Latest Offenders

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A twisted Snapchat predator from Lincolnshire has been jailed after grooming, abducting and having sex with a schoolgirl.

Daniel Potterton from Kirton, Boston, targeted the 14-year-old girl in June before luring her into a string of sexual acts which lasted a number of weeks.

The 20-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court and told he must sign the sex offenders register. He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life and subject to an indefinite restraining order.

Potterton randomly added the girl on Snapchat in June and began chatting with her. Her parents ended up confiscating her phone after becoming concerned about the contact and she reacted by causing damage to their home while shouting and swearing and they contacted police, reports Chronicle Live.

Potterton drove to South Tyneside and contacted the girl from near her home and she went out with him in his Vauxhall Corsa, turning off the GPS on her phone. The girl, who was a virgin, had sex with him in the car.

She was reported missing by her parents and when she returned home she had love bites and was described as "obsessed" with him and refused to cooperate with a medical examination, saying she believed she was in a relationship with him.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the girl also texted her parents asking if she could go away with him for 10 days but they refused. She also said she needed her passport to go to France and "didn't appear to think there was anything wrong with her having sex with him.

Glenn Gatland, prosecuting, said: "He said he was going to prison anyway so he might as well do it again." Police saw the defendant's car crossing Wearmouth Bridge on August 2 and the girl was in the car with him and he was arrested.

In a victim impact statement, the girl's mother said: "It has caused me to feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown, I feel weighed down and I feel like a zombie.

"Her behaviour has turned manic since I found out she was speaking to him. She doesn't care about the danger as long as she can be with him.

"We have taken her phone off her and she is always searching for it. She will do anything and everything to get what she wants.

"She has turned the whole family's world upside down. I feel broken and all our hearts are breaking. She thinks she can do what she wants and calls me an idiot when I try to educate her."

Her dad added: "We have had to put locks on every door except the bathroom. Every time we leave the house we have to lock every room and it feels like a prison. If we don't, she would search everywhere to get hold of bank cards or phones."

Potterton, of Dennis Estate, Boston, pleaded guilty to child abduction, two counts of sexual activity with a child, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming.

On a second occasion, Potterton drove back up to the North East and the girl went to meet him again. When her mother discovered she was not in her room in the early hours, police were contacted. She then came home at 5am.

Judge Christopher Prince said: "(The girl) bears a deep resentment (to her parents) notwithstanding their efforts to do everything they can to try to help. The effect on them has been profound and distressing. They are quite simply utterly at their wits end at their inability to do more to help her.

"You were fully aware of what you were doing and fully aware you were breaking the law yet you took the most cynical view that as you were going to prison anyway you would engage in sexual intercourse with her a second time."

Steven Reed, defending, said Potterton was of previous good character and said immaturity contributed to his offending.

After the case, Detective Sergeant Jodie Faulkner, of Northumbria Police, said: "This is a very upsetting case that saw Potterton target his underage victim on social media before sexually exploiting her over a number of weeks. His behaviour has had a shattering impact on both his victim and her family. I sincerely hope his conviction in court offers them some comfort.

"As soon as we were made aware of this case, we were determined to get hold of Potterton who we learnt had been travelling long distances from Lincolnshire over a number of weeks to sexually exploit his victim."

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A man described as a “danger to young women” sexually assaulted a woman on a train and returned to the scene to find her again, a court has heard.

The victim managed to record pervert Nathan Nash, 30, of Ribblesdale Close, Eastham, as he told her he was "horny" and rubbed her thigh on the Merseyrail Service. Nash appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday for sexually assaulting the woman on a train.

David Polglase, prosecuting, explained that she was waiting for her train to work on the morning of April 14 when Nash began talking to her. Mr Polglase, reading the 20-year-old victim’s statement, said: “He started to talk to himself, saying he had nowhere to go, nowhere left, saying hi nan whilst looking at the sky.

“He spoke to her about getting married saying he would rather be in jail.”

The victim said she believed he was talking to a dead relative, and she felt uneasy because he was continually staring at her, so she began to film him. Nash then followed her onto the train when it arrived, and sat opposite her.

He apologised for “being such a weirdo”, and despite the victim loudly asking what he wanted and why he was following her, nobody on the train intervened. Nash asked her if she “fancied” various men as they got off the train, and claimed he would sleep with the men referenced if he were homosexual.

Soon after, he moved to sit next to the woman, and asked to take a picture with her, which she refused. The conversation then became more sexual, he called her beautiful, and got “aggressive” when she received a text message from her boyfriend.

The victim then began filming and captured the assault on camera. Judge Neil Flewitt, KC, described the assault, he said: “You stroked her left leg and then the inside of her right thigh, quite high up and towards the area of her groin.”

Whilst assaulting her, Nash leaned his head on her right shoulder, and told her he was “horny”. The footage taken by the victim and shown in court clearly showed the assault, and she can be seen pushing his hand off her leg.

When she disembarked from the train, he continued to follow her, and tried to give her his jacket which she shrugged off. Nash followed her all the way to her place of work, at some points blocking her path, and upon arrival, asked for her phone number.

He also told her he would be waiting for her at the train station when she finished work at 5pm, which she also captured on film and was shown in court. The victim eventually managed to enter her workplace safely, alert her manager about what had happened, and call the police.

Nash was apprehended by police at the train station at 5.25pm that evening, as he laid in wait for the victim. In a victim impact statement read by the prosecution the court heard how the victim now wears a hoodie on her commute, and “feels awful every day, and tries to sit by the driver's door for safety”.

She also said she gets flashbacks of the assault, is “on edge all the time”, and is anxious towards the end of her work day about having to get the train home. Mr Polglase explained how the victim was screaming and crying after managing to escape Nash at her workplace, and it took over two hours for her to calm down.

Nash claimed in a police interview the day after the attack that he only touched the victim below the knee in a “friendly and not sexual fashion”, which was proven to be a lie by the video footage. Christopher Macmaster, defending said: “He utterly incorrectly somehow managed to take that he was in some way going to come back and meet with her to go on a date or something like that.”

Judge Flewitt replied: “Or have another go at assaulting her”. He added: “I don’t believe he went back there at 5pm in the legitimate expectation of some sort of consensual romantic liaison.

“You were clearly intent on striking up some sort of relationship with her, in circumstances where it must have been obvious to you that she was not the slightest bit interested in you”

Mr Macmaster said Nash knew the behaviour was “wholly wrong” but that he originally “struggled to come to terms” with his behaviour. Judge Flewitt described Nash’s “clear pattern of violent offending” and “of abusive behaviour in relationships”, including revenge porn and assaulting his sister.

He explained that most of Nash’s previous cases of violent offending were against women and that this assault was “another form of violence against women.” The judge concluded that Nash does pose “some danger to young women”.

Nash pleaded guilty to sexual assault on October 21. He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, and a restraining order barring him from contacting the victim or visiting her place of work was imposed for five years.

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A MAN has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of sexually abusing a young child.

His offending was described as predatory. 

Steven Abbott, 45, from Scholes, Cleckheaton, was sentenced to seven years in prison and made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order at Leeds Crown Court today (Friday, December 16).

He was convicted of six sexual offences, including sexual assault and sexual touching.

The 45-year-old was found guilty by a jury in July this year.

Following his release from prison, he will be required to sign on the sexual offences register.

DC Alexis Stansfield, who led the investigation, welcomed the sentencing of Abbott for his "predatory sexual offences". 

She said: “He has put the young victim and her family through a dreadful ordeal, compounded by then denying his guilt to the very end and making them go through the added experience of a trial.

“We hope seeing justice being done will bring some comfort to the victim and her family.

“All reports of sexual offences are thoroughly investigated by specialist detectives and we continue to encourage victims to come forwards to allow us and partner agencies to provide support and seek justice for them.”

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A WREXHAM man has been jailed after he engaged in sexual chat with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl.

Kevin Griffiths, of Coed Aben, appeared at Mold Crown Court for sentence on Thursday.

The 51-year-old had previously admitted two counts of attempting to cause or incite a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, one of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and two of breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Brian Treadwell, prosecuting, told the court the defendant was made the subject of a 10 year SHPO in 2017.

It prohibited him from using any website to contact anyone he knew or suspected to be under 16 years old, as well as sending unsolicited sexual images to anyone.

He was handed a suspended sentence in 2020 for failing to comply with notification requirements under the sexual offences act.

In the current offences, Mr Treadwell explained that over the course of 10 days in January this year, Griffiths contacted someone he believed to be a young girl online, introducing himself under a different name.

He was told very quickly by the person he was speaking to that she was 14.

But in fact this was a decoy account, not a real child.

Despite what he had been told, Griffiths continued the conversation - which he turned increasingly sexual.

He went on to suggest the girl engage in sex acts and sent her a picture of his naked genitalia.

Police attended his home on January 16 this year and arrested him, seizing his phone.

Simon Rogers, defending, told the court that at no point did his client attempt to meet the girl he believed he was speaking to, and that the contact had been over a limited period of time.

"When one looks at the messages, he explained, "there's no sophistication to them.

"In fairness to him, he has not sought to minimise his involvement - he accepts full responsibility.

"The conclusion of a psychiatric report states he is experiencing features of a persistent complex bereavement disorder, and there may also be the presence of a neurological developmental disorder.

Description

On 19 August 2022, Harrison Langford began using online chat applications to groom a 13-year-old girl. His messages became almost immediately sexual in nature and he encouraged her to share explicit images.

Langford, 28, travelled from his home in King Street to Kent on 3 September, to meet the child. He picked her up in his BMW, before sexually abusing her in the car. He repeated the same acts the following day.

A week later, on 10 September, Langford returned to Maidstone having booked a hotel room. This time he picked up his victim, took her to the hotel room, and repeatedly abused her.

Shortly after, the girl reported the offences to Kent Police and Langford was arrested at the hotel.

Langford appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday 14 December, where he pleaded guilty to four offences, including grooming and sexual activity with a child.

Langford was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and has been made subject of an extended licence period of three years, as well as a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Investigating officer, PC Marcus Easter from the West Kent Vulnerability Investigation Team, said, ‘Langford purposefully targeted and groomed a child. He repeatedly subjected her to sexual abuse, exploiting her for his own gratification, all the while fully aware of the profound and lasting damage his actions would have.

‘We are grateful to the victim for her bravery in coming forward and hope that today’s sentencing offers her some comfort.

‘Kent Police is committed to tackling all forms of child sexual exploitation and protecting those at risk, and we have dedicated teams working across the county to support victims and convict offenders.’

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A "dangerous offender" has been jailed for 20 years for the rape of a woman in north Wales. Thomas Goodier, 25, of St Helens, Merseyside, had been found guilty of two counts committed in Conwy county.

As well as the jail term, Judge Timothy Petts also handed Goodier an extended licence of seven years at Caernarfon Crown Court. The judge praised the victim for her bravery in giving evidence to the police and being cross-examined in court: "You are going to need a lot of love, help and support,” he told the court.

Judge Petts told Goodier, who showed no emotion in a video link from prison that he was “a dangerous offender.” The court heard he maintained his innocence.

Speaking after sentencing, DC Bev Humphreys from Central Division Protecting Vulnerable Persons Unit said: "I welcome the sentence today which I hope allows the victim and their family to focus now on positively re-building their future. The victim has shown incredible bravery throughout.

"The investigation and sentence should send a message that whilst we recognise that any form of violence is unacceptable, anyone who wants to target and commit sexual offences against women or children in particular should know that we will be thorough, we will persevere, and we will bring you to justice.

"I would also like to thank partners at the Crown Prosecution Service, who we have worked hard with us to make north Wales safer by putting Thomas Goodier behind bars."

Lifetime sex offenders’ and sexual harm prevention orders were also imposed on Goodier.

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Kriss Strachan, now 25, was jailed for a further two years for his "aggressive and abusive" conduct and slapped with a 20 year legal ban on contacting or approaching his victim.

A jailed violent sex offender stalked a woman he'd known briefly in his distant past, "obsessing", researching her, writing her love notes from behind bars, and trying to control her life, all while serving a 12-year sentence for raping a 91-year-old.

Kriss Strachan, now 25, was jailed for a further two years for his "aggressive and abusive" conduct and slapped with a 20 year legal ban on contacting or approaching his victim. Strachan met his victim when they were both 16 - at a concert in 2013.

Falkirk Sheriff Court was told on Wednesday, December 14, that they kept in touch for few months, and met just once at her home, whereupon she told him she "did not want to pursue a relationship". The following year Strachan, then 17, committed what a judge called his "cruel and degrading" attack on the 91-year-old, forcing his way into her house in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, pushing her over, threatening to kill her, punching her repeatedly round the head, compressing her neck, removing her clothing, raping her, and infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease.

Then in 2017, two years into his sentence and despite her not having heard from him for three years, the stalking victim suddenly received a letter from Strachan, then in Polmont Young Offenders' Institution, Stirlingshire, later declaring his "love". She replied she was "not interested", the court was told.

Then in November 2018, she found a 15-second voice message from Strachan on her phone. It said: "What's this [I] am hearing about you're engaged to a fucking 40-year-old black guy?

"What's that a' about? You could have f***ing let us know before I was writing letters to you, ya steamer."

In a further message in 2019, he revealed he knew what kind of van her fiance drove and where he lived, and sent her three letters in 2020 - finally saying he was going to be released on a tag and would be "coming to see her" once he was out of jail.

The court heard the victim, now 25, was driven to take an overdose, but confided in her mother and her new partner. Her mother contacted Glenochil Prison, Clackmannanshire, where Strachan had been moved since becoming an adult prisoner, and the prison said they would block his phone.

However the calls and texts continued. Police were called in, and he was arrested and charged.

Appearing by video link from Barlinnie Prison, Strachan, of Bellshill, admitted stalking the woman, now also 25, for more than two years, from November 2018 to February last year (2021) while inside the two Scottish jails -- Polmont and Glenochil. Stephen Biggam, defending, said Strachan was "remorseful".

He said: "Knowing he was within touching distance of being released, he has managed to extend his incarceration by his own stupidity."

Imposing the extra jail tine and the 20-year non harassment order, Sheriff Craig Harries told Strachan that he had been "well aware" the victim did not want to hear from him. He said: "You began to contact the complainer once you were in custody. She made it clear to you by letter and telephone that she did not want contact from you.

"You were well aware from what she said, and her lack of response, that she did not want contact, but over the course of 27 months, you continued. In one of your later letters you even acknowledged she was ignoring your correspondence.

"The contacted contained abusive harassment of her. You aggressively challenged her about her being engaged.

"You provided knowledge about her personal life that you could only have discovered while within the prison. That is a particularly concerning aspect of the case and it shows the obsession that you had.

"In what would always be perceived by her as a threat, you stated you'd be coming to see her on your release. You continued to contact her by phone and letter professing love for her.

"You were, as both the legislation and common sense shows, stalking her. You caused her significant harm, her mental health suffered, she required medical assistance, and she was physically sick with worry.

"You tried to exert control over her life. The offence is significant aggravated by your previous conviction for a brutal sexual offence, and by your committing it from with the confines of prison, where she was entitled to have felt safe from you."

He added that a background report deemed Strachan to pose "a significant risk, particularly to females". Scottish Ministers may also order he should now serve a seven year extension that judge Lord Boyd imposed when he jailed him in 2015.

The judge said the rape had a "truly appalling" impact on the old lady involved. Strachan told police at the time: "I cannot believe I done it. I am scum."

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A HEREFORD man has been sentenced to three years in prison following his conviction for multiple sex offences.

Douglas Baker, 70 of Marlbrook Road, Hereford, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday, December 14.

He pleaded guilty earlier this year to five offences which he committed between 2019 and 2022.

The five charges for which he was convicted were two counts of inciting an underage girl to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual communication with a child, voyeurism – recording of a private act, and making an indecent photograph of a child.

Baker is now listed on the sex offenders register for life.

DC Harriet Wheadon-Hill said: "This sentence shows that abusing young girls will not go unchallenged or unpunished.

"Following extensive police investigations, together with the courage of the victims to come forward, we can uncover the truth and bring offenders to justice.

"West Mercia Police remains committed to seeking justice for rape victims and survivors of sexual abuse, and we, the police, and wider support services are here for them."

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A 58-year-old man has been found guilty on 22 counts of indecent assault in connection with incidents which took place over a decade.

Rodney Paul Webster, previously of Northampton, tried to maintain his innocence when accused of the assaults against the three survivors, who were all children at the time of the offences.

Forcing the case to a trial at Northampton Crown Court, which took place in September, the jury heard how Webster raped and sexually assaulted the trio on multiple occasions between 1978 and 1988.

After deliberating for two days, the jury found him guilty on all 22 counts.

He was sentenced last Friday (December 9) to 14 years and eight months in prison.

Lead Investigator – Detective Constable Kelly Roberts, said: “Webster thought he had gotten away with his crimes, living in freedom for more than 30 years, but this case proves that it doesn’t matter how much time has passed – we will do everything in our power to ensure you end up in prison for what you have done.

“These three children are now adults and they have lived with this abuse for a very long time. I want to thank them for their strength and resilience during this prolonged investigation and for giving evidence in court. I know what Webster did to them will never leave them but they can be proud that they spoke out and that he is now in prison because of their courage.

“No matter when a person has been a victim of crime, justice can be found, and this case proves just that.”

Description

A convicted sex offender from Peterborough has been jailed after he failed to tell police about his new address. Ishmael Khan, 40, was convicted of an indecent assault on a girl under 16 in 2006.

He was placed on a registration notification for an indefinite period following the initial conviction. This meant that he had to keep the police informed of personal details, including his main address and any addresses he stayed at for more than 7 days in a year.

In January 2021, Khan had told police he was living at a guest house in Eastfield Road, Peterborough. However, an officer carried out a routine check on August 23 and was told by a staff member that Khan had moved out a few weeks previously without saying where he was going.

His failure to notify police of his new address within three days meant he had breached the requirement of his registration notification. He also failed to complete an annual notification at a police station, which was due by January 27, 2022.

He was arrested in London in April. Khan, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Cambridge Crown Court on December 14. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with his Sex Offenders' Register notification requirements.

PC Lorraine Smart, from the Management of Sex Offenders and Violent Offenders team, said: “Khan showed a blatant disregard for the court order and we will always look to make sure sex offenders are adhering to their notification requirements. The prison sentence reflects how seriously the courts take this type of offence.”

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Two sick paedophiles were caught messaging one another on WhatsApp about child sex abuse.

Ricky Cavanagh, 38, was subject to a sexual harm prevention order at the time his phone was looked at by police, who had received intelligence he had been on a number of social media sites.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the order had been put in place in September 2016 when Cavanagh, of no fixed abode, had been convicted of a series of sickening sexual offences including attempting to cause a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutor Zabreen Alam-Cheetham, said that at the time of the breach of the order on March 18 this year, Cavanagh was managed by the Calderdale Public Protection Unit. She said: "The conditions prohibited him from making any attempt to delete any data from any device that can access the internet or refusing to show such history to a police officer." The court was told a number of concerns were raised in relation to Cavanagh due to him being "elusive" and reports which had been received.

Ms Alam-Cheetham said: "The defendant was seen by a public protection officer walking through Halifax town centre. He was stopped and spoken to and due to previous concerns and the conditions of his sexual harm prevention order was asked to produce items and he got out his phone, opened the device and the PC watched as he scrolled to media he had downloaded and deleted the Snapchat app from the device."

Cavanagh was detained and arrested and his internet history was lost but his WhatsApp conversations showed he was in conversation with another sex offender discussing the sexual abuse of children. A forensic download of his phone also showed Snapchat had been installed on nine occasions and uninstalled on eight occasions between February and March this year.

His Honour Judge Ahmed Nadim told the court Cavanagh was a "high risk sex offender." Cavanagh represented himself and said he was "happy with everything and happy to proceed."

He was jailed for 28 months and told: "You're regarded by the public protection unit as a high risk offender. Your behaviour in the community has caused the authorities some considerable concern. You're capable of plumbing to the depths of depravity.

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A sex offender who assaulted a woman and took pictures of her as she slept has been jailed for four and a half years.

William Wilson Allan sexually assaulted his victim after drinking with her and her partner, York Crown Court heard.

Allan had recently been released from a prison sentence for an unrelated offence in which he had threatened to firebomb another man’s house with the man, his wife and family inside.

Allan, 27, of York, had denied sexual assault and voyeurism, but was convicted by a jury.

As well as jailing him, Recorder Simon Jackson KC made him subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting the woman in any way for 10 years.

Allan will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Last month, a jury heard how Allan, the victim of the sexual assault and her partner had gone to the woman’s house together after drinking together at a different house.

Allan and the woman’s partner left her alone at the house while they went to buy cocaine in the early hours of May 1, 2021.

Believing they had gone for the night, she went upstairs and fell asleep, leaving her phone by her bedside.

But shortly afterwards the men came back, with some cocaine which they used. She was unaware of their return.

The partner told the jury how Allan had started using the woman’s phone and walking up and down the stairs.

He had left the house, leaving Allan alone in the house with the woman.

While he was out, Allan had gone upstairs and used the woman’s phone to take pictures of her as she slept, the jury heard.

As he took the photographs, he sexually assaulted her.

He deleted the photographs, but the woman found them some hours later in the phone’s deleted section.

She told the jury she knew who had taken the photographs because they included a blackened fingernail – and she knew that Allan had had an injured fingernail at the time.

Following his arrest and in court, Allan tried to blame the partner, claiming the partner had taken the photographs.

But the partner didn’t have a damaged fingernail, and police took photos of his hand shortly after the crime showing he didn’t have a damaged fingernail, the jury heard.

A year ago, Allan was jailed for 18 months for criminal damage and threats to commit criminal damage to a man's house.

York Crown Court heard last December how he had been drinking and taking drugs before those offences.

He has other previous convictions, including for violence but none for sexual offences.

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A 25-year-old paedophile serving a three-year prison term for inciting a girl to send him naked photos, has been handed a second jail sentence for abuse of a boy.

Declan Bailey, faced a judge once again, after it emerged he had seriously sexually abused a primary school aged boy, before he targeted the 13-year-old girl.

Bailey subjected the little boy to a string of sexual assaults.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the former Teesside University student abused his victim, now an adult, over 10 years ago. The victim didn't report what happened to the police until he read about Bailey being jailed for his sexual communications with a young girl, in 2021.

Bailey had targeted his 13-year-old victim on Snapchat, telling her he would rape her if she didn't send him explicit photos of herself. He was also found to have illegal images and videos showing children being sexually abused, on his phone.

Bailey was jailed for three-years for this in April 2021.

Police then began investigating him over the sexual abuse of the young boy. He initially denied everything but pleaded guilty in October, on the day his trial was due to start.

Bailey, of HMP Durham but previously of Park Road South in Middlesbrough, admitted three counts of the sexual assault of a boy under 13; and three counts of inciting the same boy to engage in sexual activity.

His barrister Nigel Soppitt said he was "on the autistic spectrum and he's not got a single friend in the world, as a young man."

Judge Jonathan Carroll told Bailey: "You had reached a stage in life where sexual curiosity had emerged in your mind. You turned these thoughts into physical actions.

"You did so against a young boy, who was in no way wanting, or capable of consenting, to your conduct.

"The risk you represent - the behaviour you demonstrated in your previous crimes and together with these offences - leads me to conclude that you pose a significant risk of causing significant harm. You are a dangerous offender."

Bailey was jailed for three-years-and-five-months. He was made subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order when he was sentenced for paedophile crimes in 2021.

Description

A convicted sex offender with an ‘unhealthy appetite for looking at images of young girls’ was sent to prison ‘yet again’.

Andrew Boyce, 44, was found to have one busted laptop and another in working order but 'hidden' when detectives visited him at home in Oxford on November 17.

Neither had been registered with the police – a breach of a sexual harm prevention order first imposed when he was convicted in 2016 of having indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Stefan Weidmann told Oxford Crown Court this week that the internet history for the past ‘several months’ had been deleted from the working laptop.

Both computers had been sent away for analysis by digital forensics specialists. Police were yet to crack into either device.

When he was interviewed at the police station Boyce ‘exercised his right to silence’, the prosecutor said.

Boyce, of Abingdon Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court last month to two counts of breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard he had a previous conviction from 2020 for flouting the order. On that occasion he had accessed literature describing child abuse and had also searched the net for a 10-year-old character from the Game of Thrones television series. He was jailed for 16 months.

Mitigating on Tuesday morning, Gareth James said his client was ‘realistic’ about his fate and knew he should have told the police about the laptop.

“He’s a gentleman who seems to suffer from the ill effects of depression and mental health conditions,” the advocate said.

Sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment, Judge Michael Gledhill KC said: “I’m not going to lecture you about your dishonesty and your lying to the police.

“I’ve read the pre-sentence report with very great care. I understand the difficulties that you have faced over the years.

“None of them amount to any sort of excuse for breaching a court order designed to protect young girls from your attentions.

“You have an unhealthy appetite for looking at images of young girls.”

The judge added: “I can’t do anything else than send you to prison yet again.

“Regrettably that means the help you need is probably not going to be given in the amount it would be if you were at liberty.”

He warned Boyce that, on his release from prison, the police ‘will be keeping the closest possible eye on you’.

The judge extended the defendant’s sexual harm prevention order, replicating the terms of the earlier order and imposing it for 10 years from the date of his sentence.

Description

Police found the defendant had downloaded 1,000 images of children being sexually abused and had joined an online dating site using a false name.

A convicted sex offender borrowed his mother's mobile to search for images of underage children after police had seized his own phone following the discovery he had been in communication with 12-year-old girls. Kris Maisey was on a suspended sentence at the time having previously been caught with a haul of child sex abuse images and was also the subject of a sexual harm prevention order designed to control is online activities.

Swansea Crown Court heard that in August last year 32-year-old Maisey was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for 24 months after pleading guilty to making – that is possessing – more than 1,700 indecent images of children. He was also put on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for the same length of time.

Ian Wright, prosecuting, said in August this year police officers carrying out a routine check on Maisey in the community examined the defendant's phone and found evidence he had been communicating with two 12-year-old girls. Though the nature of the contact was not sexual the discovery raised concerns and the Samsung phone was seized for further checks.

The court heard a detailed search of the phone found around 1,000 indecent images – including Category A images which show the most serious kinds of rape and sexual abuse – and also that Maisey had joined the Tinder-style dating website Wink using a false name. As part of his SHPO the defendant is prohibited from creating social media and other online accounts using anything other than his real name.

The prosecutor said when police returned a week after the original visit to arrest Maisey for possession of the indecent images they found him using a phone he had not told them about, a mobile which it turned out he had borrowed from his mother. An examination of this second phone found the defendant had been making internet searches for material about underage girls. He subsequently gave a "no comment" interview to officers

Kris Maisey, of Norton Road, Penygroes, Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Matt Murphy, for Maisey, said while being held on remand awaiting sentence his client had used his time productively and was taking qualifications and educational courses, and had also established a "society" in prison. Though the advocate did not give details of the nature of the group he stressed it was unconnected with the offences before the court.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Maisey that in August last year a judge had given him a chance, but instead of taking that chance he had continued to access images of child sex abuse and had "blatantly" breached the terms of his sexual harm prevention order. With a 20% discount for his guilty pleas Maisey was sentenced to 20 months in prison for the new offences and the judge activated eight months of the previously-imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making an overall sentence of 28 months. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence. The judge also made Maisey subject of a new 10-year SHPO.