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Description

Pervert Steven Hawkes was caught with horrific child abuse photos - after serving time for similar offending. The 42-year-old was jailed for 16 months in 2019 after he took personal photographs off customers’ computers at a Currys PC World store for his own sexual gratification.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard at the time he secretly copied hard drives while transferring shoppers’ data from their old devices to new ones which they had bought from the retail giant. He then viewed customers’ photographs – including a teenage girl’s school prom and pictures of women's breasts – at his home.

As part of the investigation, thousands of indecent images and films of children and extreme pornography featuring sex between humans and animals were also uncovered. He pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornographic images, computer misuse and possessing cannabis.

But he received no help to address his problem and in December 2021, while misusing alcohol, he returned to perverted ways. Now Hawkes has been sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court as the judge wants to give him a chance to receive treatment to address his issues.

Prosecutor Jas Dhaliwal said police received intelligence that the defendant's IP address had been used in connection with indecent images of children. They visited his address in Langley Street, Basford, at 7am on December 9, 2021.

Mr Dhaliwal said: "They seized two devices, a tablet and a mobile phone. They were analysed by experts. The tablet contained no indecent images. However there was evidence the device had been used to access folders regarding child sexual abuse."

Police recovered six accessible category A moving images from the phone; two category B movies; 58 prohibited still images and one moving image of a child; and one extreme pornographic image.

In his police interview in March this year Hawkes said he was misusing alcohol at the time. He said he was looking for that material so the police would arrest him and send him to custody.

Hawkes, of Langley Street, Basford, pleaded guilty to two charges of making indecent images of children; possession of a prohibited image of children and possession of an extreme pornographic image.

Hamish Noble, mitigating, said this offending was less serious than the 2019 matters but conceded his client's position was precarious because of his previous convictions. He said Hawkes did not receive much help to address his problem when in custody. He was released in April 2020, during lockdown, and had just two face-to-face meetings with probation in a 12-month period.

He said Hawkes is fortunate to have the support of his parents. But his finances were in a mess and he returned to alcohol misuse. Mr Noble said: "His position was quite bleak. He had no work, no money, debts, no relationship, and poor mental health. Alcohol may have acted as a disinhibitor."

Mr Noble said the offending happened during a two-week period. Hawkes has since consolidated his debts and reduced his alcohol consumption. Mr Noble added: "He recognises that is an issue. He can be punished in the community. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."

As part of the suspended sentence Hawkes must complete an iHorizon course; a rehabilitation activity requirement for 25 days and 160 hours unpaid work.

Judge Graeme Smith said: "This case is unusual because normally people who are found with indecent images are initially given a suspended sentence with a treatment requirement. If they then re-offend they are sent to custody.

"In your case, you were sent to custody the first time you offended. You were not given any assistance by way of treatment. The purpose of the court is not just punishment but also rehabilitation.

"The fact you have re-offended in exactly the same way would normally lead to immediate custody. However, the extent of your offending is less than on the first occasion and it is much shorter in terms of length. There has been a significant delay since your arrest in December 2021."

Hawkes was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

Judge Smith added: "This is to rehabilitate you as well as punish you. If you are unwilling or unable to change, be in no doubt what will happen next time, custody."

Description

A “high risk” sex offender who abused young girls from the 1970s up until his arrest in 2021 has been jailed for 14 years.

Grenville Blower, 66, had denied abusing three pre-teen and teenage girls in the 1970s, 1990s and between 2017 and 2021.

Sentencing him to an extended 14-year sentence at Norwich Crown Court, Judge Katharine Moore said: “I regard you as a dangerous offender with a pattern of persistent and repeated behaviour.

“Plainly you are sexually attracted to pre-pubescent and young pubescent girls.”

Blower, of Lexham Road in Litcham, near Dereham, was convicted of 10 counts of indecent assault.

He abused the first victim on "multiple occasions" some when she was aged under 13 and he was 15 but others when he was aged over 18. 

Philip Farr, prosecuting, said it was "repeated and persistent" activity which happened on "several occasions".

His second victim was also assaulted multiple times in the 1990s when he touched her while she was just 14.

The third victim was aged between six and 11 when she was abused by the defendant when he was aged in his 60s

One of the victims read out a statement stating she has "cried myself to sleep thinking about what he has done to me".

She said any time she thinks about what happened it "makes me upset" adding that ever since it happened she has been "scared of old men" not knowing whether they wanted to do the same things to her.

Another victim said he had tried to "bury so, so deep" what he had done to her as she "didn't think anyone would believe me" but had been in "utter turmoil" as a result of what the "monster" did to her.

She said the "horrific events" she had been through as a result of this "devastating ordeal" would never leave her.

Another of the victims said she had "kept this to myself" for decades and wished she had the courage to have come forward sooner.

Judge Katharine Moore said a probation report had described Blower as “high risk” and “in denial” about his offending. 

She said the passage of time “makes it difficult now to assess your maturity” when he began offending in the 1970s aged 15 but from age 18 he was “highly culpable”.

Making him subject to a 20-year sexual harm prevention order, she said it was clear his “sexual interest in young girls remains undimmed”.  

Stephen Mather, for Blower, said he is a “simple man” who is "not in the best of health" and was experiencing prison for the first time.

He added that he knew he needed to be punished but insisted these matters were the "only offending" he had committed.

He will serve nine years in prison and five years on licence and will be subject to sexual offending notification requirements indefinitely.

Description

A Wirral man has been jailed today, Tuesday 5 December, for kidnapping and breaching an order.

Robert Byrne, 56 years, of Fountain Street, Birkenhead was sentenced to five years and four months in prison with five years on extended licence after he pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was also issued with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order with three further conditions added.

A deprivation order has been issued in relation to clothing and radio seized by Merseyside Police.

The court heard that in February a 13-year-old boy was upset and had entered a Liverpool city centre shop in the early of hours of the morning, asking the shopkeeper to contact police as he was reported missing.

While reporting it to police via phone the shopkeeper saw Byrne walk past the shop and asked for his assistance, as Byrne had previously identified himself as an undercover police officer.

Wearing clothes similar to a police uniform, Byrne took the teenage victim to a nearby fast-food place where police officers tracked him down and arrested him.

Police took the young victim safely home.

After Byrne’s arrest, several items consistent with a police uniform were seized.

The investigation was led by Detective Inspector Victoria Tinsley from the Sex Offender Unit who ensure that sex offenders living in the community are closely monitored.

She said: “This was very disturbing incident where Byrne preyed up on the young victim’s circumstances of being vulnerable and upset.

“What was also alarming was that Byrne had previously told retailers that he was a police officer working undercover. This showed the lengths his predatory behaviour would go to in order to win the trust members of the public by impersonating a police officer. 

“Thankfully genuine police officers quickly tracked Byrne down, and the young victim was taken safely home before any potential harm came to him.

Description

A convicted sex offender failed to tell police of his whereabouts while living in a tent on the streets of Norwich.

Jon Hannon, 36, is required to inform police where he was living after being placed on the sex offenders register for life following a conviction in 2014.  

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told that when someone is homeless they are required to update police about their location every week.   

But the whereabouts of Hannon was not been known after he failed to keep police informed while living in a tent in April this year and on a second occasion when he was evicted from a homeless hostel.

Sally Harris, prosecuting, said: “You will appreciate how important it is for an offender of this type that the police do know exactly where he is residing.”

Hannon pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements.

He also admitted breaching a 24 week suspended prison sentence imposed after he was convicted for actual bodily harm in March.

The court was told he has 10 previous convictions for 19 offences including other breaches of court orders. 

Jonathan Perkins, mitigating, said on both occasions when he failed to notify police he had found himself abruptly homeless.

“Normally when a person is subject to notification orders they have annual sign-ins but when a person is homeless they are subject to a weekly notification with the police even if their tent is pitched in the same area as it was the week before,” he said. 

“So we have the unfortunate situation where those with the most unstable and precarious lives, who are generally the most vulnerable, have a burden that weighs on them 52 times more heavily than those with a place they can call their own.”  

Hannon was fined £240 and told to pay costs of £166. 

Magistrates told him: “Regardless of it being a burden, you must report to the police whether you like it or not.” 

Description

A man who attempted to incite a teenager into a sexual act when she was a passenger in his taxi has been given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Dale Purchase, aged 29, of Townshend Avenue in Plymouth, appeared before Plymouth Magistrates Court on Monday 4 December after being found guilty of Harassment on Friday, November 3.

The offences took place on January 12, 2023, where, across two separate taxi journeys, Purchase repeatedly made inappropriate and sexualized comments towards the teenager by asking her to touch his genitals and making sexual advances toward her.

Purchase was given an 18-week prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, and received a restraining order banning him on contacting the victim.

Sergeant Tom Ottley said: We take the fear of violence against women and girls very seriously and work tirelessly to ensure we are bringing people to justice while safeguarding victims.

Despite this case not being a typical incident of harassment, the importance of women and girls feeling safe in our society cannot, and should not, be understated.

I would like to commend the victim for her engagement with our officers, who have been tenacious in their pursuit of justice.

The Sexual Harm Protection Order comes with a number of stringent prohibitions, which are aimed to prevent further offending and protect vulnerable people from harm. This is further proof that Devon & Cornwall Police will use all available measures to safeguard our communities and protect the vulnerable.

Description

A sex offender who repeatedly attended children's birthday parties has been jailed.

Jason Coe, 48, was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in July 2019, barring him from contact or communication with girls under 16.

Coe of Swan Street, Alcester, Warwickshire, has been jailed for 20 months after he attended seven gatherings where he knew children would be present in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire.

Det Con Claire Cummings of Cambridgeshire police, said Coe "simply chose to ignore" the order.
Of the seven breaches, the first children's party was in Peterborough on 14 March, 2020.

Coe also attended barbeques and other parties between July 2021 and July 2023.

After the final event an adult discovered Coe was a registered sex offender and contacted police.

Coe admitted seven breaches of his SHPO and was sentenced to 20 months in prison on Thursday at Cambridge Crown Court.

Det Con Cummings said: "Coe was fully aware of the requirements of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and these gatherings would represent breaches.

"Court orders are put in place to protect the public and breaches are taken very seriously."

Anyone who is concerned someone may have been convicted of a sex offence, can apply for disclosure information through Sarah's Law, external.

Description

A 61-year-old man has been jailed for five years and four months after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting another man.

John Soul, of Ship Lane, Redcliffe, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.

The victim is believed to have been drugged by Soul after becoming separated from his friends on a night out in the city.

Police said Soul was a "predator" who sought out a "vulnerable" victim.

The court was told the victim, who was in his early 20s, had been on a night out on 19 November, 2021.

He could not recall anything else until the following day, when he woke up and realised he had been sexually assaulted.

The two men were not known to each other, and Mr Soul was identified through forensic evidence.

'Horribly traumatic'

In a personal statement read to the court, the victim said: "Telling my parents was really difficult. This is not the sort of thing you anticipate having to tell [them] and during this I cried, which was the first time I have cried in a long time.

"As a tall, young, heterosexual male, this has made me feel particularly vulnerable and, in fact, that itself was probably worse than the incident itself. It has really knocked my confidence and self-esteem," he continued.

"It has been a horribly traumatic incident, I myself feel quite mentally strong but even I have been traumatised by the whole incident.

"This is all due to the actions of another person who takes advantage of individuals when they are vulnerable."

'He is a predator'

Soul was charged in May 2022 and pleaded guilty in February.

Det Sgt Amy Hewitt from Avon and Somerset Police said: "The victim in this case has been extremely brave in coming forward to police.

"He put aside his own concerns and wanted to make sure no one else was hurt by Soul and to keep others safe.

"Soul is a predator who sought out an individual who was alone and vulnerable and took advantage of that."

Alongside his custodial sentence, Soul will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders' Register once he is released from prison.

Description

A former Isle of Wight youth football coach has been handed a suspended prison sentence and forced to register as a sex offender after being convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

Reece Simon Anderson, 23, of Vectis Road in East Cowes, appeared before Southampton Crown Court for sentencing on Friday after pleading guilty to 3 counts of possession of an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, namely 25 Category A, 117 Category B and 16 Category C images, as well as 13 Category A videos.

In October 2021, Police moved in and arrested the then Solent University student – thought to be at his accommodation in the city of Southampton. An examination of his devices revealed a stash of more than 170 indecent images or videos of varying severity.

According to Anderson’s social accounts, the paedophile had been involved in football as a youth coach since September 2018, qualifying as an FA Level 1 coach in January 2020.

At university, the 23-year-old had been studying Football Studies (BA) with an interest in youth development and an aspiration to become an academy manager for a professional football team.

Anderson has now been barred from working with children following his sentencing.

Recorder Gordon Bebb KC handed Reece Anderson a 6-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and placed him on the sex offenders register for a period of 7 years. Anderson has also been made subject to a 7-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to complete a Horizon programme with 25 rehabilitation days.

His devices are to be destroyed

Description

An offshore worker went on to his colleagues Facebook account, downloaded intimate images of his wife and posted them to an internet porn site.

Phillip Williams, 40, was working on the Kittiwake North Sea platform when he discovered the explicit pictures on his coworkers unattended computer.The mans Facebook was left open on the device after the man had finished his shift.

Description

A married barman who raped a teenage girl in bushes near a popular Oban music and wedding venue has been jailed.

Anouar Ben Said, 36, pounced on his 19-year-old victim after she had left a pub six hours after meeting colleagues for drinks.

Description

A dangerous sex offender who targeted young and vulnerable victims is tonight starting a lengthy term behind bars.

‘Predatory’ Neville Jones, of Pearson Street, Spennymoor, was found guilty by a jury last month of 17 sexual offences including one rape, and several counts of sexual assault on a child under 13.

A judge described the impact of one of the 40-year-old’s crimes as having “arguably the most significant impact that I have ever seen” on the victim.

His victims, three girls and one boy who cannot be named, were all under sixteen when he committed his crimes.

Two were aged under ten when he sexually assaulted them.

One of his brave victims said in a statement read to Durham Crown Court on Friday (December 1): “As I grew up and got older, I realised what he had done to me as a child.

“I trusted him. He groomed me.

“I have no trust in men anymore – they are only interested in one thing. Neville Jones used me for that.

“This had a big effect on me because that I trusted people even less.

“I didn’t have many friends growing up and I think that’s why he targeted me.”

Jones’ first crimes date back 20 years and a court heard he had continued to offend since.

Prosecutor Mr Robin Turton read out the personal impact statement of another of his victims, which said: “He was telling me how great I was and how he would look after me.

“I have gone through lots of different types of therapy.

“I was scared to leave the house. Trying to live a normal, successful, and productive life has been impossible.

“He left me frightened and feeling flat.

“I feel that he got off lightly. He was out there living his life.”

The court heard Jones is now a father himself, although he has no relationship with his child.

Appearing via video link from prison he spoke only to confirm his name.

Sentencing him, Judge James Adkin described Jones as “predatory” and “scheming”, and said he presents a “high risk of harm to children”.

“What you did to those children hasn’t only ruined their lives, you have left a trail of misery for the parents of your victims in your wake,” he said.

“I have taken into account how you targeted the vulnerable, how you caused immense harm.”

The judge determined he is a ‘dangerous offender’ and handed him an extended determinate sentence of 38 years.

He will serve at least 22 years before a parole board will determine whether he can be released.

Description

A man has been jailed for 17 years after he used his hair removal business in Bradford as a base to sexually assault eight women.

Terry James, 53, of Halifax Road, Dewsbury, also admitted distributing indecent images of children.

At Bradford Crown Court, the judge described James as a "dangerous" offender who had "betrayed" victims who had trusted him.

James was also placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court heard James, who appeared friendly and professional to his clients, put goggles and blindfolds on his victims during laser hair removal treatments, before using a secret camera to film and photograph them.

The court was also told James had lured victims into his business by offering discounts on the laser treatments.

James had previously denied the offences, but on the final day of a trial in September pleaded guilty to 13 charges of assault by penetration, five of sexual assault and further offences of distributing and possessing indecent images of children.

Judge Sophie McKone described James as a man "with no sexual boundaries" whose perverted desires were not satisfied by looking at indecent images of children.

'Most vile'

During his sentencing it emerged that in 2017 he had been given a suspended prison sentence of four months for possessing indecent images of children and in May 2020 he had been arrested again for having similar material.

He was released under investigation for those offences and went on to commit the more serious sexual offences against the women.

Before sentencing him Judge McKone told James: "These women trusted you. You led them to believe you were their friend and you betrayed that trust in the most vile way."

The judge said James' selfish actions had had a profound impact on his victims' lives and the fear of the videos ending up on social media must have made the women feel incredibly anxious.

Two of James' victims read out personal statements in court.

One described suffering flashbacks of the abuse and having to undergo counselling, while the other said she could no longer trust men in a professional capacity.

Another victim said she felt "violated" by what James had done.

Judge McKone concluded that James was a dangerous offender and that an extended licence period of three years was needed.

James will have to serve at least two thirds of his 17-year sentence before the Parole Board can consider whether it is safe to release him.

Description

Multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur Lawrence Jones has been found guilty of raping two women in Manchester in the 1990s.

The former UKFast chief executive was convicted in January this year of sexually assaulting another woman in 2013, which could not be reported until today because of court restrictions.

He has already spent 10 months behind bars after being remanded in custody earlier this year following that conviction.

But the 55-year-old is expected to be sentenced for all three offences on 1 December following the conclusion of a second trial.

Jones, who set up the web hosting provider with his wife Gail in 1999, was once considered one of the most influential technology magnates in the UK with an estimated wealth of about £700m, according to the Financial Times.

UKFast employed around 500 staff and had more than 5,000 clients including the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office, earning Jones an MBE in 2015 for services to the digital economy.

Allegations against him were first made in 2019, when a former employee told police he had sexually assaulted her during a business trip to London.

In May 2019 Jones was investigated under caution where he answered "no comment" to all questions.

'Let me see your knickers'

During a trial in January this year, prosecutor Eloise Marshall KC told jurors Jones and his former employee - a victim referred to by police as Woman A - had gone up to a penthouse suite which had two separate bedrooms but a shared seating area.

Ms Marshall described how Jones made numerous advances on the woman.

At one point, he said to her "let me see your knickers" and placed his hands on her body, the trial heard.

"This caused her dress to ride up and as she was trying to pull it down and get away, he was trying to get on top of her," Ms Marshall said.

The woman managed to free herself from Jones and lock herself in one of the rooms, according to the prosecutor.

She later left UKFast and was reportedly paid a £13,000 settlement "for her silence", Ms Marshall said, and was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Jones had denied the accusation and claimed the woman had become drunk in the hotel bar and was "flirtatious".

"I put my hands on people's shoulders but only people I thought I had a really good relationship with. There's nothing sexual about what I was doing," he told the court in January.

"I gave hugs to people, that's the sort of person I am."

Jones was found guilty of sexual assault but was acquitted of sexually assaulting and raping a fourth woman at Manchester Crown Court.

Women reported feeling 'woozy' and 'floaty'

In 2021, a second woman (Woman B) came forward and accused Jones of raping and sexually assaulting her in 1993, when she was a student at the University of Manchester and Jones was in a relationship with her friend.

She told the court that her body felt "floaty" after having one glass of wine that Jones had poured while the pair were at his flat.

In the years after the assault, she said she had told friends what had happened to her, but did not feel able to report it to police at the time.

A year later, a third woman (Woman C) - who did not know the other complainant - told police she and her partner had become friends with Jones in 1993, when he played music in pubs and bars across Manchester.

She accused Jones of rape after she had felt woozy and laid on her bed after he told her to smell a bottle of liquid he was holding.

In 2019, she told her husband and a friend about the offence and three years later in 2022, she reported the incident to Greater Manchester Police.

Jones was convicted of raping Woman B and Woman C after pleading not guilty at a trial which lasted three weeks.

Jurors were not told about his previous sexual assault conviction.

Mrs Jones held her hand over her mouth as the unanimous verdicts were read out in court, and two of the defendant's daughters were in tears in the public gallery.

Description

A 33-year-old man has been jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to sexually abusing underage girls in Northampton.

The investigation into Joseph Martin James Arnold, previously of Ashcroft Gardens, Northampton, formed part of Northamptonshire Polices ongoing Operation Antigua.

Op Antigua was launched at the end of June 2020 and focuses on reported sexual abuse between the years of 2006 and 2016, all originating from the statue in Abington Street where young people would gather.

Since then, multiple people have come forward to report offences against them including three young women who Arnold sexually abused when they were underage.

One of the girls was only 13-years-old when she met a 23-year-old Arnold and engaged in what she believed at the time to be a two-year consensual relationship.

During this time, Arnold sexually abused her on multiple occasions, isolated her from family members, and manipulated her into developing low self-esteem.

He would make me feel really insecure and that people didnt like me very much, she wrote in her victim personal statement which was read out at court yesterday (November 30).

At school I didnt really speak to people as I didnt think anyone would like me because of how Joe had made me feel about myself.

Whenever I see anyone or anything with the name Joseph or Arnold in it now, even the news, it brings up everything to do with him, things that have happened, or about the case.

A second woman was aged 15 when she entered into what she believed at the time was a consensual relationship with Arnold who was 19-years-old at the time.

Joseph was a master manipulator, she wrote in her statement. He made me feel so destroyed and defeated. He got away with his abuse for so long. I realise now I have a right to feel upset.

I feel like he took my childhood and my teenage years away and destroyed them.

A third woman was aged 16 when a 21-year-old Arnold lured her back to his house on the promise of a party. However, when she got there it became clear he wanted it to be just the two of them and used the evening as an opportunity to sexually assault her.

Joe was someone who just hung around with the same group of people I did on Abington Street. He made me feel special, older and cool, when in fact I was being groomed. I realise this now that I am older, when reflecting on what happened.

He completely took advantage of my innocence.

The investigation into Arnold led to him being charged with six counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15, and one count of sexual assault, all of which he pleaded guilty to at an earlier court hearing at Northampton Crown Court in September.

Yesterday (November 30) at the same court, he was sentenced to nine years in prison and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A sick paedophile who kept a photo of a child as a screensaver on his secret phone has been jailed. Barry Taylor, 57, hid the device in a toolbox in his shed in Northam.

When police found it in a search they discovered he had been sharing horrific images of child abuse with other paedophiles. Taylor claimed he found the phone on the street but analysis revealed he had been using it to search the internet for indecent photos.

Taylor has a history of similar offending and was described in court as someone with an entrenched sexual interest in children. He said he was terrified of going to prison but was sentenced to two and a half years.

Prosecutor Nigel Wraith said in August 2020 Taylor told his supervising police officer that he had thrown his phone in the sea after receiving threats. Police quizzed him about effectively deleting the search history on the device.

The truth was that Taylor had kept his phone and hidden it in the shed. When police found it during a search in August 2021 he said the device did not belong to him.

Police found 252 images of children on the phone. Some were in the most serious category showing the sexual abuse of babies.

They also found evidence he had shared a small number of images with two men in 2017 and 2018. Taylor's behaviour put him in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed by the courts in 2019 when he was jailed for nine months for making indecent images. The defendant, of Benson Drive, admitted breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, three offences of making by downloading indecent images of children and distributing indecent images.

Michael Green, defending, said Taylor was scared about going to prison and has caring responsibilities at home.

Judge David Evans said he had a good insight into his offending and accepted he is remorseful. He added: "You have a sexual interest in underage children. Undoubtedly this was a very serious and persistent breach that went on for some time and you failed to reveal possession of the mobile phone."

He said people should be concerned about Taylor's behaviour but there was no suggestion it had gone from online offending to contact crimes.