendant he had an "unhealthy and deviant interest in pre-teenage girls". With a 20% discount for this guilty pleas Strain was sentenced to four years and seven months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Strain will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

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A British Transport Police (BTP) investigation has seen a man jailed for nine months after being found guilty masturbating on board a train in front of a lone woman.  

Mukesh Shah, 43, of Primrose Way, Wembley, was sentenced to nine months in prison for indecent exposure at London Inner Crown Court on 18 December 2023. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and subjected to a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. 

The court heard how, on 4 November 2022 at around 11.40pm, the victim was travelling alone in an empty Piccadilly Line carriage between Sudbury Town and Acton Town when Shah boarded the train.  

Despite the empty carriage, Shah sat diagonally opposite the victim and she noticed him staring at her, making her feel uncomfortable. It was then that she noticed he was exposing himself and masturbating.  

Bravely, the victim captured Shah on camera hoping it would deter him, when he didn’t, she confronted him and told him to stop and move away from her. He protested he hadn’t done anything wrong but moved along the carriage.  

The victim reported the incident to BTP along with the video, which was circulated within the police and lead to the identification of Shah.  

Investigating officer Detective Constable Mark Luker said: “This was a frightening and upsetting experience for the victim and I commend her bravery in confronting the offender, managing to capture an image of Shah and reporting this.  

“Shah’s disgusting actions have not only secured him time behind bars, but restrictions following his release to prevent him from repeating his actions in the future. 

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Undercover police trapped a pervert who was looking for "friends with benefits" when he started having explicit X-rated online conversations with a decoy 12-year-old girl.

Michal Warchol could not stop thinking about the girl and he bombarded her with messages calling her "babe", "beautiful" and "hot" in a bid to lure her into having sex with him, Hull Crown Court heard.

Warchol, 26, of the Orchard Park estate, Hull, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child and attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Richard Butters, prosecuting, said that undercover police set up a online profile in the name of a 12-year-old girl supposedly living in Hull. On January 6, 2022, Warchol made contact with the non-existent girl.

"He introduced himself as a 24-year-old from the Orchard Park area," said Mr Butters. Warchol said that he was looking for "friends with benefits" and he gave her his mobile phone number.

Online conversations took place between January 6 and February 7, 2022. "It was lengthy and sexual," said Mr Butters. On January 17, 2022, Warchol told the fake girl that he could not stop thinking about her and wanted to talk to her.

"The defendant kept engaging in conversations where he called her 'sexy' and used the words 'babe', 'beautiful' and 'hot'," said Mr Butters. "He used those words throughout the month to January 26." Warchol told the decoy girl: "We'll take you somewhere nice and hoping to get lucky on the end."

He later confirmed to her that he meant that they would go out for drinks and, if she wanted, he would have sex with her. He sent intimate selfie pictures of himself with explicit captions.

Warchol, who is Polish, had convictions for 13 previous offences but nothing for similar matters. The most recent was in 2020.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, mitigating, said that Warchol acted out of character. "He is remorseful and apologises for his offending," said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse.

"At the time, he was living rather a chaotic lifestyle." He was now seeking further work.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Warchol: "Your lack of relevant convictions and early guilty plea enable me to punish you in the community. Even if I sent you to prison, you would be coming out at some point.

"My ultimate job is the protection of the public." Judge Khan said that he believed that this would best be achieved by rehabilitation work on Warchol.

"If you are in breach of the order and it's a substantial breach, not just a technical breach, I would expect to impose, whatever judge deals with you, an 18-month sentence," said Judge Khan.

Warchol was given 200 hours' unpaid work, a 43-day sex offender treatment programme and 15 days' rehabilitation. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for five years.

"Breach that and you will be in serious trouble," said Judge Khan. "If you breach that, you know what happens. You go to prison." He added: "You can go. Don't come back."

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A man who 'claimed to be shy and private' secretly filmed himself having sex with a woman at his home.

Alistair Chase used a hidden camera to film the intimate encounter in his lounge at his home in Hartford, near Northwich in Cheshire. The devastated victim only found out after spotting the footage of the pair having sex on his phone, Chester Magistrates' Court heard.

She said was left feeling 'so violated' as she condemned his 'selfish sense of entitlement'. Chase, who works as a director for his parents' property management company, claimed he had 'difficulties' establishing relationships with women and said he recorded the intimate moments for himself.

The 43-year-old was ordered to pay £500 in damages at court and was handed a community order. In a statement, the victim said she had to take months off work following the ordeal and was left feeling like she 'wanted to die'.

She said she has been left struggling to sleep and now 'doesn't feel safe in her own home'. The victim said: "He told me he was a shy and private person who was fortunate to have a privileged lifestyle due to his parents.

"He does not have a mortgage himself and clearly has a selfish sense of entitlement. This has been incredibly traumatic and has been the worst experience of my life.

"Finding out that Alistair had taken an intimate video of us without my consent left me feeling so violated. It was traumatic to be watching those intimate private moments.

"My whole world just fell apart and I did not trust my own judgement anymore after this abuse of trust. I felt completely manipulated by him.

"I did not feel even safe in my own home and I have installed a new alarm and camera. I was stressed about my job and I did not feel the same person anymore.

"I just lost myself. Myself and my confidence has gone. My mental health is very bad due to anxiety. I receive weekly calls from my GP.

"I feel so powerless and humiliated. I had a breakdown and completely withdrew. I did not leave my bed for a month. I wanted to die.

"I had to take antidepressants as I was feeling suicidal. I took four months off work from a job that I love.

''I lost so much self-esteem and on my return to work, I was anxious and had lost confidence and did not want to be around people.

"It was problematic having to travel. I would not be comfortable to stay in hotels rooms feeling that I would be recorded again.

"Prior to this I had a great career path, great relationships, and no mental health issues. He's taken so much away from me.

"I have been told I will need to take medication for a few years to keep things as normal as possible. My life has become very small.

"I continue to pay for trauma and therapy sessions and will need to continue with them for some time to come. I feel ashamed for allowing this manipulative man into my lives.

"I'm told the hidden camera was in situ at the time of his arrest. This has been the most difficult and harrowing experience for me."

Lucy McGowan, prosecuting, said: "The complainant contacted police to report that the defendant had filmed her without her consent having sexual intercourse with him. The two videos were of them engaging in oral and penetrative sex in the living room at his home and the complainant handed the mobile phone to the police."

In police interview, Chase gave no comment other than provide a pre-prepared statement. This read: 'I accept I filmed myself and (the victim) engaging in sexual activity without her consent.

'They were kept solely for my own enjoyment. I regret doing this and I apologise for doing so.'

In mitigation, Chase's lawyer Martha Whitehead said: "He is someone who has had difficulties during his 20s and 30s in establishing healthy relationships with others. He said this was a way of recording intimate moments for himself and there is no suggestion of any distribution.

"He accepted his actions and apologised. He wishes to make it clear that he apologises again to the victim.

"He has no wish or no intention to contact her and he understands that a restraining order will be made by the court. He wishes to apologise in public to her for his actions which he can now see have deeply affected her.

"He does not wish to excuse or avoid responsibility for his actions. We accept that the impact on this complainant is significant but you must also look in detail at the background of this defendant."

Chase, of Grosvenor Avenue, Hartford, pleaded guilty to one charge of voyeurism. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order including 250 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days.

He was ordered to pay £500 in damages and to sign the sex offenders' register for five years. A two-year restraining order was also imposed and Chase's mobile phone and two laptops were confiscated.

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Colin Mark Hollands, aged 60, from Aylesbury, was sentenced to 24 years’ imprisonment at Aylesbury Crown Court today (22/12).

On 29 August, Hollands pleaded guilty to seven counts of adult sexual activity with a female child, four counts of assault of a child by penetration, three counts of rape, two counts of rape of a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of; indecent assault, sexual assault, causing a child to watch a sexual act and causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Hollands was arrested for the offences on 8 June 2023 and charged on 14 June 2023.

The offending occurred over a number of years in Aylesbury.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Collette Parker said: “This sentence brings justice to the victims and appropriately punishes Hollands for his reprehensible behaviour over a number of years.

“The horrific control, manipulation and abuse perpetrated by Hollands has had a significant impact on the victim’s lives.

“I would like to thank the victims in this case who have shown great courage, determination and dignity in their support for the investigation.

“We would not be where we are today without them taking that step forward and providing the vital evidence needed to prosecute Hollands. With their strikingly similar compelling accounts, a strong case was built against Hollands and he had to admit what he had done.