Latest Offenders

Description

Predatory pensioner Brian Rutledge, of St Georges Walk, Gosport, has been jailed for nine years for his crime after being convicted of two counts of indecent assault on a boy under 16 and one count of buggery with a boy under 16 following a trial at Reading Crown Court.

The offences all occurred in the 1980s when Rutledge – now 82 – was a parish priest at a church in Reading.

The disgraced priest had set up and run a number of clubs for boys while at the church.

His victim, then aged 15, was a member of one of the groups when he was targeted by the twisted pervert.

During a stay at Rutledge’s home, the youngster was sexually abused and raped.

The victim had woken to find Rutledge sitting on his bed and he told the victim that he had been ‘chosen’ before clambering into bed with him and molesting him.

After carrying out his sex attack, depraved Rutledge then told the boy not to tell anyone about what had happened, saying that keeping it as a secret was good practice for when the youngster became a priest.

Thames Valley Police said the sex attack left the victim so traumatised by the assault, that he gave up any thought of entering priesthood.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Neil Callaway of the Child Abuse Investigation Unit based at Reading police station, said: ‘What Rutledge did was a complete abuse of his position within the Catholic church and the local community.

‘He had no concern for his victim, only for his own gratification.

‘He is now in prison where he belongs.

‘The victim in this case has shown incredible strength and bravery in speaking about what happened to him, and I would like to thank him for doing so.

‘This conviction shows that when victims come forward and report crimes such as these, they will be believed, and no matter what the passage of time, they will get justice.’

Description

A PAEDOPHILE who kept childrens leotards in his home to indulge his sick fantasies was back in court for possessing horrific child sex abuse images.

Mark Grindon had nearly 47,000 indecent images of children and images of extreme pornography including bestiality at his home near Horsham.

He had been ordered not to keep computer devices without monitoring software after his earlier convictions.

Previously, The Argus revealed how the pervert had an interest in girls wearing ballet costumes.

He sought out social media profiles of young girls, aged between 11 and 15, from across the country.

His first conviction was in 2016, but a later search at his home found he had stashed items behind a false shelf in his bathroom, including camera phones, a GoPro camera, a girls leotard, a camcorder, and a child sex doll.

Now the unemployed 37-year-old was back in court where it was revealed he was using the alias Eddie Gardener on an online dating site to contact with women who have children.

He was sent back to prison for 13 months for admitting possession of 46,986 indecent images, breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and breaching the notification requirements of being a registered sex offender.

Police said his latest sentencing followed a time-consuming forensic examination of Grindons digital devices, seized when he was arrested in 2019.

It resulted in the discovery of the indecent images and his further sentencing.

In November 2016 Grindon had first been convicted at Chichester Crown Court of making indecent images of children.

He was given a suspended prison sentence and as well as being a registered sex offender, he was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), severely restricting his contact with children and computers and requiring him to clear any such contact with supervising police officers.

Police said checks showed he had looked at more than 30 girls on Instagram, mainly wearing ballet or leotard outfits, but there was no evidence he had contacted the girls.

PC Louise Giles said: "This further sentencing shows that we will continue to seek out evidence, even though it may be a time-consuming process, to bring such offenders to justice in order to protect the community.

"Grindon has been known to use an alias Eddie Gardener in online dating profiles, to contact women with access to children.

If you have had contact with him, please contact us either online, or by calling 101, quoting reference 47190112747."

Grindon, of Swallowfield Close, Mannings Heath, near Horsham, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on May 17 to 13 months in prison.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE who carried out an "appalling" catalogue of abuse and rape against children was jailed for 13 years today.

Gary Dunn left one young girl feeling that she wanted to suffocate and die as he subjected her to a painful sexual assault.

A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh told Dunn (61): "Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent crime and will not be tolerated in our society."

Lady Poole said that Dunn had been convicted of "appalling offences" of sexual crime against his victims.

The judge said victims "had to endure many disgusting acts of depravity" carried out by Dunn for his gratification.

Dunn preyed on child victims over more than two decades at addresses in Moray and the rape of one victim in Aberdeen.

He had earlier denied a series of charges during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, but was found guilty of three rape offences and three indecency crimes against girls.

Dunn, formerly of Rothes, began his sex crime spree in 1998 and continued until 2019 during which time he abused three girl victims.

Lady Poole said that victim impact statements provided to the court made "distressing reading".

One woman who was molested and assaulted by Dunn as a child said that on one occasion she was subjected to a painful ordeal.

She said: "I had my head in between pillows and I was hoping I could suffocate and die, to be honest."

The woman, now aged 32, thought that she was 13 or 14 years old when Dunn perpetrated the abuse in the incident.

Advocate depute Peter Ferguson QC asked her how she felt afterwards and she replied: "I felt sore. I felt numb. I just wanted it to stop."

Dunn had previously preyed on the girl and told her to close her eyes during sex acts he performed on her.

His most recent abuse of a child occurred in 2018 and 2019 when he sexually assaulted a girl from the age of 10 and simulated sex with her and raped her.

He had previously molested another girl from the age between 2003 and 2006 when he touched her and simulated sex with her.

Dunn had appeared in the dock at his trial with the aid of two walking sticks and his defence counsel Bill Adam drew attention to his age and declining health.

Mr Adam told the court: "It is very difficult for him in prison given his conditions."

Lady Poole ordered that Dunn should be kept under supervision for a further three year period.

Dunn was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Description

An online sex offender was caught with a smartphone and software designed to hide his internet history, a court has heard.

Craig Lloyd was handed a suspended prison sentence in 2019 for attempting to incite what he thought was a 12-year-old to engage in sexual activity. As part of his sentence he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to control his access to the internet including a requirement he must declare any phones he owed to the police.

Hannah George, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that in May this year police officers monitoring the defendant in the community made an unannounced visit to his home. The officers quizzed him about any electronic devices he had and he admitted he had a Samsung phone which he had bought the previous year and which he had not notified them about. Police carried out a search and also recovered a USB memory stick.

Lloyd was arrested and cautioned and told officers "there might be some stuff" on the phone as he had been involved in online chats. An examination of the Samsung found it had software which deleted the internet search history and it also had pictures of children albeit images of fully clothed youngsters and not indecent images.

In his interview the 37-year-old admitted buying the phone from eBay the previous October and not declaring it and said he used it look at pornography.

Craig Anthony Lloyd, of Neath Road, Hafod, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) when he appeared in the dock via videolink from prison for sentencing. In 2019 he was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 24 months for attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. This case involved decoy social media accounts rather than real girls.

Matt Murphy, for Lloyd, said the offence was one "born out of temptation" but that Lloyd hadn't been using the phone "to engage in communications with people he should not". The advocate said the defendant had been working with probation while on the suspended sentence but "further intervention" was required.

Judge Geraint Walters told Lloyd he had been fortunate to avoid immediate prison in 2019 and had he been sentenced under the current Court of Appeal authority he would not have received a suspended sentence, which he said was the defendant's "lucky break".

However having been given a chance the judge said the defendant went on to commit a "wilful and flagrant" breach of the sexual harm prevention order, which showed "a measure of deviousness" on Lloyd's part. He said it was clear the defendant had learned nothing.

Giving Lloyd the required one-third discount for his guilty plea the judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison for the breach and he activated eight months of the previously-imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making an overall sentence of 20 months in prison. Lloyd will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence.

The sexual harm prevention order remains in place.

Description

Kamil Lesiak was part of a monstrous gang who kidnapped, tortured and raped another man.

He was the last of the group to be jailed after forcing the victim to commit depraved sex acts in a 10-hour attack.

The 27-year-old man was kidnapped in Bootle in November 2015 and kept against his will at a house in Simons Croft, Netherton.

Lesiak and Daniel Misiolek, who was jailed for life with a minimum of nine years in 2016, subjected him to a series of physical and sexual assaults.

Around 90 minutes of his horrifying ordeal were filmed by Misiolek's girlfriend, Awna Baszak, before he finally escaped when the gang left the house.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was initially attacked at a home in Bootle - days after another one of the gang, Dagmara Szary "appeared to have taken offence" to mobile phone photos she claimed to have seen.

Lesiak, 25, of no fixed address, was found guilty of false imprisonment, assault causing actual bodily harm, rape and causing a man to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.

He was jailed for 18 years.

Description

A man was imprisoned for eight-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to historic sex abuse against a 14-year-old boy after appearing at Guildford Crown Court on April 8.

Christopher Coleman, 59, of Milford, pleaded guilty to six charges against the same victim, including three counts of gross indecency, two counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery.

The victim came forward in February 2019 after reading an article in a newspaper about Coleman being convicted for similar offences in 2013, following which he received two life sentences, with a minimum of 15 years. This was later reduced on appeal to 12 years.

The victim rang to thank Surrey Police for ensuring Coleman was put behind bars and said he had also been abused by him. An investigation was subsequently launched and Coleman was arrested in June 2019 on suspicion of a number of sexual offences.

Description

Jamie Woodland had horrific images on his mobile.

A Derbyshire man was caught with horrific images of young children being abused on his mobile phone.

Dozens of indecent images were found on the device by police in March this year after they took possession of a phone belonging to Jamie Woodland.

These included some of the very worst type of child abuse images, including ones showing children thought to be between the ages of three and five being raped.

Derby Crown Court was told on Thursday, May 20, that by possessing the mobile phone and by deleting images on a device, the 29-year-old was in breach of an existing Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

That order was given to him at Sheffield Crown Court in 2018, when he was jailed after spending months of sending sexualised messages to an undercover police officer who he thought was a teenager.

Sarah Allen, prosecuting, told the court, that the father-of-two had not told police he had bought a new phone in December last year.

"That was handed to the police by his girlfriend after his arrest," she said.

She said police had found 70 Category A images on the device - the worst type of abuse images.

These included images of girls aged between three and five years old being raped and abused.

The phone also had 17 Category B images showing children between the ages of six and 12, and 83 Category C images.

"He denied he had seen any of the images on the mobile phone, he said he had purchased it and forgotten he had had it," Ms Allen said.

"In August 2018 he was sentenced for two counts of attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity. He was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

"The police report confirms that he had deleted images from one of the mobile phones on March 10."

Woodland, of Shuttlewood Road, Bolsover, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child, and two breaches of a SHPO.

Katrina Wilson, mitigating, said her client has two children with his ex-girlfriend, with another on the way, and he is keen to maintain contact.

"This is a situation where denials were made at interview - the [guilty] plea was entered at the first chance before your honour," she said.

 "He is still a relatively young man. He has committed these offences, he accepts he has a sentence to serve as a result of that.

"His father is currently in hospital having been put in a coma and being in critical care. Mr Woodland has only just come into that information.

"Prior to his remand he had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. The best that can be said for is that he is trying to make the best of his time in custody."

Judge Shaun Smith said while Woodland had shown remorse, the images found on the phone had been "particularly disgusting" with some involving very young children.

Jailing Woodland for 13 months, he said: "You know there are very real victims in relation to these images. It's a deliberate breach by you."

Description

A man has been jailed for more than two decades for a series of rapes and sexual assaults.

Russell Yeomans committed the vile offences in South Normanton, in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Norfolk over the course of four decades.

The predator's horrific criminal past was only brought to light after he sent an explicit image of himself to a schoolgirl in 2019, which was subsequently found on her phone.

After being encouraged to speak to support staff at her school, she revealed several incidents of abuse that happened at an address in Nottinghamshire.

When detectives opened an investigation, they received more complaints from another two victims who had heard about the police's inquiries.

One victim revealed the 58-year-old had begun to abuse her when she was just seven years old and that it culminated with Yeoman's raping her three times when she was a teenager.

Yeomans, of Monksway, Wilford, Nottingham, refused to comment in his first interview with police and denied all the allegations that had been made against him.

He eventually admitted sending the explicit image to the girl and pleaded guilty to one count of causing a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, and one count of inciting a girl under 16 to engage in sexual activity.

After Derbyshire police and Nottinghamshire Police worked together to bring the cases to the Crown Prosecution Service, he Yeomans was charged over the other historical offences.

He continued to deny these, but after a two week trial at Nottingham Crown Court he was found guilty of 14 charges.

These were two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, eight indecent assaults on a child under 14, three rapes and one act of gross indecency with a child under 14.

He was sentenced to 22 years in prison and a further five years on licence at the same court on Friday, May 14. He will have to serve at least 14 years before he is considered for parole.

Detective Chief Inspector Darren De'ath, of Derbyshire police’s Public Protect Unit, said: “The victims in these cases, one of whom is still a child, should be praised for their strength and bravery in coming forward.

“Yeomans is clearly a very dangerous man and by speaking to officers, they have potentially safeguarded other children.”

Detective Constable Paula Wilson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the "manipulative sexual predator" was caught out after decades of abuse by sending a picture of himself to one of his victims.

"By doing this he unwittingly set in place a chain of events that have quite rightly culminated in a very lengthy custodial sentence," she said.

"The picture he sent to the victim proved to be catalyst for three separate victims to come forward independently with very detailed allegations of abuse – much of which happened a very long time ago.

"Their bravery and determination was absolutely crucial to the success of this prosecution and I am delighted that they have now received justice.

"I would also like to pay tribute to the professionalism and good practice displayed by staff at the latest victim’s school, who followed safeguarding procedures to the letter and allowed us to gather very compelling evidence at an early stage.

“Taking into account Yeoman’s pattern of behaviour over a very long period of time, I have no doubt that his campaign of abuse would have continued had he not been exposed and convicted for his appalling crimes.

"To any other victims of historic sexual assault I would like to say this – it is never too later to come forward.

"Regardless of how long ago things happened we will listen to you, we will investigate and we will do our very best to get justice for you."

Description

A York man who hid images of children being sexually abused on his mobile phone has been hauled before a judge at York Crown Court again.

David Stansfield, of Stirrup Close in Foxwood, served a prison sentence in 2016 for possessing indecent images of children- some involving a child who was just one year old.

Police officers turned up at Stansfields home unannounced on 6 February, and found he had breached the rules of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order he has to comply with on his release from prison.

The 45-year-old had failed to declare an iPhone found in his car and an iPad he had recently bought.

Stansfield told police he had bought the iPad for gaming and insisted the police knew about his iPhone.

Judge Sean Morris said: I dont see any point in locking him up for four weeks. There was nothing found on his devices. Hes got a job. Hes re-established himself in the community.

He told Stansfield, who now works as a delivery driver, this will be the only time you will walk out of the public entrance of court for a breach of an order. Its not rocket science.

Get it in your head. You must obey the order. Youll go to prison next time.

Stansfield was handed an 18 month Community Order with a 10 day rehabilitation requirement. His undeclared devices will be destroyed.

Description

James Jeffrey tried to outwit police with PIN protected phones but was caught out.

A "predatory" and "manipulative" paedophile has been sent to prison for five years for targeting a 14-year-old girl.

James Jeffrey, 45, of Cherry Orchard Road, West Molesey was sentenced to five years in jail yesterday (Tuesday, May 11) at Kingston Crown Court, following an investigation by Surrey Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team.

Jeffrey had tried to outwit officers by refusing to cooperate when police tried to access PIN protected phones.

But Surrey Police said he was "naive" if he thought he could evade justice for his "appalling" crimes.

How did police catch James Jeffrey?

In 2018, Surrey Police received intelligence that an email address was being used to post indecent videos of children to an online chat group.

The email address was traced to Jeffrey and he was arrested at his work while a search of his home was undertaken.

Three mobile phones were seized.

Accessing the PIN-protected phones took some time because Jeffrey was uncooperative and refused to provide police with the correct codes.

Surrey Police investigators were, however, able to gain access to the phones with the assistance of a forensics lab.

They then uncovered a series of explicit WhatsApp and Facebook messenger chats on one of the devices between Jeffrey and a female - who was found to be just 14-years-old.

After a trial at Kingston Crown Court in March 2021, Jeffrey was found guilty of sexual communication with a child, causing a child to watch a sexual act and two charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

Jeffrey has also been given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order by the court.

Such orders can require offenders to have their internet access monitored, or their movement restricted in public places, such as children's parks.

The victim has shown incredible bravery

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant James Tibbs from the force’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team said: “The victim has shown incredible bravery and determination in helping us with our investigation.

"I sincerely hope she and her family can move on from this and that Jeffrey being behind bars for what he has done helps them do that.

"Jeffrey is clearly a predatory and manipulative paedophile and it has taken time to get to this point so it’s extremely satisfying to see him sentenced."

DS Tibbs added: “Surrey Police is committed to fully investigating all offences of this nature and will always follow every line of enquiry to ensure that suspects are identified, located and brought to justice.

"Providing a fake PIN like Jeffrey did may delay our investigative work briefly but he was naïve if he thought this was enough to stop us investigating such an appalling crime.”

Description

A 'sweating' and 'fully naked' pervert ogled a group of teens from his balcony as he performed a sex act on himself.

A horrified onlooker witnessed Trevor Smith performing the sex act while looking at a group of around nine teenagers on March 18 this year.

She said she "felt physically sick" and called police, who discovered the 50-year-old sweating profusely and "out of breath" as pornography played from his mobile phone.

Chris Hopkins, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court, explained the disgusted onlooker lived in an adjacent apartment block and "at about 9.50pm was alerted to a noise in the street".

Mr Hopkins said: "She looked out her window and saw a group of about nine teens, male and female, were walking along in the street.

"She then noticed this defendant hanging out of his window."

Mr Hopkins said he was "well known" by neighbours and the woman recognised him.

Smith had his hand on the window ledge and was "leaning over the window ledge looking towards the ground".

The woman saw when Smith stepped back from the balcony that he was "fully naked" with his "boxer shorts pulled down to his knees".

Mr Hopkins said Smith appeared to be performing a sex act on himself.

He said: "She was horrified and felt physically sick, especially because the group of kids walking passed and he was looking out towards them."

She said it was "disgusting" and near a busy road, adding "anybody could have seen what he was doing".

The horrified woman called police, who arrived to find Smith "wearing a towel", "out of breath" and "sweating".

They searched his bedroom and discovered a bag of cannabis and noted that on his mobile phone "pornography was visibly on display".

On June 19, 2012 Smith was handed a 12-month conditional discharge for outraging public decency.

He was handed a community order for three years in June 2016 for a similar offence which he later breached by failing to comply and for drug and drink driving, for which he was locked up for three months.

On October 24, 2019 he was handed a 26 week sentence suspended for two years after he was found "intoxicated in a lift at a train station thrusting his hips towards a cleaner's cone" which was witnessed by members of the public.

He breached this suspended sentence by committing the offence on March 18 and was remanded into custody. He will also have to serve part of the 2019 sentence that was suspended.

Mark Philips, defending, emphasised it was unlikely the group of teenagers would have seen Smith as he lived on one of the higher floors and it was late at the time of the offence.

He said: "He tells me he has looked at himself whilst in prison and realises his whole offending has been related to drug abuse."

Mr Philips said Smith has started a drug awareness course and he now wants to "start his life".

He explained Smith had completed his suspended sentence in part and carried out Rehabilitation Activity Requirements.

Smith, of Hall Street, St Helens, admitted possession of cannabis, exposure and breaching his suspended sentence order.

Judge Stuart Driver, sentencing, said the offences were aggravated because "you were focused on the group of teenagers when you committed this offence" and because of his criminal record.

The judge jailed him for 10 months.

Smith must also sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Description

A convicted sex offender was taken ill after being jailed for a string of offences.

Alan Ludar-Smith, 46, had to be helped in the dock after he was handed down a three year, four-month sentence, at Norwich Crown Court.

Ludar-Smith, who admitted a number of sex offences, asked a young girl online to send him an indecent photo of her younger sister, said to be aged four.

Ludar-Smith was also found to have indecent images of children and to have distributed indecent images to one other person.

Edward Renvoize, prosecuting, said Ludar-Smith was already a convicted sex offender and said the latest offences came to light after a police protection unit found indecent images on his phone.

A further examination of his phone and laptop found other images including more than 100 in the most serious category.

Mr Renvoize said they also discovered he had been having sexualised chats with two girls under 16, asking one of them to send him pictures of her younger sister, he thought was about four years old.

Mr Revoize said Ludar-Smith also asked to meet one of the girls and offered to pay her fare.

Ludar-Smith, of no fixed address, admitted attempting to engage another to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. attempting to engage a child in sexual activity, downloading indecent images and distribution of indecent images possession of extreme porn and prohibited images.

Jailing him and placing him on the sex offenders register for life, Judge Maureen Bacon said he had an unhealthy sexual interest in young girls.

She said it was not known if the girls he had chatted with were real or not but he had asked one of them to send a picture of her younger sister who was meant to be four.

"You were attempting to cause a child to engage in a sex act and that is a serious offence."

Philip Farr, for Ludar-Smith, said that he was an isolated person and unaware of the gravity of what he was doing.

He said the offences were an attempt rather than any direct contact.

Description

A former Surrey head teacher has been jailed after justice was finally served more than 30 years after he sexually abused a girl on multiple occasions.

Over a period of three years during the 1980s, Colin Brooks, now 77, took advantage of the girl's vulnerability to exploit her sexually, forcing her to perform sex acts on him at "every opportunity" according to the judge who sentenced him.

He has been sentenced to 28 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to seven counts of indecent assault on the female victim, having initially accused her of making up the abuse.

The defendant, who had since moved to Brixham, in Devon, previously worked as a teacher and headmaster at various educational establishments across the South East of England.

He became the head teacher at The Grove School in Hindhead during the 1980s. The school is now known as The Royal School.

A sentencing hearing on Monday (May 17) at Guildford Crown Court heard the sexual abuse began in the 1980s when the victim was a teenager, with the first offence taking place during a car journey.

Prosecutor Adrian Fleming said: "[Brooks] put his hand on hers to keep it on his leg. He then moved her hand up to near his groin. She became aware that he had an erection."

He added that Brooks "pulled the car over, stopped, unzipped his flies" and placed her hand on his privates, before driving on. He only removed it near the end of the journey, "and for the first time of many, he told her 'this is our secret, don't tell anyone'."

The court heard how Brooks made "more serious threats" to enforce her silence, including that if she told her mother, she would be sent away or placed into the care system.

The abuse continued over a three-year period, during which he kissed her and felt her breasts and she was forced to perform oral sex and other acts on him.

Mr Fleming said Brooks visited the victim's house and went into her bedroom "under the pretence of saying goodnight". He said he "showed her how to give him the most pleasure".

The victim, who appeared at Guildford Crown Court for the sentencing hearing, read aloud an emotional impact statement to the court, detailing her "most painful memories".

She said: "The evening when things began not only shook me to the core, but effectively ended my childhood. I was fairly grown up for my age, but this was on an altogether different scale.

"It meant I grew up far more quickly than I should have done and I also learned to be an efficient liar."

After the abuse ended, the victim said she "learned to live with the after-effects of what happened" and hoped to put the past behind her.

However, she was forced to disclose the sexual abuse to police years later when one of her former partners made allegations which implicated the wrong man.

She completed a video interview on November 14, 2018, and Brooks was arrested and interviewed on January 4, 2019, the court heard.

In that interview, he denied all the offences, claiming they were "fabrications of the worst kind".

He was interviewed a second time on November 28, 2019 and "persisted in those denials". He was later charged and pleaded guilty to all seven counts of indecent assault.

Defending Brooks, John Price QC told the court: "He regrets it [his initial denial]. He regrets that he did not take the stance at the police station that he chose to take for the court."

In his closing remarks, Judge Jonathan Black said the victim had a difficult childhood and was "vulnerable" at the time the offences were committed.

He said Brooks "took full advantage of that vulnerability by exploiting the situation for [his] own gratification" and took "every opportunity" to sexually abuse her.

Severe psychological harm

He said: "She has suffered anxiety, depression, palpitations and loss of sleep. She has described herself as almost broken and is considering early retirement from her employment. She reports symptoms of dissociative disorder. My view is she has suffered severe psychological harm."

Detective Constable Rachel Moss, who investigated the case for Surrey Police, said: "Brooks committed the offences while he was in a position of trust and his behaviour is simply reprehensible.

"I hope that this case demonstrates to people who have been sexually abused, no matter how long ago the abuse took place, that your allegation will always be taken seriously, we will always conduct a full and thorough investigation and that you will be given the appropriate support."

Reacting to the conviction, an NSPCC spokesperson said: "Given his experience in education Brooks would have been well aware of the impact his actions would cause and it's now crucial that his victim receives ongoing support.

"It's really important that survivors of child sexual abuse have the confidence to speak out – no matter how long ago the offences took place and no matter who the abuser is."

Description

A man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for child sex offences in Telford.

Timothy Schofield, aged 27, of Ken Jones Close, Telford, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday 17 May after he was found guilty following a trial.

The sentence relates to five counts of child sexual offences including grooming and inciting a child of under 13 to send indecent images or have sexual intercourse.  

Detective Sergeant Laura Breeze said: “I am extremely pleased to see this dangerous man taken off the streets and serve several years in prison.

“The sentence reflects how serious his offences are in the way he groomed his victim over a significant amount of time.

“I hope this outcome will give the family closure and serve as a clear warning to anyone who attempts to sexually exploit children that we will work tirelessly to bring them before the courts.

“Tackling child sexual exploitation is a force priority and we will continue to target those committing these offences.”

Description

A WINDSOR man will serve 21 years behind bars after being found guilty of sexually abusing two children between 15 and 30 years ago.

Trevor Smith, formerly of Dedworth Road, Windsor, was convicted of indecently assaulting a girl and raping a boy following a trial in March.

The 56-year-old, who appeared in the dock at Reading Crown Court this morning, was labelled as dangerous by Judge Edward Burgess.

The court heard how Smiths sexual abuse began when he was asked to babysit the girl when she was aged around four-years-old.

She was indecently assaulted by him on this occasion and at least three other occasions up until she was around eight-years-old, the court heard.

He told her that if she were to say anything about the abuse, he would put disgusting photos of her in newspapers.

A statement from the woman who was sexually abused by Smith read: He abused me at such a young age, which has affected me in so many ways.

I had so much potential but I lost confidence because I was consumed by what he did to me.

I feel very angry that he took my childhood away from me.

As a teenager I felt excluded and disregarded. I believe this all stemmed from what he did to me at such a young age.

The second survivor, a man who was raped and sexually assaulted by Smith from around the ages of 8 and 12, said he has suffered from effects including bed-wetting, insomnia, night terrors and stomach disorders in the years since the abuse.

Reading Crown Court heard how the boy was groomed with sweets and snacks and shown porn by Smith.

The mans statement read: What he did to me has affected parts of my life from my school years to my present adult life.

I felt trapped, I was not able to deal with what he did to me. I was made to feel unworthy and felt depressed and suicidal.

I continue to have flashbacks and memory problems. I can still smell him.

I feel like I will always have this darkness over me.

Defending, Rachel Darby said Smith was not in good health following a stroke which left him unable to use his left arm two months ago.

She said: This will not be an easy prison sentence for him to serve.

Sentencing, Judge Edward Burgess slammed Smith for pleading not guilty and forcing a trial, saying he had caused his survivors additional trauma by forcing them to tell of their experiences again.

He scolded Smith for the grave ways he systematically abused the boy, which included rape and sexual assault.

Your abuse of him tragically became part of his formative life, Judge Burgess said.

The effects have been profound and life changing.

There is no doubt you have caused him severe psychological harm.

Addressing Smith about his abuse of the girl, Judge Burgess said his offending had caused her severe distress.

He sentenced Smith to 21 years in prison after he was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault, three counts of indecent assault of a male, two counts of rape, sexual assault of a child under 13 and rape of a child under 13.

Smith, who appeared at Reading Crown Court on Wednesday, May 19, will serve half this sentence before being eligible for parole.