Search the database
clearly and quickly

Description

A man from Halifax has been jailed for 16 years after he was found guilty of multiple sexual offences against 14 child victims.  

Aidan Firth, 26, of HMP Armley, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court earlier this week (Tuesday, 21 November) for offences including rape of a child, sexual activity with a child inciting a child into sexual activity, and sexual assault. In addition to the custodial sentence, he was also made the subject of a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.  

The offences took place between 2015 and 2020 and involved 14 victims, who were all under 18 at the time of offending.    

They came to light in 2015 when a victim approached police to report offences and an investigation was launched by Calderdale Child Safeguarding Unit.   

During the investigation, further victims came forward and disclosed further offences.

He was arrested in 2020 and was subsequently later charged. Following a three week trial at Bradford Crown Court in September 2023, Firth was found guilty by a jury for multiple sexual offences and jailed. 

Description

A man has been jailed for seven years after breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and striking up a "friendship" with a 13-year-old boy.

Luke Tucker, 23, was convicted of a sexual offence in October 2022 and given an SHPO in February 2023, which required him to notify police if he is going to stay at any address where someone under 18 lives or stays and tell them if he is using any aliases.

He also had his access to the internet significantly limited, as well as his ability to store images and videos. 

Just after he was given his SHPO in February, police have discovered that Tucker struck up a "friendship" with a 13-year-old boy, having told him that he was 16.

Tucker gave the boy gifts, stayed at his home address, and had him back to stay at his own address in Eight Acre Lane in Colchester.

While officers were investigating him, they discovered that Tucker had also been messaging a 15-year-old boy and trying to encourage sexual activity.

They searched his house on March 25 this year and discovered several memory cards, USB sticks and hard drives, all in breach of his SHPO.

He was charged with a range of offences and convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, breaching a sexual harm prevention order, and failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders register.

He was jailed for a total of seven years at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday.

PC Graeme Braby, who led the investigation, said: "Luke Tucker poses a very real danger to young people.

"The fact he defied the significant constraints on his contact with children, access to the internet, and access to storage devices highlights the lengths he was prepared to go to.

"Many people around the county will not think, or want to think, about the possibility of a registered sex offender living in their community but I hope the fact there is a professional, specially trained, and dedicated set of officers and staff managing the risk they pose will be reassuring."

Description

A paedophile father and son groomed and sexually abused a vulnerable young girl. Pensioner Roy Lockett initially targeted the child and subjected her to a lengthy period of abuse before "handing her over as a prize" to his rugby coach son who continued the abuse.

The pair then denied the offending, forcing the youngster to go through the ordeal of giving evidence at a trial. Swansea Crown Court heard the abuse meted out by the dad and son has had a profound effect on the victim leaving her feeling "worthless". Sending the defendants to prison a judge told 73-year-old Lockett he had used the girl "as his sexual plaything" and then "handed her over as a prize" to his 42-year-old son who continued the abuse.

The court heard widower Lockett targeted and groomed the girl and sexually abused her for a period of more than a year with the abuse including the use of items from his large collection of sex toys. He also took indecent photographs of the child and plied her with alcohol. Lockett's son, rugby coach Austin, then took over the abuse.

In statements from the victim which were read to the court the girl said what the defendants did to her had left her feeling anxious, depressed, "used", and "worthless". She said the abuse had affected every aspect of her life including her schooling, sleeping, and eating. In the statements she said that going through the court process had been "scary" and it had been embarrassing to talk about what happened to her in front of strangers but she said when she heard of the guilty verdicts from jurors "it felt like I could breathe again".

Roy Lockett, of Pembrey Road, Llanelli, had previously been convicted of three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, and making an indecent photograph of a child and had previously pleaded guilty to causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of engaging in sexual communications with a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Peter Austin, of Pant Y Celyn, Llanelli, had previously been convicted at trial of five counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child when he appeared alongside his dad in the dock.

Kate Williams, for Lockett, said the defendant did now accept his wrongdoing and that he must be punished for it. She said her client had health issues which would only get worse with time and said given his medical conditions he would find a custodial sentence harder than would a younger and fitter man. Dyfed Thomas, for Austin, said the defendant maintained the position he held at trial that he was not guilty. He said there was no evidence of anything untoward having happened in relation to Austin's role as a rugby coach and he said the offending against the girl had been "isolated" in nature.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said having heard the evidence in the trial he had no doubt that the defendants had been fully aware of what the other was doing to the vulnerable young girl. He said Lockett had groomed the girl first and used her "like his sexual plaything" including using items from his "hoard of sex toys" on her before he had "handed her over as a prize" to his son who continued the grooming and sexual abuse. The judge told Austin he had put himself in the role of a rugby coach knowing he had a "predilection" for young girls but he said there was no criticism to be made of the rugby authorities, the offending was unconnected to the coaching position, and the defendant had presented himself as a "responsible member of society".

The judge said both men had known of the victim's vulnerabilities when they targeted her and said in Lockett's belated admission of wrongdoing there was at least "a glimmer of some remorse" unlike in the case of his son who was maintaining his stance "in an attempt to present himself to some people as a victim of a miscarriage of justice", which he was not. Lockett was sentenced to a total of eight and a half years in prison and Austin was jailed for seven and a half years. Both defendants will be registered sex offenders for the rest of their lives and were made the subject of indefinite sex harm prevention orders.

Description

A paedophile Fife joiner who secretly snapped a naked picture of a 15-year-old girl with a hidden camera has been told he deserved to be jailed.

Voyeur Blair Mackie was caught with a perverted picture on his tablet.

Description

A 38-year-old man struck up a relationship with a teenage girl and sent explicit messages to another in America.

Stephen Slimings was caught out when he uploaded vile images to Snapchat. Police raided his Hartlepool home and found hundreds of indecent images of children and a drawing depicting child abuse.

On Tuesday, Teesside Crown Court heard that officers traced the Snapchat account to Slimings' IP address, after he posted the illegal images. His computer revealed he had been having sexually explicit online chats with a 13-year-old who lives in the USA, and police traced the girl and told her parents. The device also showed he "was in a relationship with an underage girl".

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said he was also found to have downloaded 3 category A photos - the most serious type - showing children being abused. Police also found 51 category B and 536 category C illegal photos of children; in addition to the "sketching."

Mr Dodds told the court with regards to the contact with the American youngster, Slimings had saved screenshots of an online conversation her. "He was pretending to be someone else and there were photos of her performing sex acts," Mr Dodds said.

Slimings, of Mickey Barron Close, in Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to:

• Three counts of making indecent images of children between 2020 and 2022.
• Possession of a prohibited image of a child.
• Sexual activity with a child.
• Inciting the sexual exploitation of a child.

In a statement, the mother of the teenage girl, said her previously "outgoing" daughter became withdrawn and didn't want to leave her side. She added: "She wants to sleep in my bed. It's like she's regressed to a small child."

Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said his client claimed to be "in the midst of a mental breakdown" where he would do things that were out of character. He said: "A report by probation has found that he has some insight into the way his behaviour has impacted on others. He is described as being remorseful. The defendant will go to prison for the first time in his life."

Judge Paul Watson told Slimings: "The communications with a 13-year-old girl - police found you were instructing her on how to perform sex acts on herself and send photos of it. You sent a highly sexualised photo of yourself. The images you had were of an appalling nature, showing real children being abused and subject to sexual indignity. It's a highly profitable and wicked trade in the suffering of young children."

Slimings was jailed for four-years-and-seven-months. He was made subject to sex offender notification requirements for life.

Description

A Fife man has been sentenced after admitting sending a picture of his penis and sexually explicit comments to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

Alan Somerville, 45, believed he was communicating online to a girl called ‘Lexi Mae’ but was actually speaking to an adult pretending to be the child.

Description

A man who had a "sexual interest in teenage girls" cynically took advantage of two to commit repeated sexual offences against them over a period of about 18 months.

Laurence Gladwin at first groomed the girls with "friendly banter" but it soon progressed to sending messages to them before "quickly escalating" to having sex with one of them in his car and committing sexual acts in the car with the other.

He encouraged them to send him intimate pictures of themselves and he sent a video to one of the girls showing him committing a sex act, Hull Crown Court heard. Gladwin, 43, of Young Street, Withernsea, admitted seven offences of sexual activity with a girl while in a position of trust and four offences of making indecent images of children.

Robert Stevenson, prosecuting, said that Gladwin initiated contact with the girls. It escalated to meeting them and committing sexual acts with them or inciting them to do so.

He kissed one of the girls and he also repeatedly intimately touched her as well as causing her to commit a sex act on him. She later said that the behaviour started with banter and then escalated to frequent messages being sent before they later met up on several occasions in Gladwin's car.

He would drive to a secluded area of a public car park. She felt "out of her depth" and "pressured" into sexual behaviour. Gladwin suggested that they could go to a hotel but she refused and that brought an end to their meetings.

The girl later came forward, and after police became involved, Gladwin's phone was seized and the offences involving the other girl came to light. The indecent images were discovered.

The second girl initially denied any involvement but later gave details. Friendly banter with Gladwin led to messages being exchanged before matters "escalated quickly".

He picked her up in his car. They had full sex in his car on one occasion and at his home when his wife and children were not there. "He told her that he loved her and she reciprocated," said Mr Stevenson.

The girl said that she was a willing participant but later realised that this was because of the "significant power imbalance" between them. They met several times, initiated by him.

"She froze," said Mr Stevenson. "She didn't know what to do. It was her first experience with anyone. There were a number of incidents, all of a similar nature.

"She felt scared," said Mr Stevenson. "She feared him a bit because he had more power. There were no threats or force." She sent "nude pictures" of herself and he sent her a video of him committing a sex act.

There were 12 indecent images of the first girl, 81 indecent images of the second and 134 of other unknown girls on Gladwin's phone.

The first girl said in a statement that it was a "burden which she had carried for some time" and she now has a lack of trust. "She feels the defendant exploited her and she feels uncertain around new people," said Mr Stevenson.

"She feels emotionally damaged. She was not eating for a period. She still has sleepless nights and flashbacks. She feels that the defendant took advantage of her vulnerability."

The second girl said that she felt "used and taken advantage of" by Gladwin. "She finds it hard to trust people." She had a "very bad memory" of the incidents.

Nigel Clive, mitigating, said that Gladwin "thoroughly regretted" his actions towards the two girls and he had pleaded guilty at a very early stage and shown remorse. He had no previous convictions.

"For some time, he would have wished to have been able to apologise," said Mr Clive. "He can't turn back the clock. Sometimes such defendants try to play it out and that causes the complainant far more distress than the proceedings have perhaps done in this case.

"He accepts that he needs to be punished," said Mr Clive. "He is very disappointed, to say the least, in himself. It's caused some internal reflection on his part."

Father-of-two Gladwin's marriage ended and some "self-destructive and ill-thought-out life choices" followed.

"He accepts that he behaved in a terrible way," said Mr Clive. "This is not a defendant who will repeat such behaviour. He knows what he has done and he is very sorry."

Judge Kate Rayfield told Gladwin: "You plainly have a sexual interest in teenage girls," said Judge Rayfield.

Gladwin had shown some remorse but, after the police got involved, he telephoned one of the girls and asked her not to say anything if she was asked. This was "selfish" and did not show genuine remorse.

"There was grooming behaviour and you retained sexual images of your victims," said Judge Rayfield.

Gladwin was jailed for six years and he was given a sexual harm prevention order for life. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.

Description

A fast food restaurant worker who raped a woman in Brighton has been jailed.

Bogdan Cioropa, 28, of Staplefield Drive in Brighton, raped his victim – a woman who was 17 years old at the time – at a property in Brighton on Friday, 9 April, 2021.

She reported the offence to police and Cioropa was arrested the following day on suspicion of rape.

The woman was given support by specialist officers while an investigation was carried out.

Cioropa was subsequently charged with rape, attempted oral rape and sexual assault, but left the country before his trial was due to start.

Proceedings continued in his absence and a jury unanimously found him guilty of all three counts at Hove Crown Court on Thursday, 14 September.

At Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday (22 November), Cioropa was sentenced in his absence to nine years in prison.

He was also given a 15-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a restraining order of 15 years and will be a registered sex offender for life.

After extensive attempts to locate Cioropa in Europe, a warrant is with the Crown Prosecution Service for his arrest and extradition.

Stringent measures are in place to ensure he will be apprehended should he attempt to re-enter the UK.

In a victim impact statement shared with the court, Cioropa’s victim said: “Thanks to you my whole life changed. I went from being innocent to the horrors that go on in this world to no longer being able to trust anyone. I struggle to believe people and I am constantly worrying about their true intentions.

“I had been told about monsters like you my whole life and how I should be cautious, but at the time I was still a child, I had never expected you to be one of those people I should have been watching out for.

“I am thankful for the support I’ve had from my family and friends, the police and especially Laura from Survivors’ Network who has listened to me talk for hours about all my thoughts.”

Detective Constable Laura Pettitt said: “I would like to thank this courageous young woman for the determination she has shown in not only reporting Cioropa’s crimes initially, but for her supporting a court process delayed by his refusal to attend trial and face justice in person.

“The jury were unanimous in finding him guilty of all three charges and he will be placed behind bars where he can pose no further danger to women.

“I hope this result provides his victim and her family with some degree of comfort as they look to move on with their lives.

Description

A West Midlands man who posted videos of himself raping and sexually assaulting a young boy online has been jailed for nearly 12 years.

Aiden Foster, 22, from Wednesbury, made a series of child sexual abuse videos which were shared on social media site Discord.

The National Crime Agency worked with US law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which led to Foster being identified.

Experts in the NCA’s victim identification team used facial comparison tools to confirm his identity.

Foster was arrested by NCA officers at his home address on 6 May this year.

His electronic devices were seized and NCA crime scene analysis investigators matched items at his address to those shown in the videos - including his jewellery, a distinctively patterned blanket and boxing trophies.

Officers recovered 771 indecent images of children across categories A-C (A being the most severe) from four of his devices.

They also found an Instagram chat in which Foster requested ‘horny pics of a 14-year-old’ from an unknown person and boasted that he could send videos of someone carrying out a sex act on him.

The children in this case have been safeguarded.

Foster pleaded guilty to 24 offences, including rape of a child under 13, at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 8 August.

He was sentenced to 11 years and seven months in prison, with a further four years on license, at the same court today (22 November).

He is also subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

NCA operations manager Holly Triggs said: “Aiden Foster is a dangerous offender who conducted the most horrific abuse against children.

“Chat logs showed he revelled in the ability to share material online – an act that will no doubt have contributed to the normalisation of such abuse among other paedophiles.

“The NCA is dedicated to combatting this global threat, working tirelessly to protect children and ensure that high harm offenders like Foster are put behind bars.”

Description

A man who travelled to Chippenham with the intention of sexually abusing a child has been jailed.

Mark Pegram was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court today (Wednesday) after pleading guilty to the commission of a child sex offence and possessing indecent images of a child.

The 65-year-old engaged in a number of explicit conversations with an undercover officer online – who was posing as a woman with a nine-year-old daughter.

The defendant, of Chase Side Avenue in Enfield, London, was collared when he proceeded to arrange a meet and turned up believing he was going to be able to sexually abuse the youngster.

He denied he had any intention of carrying out any sexual acts on the child and went to trial, where he later changed his plea to guilty.

Pegram was sentenced to 48 months in prison and told the register as a sex offender indefinitely. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Wiltshire Police Detective Constable Kerry Foster said: “This was an extremely distressing case for the jury sitting on this trial.

“They had to view a large number of messages that contained graphic details about the sexual acts that he planned to carry out on the child when they met.

“The jury also had to listen to recordings that depicted the graphic detail of the sexual acts that he wanted to do with the child.

“Our Child Internet Exploitation Team works with other agencies such as children’s social care and health, to minimise the risk to children who may be vulnerable to harm.

“We would urge anyone who suspects a person of carrying out child sexual exploitation to get in touch with us straight away.”

Detective Inspector David Wells, from the Online Investigations Team at South West Regional Organised Crime Unit said: “This is vital work, identifying offenders who use the internet to groom children and, as in this case, attempt to arrange access to a child to abuse.

“It is our priority to protect and keep children safe in our communities and I encourage anyone worried about exploitation of a child online to report it to the police.”

Description

A 23-year-old woman who took indecent photos of a child and sent them to her boyfriend has been jailed following a National Crime Agency investigation.

Toni Andrews, from Hull, was also found to be in possession of more than 800 illegal images and videos, including hundreds showing child sexual abuse.

She was identified after the conviction of her then-boyfriend, Thomas Edeson, 24, of Franklin Street, Hull, who was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in August 2021 for sexually assaulting a young girl and taking indecent images of her.

The NCA’s investigation into Edeson began in May 2021 with a referral from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which was notified by Google of his attempt to upload child sexual abuse images to the internet.

After examining his electronic devices, officers discovered sexual images of a child which appeared to have been taken by Andrews and sent to Edeson.

Andrews was arrested in connection in December 2021.

In interview she admitted to taking and sending one of the photos to Edeson, but denied knowing about his sexual interest in children.

Examination of Andrews’ electronic devices, which were seized from her home when she was arrested, revealed almost 100 indecent images of children in categories A-C, over 500 prohibited images of children and over 200 showing extreme pornography.

As part of the investigation into Andrews’ offending, Edeson was produced from prison and interviewed by NCA officers.

He told them that Andrews had supplied him with sexual images of a child as well as children’s underwear, which officers recovered from his home when he was arrested.

At Hull Crown Court today [22 November], a judge sentenced Andrews to 16 months in prison and ordered her to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

She had pleaded guilty to a total of seven charges at an earlier court hearing, including taking indecent photographs of a child, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

Description

A woman sexually assaulted by a vile predator has urged other victims to report crimes.

The woman has spoken out after her abuser, George Grace, 78, of Royston in Barnsley, was found guilty of rape and two counts of indecent assault.

Grace was jailed for 14 years on November 10 at Leeds Crown Court. The offences took place between 1985 and 1992 in the Huddersfield area when the woman was a young child.

She said: My message to other women and men who have gone through this is to contact the police and get justice.

You are stronger than you think and I can promise the support is really there for you. Pre trial and post-trial, there is help in place and it is worth its weight in gold. "

The woman said she had been overwhelmed when the unanimous guilty verdicts were read out and added that she was still processing it.

DC Megan Boothroyd of the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Team, said: George Grace committed dreadful offences against a then young child over a sustained period and we welcome the sentence imposed by the courts against him.

She has shown great courage in coming forwards and doing everything she possibly could to ensure Grace was put before the courts. We continue to urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence and has not reported it, for whatever reason, to contact the police.

All reports are thoroughly investigated by specialist officers who can also signpost victims to the help and support they may need.

Description

A rapist held a gun to his victim's head and threatened to 'smoke' him if he dared to report his horrendous ordeal. Ashley Cleary abducted the man and repeatedly raped him in the street, before forcing him into his home where he raped him again.

Before fleeing, remorseless Cleary, 39, put a gun to the man's head and told him: "If you tell anyone, I'll smoke you." His DNA was found on the man's underwear and when police went to arrest him, Cleary was discovered hiding in a loft, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Now Cleary, a dad from Salford, has been jailed for 21 years after being found guilty of a catalogue of crimes, including rape and kidnap. Prosecutors told how the victim knew Cleary as he was a regular customer at his place of work.

In December last year Cleary arrived at his work in Salford and was behaving in an ‘intimidating and threatening manner’, prosecutor Daniel Calder said. At one point Cleary opened up his coat to ‘expose what appeared to be a handgun’, the prosecutor said.

The victim stayed at work with colleagues for a time after Cleary had left, to try and allow time for him to leave. But when he went outside, Cleary was still there.

At one point Cleary took hold of the man’s arm and told him: “You’re going to drive my car home.” He ‘felt compelled’ to go with Cleary, due to what had happened earlier but the ‘car’ was a ruse.

Cleary, who was also armed with a hammer, led the man down an alleyway and repeatedly raped him during several incidents. He launched a barrage of homophobic abuse as he committed the sickening crimes, labelling his victim a ‘f****** dirty little queer’.

At one point, Cleary told the terrified man: “Come on, we’re going to yours.” They made their way to the victim’s home, where Cleary placed the handgun on a side table.

Cleary then proceeded to rape the man in his own bed, as he continued to subject him to homophobic abuse. He then forced his victim to ‘reassure’ him ‘that he wasn’t gay’, Mr Calder said.

After committing another rape, Cleary got up and retrieved his gun, before putting the barrel to the man’s head. “If you tell anyone, I’ll smoke you,” he told him, before he left the property.

The victim left his home in his bare feet, wearing only a dressing gown, and visited a friend to tell them what had happened. The police were alerted and Cleary was arrested at his home on Christmas Eve, where he was found hiding in a loft.

Tests revealed the presence of Cleary’s DNA on his victim’s underwear. Cleary, of no fixed address, denied all wrongdoing, and at trial claimed he and the man had engaged in consensual sex.

But a jury rejected his lies and found him guilty of seven counts of rape, one count of kidnap, one count of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and one count of threatening with an offensive weapon. Cleary said 'I'm innocent by the way' as he was sent down to begin his sentence.

In a statement read on his behalf, the victim said: "I felt like it was never going to end. He used and abused me for his own benefit, for reasons of his own that I will never understand."

The court heard how Cleary has racked up 34 previous criminal offences. He was once hauled before the courts following an incident where he turned up at a pub armed with an axe.

Defending, Rachel Shenton said Cleary still maintains his innocence. She said he had been due to work on the day of the incident as a labourer but that his shift was cancelled due to bad weather and he instead went on a ‘drinking binge’.

Ms Shenton said Cleary has suffered from a number of ‘long standing’ issues, including anxiety and depression and ‘intellectual difficulties’. She said Cleary, who has a female partner who stands by him, would find prison ‘particularly difficult’.

Judge Nick Clarke KC handed Cleary a 25 year extended sentence, after declaring him a 'dangerous' criminal. He will serve at least two-thirds of a 21 year prison sentence, before the Parole Board decide whether it is safe for him to be release.

He will then be monitored for a further four years on licence.

Description

A man who avoided jail in 2019 after admitting to possessing thousands of indecent images of children has been sent to prison after he returned to his 'addiction'.

David Andrews, originally from Ivybridge but now from Paignton, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court where faced four charges. The first was that between January 2021 and February 20222 he distributed 28 indecent images of children of Category A, B and C - with A as being the most serious.

He also faced a count of breaching a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order - which was put in place following a hearing at court in 2019 - by being found in possession of a Nokia mobile phone and a USB memory stick which he was prohibited from having without first notifying police.

Andrews also faced one count of making five indecent photos of children of Category B and a further count of making 19 indecent photos of children of Category C. He pleaded guilty to all four charges.

In addition the 69-year-old admitted that he had breached a suspended sentence imposed on July 11, 2019 which the court heard was 24 months imprisonment suspended for 24 months.

Prosecutor Francesca Whebell told the court Andrews was caught after Devon and Cornwall Police were alerted by the National Crime Agency regarding the posting of images from an IP address linked to property in Ivybridge linked to Andrews. Another alert came from an email account which had posted Category A, B and C indecent images of children, linked to Andrews and a Nokia phone.

Police attended the property with a warrant in February 2022 and a number of devices were seized from Andrews. Ms Whebell said that during police interview Andrews said "It's my secret and I hate it".

In mitigation, Andrews advocate, Deni Matthews noted that during his statement Andrews had claimed "I'm not as strong as I thought". Mr Matthews said he wanted to draw an analogy with people who struggle with addiction adding that it was sadly the case that many people were brought before the court "because of a behaviour that they can't resist". He added that for many of those who were successful in "combating that devil within them it takes more than one attempt". He noted that Andrews felt "repulsion" at his own behaviour.

Mr Matthews noted Andrews had been a "hard working" man who had been "very successful" in a number of careers, including a period in the military as well as others which were "conducted in an exemplary fashion". He told the court that as a result of his previous conviction he lost his relationship with his wife and one of his sons. The court also heard that Andrews lost his job as a cleaner and now lived in "a sparsely furnished flat".

PlymouthLive previously reported how in 2019 Andrews was handed the suspended sentence after he was caught with more than 13,000 vile images of children including babies being raped. The former Royal Mail worker - and former Special Constable - had said at the time that he saw no harm in what he was doing.

At the time the sentencing judge told Andrews: "In interview you said you believed you were doing no harm to the children you were viewing. That is nonsense. If people like you did not view this abuse then it would not be perpetrated."

Turning to his latest offences, Judge Peter Johnson noted the previous offences for which he was given a suspended sentence. He said Andrews appeared to doing "quite well" but that he also had "an addiction" to these kinds of images. He also noted how Andrews had told police it was his "problem" and a "secret he had", later telling a probation officers that it was "your secret and [that] you hated it".

Judge Johnson said Andrews had hoped to go "on the straight and narrow" but had "unhappily succumbed to temptation as you candidly admit". He said it was clear Andrews had been deleting material on his devices.

The judge told Andrews these were "serious matters and of course you know that", but recognised that he had served his country and his community in various roles. He also noted how Andrews had lost his job, his relationship, his home, his partner and one of his sons due to his offending.

Judge Johnson said it was "very easy" in a sentencing exercise to concentrate on the offender, "but what you must also concentrate on are the victims of those images who were shown, in two cases, being raped - youngsters under the age of 10, going down to a relatively young age of five or so".

"It's very easy to think that because it's over the internet it doesn't involve real people", Judge Johnson told Andrews. "It does - it's as simple as that."

Taking into account the sentencing guidelines, the early guilty plea, the aggravating and mitigating factors of the case, Judge Johnson said he would pass a sentence of three and a half years of which he would serve half before being released on licence. In addition Andrews was told he would be made subject of another 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The telephone and memory stick would be confiscated and destroyed and Andrews would be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A child rapist from Devon has been jailed for the sexual abuse of three girls. Aaron Bennett, 33, was convicted of eleven serious sexual offences at a trial in October.

The paedophile returned to Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday (November 21) to be sentenced for his crimes. Judge Stephen Climie imposed a 28-year sentence with an extension of eight years due to the danger he poses.

The judge said the offending had a significant psychological effect on the victims. He told Bennett: "This for you is the end of a chapter in your life and the beginning of your time in custody.

"Observing the evidence of the three victims in this case was a matter which caused significant upset among jurors who had to try this case.

"It was compelling and obviously credible evidence given by three young people despicably and seriously abused. One can only hope in some shape this sentencing can draw some sort of line to allow them to move forward in their lives."

Bennett, of New Exeter Street, Chudleigh, was convicted of rape of a child under 13; attempted rape of a child under 13; sexual assault of a child under 13; and assaulting a child under 13 by penetration.

The court heard moving victim statements in which they described the trauma caused by Bennett. He used threats and violence to ensure their silence. He threatened to kill loved ones if they revealed what he had done.

Each of the victims suffered psychological distress trying to bottle up what had happened to them. One said she no longer feels safe around men.

Another added: "I've not given up on being happy. I've worked on my mental health. I want to move on with life and focus on the positives although I know it will not be an instant thing."

Mr Adrian Chaplin, defending, said Bennett was a man of previous good character and there had been substantial delays in getting the case to court.

Judge Climie said he was satisfied that Bennett should be subject to an extended sentence due to the danger he poses. He will serve two thirds of the 28 years in prison before being considered for release. What remains of the full 36 years will be served on licence.

He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the sex offender register. 

Afterwards Detective Constable Donna Tullock from the Local Safeguarding Investigation Team said: “I firstly must commend the incredible bravery of the victims who had the courage to come forward and support this investigation. Without their strength in character, we wouldn’t have been able to build such a strong case.

“Bennett is now where he belongs - behind bars where he will face the consequences of these abhorrent crimes. He is a dangerous predator and a threat to children.

“Nothing will ever take away the trauma that these individuals have been through, but I hope that there can be some reassurance in knowing that this man will be locked up for a considerable amount of time.

“We truly hope that this outcome gives other victims the strength to come forward and report incidents of rape and sexual assault to us. We have support mechanisms in place to help support victims throughout the process.”