Latest Offenders

Description

An architect who molested a drunken fellow-graduate while she slept on a sofa after an all-you-can-drink 'bottomless Prosecco brunch' has been jailed for three and a half years. 

Oliver Smail, 31, who has a Master of Architecture qualification from Kingston University, groped the 29-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after they met on an all-day bar crawl.

When questioned by police Smail admitted: 'Obviously she is a pretty girl and I am a man so I may make a few moves.'

One of Smail's university friends even sent a text to a mutual friend saying the architect was: 'literally attempting rape on the sofa.' 

An Inner London Crown Court jury convicted Smail, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire of sexual assault by penetration at a two-bedroom apartment in Walworth on September 8, 2019.

The judge discounted the sentence by six months because Smail, a former Planning Support Officer with Aylesbury Vale District Council, had to wait over two years for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge him. He also placed him on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Judge Benedict Kelleher told Smail: 'You all ended up at a flat of your friend's. You had consumed a very large quantity of alcohol and took cocaine as did the victim, who also took ecstasy.

'By the early hours she had fallen asleep on the sofa and there can be no doubt she was asleep when you committed this offence.

'You had shown an interest that afternoon and evening in her and were attracted to her, but you had not behaved inappropriately and had not concerned her.

'You took that opportunity to assault her and when she woke she found you were penetrating her with your finger and had pulled down the underwear that she had been wearing.'

During the trial the woman told the jury from behind a screen: 'I remember him trying to touch me and moving to the other side of the sofa,' adding she woke at 6.30am with her underwear and tight spanx shorts around her knees.

She felt his hand between her legs and kicked him off the couch. 'I woke up and that's what was happening. There was a point in the night I was aware of him.

'I was aware of this because of the way he was touching me. I think he was completely out of it. Very intoxicated.'

The woman told the trial she began drinking in Dalston's trendy 'Jones & Sons' which offers a two-hour 'Off The Wagon' brunch of never-ending Prosecco.

'We were drinking for two-and-a-half hours,' she told the court.

She was celebrating a birthday and she and her two female friend's joined Smail's mostly male group and continued drinking cocktails at the nearby 'Three Sheets' bar.

Smail and friends Tom Madden and Alexander Hodgson-Doughty, who was celebrating his birthday, all know each other from the University of Kent.

They moved onto other local pubs and bars, continuing to drink and both the woman and Smail snorted cocaine during the evening and she also took an 'ecstasy' pill.

'I have been very honest that I took 'ecstasy' and cocaine. I have no recollection of who gave it to me, it was one of the three men.'

The group then took a minicab to Elephant & Castle with the vague idea of going to the Ministry of Sound nightclub, but instead bought a bottle of gin from an off licence and continued drinking at Alex's flat.

'I am not denying I was drunk,' she added, recalling a short chat she had with Smail that evening. 'I got the feeling he was flirting, but from early on I was not interested and made that clear.'

After a few rounds of gin and tonics at the flat Alex disappeared into his bedroom with the complainant's friend, leaving her to sleep on the living-room couch.

The next morning she burst into the bedroom to complain about Smail to her friend, who asked him: 'Did you finger my friend while she was asleep? Did you do that?'

The friend said Smail tried to hide under a pillow and replied: 'I thought she consented.'

When cross-examined he insisted he was referring to her consent to leg touching and nothing more intimate.

He quickly put his jacket on and left the apartment as the complainant's friend continued shouting and demanding the police be called.

Smail, who runs his own design firm, told the jury all he did was rub the woman's leg when he woke up in the middle of the night to find it in his crotch.

He was also drinking in 'Jones & Sons', where he also confessed to taking cocaine. 'It is not something I regularly do, it was pushed towards me during brunch.'

Regarding the complainant he said: 'I didn't find her sexually attractive,' but admitted texting a friend during the evening to describe her as 'cute.'

'I was really quite drunk,' he admitted, explaining his motivation for squeezing onto the couch was to sleep and not any sexual motive.

'I woke up with something rubbing against my crotch.

'I was in a very deep sleep, very hazy and my reaction was to feel the leg. I kind of rubbed it, squeezed it like a massage just to see if it was a girl or a guy or a reaction of some sort.

'She kind of squeezed my hand and rubbed it and nothing was said by anyone.'

Smail claims he got up to sleep in the spare room, but Alex told him it was being rented via Air B&B so he returned to the couch.

'When I woke up I was being kicked in the head. It was not a hard kick and I took it as a meaning she did not want me on the sofa I had been rubbing her calf earlier on.

'I was so dazed and confused. I did not understand why I was being kicked.'

Smail denied pulling down the woman's underwear. 'I was not aware of what she was wearing under her dress. I never moved any of her clothing.

'I only had one hand that was free at any time.'

He was questioned two weeks later and charged over two years after that. 'It was upsetting. I remember my heart racing and having this massive weight on my shoulders and having to trust in this system that I am going through.'

Insisting he would do nothing without the woman's consent he recalled the moment she kicked him in the head. 'I remember thinking: 'Oh God. I totally misread that situation.'

'I grabbed a pillow and slept on the floor until I was woken up by her friend pulling it away.'

In her victim impact statement the woman said: 'I don't think the assault will be something I can ever comprehend. I often wonder if there was more I could have done.

'I was vulnerable when he decided to assault me. I was asleep and had no way of defending myself.

'Since the assault I suffer panic attacks and drive myself into a state of panic. I have serious issues sleeping and wake up with night terrors.

'He waited until I was asleep and vulnerable before he attacked me. I believe his ego was hurt by me rejecting him earlier that night and took matters into his own hands.'

Smail's KC Chris Henley told the court: 'This is very sad in many respects. This is a man who has been through a great deal.

'He has a great deal of remorse and empathy for what this woman went through and his letter to the court is heartfelt with a real degree of understanding.

'His life is very different now than in September, 2019. He bitterly regrets going out with these people.'

Smail felt sorry for birthday buddy Mr Hodgson-Doughty's lack of guest numbers and felt obliged to stick with him that night, despite the evening descending into drunkenness and drug-taking, the court heard.

'He still finds it shocking and shaming what he did that night,' added the KC. 'His behaviour just wasn't out of character, it was off the scale.

'He has built up a business, but has found it very difficult to focus on that since the conviction and is on anti-depressants.

'It has been a publicly shaming experience with reports in the national press and Mr Smail has struggled to leave his house, wondering if photographers were waiting for him.

'When he last left court there was a man outside with a camera and he could not believe he was there to take a picture of him.'

Judge Kelleher told the first-time offender: 'The offence you committed was brief and there is nothing to say it lasted for more than a moment.

'You were still under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time. It was not a planned offence, but in an uninhibited and intoxicated state you made that fateful decision to do that.

'You were a man of completely good character with no convictions and many people have spoken very highly of your personal qualities.

'Your letter to the court expresses genuine and serious remorse on your part for what you did, but this is a case where your victim being asleep was particularly vulnerable.'

Description

The prolific offender has repeatedly breached sex offender notification requirements since 2004.

A sex offender told police he was staying at a youth hostel due to his pigeon allergy flaring up at his address.

Robert Jeffrey, previously of Darlington, has repeatedly appeared before the courts for failing to comply with sex offender requirements. He was handed a lengthy jail sentence on Tuesday after entering guilty pleas to five charges of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements, failing to comply with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and forging a vehicle registration mark.

At a sentencing hearing, Teesside Crown Court heard his crimes came to light in June when police raised concerns about Jeffrey's whereabouts and made several visits to his registered address.

Christopher Bevan prosecuting said: "The place appeared deserted and police carried out further investigations and were able to ascertain he was staying in a youth hostel in Richmond. Later, the police located the defendant staying in a tent in a secluded part of the grounds at another youth hostel in Northallerton where they arrested him."

The court heard the defendant had used black tape to make an 'E' on his car registration to avoid being tracked. Officers also seized a Samsung tablet which had several non-registered email accounts and a picture of a girl believed to be under 18. Mr Bevan said the image appeared to have been taken from a covert angle.

Asked why he was not at his registered address, Mr Bevan said: "He stated he is allergic to pigeons and could no longer stay at his address. He said he chose to stay at youth hostels because they are cheap."

The court heard the defendant payed for the stays with two bank accounts which were not registered with police.

However in mitigation, Jamie Adams stressed Jeffrey's sexual offending has been non contact and claimed he was forced to leave his address due to allergies, Mr Adams said: "He tells me the reason he left the premises was the reason he gave to the police he became ill because of the faeces of pigeons in the area. He complained about it to the landlord on numerous occasions and nothing was done about it. He headed out of the area to try and recuperate.

"He hopes in the future he can become a normal member of society and can engage with society."

During the hearing, Mr Bevan listed Jeffrey's previous crimes, they are as follows:

• The defendant was first convicted in Stroud in February 2004 for 10 offences of possessing indecent photographs of children. In the December of that year he was convicted again of failing to adhere to sex offender requirements.
• In January 2006, he failed to comply with requirements and was convicted in 2007 after attempting to meet or communicate with a child following sexual grooming.
• In June 2011, he was convicted at Shrewsbury for failing to comply with requirements, possession of an indecent image and breach of a SHPO.
• In October 2013, he was convicted of failing to comply with notification requirements and breaching a SHPO.
• In 2015, Jeffrey was sentenced in Shropshire for failing to comply with notification requirements and again in August 2018.
• In December 2019, he was sentenced before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe for failing to comply with notification requirements and in 2020 he was committed to Teesside Crown Court for further failings and was sentenced to two-years imprisonment.

Sentencing the defendant, Judge Jonathan Carroll said: "You have significant previous convictions. There are multiple and repeated failures to comply with notification requirements. You have persistently and relentlessly refused to cooperate with the orders that are in place that are primarily for public protection."

Jeffrey, 54, of no fixed address, was handed a 40-month prison sentence and banned from driving for 38 months. He must also pay a victim surcharge.

Description

This is the first picture of a man who subjected a woman to a terrifying sex attack after pushing his way into her home. Before she escaped the victim was threatened with being stabbed in the throat by Mohammed Ismail.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that Ismail had gone to the victim's address in the early hours of July 22 this year where he 'hugged and pestered her'. He returned some hours later and after forcing his way in told her to sit on the bed and produced £100 and offered it to her saying she was "his girl," said Harinderpal Dhami, prosecuting.

He then pushed her down on the bed and tried to kiss her neck, face and lips but she managed to struggle free and tried to flee from the room but the defendant pulled her back by her hair, at which point he picked up a lock knife and threatened to stab her. "He tried to pull her on top of him and then he got on top of her. He threatened her again, threatening to stab her in the throat," said Mr Dhami.

The victim did, though, eventually manage to run out of the room and sought help from a friend. In a statement she said that she suffered flashbacks and that she had had to move as a result of what happened. In passing sentence, Judge Andrew Smith KC said: "I am sure it was clear to you from the early hours that she did not want your attentions. Despite that several hours later you pushed your way into her bedroom.

"I am entirely satisfied you would not have stopped had she not escaped." He said it had been a "sustained and plainly terrifying" attack for which there was no justification. Ismail, 35, of Aston Lane, Aston, who had previously admitted a charge of sexual assault, was jailed for two years and three months. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Robert Tolhurst, defending, said Ismail had come to the UK from Somalia without a father figure as a refugee from civil war and that he suffered from PTSD, depression and anxiety.

Description

A perverted shopper was chased around a Tesco store after taking pictures of children in the toy aisle. A fuming mum ran after Dean Wood after noticing he had been taking snaps of her two young children.

He even tried to flee before being stopped by other members of the public, a court has heard. Indecent images and videos of youngsters were found on convicted sex offender's phone.

The mother noticed the 46-year-old, who appeared "dodgy and on-edge", holding his phone close to his chest and not looking at toys at around 2.30pm on February 12. He was around 4ft from the children, aged three and six, and seemed to be taking pictures of them, said Phillip Vollans, prosecuting.

Wood moved away to the Health and Beauty section and the mum decided to follow him and believed he may have been taking photos of other children, BirminghamLive reports. Mr Vollans said the woman called her husband, who was outside, and they confronted Wood, demanding: "Excuse me why are you taking photos of my kids?"

Mr Vollans said Wood was defensive and denied having taken pictures, but tried to flee the Sutton Coldfield branch when the family said they were going to contact store security. Police officers sent to the scene found he had been made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order in October 2011 after a conviction for a series of sexual offences.

In breach of the order, Wood twice refused to give the pin number for his phone and he was also found to have another phone at his home along with a Toshiba laptop. Mr Vollans said indecent images, both moving and still, were found on the phone he had used at Tesco.

Wood had admitted four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and three charges of possessing indecent images. He was jailed for four years and two months. Passing sentence, Judge John Butterfield told him he had taken pictures in Tesco "for sexual purposes".

He went on: "Your behaviour was serious and distressing for the parents who effectively had to chase you through the supermarket and grab the phone off you facing the knowledge their children had been photographed on a phone by a sex offender." Charles Blatchford, defending, said there had not been any physical contact with the children.

He said there had been some deception regarding the phone and laptop found at his home but he had been in regular contact with his offender manager. Mr Blatchford said Wood had a 78-year-old mother to whom he had given regular assistance over mobility issues and that, after going on the straight and narrow for some time during lockdown, his "bad habits had come back".

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Oliver Fox, who has to inform officers of a change of address within 72 hours as part of being on the Sex Offenders' Register, is now facing a possible prison sentence.

A sex offender is facing jail after he failed to inform police of his whereabouts for three days after leaving hospital.

Oliver Fox, who appeared on Chroniclelive earlier this month for urinating in front of disgusted patients in the A and E waiting room at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, was back in the dock less that four weeks later after he breached the requirements of being on the Sex Offenders' Register.

A court heard that the 45-year-old voluntarily admitted himself to hospital on October 12 but then disappeared without telling anyone where he was going. Under the rules of the Sex Offenders' Register, he must inform police within three days of a change of address or if he becomes homeless.

When staff at the hospital did finally get an answer on Fox's mobile, it was a stranger who'd just bought the device from him in the street, prosecutors said. Fox, formerly of Salters Road, in Gosforth, but now of no fixed abode, appeared in the dock in custody at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court to plead guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register.

James Long, prosecuting, said Fox admitted himself into hospital on October 12 but disappeared on October 22. Mr Long continued: "What's happened is, he's gone out on unescorted leave on a particular day and never returned. Staff try and phone him.

"There's some suggestion he's fallen off the wagon. They repeatedly try and phone him. Someone else eventually answers the phone and says they have just bought it off a homeless man, who they thought was on drugs. The defendant failed to notify the police of his new address. Having left the hospital on October 22, he had until October 25 to do so and he did not."

The court heard that Fox, who has one previous breach of the register on his record from July this year, was on a conditional discharge at the time, which was given earlier this month for the urinating in the hospital.

Steve Chambers, defending, said, until recently, Fox hadn't offended since 2003. He added: "His mental health is poor. When he's homeless, which he usually is, he has to tell the police every seven days that he's homeless. He was then accommodated at the hospital but left and became homeless again. He's surrendered straight away when he's realised his mistake."

District Judge Kate Meek adjourned the case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. She added: "You are now on bail, which means you have a duty to come back here on November 17 for sentence."

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A 29-year-old man from Suffolk has been jailed for three years after sexually assaulting a lone teenage girl in a park.

Ipswich Crown Court heard Reece Mason, from Marine Parade in Lowestoft, had approached the girl and tried to chat to her.

Mason took her phone number and called and sent her messages before approaching her again later on in Kirkley Fen Park and touching her inappropriately over her clothes.

Police said it left the girl extremely traumatised and shaken.

Following police inquiries, Mason was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual touching and meeting a girl under 16 following grooming.

Mason pleaded not guilty to one sexual offence and also to the grooming offence – both these offences are to lie on file.

Following a guilty plea to the second sexual offence, the judge in court sentenced Mason to a custodial term of three years in jail and an extended period on licence of a further four years.

Det Insp Matt Adams from Lowestoft CID said: "The victim showed great courage in coming forward and I hope [the] result offers some form of closure for them.

"I am sure the incident will stay with her for a long time but truly hope the fact that Mason has paid for his actions will encourage them to remain strong and brave.

"This case shows that police will investigate reports of sexual offences thoroughly, with officers working closely with the victims of such offences to bring offenders to justice.”

Description

A PAEDOPHILE has been locked up after he was tricked into meeting police officers when he thought he would be meeting a 14-year-old boy.

Frank Salmon, of Harbourne Gardens, West End, Southampton, was jailed for two year four months after pleading guilty to arranging and facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.

The 54-year-old expected to meet and sexually abuse a 14-year-old boy on June 23 this year in Shirley, Southampton. Instead, he was met and arrested by officers from Hampshire Constabulary and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu).

Detective Constable Colin Haynes of Serocu, said: ‘Thankfully no children were ever in danger during this investigation, but Salmon clearly intended to meet and carry out these acts on a minor until he was stopped by officers.

‘I am glad he recognised his guilt and will now spend time in prison reflecting upon his actions. The case highlights the hard work and dedication of the officers within Serocu and in police forces in finding those willing to carry out these acts and ensuring they face justice.’

Salmon was also sentenced to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Description

A former councillor serving jail time for a child sex offence has described the “the joys of TV and tea on tap” and medical care better than a local GP practice.

William Kirkbride was jailed for 28 months earlier this year after sending explicit messages to an undercover police officer who he thought was a 14-year-old boy.

He had then arranged to meet the teenager at Whitehaven train station, but police were waiting for him.

The 57-year-old, who is incarcerated at HM Prison Durham, has written a letter to a man in West Cumbria, who has shown it to the News and Star, the sister paper of this title.

In the letter, the convicted paedophile gives an insight into daily life behind bars and reveals his release date has been "set for July 2023".

The letter says: “The list of people who have expressed an interest in my welfare is rather sweet but not unexpected.

“Due to the impact of the virus it is a Godsend that each cell has a TV and a kettle. The joys of TV and tea on tap.”

Kirkbride goes on to say that the medical section in prison is better than a local GP practice.

He says: “They have given me a clean bill of health and my feet have benefited from the skills of a foot specialist.”

The ex-Labour councillor who represented the Harbour ward on Copeland Council, refers to the prison cells as “pads”.

The letter says: “The view from the pad is of Durham Cathedral and the music from the recent Durham Miners Gala made the yard exercise time rather good.

“The food is like school or hospital food and is eatable. The library is like a branch library and that is a Godsend.

“Killing time is the main issue I have.”

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Prisoners are able to access a limited number of television channels under incentive schemes that encourage good behaviour. Privileges like this can be removed at any time.”

Description

A TERRIFIED woman bullied into meeting a man she had communicated with online was raped by him in a Carlisle school car park.

Ryan Neale, 23, carried out the horrific attack after giving the woman an ultimatum, demanding that she give sex or a cash or else he would post sexual images of her on social media websites.

At Carlisle Crown Court, the defendant, of Lingmoor Way, Harraby, pleaded guilty to a single count of rape. The prosecution earlier dropped additional charges he faced of blackmail and witness intimidation.

Hannah Forsyth, prosecuting, said Neale and the woman had made contact on Snapchat and as the online relationship developed they had mutually exchanged sexual messages and images.

They agreed to meet on October 14, 2021, said the barrister. But prior to that, [the woman] checked his Facebook page and realised that he was significantly younger than she had initially thought.

As a result of that, she cancelled the meeting.

But Neale, angered by this, began threatening the woman, demanding that she either gave him 100 in cash or she had sex with him - or if she did not he would post the sexual images he had of her on social media.

Despite her pleading for him to stop threatening her, he insisted she had to choose between giving him money or sex, otherwise he would act on his threat to make public her private sexual images.

Not having the cash, and terrified of what he might do, the woman agreed to meet Neale, driving into Carlisle to meet him. After driving to the car park of the Richard Rose Morton Academy, he raped her.

There was clear evidence that the woman did not consent to sex, and only met Neale as a result of her fear and his threats, said Miss Forsyth. It was later that night, when Neale contacted the woman again to demand money that she contacted the police, triggering a police investigation.

He was arrested on October 16, 2021, at his home, where police found him hiding beneath a sofa. After he was released, he again contacted the woman, telling her that contacting the police was the biggest mistake of her life.

The court heard that Neale had 26 offences on his criminal record, including two domestic violence offences against a former partner.

In a statement, the victim said she struggled with anger and found it difficult to sleep as she played over in her mind what happened. She was unable to continue with her job. Her mental health as been significantly impacted, said Miss Forsyth.
She no longer has the energy or motivation to go out.

Kim Whittlestsone, defending, said Neale had accepted responsibility for his crime, which he blamed on drink and drugs. He does have remorse, said the barrister.

Judge Nicholas Barker told Neale: You knew she was highly vulnerable because of the shame she would feel if you disclosed those images in a public way. You took advantage of that vulnerability.
You exploited it. The woman had felt bullied, said the judge and she was so fearful she felt she had no choice. There was an aspect of blackmail involved in Neale's offending, said Judge Barker.

He jailed Neale for seven years and seven months. The defendant will be on the Sex Offender Register for life. After the case, Detective Constable Hein Van Der West praised the womans courage in coming forward.

The officer said of the defendant: "Neale is an evil man who failed to accept any responsibility for what he did until the very end."

Description

Lee Overton, Woodhall Drive, Lincoln, was sentenced Wednesday, 26 October 2022, following a trail, lasting a week and a half at Lincoln Crown Court.

Overton was found guilty of 17 offences of sexual assault on a child under 13 years old that happened between 2011 and 2018.

Along with his prison sentence of five and a half years, he was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He has been placed on the sexual offenders register for life.

DC Jann Olsen, Protecting Vulnerable People, Lincolnshire Police, said: “I welcome the prison sentence and the ongoing protective measures that have been put in place.

“This offending was against the most vulnerable in society and I hope with the conclusion of the court case, those involved can find some closure.”

Description

A PAEDOPHILE who raped one schoolboy and sexually assaulted another has been jailed for 22 years.

Paul Allen, 60, from Newport, was told by Judge Daniel Williams that he had "an insatiable interest in the sexual abuse of young boys”.

The defendant, of Backhall Street, Caerleon, was found guilty following a trial of a catalogue of offences.

They included rape, sexual assault and inciting a 13-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity.

At Newport Crown Court Allen was handed an 18-year jail sentence plus an extended licence period of four years.

He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he will be eligible for parole.

Allen will be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Description

A man sexually assaulted a woman while she was on the phone to her mother after following her off a train.

David Danks, 35, attacked the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a Cardiff street after he saw her leaving the train at Lisvane and Thornhill railway station on August 4.

A judge described the incident as “every female’s worst nightmare”.

Danks initially told police he was the one who had intervened to prevent the assault and had experienced an “outer body” moment when he realised the person he was describing to police was himself.

During the assault, the victim was on the phone to her mother, who described hearing her daughter shouting for help on the end of the line as the “worst moment of her life”.

Speaking at Cardiff Crown Court, prosecutor Ian Colvin said: “(The woman) had been to Cardiff city centre to socialise with a friend that evening and decided to catch the last train back to Lisvane at 11.15pm.

“She was on the train on her own and the defendant was on that train as well. She was using her mobile phone to talk to her mother.

“She got off at the station in Lisvane and continued to talk on her phone. Having seen other people get off, she was aware of a male behind her. She decided to walk into a building area to let him pass but he didn’t do so. He was carrying white carrier bags and stopped as if he dropped something but carried on.”

Mr Colvin said: “Without warning she heard a ‘rawr’ sound and felt a push to her back causing her to fall over. The male managed to turn her over and she started to scream with the phone still in her hand. She was afraid she was going to be sexually assaulted and shouted out ‘he’s going to rape me’.”

The court heard Danks tried to place his hand under the woman’s dress and grabbed the bottom of her underwear, trying to get his hands underneath them.

He then sexually assaulted the woman as she hit and kicked out him while screaming for help, until he put his hand over her mouth.

She eventually managed to get away from Danks and ran away to nearby flats where residents had come to her assistance, dropping her handbag in the process.

Danks, a father-of-one, ran off.

In a statement to the court, the woman said she now struggled to sleep and had been replaying the incident in her head.

She said she felt “paranoid” when out and did not feel safe in her own home.

She also expressed worry about the impact the incident had on her mother, who described hearing her daughter screaming for help before the line cut out as the “worst moment of her life”.

When police arrived at the scene, Danks turned up and approached them.

Mr Colvin said: “He gave the officers a bizarre explanation. He said he had come across the complainant being assaulted by someone else and he had intervened and during the course of that intervention received a cut to the nose. He smelled strongly of alcohol and was out of breath.

“He said having gone home, he walked back to the scene to tell the police what happened. It was because of passer-bys’ descriptions of the defendant and the claimant’s firm assertion that one person was involved that he was arrested.”

In police interview, Danks said he had a vague recollection of what had taken place but claimed he thought he had seen his partner and had hugged her but when she started screaming he realised it wasn’t his partner and ran away.

He also claimed to have been suffering from mental health issues and he believed his drink had been spiked on the night of the assault.

Jenny Yeo, defending, said Danks had been seeking to rationalise his behaviour and believes he suffered from “depersonalisation”.

She said he had experienced an “outer body” moment and believed he was chasing the perpetrator who turned out to be himself.

She said he had recently been suffering with stress in his role as an engagement officer with Communities First in Newport which may have contributed to his behaviour.

Judge Stephen Hopkins QC said: “Offences of sexual assault vary in their seriousness but this offence is particularly serious as it involved an attack by you on a lone female at night and she and I have no doubt if it weren’t for her courageous struggle that you would have raped her.”

He added: “You appear to still be largely in denial and see yourself as the victim, not the perpetrator. You are considered at a high risk of reoffending and a dangerous offender.

“The facts of this case is every female’s worst nightmare, being a sexual assault while walking at night on a public street. The offending calls for condign punishment.”

Danks, of West Rise, Llanishen, was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and will remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

Description

A paedophile has been hauled back in front of a judge for creating a false name on a football forum and deleting his internet history.

James McGuire was given a suspended sentence in January last year after being found in possession of indecent images of children and extreme porn. The 40-year-old was also put on the sex offenders register for 10 years and was made subject of a sexual harm prevention order, meaning he must abide by certain conditions including not deleting any internet browsing history.

But on Thursday, McGuire, of Eglington Tower, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, appeared back at Newcastle Crown Court after breaching the sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with notification requirements between January 11 and March 21, last year. 

Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said McGuire's breaches came to light when police officers carried out a routine check of his mobile phone. He said: "They discovered the defendant had deleted his entire internet history from that device. The failing to comply offences relate to two pseudonyms." Mr Wardlaw said McGuire also used "false names" online, one of which was on a football forum and another on an Instagram account.

The court heard that nothing illegal had been deleted by McGuire and he said he had been accessing adult pornography on his mobile and deleted the history to prevent his daughter from seeing it.

In mitigation, the court was told that McGuire had been accessing a Sunderland football club forum under the name "Jimmy Riddle". Mr Pickford, defending, said: "On these forums you're encouraged to use usernames rather than actual names. The last post he put on (the forum) was about Metro disruptions." He added that McGuire was a "hard working man" who had been "ostracised" by members of his family since his conviction and used a different name on Instagram so that he could stay informed about his daughter.

Recorder Paul Reid said McGuire had a conviction for "very unpleasant offences" and sentenced him to 10 months prison, suspended for 18 months.

Description

A paedophile tried to groom a 12-year-old boy - but it was actually an undercover police officer. Steven Mellor, of Morfa View, Bodelwyddan, Rhyl, also had a "collection" of indecent images of children.

Mellor, 67, appeared at Mold Crown Court today charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a boy under 13 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity. He was also charged with making indecent photographs of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, possessing extreme pornographic images and distributing an indecent photograph of a child.

He was arrested after engaging in conversation with an undercover police officer posing as a 12-year-old boy called Charlie. The court heard how during the conversations, which took place between July and August last year, Mellor would encourage 'Charlie' to perform a sexual act.

Following his arrest, it was discovered that Mellor had also been collecting indecent images of children, aged around nine and ten. Mellor, 67, has no previous convictions and was described by Simon Killeen, defending, as being a "low risk" offender.

He suggested that Mellor be given a suspended sentence due to the fact that he is a 24-hour carer for his elderly mother who is housebound. Mr Killeen described Mellor as leading a "very lonely existence" since moving back into his parents' house in 2002 to care for them.

However, Judge Timothy Petts described Mellor's behaviour as "disgusting" and handed him a prison sentence. Judge Petts said: "You were making considerable contact online with a 12-year-old boy called Charlie. What you didn't know was that Charlie didn't exist and was a police decoy.

"You proceeded to engage in disgusting behaviour and conversation towards him. This led to your arrest and it was discovered that you had multiple images of child sexual abuse and other illegal images in your possession and had on one occasion distributed an image of child sexual abuse.

"The lead offence here is the intent to incite non-penetrative sexual activity with a 12-year-old boy. Your intended conduct was grooming behaviour given the length of time and the nature of the conversation and I also find it particularly unpleasant that you adopted in a way the role of an authority figure when carrying out your abuse.

"It's made worse by the fact that there was a significant disparity in age between you and your intended victim. The images are made more serious by the fact that there are different levels of severity, the period of time in which you were collecting them and one image involves the rape of a child, apparently four years old.

"Decreasing the seriousness you are 67 years old and have no previous convictions, also there is no real child in the communication offence - the children in the images are all too real." Mellor was given a 34-month prison sentence and was also given a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years and will be on the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A DISGUSTING paedophile who had been making indecent images of children since 2007 has been jailed.

Simon Tomkins was in possession of so many sick images that Cheshire Police stopped counting after finding a certain number.

He had ‘collected’ these shocking images – including ones of children being sexually assaulted – for more than a decade.

Tomkins, 39, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children (IIOC) and sole counts each of possessing IIOC, possessing prohibited images of children and possessing a class B controlled drug.

Specifically, Tomkins was in possession of 222 category A images, 358 category B images, and 10,710 category C images.

Prosecuting, Derek Jones told the court how the investigation commenced after Cheshire Police received intel that the Tomkins, of Patton Drive, Great Sankey, may be accessing indecent images online.

They attended his address in October 2019 and arrested him where they seized seven electronic devices – all of which ‘tested positive’ for indecent images.

Mr Jones explained how Tomkins had downloaded a browser that allowed him to search anonymously.

He also said how the majority of images found were in ‘normal positions’ on the defendant’s computer, but some had been put into folders under ‘genres’ or under girls' names so he could ‘access them quickly’.

Some of the folders were also password protected and some images downloaded by Tomkins dated back to 2007.

This meant he had been downloading sick images for 12 years from 2007 to 2019.

The court heard how Cheshire Police stopped examining the items found on Tomkins' computer after they found a certain number of category A images - the most severe category involving child rape.

Mr Jones said how ‘well over’ 100,000 pictures and videos were found on devices belonging to Tomkins’, but it is not clear if they were indecent images as the police had stopped categorising them by this point.

He also revealed how some of the videos found included children as young as eight years old.

Tomkins had also been using Kik Messenger and Skype where there were some sexualised conversations between him and another user – and in one instance it is believed he had pretended to be a 14-year-old girl.

Defending, Robert Dudley said that after the shock of Tomkins being arrested: “He has gone cold turkey and has not accessed sites like this since.”

He also said that Tomkins has an understanding how what he did and ‘how bad that was’ and has also shown an understanding of what impact he had on the victims.

Concluding, Judge Ian Harris said: “In my judgement, the only appropriate punishment is immediate custody.

"The victims in this case are the children in those images.

"They are being sexually exploited and are highly vulnerable.

"The impact on them is massive and has a corrosive effect on them.

"There is no doubt that in the short and long term these victims do suffer."

Tomkins was handed a two-year prison sentence.

He is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and must comply with notification requirements of the sex offender register for 10 years.