Latest Offenders

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A SEXUAL predator who groped and kissed children walking through Colchester’s city centre has been locked up.

Stefan Pritchard’s disturbing attacks saw four girls, aged between 11 and 14, targeted on different dates between July 2021 and June this year.

A 14-year-old girl whose bottom was groped from underneath her skirt by Pritchard, 32, said she now suffers panic attacks due to flashbacks.

Judge David Turner KC told Chelmsford Crown Court he feared the sexually-charged incidents were a “manifestation of his inner loneliness and turmoil”. 

 Pritchard, of Fingringhoe Road, Colchester, admitted four counts of sexual assault on a child, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and one count of sexual assault of a child aged under 13.

He has been jailed for two years and nine months.

Emma Kutner, prosecuting, said Pritchard’s offending started when he reached up the 14-year-old’s skirt in Queen Street and grabbed her bottom in July 2021.

He then stroked the hair of an 11-year-old and told her she was beautiful as she walked with her mother in September last year. 

The following month he hugged a 14-year-old girl from behind and kissed her on the neck, cheek and lips before touching her breast.

Ms Kutner said: “Her friend said she was in shock and was crying. She said she felt anxious and didn’t want to go out.”

Another girl, 13, had her breasts and thighs stroked in North Hill by Pritchard in November 2021.

The sex attacker’s final offence, in June of this year, saw him ask a girl wearing school uniform if she wanted to spend some alone time together, before grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her closer. 

 The court heard Pritchard lives with a mild disorder impacting his intellectual development, but Judge Turner said: “It is not of an order which could possibly excuse this sort of behaviour.”

He added: “These were unprovoked, gratuitous public gropings and sexual assaults of young women.”

Donal Lawler, mitigating, said: “Given everything he was born into he stood little chance; he is an immensely damaged individual.”

Pritchard was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years. 

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George Moreby was found to have indecent images of children having been previously convited for similar offences.

A paedophile from north Warwickshire found with indecent images of children and ‘extreme pornography’ on several devices told police ‘I just can’t help myself’. The 26-year-old was arrested earlier in 2022, after he was previously convicted for similar offences.

The home of George Moreby, of The Hills in Warton, near Tamworth, was raided by Warwickshire Police on April 9 this year, with officers seizing several devices. They were found to contain indecent images of children and images of bestiality on them.

Moreby, 26, had previous convictions for possessing indecent images and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. And upon arrest at his home he is said to have told an officer he was ‘addicted’ and ‘didn’t even enjoy it.

He is reported to have told a detective: “I just can’t help myself, I stopped for a bit but started up again. I need to get some sort of help with it, I don’t even enjoy it – I’m addicted.”

Moreby was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order following those convictions and was charged with breaching the order, alongside offences involving indecent images of children and extreme pornography. The sex offender was jailed for three-and-a-half years on Tuesday, November 29.

DC Adam James said: “We welcome this sentence, and we hope it serves as a warning to those considering viewing indecent images. These materials cause catastrophic harm to children.

“And it is our aim to track down, arrest and present to the courts every single person in Warwickshire who views them.” Warwickshire Police added: “if you are concerned about your behaviour online, you can visit www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk for free, confidential help.”

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A PERVERTED dad bragged about having a threesome during vile online sex chats with someone he believed was a ’12-year-old girl’.

Andrew Teale called the child, who was in fact an undercover police officer, ‘beautiful and sexy’ after setting up a profile with the username ‘Andy4Fun’.

The bumbling 43-year-old pervert also showed face while performing a sex act via webcam to the ’girl’, before apologising as he only wanted to give her a ‘quick flash’.

He was arrested however and charged with attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday, December 8, how Teale has since changed his name, however his new identity was not stated, and he was allowed to walk free from the building.

Neil Bisarya, prosecuting, explained how the offences occurred between January 10 and 14 this year, with the defendant being ‘aware he was engaging in sexual communications with someone he believed was a child for his own sexual gratification’.

He was caught as part of Operation Meteor – an undercover operation to combat online child sex exploitation and identify offenders posing a serious risk to children.

The court heard how Teale was engaging in chats with an undercover officer from North West Regional Organised Crime Unit purporting to be a 12-year-old called Izzy.

The offender used usernames such as Andy4Fun and AndyMark89 on a number of different platforms, initiating the conversation by telling ‘Izzy’ he was called Andy and from Warrington.

He asked her what she was looking for and why she was not in school, and when she told him from the outset that she was only aged 12, he said she made him ‘feel old’.

During the offence period, mainly talking on Skype, he asked her about her sexual experience and what ‘naughty things’ she had done.

He then asked for photos of her to perform sex acts on himself to, and he did so in a private video chat to her, accidentally showing his face and then apologising for showing her more than a ‘quick flash’.

He would often apologise for being ‘horny’ and for his sexualised questions, and he would change the subject to cars or theme parks.

The conversation would revert back to type however, with Teale bragging to her that he had once had a threesome.

He also asked her for photos, called her beautiful, asked what colour her knickers were and said he was imagining her naked. 

 Teale described himself as ‘nice looking but a bit overweight after Christmas’, before calling her sexy and saying he wished he was younger so he could be with her.

The defendant told the girl he was on a video call with a woman who was performing a sex act using a carrot, but said that he ‘preferred’ the youngster.

On January 28, officers from the online child abuse investigation team executed a warrant at Teale’s Warrington home to arrest him, where he promptly handed over his Samsung Galaxy phone and told police: “It’s all on there.”

He gave a mainly no comment police interview except confirming he was married, despite telling ‘Izzy’ otherwise, with children, while he also handed over his device passwords.

The phone was analysed and did not contain any ‘illegal images’, however police found material which ‘indicated an interest in indecent images of children’, alongside around 200 pictures of him ‘in sexual poses in various states of undress’.

In defence of Teale, who has no previous convictions and pleaded guilty to both offences, Simon Christie said: “He is a man of previous good character with a good family life, that was all going well until over a very short space of time it all came to grief.”

He said that the defendant stopped the conversation himself, has sought treatment by referring himself to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation – a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse – and has not sought to be evasive or minimising.

“The defendant knows what he did was very wrong and quite vile, but there is an abundance of material showing his rehabilitation is entirely practical,” Mr Christie added.

The court was told that Teale had lost an ‘exceptionally well-paid job’ as head of innovation for a prominent financial firm, and that ‘boredom and self-stimulation was the motivation behind the offending rather than a sexual interest in children’.

Before sentencing, recorder Tania Griffiths said: “Your shame and remorse seems to be genuine. You stopped yourself and recognised the severity of what you had done.

“You also lost a very well-paid job, and no doubt this has caused major disruption to your family life. I consider it highly unlikely you will ever come back before these courts again.”

Teale, now of Abbey Road in Tyldesley, was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and up to 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days, as well as abide by a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification and registration requirements, both for 10 years.

In addition, the court approved an order for the forfeiture and destruction of the defendant’s mobile phone seized by police. 

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A dad filmed himself trying to rape a woman as she pleaded "no" and "get off me".

Damola Olateju, 37, may have got away with the shocking attack had detectives not extracted the damning video from his mobile phone. Liverpool Crown Court heard the next day the woman found bruises and feared she had been raped, but was worried about coming forward because her memory was hazy.

However a man who had been at the party contacted her with concerns about what he saw in the run up to the incident, which gave her the confidence to call the police. 

Fiona McNeill, prosecuting, told the court the woman had been out with friends in Warrington Town Centre in December 2020. The group were drinking near the White Hart pub until around 11pm, when the court heard her memory became "blurry".

Ms McNeill said: "[The victim] recalls being at the Postern Gate part of Warrington trying to get a taxi. She remembers her and her friends being approached by some men."

She added: "The next she can remember is being in a flat. She recalls being in the kitchen of the flat and drinking something."

The court heard there was a gathering at the flat and the victim had some memories of speaking to a woman in a bathroom and sitting on a couch, then being in a bed. Ms McNeill told the court: "She could tell there was someone else in the bed. She recalls that person, as she put it, was ‘mithering’ her and touching her.

"She remembers feeling cold and trying to cover herself with the quilt and saying that she was cold. She remembers saying ‘no’ and ‘I'm cold’. That is the last [the complainant] remembers from that night."

The court heard the woman woke in the morning alone in a bedroom, with her underwear missing but her boots still on, and went looking for her phone and bag. She realised as she searched for her phone that there was an empty condom wrapper in the room.

Ms McNeill said she found her phone and bag but the battery was dead, and she realised the door of the flat was locked. The victim shook Olateju awake and asked him to let her out, but initially he demanded to know where his phone was and wanted to search her bag.

Ms McNeill said: "The prosecution say we can only surmise the defendant was aware of what was on the phone and wanted to retain it."

The woman pointed out his phone after spotting it in the flat and was eventually able to leave and go home. The following night she realised she had bruises and injuries to her legs and buttocks, and began to fear she had been raped.

However it wasn't until the man who had also been at the gathering contacted her on Snapchat asking if she was ok, and expressing concerns about Olateju's behaviour, that she felt there was enough evidence to come forward.

Olateju was traced and arrested, and a deleted video file was recovered from his phone. Ms McNeill said: "The video showed evidence of what was said in the bedroom. "[The victim] can be heard saying 'no' and 'get off me' and that she is cold.

"The defendant can be seen trying to part her legs. He can be heard to say 'shut the f*** up' and then strikes her twice, in a slap to the face. She is heard saying 'ow'."

The court heard Olateju claimed he had engaged in consensual sex with the woman and had slapped her because he believed she enjoyed rough sex, but had given up trying to have sex with her on the last occasion and gone to another bedroom.

Olateju, of Padgate Lane in Warrington, was later charged with two counts of rape and one of attempted rape which he denied. He stool trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where a jury cleared him of the rapes but found him guilty of the attempted rape charge, which related to the events in the video.

Summing up a statement from the victim, Ms McNeill said she had been left with anxiety and feelings of hopelessness, and found it difficult to trust people.

Justin Hugheston-Roberts, defending, said his client was a father and also a carer for an autistic man, both of whom would suffer due to the inevitable prison sentence.

Mr Hugheston-Roberts said: "All of these things he should have thought about before that fateful morning. The jury saw the recording of the woman who said no, this defendant should have heeded that but heed it he didn't and they convicted him of the attempted rape.

"Today he has to pay the consequences. But there is a different side to this man other than the man who tried to force himself on a woman in the early hours of the morning."

Judge Stuart Driver, KC, passing sentence, said he was not persuaded that there was evidence Olateju had "plied" the defendant with alcohol, but said the video was an aggravating feature of the case.

Olateju, who appeared in court vid video-link from prison, hung his head as he was jailed for five years and ordered to sign the sex offender' register for life. The court heard he must serve at least two thirds of that sentence in custody before he can apply for parole.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Rob Catterall, of Cheshire Police, said: "I would like to praise the courage of the victim in this case for coming forward and it is because of her that we have got the result we have today.

"We will do all we can to listen to victims of sexual offences and I hope that this sentence proves that we will follow every avenue open to us in order to bring perpetrators to justice. I hope that this sentence will bring comfort to the victim knowing that Olateju will be behind bars for his actions."

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Carl Mardel, who has no fixed address, used a dating app to message two girls, ages 12 and 14, earlier this year.

After vivid discussions of sex with the two profiles, he attempted to meet one of the girls in a Wakefield parking lot.

But Mardel was unaware these were decoy profiles being run by a pedophile hunter group and he was quickly arrested by West Yorkshire Police officers who today hailed his prison sentence.

Carl Mardel was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

At a sentencing hearing at Leeds Crown Court, it was revealed that Mardel used a mobile dating app earlier this year.

The pedophile hunter group set up two decoy profiles on the app – claiming to be a 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl.

Mardel texted the alleged 12-year-old for two months, asking for intimate details about her body and explaining the sexual intercourse.

The 14-year-old Bait’s profile was messaged by Mardel in October, where he again asked for intimate details about the victim and suggested they meet for sex.

Mardel visited the girl in a Pontefract car park before being arrested by police on October 20 this year.

During his arrest, Mardel said, “I can’t believe I was that stupid. I ruined my life and that of my wife and daughter.”

The court heard how the defendant was jailed in 2000 for violently raping a 15-year-old girl and was only removed from the sex offender register in 2019.

Mardel had pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to date a girl under the age of 16 and two counts of sexual communication with children.

James Littlehales defended Mardel, saying in court: “He is determined to deal with his offensive behaviour.

“I accept that there is still a considerable way to go.

“He is determined to use his sentence wisely and address his criminal conduct.

“Admitting that he ruined his life shows he understands the seriousness of what he did.”

Recorder Mark McKone sentenced Mardel to two years and eight months in prison with an extended license term of six years. Mardel was issued a Sexual Violence Prevention Order and will remain on the sex offender registry for life.

Rec McKone told Mardel, “They had extensive contact with two decoys who pretended to be girls, ages 12 and 14.”

DS Ben Howley of the Kirklees Police Online Investigation Team said: “Mardel is a committed sex offender and we welcome the judgment handed down by the court today.

“He had every intention of committing serious sex offenses against what he believed to be a minor woman after snooping on online conversations, but now he faces jail time instead.

“Online child sex offenses are taken incredibly seriously by West Yorkshire Police, with all offenses being thoroughly investigated.

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A former school teacher from Weymouth has been jailed for eight years after being found guilty of child sex offences.

Dr Richard John Haddlesey, 52 and whose address was given as Abbotsbury Road, Weymouth, appeared before Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday, December 8 for sentencing.

The court heard how he had sexually abused a girl over a period of years involving the touching of genitals. The girl had told police the first incident took place, when she was in year four, at an address in Weymouth.

This happened on a number of occasions over a period of years.

Providing an impact statement in court, the survivor of Haddleseys abuse said she had felt constant shame, anger and self-hatred but said Haddlesey had not won.

She said: You have not won because I continue to speak. I could go on for days telling you about how your behaviour has changed me as a person but that would be a waste of my time because you dont care.

People say that you should forgive people who hurt you so I forgive you but can you forgive yourself? You have not won, you do not have power anymore, I have the power. Day after day I feel stronger and what you did will not define me as a person.

His Honour Judge Stephen Climie said the victim had shown extraordinary strength to give evidence in the face of Haddleseys constant denial.

In police interview, she said she hadnt felt able to tell people about it at the time but, when she was 12, had seen Haddlesey at the school she attended and burst into tears. Haddlesey had applied for a job at the school and was being shown around.

In mitigation, Haddlesey was said to be of otherwise good character and suffering with anxiety. HHJ Climie was told the proceedings of the court had weighed heavily on Haddlesey.

The offences for which Haddlesey was sentenced took place between April 17, 2013 and April 10, 2015.

Haddlesey was found guilty of three offences after a trial in November. Jurors deliberated for nearly seven hours before returning majority verdicts on two counts of assault by touching a girl under the age of 13 and one count of inciting or causing a girl under the age of 13 to perform sexual activity.

Haddlesey worked as a supply teacher at various schools in Dorset.

HHJ Stephen Climie sentenced Richard Haddlesey to eight years in jail, of which he will serve two thirds, and subjected to him to a sexual harm prevention order as well as a restraining order.

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A sex-offender who repeatedly raped and assaulted a woman has been sentenced to a lengthy jail term and has been made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.

Sheffield Crown Court heard on December 8 how Louis Williams, aged 39, of Huntingtower Road, near Greystones, Sheffield, was convicted after a previous trial of three counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, ten counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, five counts of making threats to kill and one count relating to disturbing behaviour.

The defendant’s victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, stated: “It is something I will never be able to forget and it will have an impact on me for the rest of my life. The impact on me has been immeasurable.”

She explained how the offending changed her life and thwarted her ambitions as she lost friends and family and it had left her feeling like a prisoner who had been robbed of her life.

The complainant added: “I walked past my old primary school and wished I could start again.”

She added that the trial had been horrific for her because she had been forced to relive her ordeal.

Defence barrister Guy Wyatt, representing Williams, said: “There are some persuasive indications that he is somewhere on the autistic spectrum. People with these kind of difficulties find life more difficult - find life more frustrating.

"People with these sort of difficulties are often prone to difficulties with outbursts of temper. Communications are difficult. Understanding someone else’s thinking is more difficult.

"In the context of this case it is a very small point. I accept that but it is a real point.”

Judge Kirstie Watson revealed how Williams had thrown items at the complainant, punched her, threatened to kill her and sexually assaulted her which had left her suffering with post traumatic stress disorder.

The judge told Williams: “Whatever condition you may or may not suffer from you committed these offences and you knew what you were doing when you committed them.”

She sentenced Williams to 18 years of custody and made him subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite restraining order.

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Jonathan Clarke, 32, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court today (Friday 9 December 2022) after pleading guilty to 54 offences spanning more than a decade.

The offences include the making of indecent images, sexual communications with a child, inciting children to engage in sexual acts, voyeurism, and blackmail, which were all committed online. 

Clarke asked the court to take a further 127 similar offences into consideration. He was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment, with an extended licence period upon release of eight years. Clarke was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The court heard that Clarke was arrested on 6 January this year following a police investigation into social media messages where victims were encouraged to send nude images of themselves.

It came to light after concerns were raised to the safeguarding lead at Thorpe St Andrew High School about someone purporting to be a child online.

Detectives from the specialist Safeguarding Children Online Team (SCOLT) carried out enquiries into the communications and managed to obtain an IP address linked to Clarkes home.

It led to officers to arrest Clarke and carry out a search of his former home address in Highview Close, Blofield, where officers seized a total of 14 electronic devices including eight laptops.

Clarke was taken into custody at Wymondham Police Investigation Centre and interviewed twice about the allegations, making no comment when questions were put to him. He also refused to share passwords for his social media accounts.

Initial investigations found around 200 indecent images and videos on Clarkes mobile phone ranging from Category A to C. Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, Clarke was initially charged with seven offences and appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court on 8 January where he was further remanded into custody while the police investigation continued.

The court heard the bulk of offending related to the sexual exploitation of children on social media platforms, including Snapchat, Instagram, Omegle, Kik, and Tik Tok.  Using these accounts, Clarke created a false profile presenting himself as two teenage boys to chat with victims and engage them in sexual activity. Clarke would incite victims to commit acts of sexual activity, and on occasions would threaten to harm the victims family if they didnt do as he asked.

Officers examined 14 electronic devices belonging to Clarke and found a total of 5,017 indecent images and videos of children. The investigation uncovered 159 victims aged under 16 who were targeted by Clarke between 2010 and 2022.

At the time of his arrest, Clarke worked at Thorpe St Andrew High School as a lettings assistant and cover supervisor. He also worked for Soccer Stars, a private company which operated after school clubs. It was through Soccer Stars contracts that Clarke taught PE lessons at Lingwood Primary School and delivered after school football sessions at a number of schools, including Brundall Primary School and Lionwood Infant and Nursery School. Clarke also coached teams at Blofield United Youth Football Club.

When the allegations first came to light, Clarke was immediately suspended from all roles and was later dismissed. Some of his offending was connected to his employment, coaching and school work through Soccer Stars although victims were identified across the country.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Dave McCormack said: I welcome the significant sentence passed at court today. It sends a clear message of how seriously the courts and the police treat such offenders.

The initial report about inappropriate chats on social media allowed us to fully investigate Clarke and uncover who he really is and the horrendous offences hes committed. Clarke was predatory and manipulative in his offending and its pleasing hes behind bars where he can no longer pose a danger to children.

This result wouldnt have been possible without the support of victims, their parents and the schools and football club who have provided unwavering support to make sure we get the right result for victims.

Our priority is always to safeguard and protect children and its important not to lose sight of the long-lasting impact his offending will have on his victims.

This is why its so important if you have concerns regarding someone online, please make sure you report it to us. We have specially trained officers who will investigate and ensure safeguarding is provided to victims involved.

Statements from some of Clarkes victims were read out to the court, describing how his offending had affected their lives, including one victim who described how they were shocked and disgusted when they learnt the boy theyd been chatting to online was a man.

Another victim said: Whats happened is terrible I feel like I have to be so careful with everything I do because I never want to be part of something like this again. Its affected not only my confidence but also my trust in people.

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A SEX offender has been jailed for making a new social media account without telling police.

Lee Challinor, of Bryn Offa in Wrexham, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Thursday.

The 49-year-old admitted at a previous hearing that he failed to comply with notification requirements under the sexual offences act, as well as breaching his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Laura Knightly, prosecuting, told the court the defendant's SHPO and notification requirements arose in 2019 when the defendant was convicted of 26 offences including attempting to cause a child to watch a sex act and engage in a sex act, as well as the making and distribution of indecent images of children. 

 The SHPO was breached in 2021, and he received a suspended sentence.

Ms Knightly said the matters before the court on Thursday concerned a police visit to his premises in June this year, during which he admitted he'd set up a new account on a social media platform and that he'd failed to register it, or the alias he'd created for it.

The court heard that while the name attributed to the profile did match the defendant's the photo did not.

Henry Hills, defending, told the court his client had been "quite open" about his conduct when the unannounced police visit took place.

He described his client as "vulnerable," adding that "he has problems."

Mr Hills said: "In my submission, he has not sought to minimise his behaviour.

"He has cerebral palsy and has to contend with mobility problems.

"There's no evidence he has engaged in any further sexual offending behaviour." 

 Judge Timothy Petts said the defendant's position was aggravated by his previous offences of a similar nature.

He handed down eight months custody for the SHPO breach, with a concurrent six months for the notification offence.

But the Judge also activated six months of the breached suspended sentence to run consecutive - making a total of 14 months to be served immediately.

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A 50-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for two years and nine months for offering drugs and money to a teenage schoolboy in return for sexual activity.

Martin Brett was abusing cocaine and alcohol when he sent a series of messages to the child with the clear intention of abusing him, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Brett, of Rye Street, Keighley, made some attempt to dispose of evidence on his phone when the police were alerted by the concerned mother of another boy.

He made no comment when questioned by the police but went on to plead guilty to causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual communication with the same boy.

Prosecutor Jayne Beckett told the court that Brett began messaging the child on Facebook. At first it was just general chat but then the boy began to find some of the messages ‘weird.’ He had told the defendant his age and did not respond when he began asking him questions about his penis.

When the mother of a friend found out what was going on, the police were contacted.

Brett’s barrister, Abigail Langford, said the offences were some time ago and there was a long delay in bringing the case to court.

She said Brett had a degree of understanding and remorse. He had problems with his mental health and had been using alcohol and cocaine at the time.

There was no actual sexual contact with the boy and Brett had no previous convictions for sexual offences.

But Recorder David Gordon said it was clearly Brett’s intention to engage in sexual activity with the boy.

There was grooming behaviour and the offer of cannabis and money. Another aggravating feature was the disparity of age between Brett and the teenager. He had also made some attempt to dispose of evidence on his phone.

Recorder Gordon said the matter was reported to the police by the concerned mother who had heard what was going on. That had put a stop to things.

Although Brett had difficulties with depression and anxiety, the doctor’s report did not state that he was suffering from any psychiatric illness. He had abused cocaine and other substances in the past.

Brett was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he must sign on the sex offender register, also indefinitely.

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A paedophile who called himself Captain Filth has been spared prison after downloading over a thousand sickening images of children.

Andrew Wells, 59, from Harrogate, downloaded and viewed images of children as young as two years of age, York Crown Court heard.

Barrister Harry Crowson, for the prosecution, said police swooped on Wellss home on April 13 after receiving intelligence about illegal activities on his computer devices.

Wells, of Rutland Road, was at work at the time where he was subsequently arrested. He handed over his mobile phone to police who seized several more electronic devices from Wellss home including an iPad, desktop computer, a memory card and hard drive on which they found 1,413 indecent images of children.

Of those repugnant images, 173 were rated Category A the worst kind of such material.

Mr Crowson said Wells had been downloading the depraved material for at least five years, between August 2015 and 2020.

On the iPad, police found the KIK app on which Wells had communicated with other paedophiles. His username on the app was Captain Filth. The messenger app was linked to an email account entitled No Good Boy.

Police found multiple conversations Wells had had with others which involved fantasy of the most vivid sort which was too heinous to be articulated in court.

It appears that the KIK chats (involved) him and another egging one another on and gaining sexual satisfaction from their conversations, added Mr Crowson.

Wells told his equally depraved interlocutor that he had pictures he could share with him at another time.

When the other man told him he would like pictures of 16-year-olds, Wells told him that 16 (was) a bit old for me.

During the debauched online chats, Wells, who told the man he was living in the Netherlands, sent what appeared to be one single indecent image, accompanied by unprintable remarks about the child in question, but the prosecution said that many other images may have been deleted.

There were further chilling conversations with others on Skype in which Wells and his interlocutors appeared to come to a mutual agreement that they would delete the spicier photos.

Mr Crowson said there was an incalculable number of other images that were deleted and couldnt be recovered in the Skype chat logs as Wells and the others had tried to cover each others tracks.

Wells had used encrypted-chat and cleaning software, as well as two private-network apps, to hide or delete the depraved material.

The private-network apps hid the identity and location of the user visiting the illicit sites, hence Wellss claim that he was from Holland.

Tech-savvy Wells also used an app designed to hide user passwords on external hard drives, enabling the user to upload images and then lock them, so nobody (else) could gain access.

However, Mr Crowson said police had the technical tools to break through this lock.

Wells appeared for sentence on Thursday, December 8 after admitting three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of distributing an indecent image.

Defence barrister Sean Smith said Wells had spectacularly lost his good character but claimed his offending over the five years had been sporadic rather than persistent.

Since his arrest, he had completed a rehabilitation programme voluntarily and references from his employer spoke of how he was valued within the work community and the good he did for others in that business.

Judge Sean Morris said it would have been easy to sentence Wells with anger (and) emotion after reading the sickening online chats, but this had to be tempered with the fact that Wells had only been charged with distributing one indecent image.

He noted that, after having sunk to this, Wells had taken steps to address his deplorable behaviour and helped to care for his elderly mother, which meant he could suspend the inevitable jail sentence.

Wells was given a 16-month suspended prison sentence and placed on the sex-offenders register for 10 years.

He was ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work and 40 rehabilitation-activity days. He was also made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order to curb his online activities.

Description

A man convicted of sexually abusing three children thanks to work by our specialist detectives has been jailed for more than 30 years.

Graham Carson, 68, assaulted the children between 2011 and 2014, telling one of them ‘wish you were 16’ while telling another it would be ‘their secret’.

The offences came to light when they were reported to us in August 2020 and the victims have been supported by specialist officers.

One of the children told our officers that since the assaults they had started to suffer nightmares and experiences trouble sleeping at night.

Carson, of The Drive, Clacton, had denied 18 offences including multiple counts of rape, but was convicted on 30 September following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

At the same court on Thursday 8 December he was sentenced to 32 years in jail, which is made up of an initial 26-year sentence and a six-year extension as he was ruled by the judge to be a “dangerous offender”.

An unimaginable ordeal

Investigating officer Detective Constable Reuben Brame said:

“The three victims in this case have been through an unimaginable ordeal at the hands of Graham Carson and have demonstrated incredible strength in reporting what happened to them.

“The impact of Carson’s abuse cannot be overstated and those affected live with the memory of what’s happened to them every day.

“I am pleased our work has been able put him behind bars and while no sentence will ever undo his crimes, I hope it will help his victims move forward.

“If you have been a victim of a sexual crime, I want you to know that you can come forward and have the confidence that you will be believed, and the offence investigated.

“We have a range of specially trained detectives and staff who investigate sexual offences and support those involved.

“We use new measures to better protect victims and work closely with the CPS to improve the chance of a case going to trial.

“And we work with partners to ensure victims can get ongoing support.

“If you’ve been a victim of a sexual offence, call us.”

No victim or survivor is alone

Support is there for anyone affected by rape and sexual abuse, and no victim or survivor is alone. Synergy Essex provides specialist support for victims and survivors of rape and sexual abuse of all ages and all genders across Essex, Thurrock and Southend.

Synergy Essex is a partnership of rape and sexual abuse centres in Essex:

• CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse),
• SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service
• Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis).

Synergy Essex is independent from the police and provides support for victims and survivors throughout their journey.

Victims and survivors can self-refer, or be referred by a parent, partner, friend or professional and can access specialist emotional support, counselling and advocacy.

For victims and survivors who report to the police, Synergy Essex provides an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) service, providing support throughout the criminal justice process.

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An electrician who distributed videos of himself raping a young girl on the internet has been jailed for almost 16 years.

Thomas Gwilliam-Carter, 39, from Leominster, was identified by National Crime Agency investigators after child abuse images he’d posted were found on devices belonging to a U.S. suspect arrested by the FBI.

Chat logs showed that Gwilliam-Carter, using the online pseudonym ‘keepedging247’, told other paedophiles on the Wickr platform that he planned to drug a child to make raping her easier. He then went on to share videos of the abuse and later admitted that he had drugged the child with Phenergan, a mild sedative.

Gwilliam-Carter was arrested by NCA officers at his home address on 1 October this year, and his mobile phone was seized.

This was forensically examined and found to contain 3,651 indecent images of children (IIOC) in categories A-C (A being the most severe), some of which showed babies being raped. The child he’d raped has been safeguarded.

Gwilliam-Carter pleaded guilty to one count of rape of a child under 13, three counts of making IIOC and five counts of distributing IIOC at Worcester Crown Court on 7 November.

He was sentenced at the same court today (8 December).

NCA operations manager Phil Eccles said: “Gwilliam-Carter inflicted the most terrible abuse on a young girl and distributed videos he’d made of it online, all for his and other paedophiles’ pleasure.

“Child sexual abuse is a global threat and this case highlights why the NCA’s close cooperation with international partners is so vital in tackling it.

“We also work tirelessly to protect those affected by child sexual abuse and disrupt offenders who pose a sexual threat to children, ensuring they face justice.”

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A Manchester man has been jailed for 12 months after being caught in possession of an indecent image of children and four counts of sexual communications with a child under the age of 16 years.

Paul Michael Buckley aged 50 of Church Street was initially arrested on Monday 5 December 2022 and charged on Tuesday 6 December 2022, for the offences he carried out between June and August this year and in March 2021.

He also recorded himself following a schoolgirl for several minutes, at a close distance and in interview had openly admitted this was something that he has done.

The investigation was led by the Sex Offender Management Unit and District Intelligence Unit (DIU). Sergeant Richard Anderton said: “We are pleased that Paul Buckley is now off the streets and no longer a danger to girls in the area.

“We strongly urge anyone who is subject to this kind of attention to contact GMP and let us know. It’s important to us that the streets of Manchester and surrounding districts are safe for everyone, and we are committed to getting sex offenders arrested and charged for their crimes.

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A teenager who got a primary school-aged girl to perform sex acts on him has been jailed for five years.

The girl – now a young woman – spoke of the ‘sense of dread’ she felt on ‘each and every occasion’ she was invited into Jake Nolan’s bedroom to endure what she later realised were sickening sex assaults.

Having given evidence at Nolan’s trial in October, the woman – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – spoke of the devastating impact the now 26-year-old’s abuse has had upon her.

Prosecutor Mark Seymour suggested that the impact on the victim could amount to ‘extreme psychological harm’, putting the offending in the most serious category in the sentencing guidelines given to judges.

“If the level of harm in terms of psychological impact that is obviously writ large in the statement doesn’t constitute extreme harm it is really quite hard to see what would – short, actually, a complainant ending her own life,” the barrister said.

Sending him to prison for five years for rape of a child under-13 and causing or inciting a child under-13 to engage in sexual activity, Judge Maria Lamb told Nolan: “The impact which you have had upon your victim has been devastating. It is clear – quite wrongly – that she blamed herself for what had been done to her.

“She has no reason to reproach herself at all.

"She was a child at the time these things were perpetrated against her by you.”

Judge Lamb described the victim’s impact statement as ‘heartbreaking’.

Had Nolan been an adult when he carried out the abuse and not a child in his early teens, he would have faced a prison sentence around twice as long as the one he actually received.

John Carmichael, mitigating, reminded the judge of his client’s difficult upbringing. Noting that the offences had been committed while Nolan was drunk or under the influence of alcohol, he said: “One asks oneself the question what on earth is he doing with the alcohol? Where was the control from the family?”

Nolan’s older brother had been jailed for sexual offending of his own, the court heard. Mr Carmichael said his client had grown up with a ‘lack of role models’.

The defendant’s education had been disrupted, he had ‘intellectual difficulties’ and he had not worked for a number of years.

Nolan, of Grange Beck, Didcot, will be on the sex offender register for life and will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.