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A depraved sex offender who masturbated in front of two women before going onto rape another while she was unconscious on the Piccadilly Line has been jailed for rape and sexual assault, following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Ryan Johnston, 37, and of HMP Thameside, Greenwich, was sentenced today (8 December) at Inner London Crown Court for nine years imprisonment. He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a life-long signature on the Sex Offenders Register.

His sentencing followed a jury finding him guilty of: one count of rape, one count of attempted rape, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of outraging public decency at Inner London Crown Court on 2 August.

On Sunday 23 February 2020 at around 4.45am, two women left the Piccadilly Line at Bounds Green Underground station.

They noticed a man stood outside a house with his trousers round his ankles, looking through the window and masturbating.

Feeling scared, the women ran away, and Johnston then began shouting and chased them down the street to their home.

Thankfully, they managed to safely get inside and hide under a stairwell while Johnston banged on their door and put his hand through the letterbox before eventually leaving.

Three hours later, Johnston boarded a Piccadilly Line train at Heathrow Terminal Five.

He walked confidently through the carriage and approached a young woman who was asleep.

He sexually assaulted her and then raped her as she sat unconscious.

The horrific attack was witnessed by a tourist and his young son, who reported what they had seen to police later that morning.

The incident was not captured on CCTV and despite extensive enquiries, officers were unable to identify the victim or any other report made to police.

Two years later, following a BTP review of historic rape cases, Johnston was identified, and he was arrested at HMP Brixton in December 2022 where he was serving time for burglary.

Further enquiries led to detectives identifying the victim in the same month, who hadn’t realised the extent of what had happened to her. She was just 20-years-old at the time.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Kathrine Spencer said: "The offences committed by Ryan Johnston show him to be a dangerous individual who viewed women with contempt.

“He was simply concerned with his own sexual gratification at any cost. I hope this sends out a strong message to survivors of these offences that we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice to make society a safer place." 

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Paul Attwell of BTP’s Major, Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said:

“Johnston’s brazen attack in front of witnesses highlights his lack of shame or remorse for his actions, something which continued throughout his trial. I am thankful his violence and despicable actions have been recognised by the guilty verdicts and significant sentence.

“His depraved actions will have a life-long impact on the victim and those who witnessed this. I am thankful for their bravery throughout this investigation. I hope they can now find some comfort in the fact justice has been served.”

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A thug is behind bars for the "merciless" abuse of a woman and boy. Kenneth Quinn was convicted of the attacks spanning four decades.

The pair regularly suffered at the 49-year-old's violent hands including the repeated rape of the woman. Quinn admitted to jurors that he was "utterly ashamed" of himself.

He accepted physically harming both - but insisted the sex attacks did not happen. However, Quinn was convicted of a total of 10 charges following a harrowing trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

This included two counts of repeatedly raping the woman, assaulting her to her severe injury and permanent disfigurement as well as engaging in abusive behaviour.

He was further guilty of physically attacking the boy to his injury on various occasions. The crimes occurred between 1994 and 2021 at different addresses in Paisley, Renfrewshire, as well as in the Scottish Borders.

Quinn, of Elderslie, also Renfrewshire, had been on bail during the trial. But he was remanded in custody by judge Lady Stacey pending sentencing.

Jurors heard how Quinn first assaulted the woman in the 1990s. The attacks then occurred "so often" it ended up difficult to say exactly when they happened.

The physical abuse involved him smacking the victim with a dog lead and shoes as well as kicking her down stairs, booting her on the body and chucking food at her.

The woman also suffered a broken arm. The trial heard how the victim - who was humiliated and degraded - would often beg him to stop.

Describing one incident which left the victim scarred for life, prosecutor Greg Farrell put to him: "She said that you held her in place with one hand and used a bank card in the other to strike her repeatedly on the face."

Quinn: "That is a lie." Mr Farrell said the woman especially was "terrorised". The advocate depute: "It was a relentless course of violence by you. It was merciless." Quinn: "It was bad." Mr Farrell: "It was more than bad."

Quinn then stated at one stage: "I am here to accept my failings as an individual." But, although he accepted much of the violence, Quinn denied any sexual abuse. He insisted he was "100% respectful" if the woman didn't want sex.

The court heard, however, that he hung his head in shame and confessed to raping the woman when confronted. Mr Farrell: "You maintain that (the boy) is lying when he heard you admit to raping the woman?"

Quinn: "Both of them are lying." The trial heard how the boy was also thrown down stairs, grabbed by the hair, flung to the ground and slapped on the head.

Quinn's lawyer Euan Gosney asked him during his evidence: "Anything that you would like to say about the repeated violence?"

A sobbing Quinn replied: "I am utterly ashamed of myself. I am sorry to the bottom of my heart." Sentencing was adjourned for reports.

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A paedophile voyeur who was caught with indecent images of children has been jailed.

Police were made aware in August 2021 that Kyle Spires, 35, had uploaded an indecent image of a child onto the internet in June of that year.

Spires was arrested at a property in March on 22 January 2022.

A mobile phone was seized and later found to contain footage Spires had filmed of a child covertly.

There were also 359 images and three videos of a woman, taken without her knowledge.

Spires was rearrested and another mobile phone seized. He refused to give login details for this mobile phone, despite repeated court orders.

He also failed to comply with Sex Offenders Register requirements that said he needed to inform police if he stayed at a property where under 18s were present for at least 12 hours, and tell police of a new address within three days of moving.

On Friday (1 December), at Peterborough Crown Court, Spires, of Eldern, Orton Malborne, Peterborough, was jailed for two years and four months, having pleaded guilty to taking an indecent photograph of a child, voyeurism, making an indecent photograph of a child, failing to comply with a Section 49 Notice to disclose the key to protected information, failing to comply with Sex Offender Register notification requirements and possession of an offensive weapon in public, relating to a knuckleduster.

He was also given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Sergeant George Neal said: "Spires is clearly a danger to women and children so I am pleased he has faced justice. During this investigation he has shown incredible arrogance and disregard for the law.

Record details

A “dangerous” paedophile and rapist will spend at least nine and a half years behind bars after being convicted of multiple historic sex offences which he committed against three children when he himself was a child.

Warren Templeton has also been jailed for a rape and two sexual assaults he carried out on a vulnerable man between 2008 and 2016, when he and his victim were both adults.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Templeton was between the ages of 13 and 17 when he carried out his first collection of sordid crimes against a boy and two girls, who were between the ages of six and 11.

The incidents, which also involved two acts of gross indecency, took place between 1997 and 2001 in Burnley and left his victims so traumatised they could only find the courage to report the crimes to police in 2020.

His fourth victim, a vulnerable man, was assaulted and raped by Templeton between 2008 and 2016, when Templeton was between 25 and 33 years of age, with prosecuting barrister Peter Barr telling the court that he left his victim in pain for days.

Reading from the victim impact statements, Mr Barr said: “His adult victim said the impact of the defendant raping him has affected every day of his life since it happened.

“He said the rape exacerbated his health issues and the emotional impact it had is massive and no words can ever describe it.

“He said he tried to take his life multiple times as he can’t cope with what Templeton did to him and finds it difficult to develop friendships or romantic relationships."

Mr Barr added: “He said he is scared of what Templeton might do if he ever saw him again and asked the court to protect him.”

Mr Barr told the court that Templeton’s other victims echoed similar statements, with all three having been deeply emotionally and psychologically affected by what he did to them as children, which has in turn affected their personal relationships.

He went on: “None of his victims want to see the defendant ever again and have asked the judge to keep them safe by keeping him in prison for a long time.”

Mitigating for Templeton, now 40, Kristian Cavanagh said: “He recognises this will be a lengthy prison sentence.

“And more than that, he recognises that it’s highly unlikely to be determinate.

“He well understands that the court will be considering a further extended sentence, and that realisation and realistic approach has manifested itself to the extent that he’s already made enquiries as to where he will be placed so he can best undertake the Kaizen program for high-risk males.”

Templeton, currently of HMP Wymott but previously of Florence Street, Burnley, pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault against children under the age of 14 and two counts of inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency.

He was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one rape following a four-day trial in August.

He has 11 convictions for 19 offences, the last in 2019 when he received a four-year prison sentence for arson.

Judge Sara Dodd said: “You continue to pose a risk to the public and are at significant risk to causing further harm to adults.

“You are a high risk of causing harm to children and your risk has not diminished while you have been in custody these last four years.

“I have come to the conclusion that you are dangerous and I have to decide whether a determinate sentence is significant enough to protect the public, which is why I will impose an extended sentence.”

Templeton was jailed for 12 months for the offences against his three child victims and a total of nine years, with five years on extended licence, for the rape and sexual assault against his adult victim, which will run consecutively, giving a total extended sentence of 15 years.

He must also sign the sex offender’s register for life and was made subject to a lifetime restraining order against all four of his victims.

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A predatory transgender woman who incited a man to sexually abuse a "vulnerable and innocent" young child has been jailed.

An investigation found Naomi O'Brien, of Tameside, had directed a man from Wales to abuse the four-year-old in March 2023.

The 31-year-old was convicted of five offences and jailed for four years and three months at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

Greater Manchester Police said the child had suffered a "terrible ordeal".

O'Brien's crimes were uncovered through what the force described as a "tenacious and lengthy investigation of 1,865 messages" which proved her conversations with the man were "not simply a case of role play or fantasy".

In July, "calculating and deviant" Jonathan Walker, of Merthyr Tydfil, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for sexually abusing the 4-year-old, along with engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and possession of indecent images, South Wales Police said.

'Significant result'

O'Brien, of Ashton-under-Lyne, knew Walker had "an interest in sexually abusing a young boy on the direction of her," Det Insp Zoe Marsden, of GMP's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team said.

She was convicted of three counts of intentionally encouraging and assisting another to commit a sexual assault against a child, and two counts of intentionally encouraging and assisting another to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

O'Brien was also given a sexual harm prevention order for four years and four months, and placed on the sex offenders register for life when she was sentenced.

Det Insp Marsden said it was a "significant result" for this case and also "other children in the community who could have been subject to similar offending by a predatory female who was inciting others to commit acts of sexual harm".

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A 65-year-old man from Gosport has been jailed for historical child sex offences.

Shaun Anthony Hewer, who had previously been found guilty of the five offences, was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday (5 December).

Hewer, of Bury Road, Gosport must serve nine years behind bars, followed by one year on licence.

He will not be eligible for release until he has served two thirds of the nine-year sentence handed down to him.

The offences, for which he has now been jailed, occurred at an address in Gosport between 1978 and 1989, when the victim was aged between four and 16 years.

Police staff investigator, on the Fareham and Gosport District Investigations Team, Nikki Ginn, said: First and foremost, I would like to praise the victim in this case for the bravery she has shown in ensuring this child abuser has been brought to justice.

I am so pleased for her that justice has finally be served in this case.

After more than 40 years of having to deal with what Hewer did to her, she has now seen him put behind bars, where he belongs.

He took her innocence from her when she was only four years of age and continued to abuse her into her teenage years.

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

I also hope this sentence will reassure other victims that they will be listened to when reporting similar incidents to us, even if a considerable amount of time has passed since the offences took place.

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A cowardly sex offender who groomed a teenage girl has been put behind bars for 10 years.

Thirty-two-year-old Thomas Todd befriended the victim and bought her presents before sexually assaulting her in 2017.

The victim courageously spoke to police officers in May 2018 after telling her mother Todd had abused her.

Todd refused to admit his offending to police and subjected the victim to a trial and lengthy court proceedings.

He then failed to attend court for the final days of the trial and was tracked down by police in Scotland following a manhunt.

Todd, of HMP Nottingham, was found guilty of sexual assault and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court.

He was jailed for a total of 10 years when he appeared for sentencing on Friday (1 December).

Todd’s offending began in the summer of 2017 when he started sending the victim messages asking her where she was and who she was with.

She later told detectives he treated her like ‘his girlfriend’ even though he was aware of her age.

He bought her gifts and sexually assaulted her when they were left alone.

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A convicted sex offender covertly attached a tiny camera to a woman's clothing so he could secretly film "upskirt" videos of her.

The illicitly filmed footage was found on Brian Cocker's mobile phone, along with a stash of child porn material filed as "Candid Teens." Cocker, 36, was banned from playparks and other areas frequented by children as part of a conduct order imposed at Perth Sheriff Court.

He was told to carry out 200 hours unpaid community work and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and under social work supervision for three years. The court was told that the spycam material - which clearly identified a female known to Cocker - was found during a routine visit by police officers.

Cocker, from Perth, admitted that between 20 April and 19 July 2021 he operated equipment beneath a woman's clothing to enable himself to observe her genitals, buttocks or underwear. He admitted doing it to obtain images of her bending over and trying to photograph her genital area without her knowledge or consent.

He also admitted a charge of having indecent images of children between 25 November 2020 and 24 July 2021. Cocker was first placed on the Sex Offenders Register in 2014 for grooming a 15-year-old girl for sex in a course of conduct which led to him being jailed for ten months.

He plied the youngster with alcohol during "frequent" sessions, despite knowing she was under-age. Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said police called on Cocker at home and he handed over his mobile, containing the folder of sickening child porn images.

The children depicted were as young as 14, and a further probe found the voyeuristic pictures of the woman who had been "upskirted" by Cocker.

Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: "He has been engaging with the Stop It Now programme, of his own volition, attending 30 sessions on a voluntary basis. He has expressed significant regret and remorse. Mr Cocker has a previous conviction for similar behaviour from 2014. For ten years he has managed not to engage in that kind of offending.

"He appreciates that had the previous case been more recent, a custodial sentence would have been inevitable, but it has been ten years and there are alternatives available."

Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC: "I note from the reports before me that you are at medium risk of sexual reoffending. You will have been made aware that a custodial sentence was at the forefront of my mind."

Record details

A pensioner was found with a mirror as he attempted to spy on two young sisters while they were in showers at a Cromer holiday park.

Trevor Cator, 67, was seen by one of the girls on all fours after trying to peer under cubicles at Cromer Caravan Park.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told that he had claimed to police that a mirror found in his possession had been to read text on his mobile phone.

Stuart Cowen, prosecuting, said: “If you use a mirror for that the text will be backwards. The crown says there was a more sinister use.”

The two sisters, aged nine and 11, had been on holiday at the campsite on August 8 when they went into female toilets to use shower cubicles.

Mr Cowen said: “One of the girls heard something outside so she put a towel on and opened the door and saw the defendant on all fours within one of the toilets.”

She alerted her parents who confronted Cator who had fled into the male toilets and locked himself in a cubicle, the court heard

He later claimed to police that he had been caught short and rushed into the toilets without checking whether they were male or female.

Cator, of Barkers Herne in Cromer, pleaded guilty to attempted voyeurism.

The court was told he had previously been convicted of spying on two young girls changing in a cubicle at a Hemsby holiday park in 2013.

David Foulkes, mitigating, said there was no evidence his latest offence was more than an attempt at voyeurism. 

“What he saw was a girl emerging from a shower cubicle wearing a towel. He did not see into the cubicle and no recording was taking place,” he added. 

Committing him to be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on January 8, magistrates told Cator: "These girls should have been in a safe place. This offence is so serious you need a greater punishment than we can give." 

He was given conditional bail banning him from any UK campsite and any public showers.

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A man has been jailed for years after he stabbed another man in the back following a brawl. 

Florin Suta, 41, of Green Street, High Wycombe, was jailed for stabbing a man in the back in High Wycombe.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of Section 18 wounding with intent, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and failing to comply with notification requirements at a hearing at Aylesbury Crown Court on September 7.

He was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday, December 1 and he will be on licence for two years after his release.

The attack happened following an altercation involving several people on Green Street at about 11.50pm on July 14.

READ MORE: ‘Illegal' tobacco and vapes are seized in Aylesbury

On arrival, police officers located the victim, a man in his thirties, with a stab wound to his back.

Several members of the public identified Suta at the scene and notified officers that he was in possession of a knife, so they arrested him.

CCTV footage showed that as the victim left an address along Green Street, Suta emerged from an adjacent alleyway and stabbed the victim once in the back.

The victim escaped and he was pursued along the road by Suta, who then fell over.

After arresting Suta, officers discovered he had been living at a different address to the one he provided and he had failed to notify the police.

He is a registered sex offender, meaning one of his requirements is to notify police of a chance of address within three days of any change.

Suta was charged the following day.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Will Blundell, of South Buckinghamshire CID, said: “Suta attacked the victim with a knife in a targeted attack intending to cause injury. He then pursued the victim, who was running away from him, and was only prevented from causing further harm when he fell over.

“Suta remained in possession of the knife whilst he himself made a call to the police during which he showed no remorse for his actions.

“A large number of members of the public came out onto the street due to the disturbance and thankfully, no one else was injured as Suta continued to walk along the road armed with the knife prior to officers arriving.

Record details

A pet-collecting paedophile who sexually abused two youngsters has been jailed for 27 years.

Fraser Brennan subjected the children to sickening abuse which has left both of them traumatised. Newcastle Crown Court heard the 35-year-old was previously convicted of sexually assaulting two other youngsters when he was 15 or 16 years old. He got a community order for that then was cautioned twice for breaching a sex offender registration requirement.

In relation to the latest case, the court heard Brennan kept a selection of animals, including a bearded dragon, snake and rabbits and he admitted the pets were attractive to children, although a judge said it was unclear whether he kept them for that purpose.

Brennan denied offending against the victims but was convicted of two counts of assault by penetration on one of them and attempted rape and two counts of assault by penetration on the other.

The abuse came to light after a school teacher was alerted and Brennan was arrested. He continues to deny any wrongdoing.

In a victim impact statement, one youngster said they are "more angry than ever" and has self-harmed. They added that they'll never forget it but hopes to use the experience to grow stronger.

The second victim said they have not been happy since the abuse and has depression, anxiety and has self-harmed.

Judge Christopher Prince jailed Brennan, of Camperdown, North Tyneside, for 27 years with an extended licence period of a further six years. He will also have to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Fiona Lamb, defending, said: "There's a different side to this defendant. His family are supportive of him."

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A man who raped a woman and forced her to have sex with other men while he watched has been jailed.

Gary Shaw also sexually assaulted another woman and engaged in controlling and coercive behaviour towards her.

He forced his victims to bravely recount their ordeals after denying the offences – but a jury at Derby Crown Court saw through his lies and after a trial in September found him guilty of rape, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent, controlling and coercive behaviour and sexual assault.

The 53-year-old, of Market Place, Belper, was sentenced on 15 November when he was jailed for 12 years and handed restraining orders banning him from having any contact with the women. He must also sign the sex offender’s register for life.

Record details

A Trowbridge man jailed after sexually abusing young girl over six-year period.

65-year-old Richard Webb was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault at a four-day trial held at Winchester Crown Court.

The offending took place between 1996 and 2002. On 20 November, he was handed eight years’ imprisonment.

“I feel as though those years are lost to me. It feels like I have disassociated myself from most of my childhood”, the victim said.

“He ruined my life. I don’t think I will ever get over what he did to me. I will forever be trying to deal with the abuse I suffered.”

DC Lauren Barnard, from Wiltshire Police, said: “It is clear from the impact statement from the victim just how much she has suffered and continues to suffer to this day as a result of the abuse inflicted upon her by Webb.

“His actions have deprived someone of a happy childhood, purely for his own sexual gratification. His actions are abhorrent and I am pleased he will now serve a custodial sentence for his behaviour.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the victim for bravely reporting her ordeal to police – this was the first time she had ever spoken to anybody about exactly what she had been through.

“Without her bravery, we would not have been able to put Webb before the courts for justice to be served.”

Record details

A depraved paedophile has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty by a jury of multiple sex offences against a child.

Scott Daniels abused the youngster, who bravely told her mother of her ordeal.

The victims mother informed Northumbria Police, and officers immediately launched an investigation into Daniels.

He was arrested and in interview denied that any of the offences against the victim had taken place.

Daniels, 37, was charged with three or more counts of rape of a child, three or more counts of sexual penetration and two or more counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, all relating to the same victim.

He denied all of the offences but was convicted by a jury following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in August, after which he was remanded in custody.

Last Friday, December 1, Daniels, of St Johns Green, North Shields, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a five-year licence period.

Daniels was also handed a restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim and given a sexual harm prevention order. He will also remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Natasha Wilson, of Northumbria Police, said: First and foremost, I would like to pay tribute to the victim in this case who, along with their family, has shown tremendous bravery.

No child should ever have to experience any type of abuse, and I hope this sentence shows we will absolutely not tolerate offenders like Daniels by bringing them to justice.

Det Con Wilson added: Daniels is a dangerous individual and it is only right that he is removed from the community and put behind bars for a considerable period of time where he cannot cause harm or suffering to anyone else.

As a Force, we will continue to protect our communities by pursing predators such as him, preventing these vile offences from being carried out and offering any necessary support to anyone who comes forward.

Record details

Kieran O’Connor, of Dorleigh Court, Cwmbran, breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order given by Newport Crown Court on September 9, 2020, after sending messages to two teenage girls on Facebook.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the 21-year-old had been placed into a hotel as part of his prevention order.

However, the hotel had a smart TV enabling O’Connor to access Facebook and communicate with children.

Via Facebook O’Connor asked a 14-year-old to meet and do "dirty stuff". He also contacted a 15-year-old girl.

Judge Shomon Khan said: “You have been given chances before.

“Everyone has tried to work really hard for you, you are very determined to reoffend and are unmanageable in the community.”

The court also heard how O’Connor’s family had tried to ban O’Connor’s access to the internet and regularly changed their passwords.

O’Connor was jailed for 20 months for both offences to run concurrently, he was also ordered to pay a court surcharge of £156 three months after his release.