Latest Offenders

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An “obsessed” Lochgelly man who sent unwanted Snapchat videos of his penis to a woman from an alias account later gave away his true identity.

A trial heard Craig Wishart repeatedly told his victim he wanted to “worship” her and said she loved the fact he had a “c*** cage on”.

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A 28-year-old has been jailed for nine years after sexually assaulting a young woman outside Warrington Bank Quay station.

Liam Brodrick, aged 28, of Poplars Avenue, Warrington, was sentenced on Friday 2 May at Liverpool Crown Court to nine years, comprising of six years in custody with the remaining three years on licence after he pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault.

He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period and a life-long signature on the Sex Offenders Register. Furthermore, an indefinite restraining order was granted for the victim.

The court heard how in the early hours of Sunday 28 January 2024, Brodrick befriended a lone 19-year-old woman. After a brief conversation, they walked into a takeaway shop and upon leaving, the woman indicated she had to catch a train, parting ways with Brodrick.

Brodrick ran after her and walked with her towards Warrington Bank Quay station.  Once at the station which was closed, Brodrick offered his coat to the girl before both sat on the ground.

The victim fell asleep and woke to find Brodrick sexually assaulting her.

She ran away but he called her back asking for his coat.

Despite his best efforts to ensure no one was watching, the CCTV at the station had captured the whole thing.

The victim was spotted by police officers who she immediately reported the incident to. An officer had noted seeing him just moments earlier and he was arrested.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Melissa Catterall said: “Brodrick knew what he was doing and took advantage of a lone woman who believed he was trying to help her but was only looking to serve his own sexual gratification.

“His actions are disgusting and abhorrent, and I’m grateful to see the sentence handed down. There is zero-tolerance for sexual offences on the rail network and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”

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A NORTH Cumbrian man sexually pursued young girls via social media platforms, sending some of them indecent images of himself.

Adam Liddell, 40, was identified partly thanks to online detective work by one of his victims, a 12-year-old girl who was left traumatised by his attempt to sexually groom her in the hope of a meeting, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

He reported himself to the police after one of the girl’s friends messaged him to say he was a paedophile and should go away.

The defendant, of Low Moorlands, Dalston, near Carlisle, admitted five charges: two counts of sexually communicating with a child; inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch sexual activity, and possessing extreme pornography, featuring bestiality.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson summarised the facts.

He said the offending happened in February and March of 2022, with Liddell initially focusing his attention on a 12-year-old Cumbrian girl, though her Shapchat profile suggested she was 13.

Liddell contacted her, claiming he was 27, a decade younger than he actually was at the time. His inappropriate messages included asking whether she had ever had sex, and asking to meet.

“He repeatedly asked for her location,” said the prosecutor.

Some of his messages, the court heard, asked the victim for pictures of herself undressed, or in underwear.

The sexual content of Liddell’s messages escalated as he sent a picture of his private parts while he was aroused, asking: “Are you ready for an older man.” The girl was so concerned she showed the message to a friend.

On June 10, 2022, he also sent her a video that showed him touching himself inappropriately. The issue came to a head after the victim investigated the defendant online and identified him.

The girl's friend sent him a blunt message, calling him a paedophile and telling him to go away. 

Mr Rogerson said: “Mr Liddell then went to the police after he'd been blocked [from the 12-year-old’s account] and told them he had been having inappropriate conversations with a girl he thought was 15.”

The police investigation revealed Liddell had conducted 14 Snapchat conversations with various female children, asking for photographs and making sexual comments or suggesting meetings.

He asked one 14-year-old girl to let him take her out for dinner.

He also asked her for naked photos, or pictures of her in the shower. Liddell sent another girl five pictures of his private parts, while his internet search terms also revealed his sexual preoccupation with children.

Mr Rogerson noted that Liddell claimed to not know his first victim was aged 12, despite her posts – including ones relating to her 12th birthday – making that fact perfectly obvious.

The court then heard about the impact of his crime on the girl. 

After it happened, she struggled to sleep and would wake up after 3am thinking about what could have happened. Fearful Liddell may know where she lived, her family moved house and she started a new school.

“She felt unsafe for months afterwards, even on her own home,” said Mr Rogerson. The 14-year-old girl who also complained said she still thinks of how dangerous it could have been and what could have happened.

Jeff Smith, defending, said Liddell had lived with the consequences of his actions for three years, having lost his job, his marriage and his liberty.

The defendant now has no contact with friends or workmates and his only family relationship to survive was with his mother.

“He is learning his lesson and hopes he can pick up the pieces of his shattered life, which he created himself,” said Mr Smith. He added that it “loneliness, stupidity, and alcohol” brought Liddell to where he is today.   

Passing sentence, Judge Michael Fanning said it was clear the defendant – assessed as posing a high-risk to children – had wanted “direct physical” contact with the girls he was contacting.

Of his online activities, the judge said: “It’s grooming, in effect.”

Judge Fanning doubted there was much Liddell could do about his sexual attraction to children other than to recognise it and so prevent further offences.

He said: “It is so serious that only immediate custody can be justified: it was deliberately targeting young girls with a view, I have no doubt, to sexual activity.”

He jailed the defendant for two years and one month. Liddell must remain on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely while there will also be a 15-year sexual harm prevention order to manage the risk he poses.

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A paedophile from Dundee caught sending sexual messages to what he thought was an underage girl has been jailed.

Repeat sex offender Stephen Capon was snared by a vigilante group who confronted him at his Dundee home.

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A man from Carmarthenshire has been jailed after he was convicted of sexual offences against two separate victims.

37-year-old Geoffrey Jones, from Llanelli, was under investigation for separate allegations by a victim when they disclosed that they had been raped by Jones on several occasions between 2017 and 2019.

At the same time, another victim reinstated their case, wherein an attempted rape took place during a night out in Swansea in 2015.

Jones has been convicted of four counts of rape in relation to one victim and one count of attempted rape and digital penetration in relation to his other victim. He has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

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Perry Allen McCarthy, from Penarth, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for 18 child sex offences committed over a four-year period.

The 65-year-old was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, May 2.

McCarthy had denied the offences but was found guilty of 18 offences including:

• 6 counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity
• 4 counts of voyeurism
• 3 counts of oral rape of a child
• 1 count of engaging in sexual activity with a child
• 1 count of digital penetration
• 1 count of sexual assault by touching

McCarthy was told at court that he must serve a minimum of 14 years before being considered for parole.

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A man who tried to meet a 13-year-old girl at Bexleyheath Station is back behind bars after police discovered he had stayed in a home where a minor resides. 

Thomas Smith, 29, of Oakhurst Avenue in Bexleyheath, was sentenced to two years in prison last March. 

He has since been released but on Thursday, May 1, he was sent back to prison for five weeks for failing to comply with sex offenders register notification requirements. 

Smith admitted having resided or stayed for at least 12 hours in a household where an under 19 resides and he failed to notify police. 

Last year Woolwich Crown Court heard how Smith had sent sexual messages and a photo of his penis to what he thought was a young girl over the court of a month. 

But when he turned up at the station to meet her he was greeted by a team of paedophile hunters who detained him and live streamed his arrest on Facebook. 

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A serial paedophile was given shrewd advice by a judge who told him to “read a book” instead of messaging underage girls.

Andrew Othen did not keep his bad habits at bay after he was spared jail a few years ago.

The 56-year-old has a chequered past with 25 previous convictions for child sex offences to his name.

He returned to the dock on May 1 after he breached a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) imposed on him in 2019.

Prosecuting, Rachel Standish said the “high risk” sex offender was secretly using an internet-enabled mobile phone and had eight different usernames on various applications.

She told Southampton Crown Court: “The defendant was also found to be using DuckDuckGo, a browser that offers anonymous searching and deletes browser history.

“He had spent 45 days on the messaging application Kik, where he was conversing with girls aged 13 and 14.

“The conversations were sexual, and he was bombarding them with sexual questions, asking to meet one of the girls.

“The crown say he was going to offend again.”

Gaylene Coles, defending on behalf of Othen, said he “knows what is about to happen” with a return to prison on the cards for the persistent offender.

She said: “He had a difficult upbringing and watched his mum die when he was 14.

“Thereafter he lived a lonely and isolated life.

“When he is released from prison, he finds it impossible to find work and does not know how to fill his time.”

Judge Nigel Peters KC interjected: “He can a read a book.”

Othen, of Alma Road, Southampton, previously pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching a SHPO.

“You are nearly 60 years old, and you are having to remain in prison”, judge Peters told Othen.

“These vile matters have to be investigated and continuing this behaviour while on licence and post-supervision is an aggravating feature in this case.

“You were dealing with people who you thought were vulnerable, and your only piece of mitigation is that you immediately admitted guilt.”

Othen was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

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A predator posed as a teenage boy to pressure young girls for explicit sexual images.

Kevin Wyeth used an account on a mobile phone to bully the girls, including making threats to locate them and rape them.

The 39-year-old caused the girls to engage in sexual activity in group chat messages.

Officers located him at a flat in Eastbourne, where a mobile phone was seized and examined.

Wyeth preyed on the fears of four victims to obtain indecent images and videos, which he stored on a mobile device.

The girls, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, have been provided with support from specially-trained officers.

One victim said: “He made me feel like I could not talk to anybody.”

Wyeth, formerly of Eastbourne but of no fixed address, was charged with 35 offences, and appeared for sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, 2 May.

The court imposed a 20-year sentence, which includes 15 years in prison, and an additional five years on licence as part of an extended sentence.

Wyeth was previously remanded in custody after a hearing before Brighton Magistrates’ Court on October 12 last year.

The offences were seven counts of distributing indecent images, ten counts of making indecent images, five counts of engaging in sexual communications with a child and one count of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child, three counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, three counts of inciting girls under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity which includes one count of penetrative sexual activity, two counts of disclosing or threatening to disclose a private sexual photograph or film with intent to cause distress, and three counts of malicious communications.

Wyeth was previously jailed in 2018 and 2020 for similar offences of making indecent images and of engaging in sexual communications with a child, and was also jailed in 2023 for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The court heard that officers visited his flat in March 2023, and he refused to provide a PIN access to a mobile phone.

Following an investigation by the Online Child Abuse Team (OCAT), further offences involving four victims were identified.

The victims were all under the age of 13 a the time, and have all suffered ongoing fear and trauma as a result of Wyeth.

Parents described how Wyeth’s crimes had caused their daughters to have changed behaviour.

One parent described Wyeth as a “prolific child predator” and said he has caused “lasting emotional scars”.

“The trust we had in the online world has been shattered,” a parent said.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Gary Baker, from the OCAT team, said: “Wyeth preyed on the fears of the girls to commit his crimes.

“He has repeatedly committed similar offences, breached Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, and is a danger to children.

“His crimes have caused lasting harm to the victims, who all require ongoing support.

“We remain determined to catch offenders like Wyeth and to secure justice for victims who have been abused.

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A child sex offender has been jailed for 48 months after being found guilty of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

This followed an unannounced visit by officers from Cleveland Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT).

James Milton, 32, of Teesside, was arrested after he was discovered to have deleted key apps, including Snapchat, Dropbox, and Discord, from his devices – all of which were prohibited under the terms of his SHPO, imposed following a series of convictions for indecent images of children.

The breach came to light during a routine visit by officers on May 17, 2024, when they checked to see if Milton was adhering to the strict conditions of his order.

The officers found Milton had failed to register several aliases and usernames used online, another violation of his notification requirements.

A further search of his property uncovered two additional SD cards, which were seized for examination.

Though no indecent images were recovered, the police uncovered a deliberate effort to hide digital activity.

Milton had erased the apps that enabled him to access social media and cloud storage, in what officers believe was an attempt to conceal his online interactions.

Detective Constable Barnes, of POLIT, commented on the seriousness of the breach, he said: “Breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order is an extremely serious offence. Our officers work tirelessly to closely monitor those subject to restrictions so that any breaches like this are detected and dealt with swiftly.

"I hope this serves as a warning to offenders that we will take action.”

Milton was charged with breaching his SHPO and failing to comply with Notification Requirements.

Appearing at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on April 4, he pleaded guilty to all charges.

He was sentenced to 48 months in prison on May 6.

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A Fakenham man faces a possible jail sentence after admitting having thousands of images of the abuse of children aged as young as one.  

Stelian Radu, 34, pleaded guilty to making indecent images involving youngsters including 1,300 deemed to be category A, the most serious. 

Appearing at Norwich Magistrates’ Court he also admitted making 752 category B images and 692 category C.

Nichola Lamb, prosecuting, said the images involved children aged from babies to teens. 

Radu, of Warren Avenue, also pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited image of a child and 91 extreme pornographic images involving animals. 

He also admitted three charges of distributing indecent images of children including 19 category A images. 

Committing him to be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court, District Judge Paul Booty said the possible jail sentence was outside the jurisdiction of his powers.

He rejected strict bail conditions including measures to limit online activities, saying it was a “backdoor sexual harm prevention order” and that Radu had not reoffended since his arrest in December 2023.  

He was given unconditional bail until he is sentenced on June 9.

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Teenager who forced himself onto underage girl.

Put on the sex offender register for 10 years.

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A man from Sefton has been jailed today, Friday 2 May, after pleading guilty to 27 child sex offences targeting underage children across the country.

Michael Lymath, of no fixed address but formerly from Southport, was sentenced to 20 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court today, plus eight years extended licence period which is additional time during which the offender is supervised in the community after their release. He had pleaded guilty to the catalogue of sex offences against underage girls at a previous court hearing.

In December last year detectives arrested and charged 43-year-old Lymath following a report from a child victim that they had been offered payment for images. A search of Lymath’s home address was conducted where numerous exhibits were seized, Lymath was initially charged with the reported offence along with Possession of cannabis, Possession of cocaine and Possession of an offensive weapon in a private place.

Lymath was remanded into custody by the courts while detectives continued investigating the full scope of Lymath’s offending, which resulted in him being convicted of 27 offences which he committed across the UK between 2020 and until his arrest in December 2024.  The long list of additional charges included Rape of a girl under the age of 13, Cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, Engage in sexual communication with a child, Attempt to cause/incite a girl to engage in sexual activity, two counts of Cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, Possession of cannabis, Possession of cocaine and Possession of an offensive weapon in a private place.

The court heard that Lymath would prey on underage children on social media under various guise’s that included pretending he was a 17-year-old boy and message them.

Following a complex investigation detectives discovered that he had been in contact with several victims from across the UK. Lymath had groomed children online and had met them in person where he engaged in sexual activity.

He had also lured multiple victims to send explicit images of themselves by offering them payment.

Detective Constable Rory Quigley said: “This sentence follows a lengthy and complex investigation to bring Lymath before the courts so that he pays for his crimes.

“He was a prolific sexual predator – targeting young and vulnerable children for his own sexual gratification, thinking he could get away with it.

“He manipulated his vulnerable young victims and sent them explicit videos to watch. In one instance he told child victim that he knew where they lived to manipulate them into sending him sexually explicit images which were categorised A, B and C.”

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A Swindon man recently given a suspended sentence for indecently exposing himself in front of his neighbours has been jailed following a further incident.

James Hortop, 40, of Dennis Street, Swindon, came to police attention three times within five weeks and was arrested twice in relation to exposure offences. He was originally sentenced to 26 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, in a hearing on April 7.

He was arrested a third time on April 30 for a further incident of exposure after walking onto a garage forecourt wearing nothing but a dressing gown, with his genitals exposed. He proceeded to masturbate in view of two females.

Today at Swindon Magistrates’ Court he was sentenced to a total of fifteen months’ imprisonment.

Previous restraining orders and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order remain in place and Hortop is now subject to Sex Offender registration requirements for an extra seven years, making fourteen years in total.

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A man has today been jailed for 11 years for child sex offences in Portsmouth.

Colin Stear, 67, of Plymouth Street, Southsea, was charged with three counts of assaulting a boy under 13 by touching and two counts of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

This related to non-recent sexual offences against two victims between 2004 and 2018 in Portsmouth. 

Stear denied the offences but was convicted following a trial. He was sentenced today (2 May) at Portsmouth Crown Court to 11 years in prison, with a three-year extension to his licence period.

He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.