Latest Offenders

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A pervert attacked a woman, sexually assaulted her and stole her possessions on a busy city centre street.

Cole Thomas headbutted and throttled his victim before groping her during a shocking incident outside St Johns Shopping Centre. The 22-year-old then made vile threats to rape her and her family.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, that the incident occurred shortly before midday on November 9 last year. Thomas, from Aigburth, "began shouting at" the complainant before grabbing her fingers and headbutting her.

She pushed him away, but he responded by "grabbing her round the throat and digging his fingers into her neck". The defendant continued to be "verbally abusive", calling her "disgusting" and saying that her mum was a "paedo".

Thomas, of Mossley Hill Drive, then told her: "I hope you get raped. I will rape your mum and siblings while I'm at it."

He then began "stroking her face" and grabbed her breasts over her clothing as she was pinned up against a wall. The sex offender "suggested she was enjoying it" and added: "How does it feel to be touched without consent?"

Thomas, who appeared in court via video link to HMP Styal with two of his fingers in a bandage, took her purse from her handbag - causing the bag to rip - stole three bank cards and ripped up her train ticket before leaving. Police attended the scene and found the victim "very distressed and crying", while her assailant was located nearby and arrested.

In a statement read out to the court on her behalf, she described how she had been "overwhelmed by the incident". She said: "It was the most frightening time of my life. He had no issue assaulting me in public and taking my property as if it was his. I don't leave the house as I'm scared.

"I don't know how to live anymore. I can't even look at myself in the mirror. I'm not the person I used to be. I'm unable to build up the courage to go out of the house.

"He has ruined my life in more ways than you could imagine. I'm stuck in a pattern of being unable to move on and put it behind me."

Defending, Jim Smith stated that his client suffers from conditions including ADHD and bipolar disorder - adding that the attack was "not sexually motivated". He added: "He is someone with no substantial criminal history and who has never had experience of a custodial environment.

"He deeply regrets the harm and distress she has suffered. He wishes to contribute to society and he is still a very young man."

Thomas admitted sexual assault and theft and was jailed for 30 months. He was also handed an indefinite restraining order and a 10-year notification requirement.

Sentencing, Recorder Eric Lamb said: "She was left feeling overwhelmed. She has found it frightening.

"It has resulted in panic and left her struggling to live her normal life. She summed it up, 'I'm not the person I used to be'.

"That's as a direct result of your conduct towards her. The impact of your behaviour towards her has been devastating for her."

Thomas was also told to pay a victim surcharge.

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A sleazy sex offender sent a 15-year-old girl a suggestive picture of himself relaxing in the bath - with bubbles covering up his private parts in a brazen bid to tempt her.

Manipulative and devious Ben Green hoped that the girl would be sufficiently interested in seeing even more of him that she would ask for him to wash away more and more of the bubbles in later pictures. He also made it very clear to the teenager that there was an intimate picture of him that she could access if she wanted, Hull Crown Court heard.

Green, 32, of Eleanor Avenue, Bridlington, admitted sexual communication with a child between May 1 and July 29, 2020. Andrew Stranex, prosecuting, said that the 15-year-old girl was a friend of a female that Green knew. Visits were made over a significant period of time.

Problems later arose between the two females. Green began communicating with the girl on social media and it "strayed into sexualised chat" over a lengthy period.

"He began to speak to her in a more sexualised way towards her," said Mr Stranex. Green sent the girl a picture of him in a bath, with his private parts covered by bubble bath - she was invited to say whether he should show more of himself.

He also made it clear that an intimate naked picture of him was available for her to view on a site where he knew that she could see if she wanted. "He knew that she was able to access it," said Mr Stranex.

Matters came to light in July 2020 when the girl was with her aunt and became upset. The teenager told her aunt what had happened.

Green was trapped when text messages pretending to be from the girl were sent to him. They confirmed the sort of conversations that he was willing to engage in with the girl and that he was interested in young people and in developing a relationship with someone young.

Green had no previous convictions. No mitigation was requested for him after the judge indicated the sentence that he had in mind.

Recorder Anthony Hawks told Green: "You are not, in my judgement, a man of good character because men of good character do not involve themselves in sexual communications with young girls. You chose to engage in sexualised conversations with her, making available pictures of you.

"What you think you were doing in what you were sending that 15-year-old girl is beyond imagination, other than it shows you have a sexual interest in young girls. Recorder Hawks said that, if Green were jailed, it would be for a short period of time and "it would achieve nothing".

He said that his role was to impose a sentence that would "ensure that this sort of behaviour never happens again". Green was given 30 days' rehabilitation and a probation service sex offenders' programme.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years. Recorder Hawks warned Green that he faced being jailed if he committed further offences or did not cooperate with the requirements of the order.

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A MAN has been jailed for attempting to meet what he thought were two young girls for sex after grooming them online.

Martin Garrigan, 32, of Barton Road, Bognor, was arrested by Sussex Police officers in September 2020 in Hotham Park, near his home.

Garrigan had been waiting to meet what he thought were two teenage girls, but had been talking online to adults posing as the children.

He pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with children at Lewes Crown Court on June 30.

Garrigan was given a four year sentence and will also be a registered sex offender for life.

He was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last indefinitely, severely restricting his access to children and to digital communications devices.

Detective Constable Jordan Holmes of Sussex Police said: "Garrigan was blatantly seeking to meet young girls for sex and may well have persisted in this and other ways but fortunately we received information from members of the public and his activities were rapidly ended."

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A man who raped a 12-year-old girl after becoming friends with her via a social media app has been jailed. Driss Serhir, 21, of no fixed address, was found guilty of three counts of rape following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police. However, police believe there could be other victims aged between 10 and 15 and say he has visited several places, including Hertfordshire, using different names. Serhir is just starting a nine-year sentence after he was found guilty of raping a girl, 12, at a hotel in central London. He met her when he was aged 18 on social media app Snapchat. When she met Serhir in October 2019, he intimated he had a knife and firearm on him and took control of the victims mobile phone. Serhir booked a hotel room where he sexually assaulted the girl several times before she left the next day. The girl reported the incident to police and Serhir was quickly identified and arrested. Semen found on the girls clothing matched Serhirs and it was proven his phone was used to book the room, despite him using a different name and paying in cash. The seized phone also included videos of him with the girl in the room, while terms including rape were found in his search history. At Harrow Crown Court on Monday, Serhir was sentenced to nine years for each count of rape, to be served concurrently. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for life and given a 15-year sexual harm and prevention order. Describing Serhir as a predatory offender, Sergeant PJ Jones said: I wish to thank the survivor of this assault for her trust, resilience and patience. Without the continued support of her and her loved ones, this man would have remained a danger in the community. He added: The investigation into Serhirs movements and communications suggest he was in contact with many girls aged between ten and 15 and that he has visited Greater London, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and the West Midlands using several aliases. I would like to hear from anyone who recognises him or who has any concerns about his behaviour. We have specially trained officers and work alongside partners who can offer a wide range of support. Police can be contacted on 101 or online using reference 4798/18JUL22.

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A mental health nurse who sexually assaulted a vulnerable patient while working at a psychiatric hospital has been spared a jail sentence.

Richard McLellan attacked the woman while she was being treated for a mental disorder at the capital’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital in 2019.

McLellan, 38, was found to have engaged in sexual activity with the woman by placing his hand underneath her underwear while he worked a nightshift at the city hospital.

McLellan denied the allegations against him but was found guilty by a jury following a three day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.

The jury found McLellan not guilty of charges including making sexual comments to the woman, touching her genitals and inducing the woman to perform oral sex on him.

The disgraced staff nurse has since been sacked from NHS Lothian and he is due to appear in front of a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary panel in the near future.

A spokesperson for NHS Lothian said they wanted to “extend our full sympathies to the victim in this distressing case”.

McLellan returned to the dock for sentencing on Friday where Sheriff Donald Corke told him he had been “convicted by the jury of an offence of sexual breach of trust of a mental disordered person”.

The sheriff said: “This behaviour was a gross breach of trust by you. You were the complainer’s key worker and you were tasked that night to keep her safe.

“Instead you took the opportunity to engage in sexual activity. You have expressed no remorse for what you did.

“You should be in no doubt custody is an option. [However] I am willing to impose a community payback order as a direct alternative to custody.”

McLellan, from Bathgate, West Lothian, was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for three years and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He was placed under the supervision of the social work department for three years and handed a conduct requirement that bans him from contacting the victim.

His name will also be forwarded to Scottish Ministers for inclusion on the list of those banned from working with children or vulnerable people in the future.

Defending Advocate Mr Kennedy said his client continues to deny the offence but is “accepting of the jury’s decision”.

He added: “The consequences of this conviction for Mr McLellan are both personally and professionally devastating.

“He has been dismissed from his employment and he will be sanctioned from his professional body where he will submit to further humiliation and disgrace by that.”

Tracey McKigen, Services Director for the Royal Edinburgh and Associated Services at NHS Lothian, said: “We extend our full sympathies to the victim in this distressing case.

“Whilst we can’t comment on individual members of staff, current or former, we want to offer reassurance that as soon as we become aware of a serious criminal allegation, we will take immediate and robust action in the interests of patient safety, which is always our top priority.”

McLellan was found guilty of being a person who provided care services to a mental disordered person and did engage in sexual activity with them and did place his hand underneath her underwear at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital on January 21, 2019.

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Mark Sorby, 45, was found guilty of 16 sexual offences against four females when they were children after a trial at Teesside Crown Court last month.

The abuse involved him touching the victims in a sexual nature, some of which involved force, over a period of about nine years.

Sorby got away with it for years after telling his victims not to tell anyone.

When one did report it, she was not believed.

But he was convicted when each of his victims gave evidence against him at court and the jury saw through his lies.

All of the survivors of Sorbys abuse have suffered psychological harm.

One attended Mondays sentencing and read out an impact statement while Sorby listened over a videolink from prison.

She said: I have nightmares about what Mark did to me and have previously tried to kill myself.

"This traumatic ordeal has affected my full life. No one deserves to be sexually assaulted and no one deserves not to be believed.

Another survivor wrote: You made me feel completely worthless. I cry myself to sleep at night.

"You robbed me of the best years of my life.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said during one sex assault that Sorby dragged and pinned the victim down.

Afterwards he told her: Nobody will believe you if you tell.

Jailing Sorby, of Ettrick Walk, Hartlepool, Judge Howard Crowson said: You are quite obviously a predatory paedophile.

"You are entirely to blame. The offences were carefully carried out so you would not bring suspicion on yourself.

"You clearly have caused a great deal of harm.

Judge Crowson also sentenced Sorby, who he described as an offender of particular concern, to two and a half years extended supervision when he is eventually released.

Stephen Constantine, said in mitigation, that Sorby was a man of previous good character.

He added: Whilst there are aspects of physical force involved, there are no threats of physical violence.

Sorby was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to bar him having contact with girls under the age of 16.

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A paedophile brought to justice four decades after his sick abuse was accused of robbing his victim of her childhood.

Jeffrey Phillips was given five-and-a-half years imprisonment at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, as reported by the Oxford Mail at the weekend.

Sending him down, Judge Nigel Daly told the now 71-year-old: You indecently assaulted this child, you did it repeatedly.

Welcoming the lengthy sentence, DC Nicola Fullerton of Thames Valleys child abuse investigation unit said of Phillips: His offending has had a huge impact on the victims life.

"He robbed her of her childhood innocence, causing significant emotional and psychological distress, and it is testament to her courage that he is now facing time in prison.

I hope that this case demonstrates to other people who may have been the victim of such offending that it is never too late to come forward and talk to the police.

We will listen to you, investigate and do everything that we can to ensure criminals like Phillips are brought to justice.

Now living in Greater Manchester, the assaults took place when Phillips lived in Abingdon in the 1970s. His abuse began when his victim was still a young girl and, after a few years, resumed briefly when she was in her early teens.

Phillips will be on the sex offender register for the rest of his life.

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A Lincoln man has been jailed for 21 years after being found guilty of several sexual offences including rape. Shaun Otter, 52, of Shakespeare Street, appeared at Lincoln Crown Court for sentencing today, July 18.

He had already been found guilty in relation to a total of 11 offences which took place on June 8. In addition to his custodial sentence, Otter was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, meaning he will have to keep to sex offender notification requirements for life.

Detective Inspector Lee Nixon, of Lincolnshire Police's Protecting Vulnerable Persons Unit said: "I would like to pay tribute to the victim and her bravery in coming to us. We know it's an incredibly daunting thing to do and therefore we owe it to every victim to treat them with sensitivity and respect, and to do everything we can to make sure that perpetrators, like Otter, are brought before the court to face justice.

"This sentence is not only a punishment for Otter, but a message to perpetrators of the consequences of their actions. We hope it gives confidence to survivors that we will relentlessly pursue anyone responsible for such abhorrent acts, regardless of if it happened recently or decades ago.

"If you have been a victim of sexual assault, please know that you will be taken seriously if you come forward. Whether or not you decide to come to us, there is support available, and we would like to take the opportunity to highlight that."

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This is the first picture of jailed sex offender Willem van der Werf.

The 56-year-old was jailed for more than 12-and-a-half years on Friday for grooming, sexually assaulting and raping a girl in Banbury last spring.

Sending him to prison, Judge Nigel Daly told the Dutchman: What you have done to her is destroy not only her childhood but possibly the rest of her life. You did it for your own sexual gratification. There is no escaping from that.

Werf, formerly of Calthorpe, Banbury, received 12 years and nine months imprisonment. He must serve an extended four years on licence and will remain on the sex offender register for the rest of his life.

Thames Valley Police has now released Werfs custody shot.

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A SOUTHAMPTON man has been locked up for sexually abusing a teenage girl. Oliver Axton engaged in sexual activity with the youth in the Southampton area over a year. Police were alerted to his crimes in April of last year. The 22-year-old, of Cunningham Crescent, was charged with four counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15 and two counts of causing or inciting her to engage in sexual activity. He pleaded guilty to all offences. Appearing before Southampton Crown Court at the end of June, he was jailed for four years.

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A sex offender who repeatedly targeted a woman has been jailed for more than four years. Married grandfather Stephen Riley attacked his victim on several occasions as she slept - but it was years before she felt able to complain to police. Jailing the 64-year-old, Judge Tom Gilbart told him: This was quite shocking criminality by you. It was predatory behaviour which has had a significant impact. Riley, of Sandridge Close, Kearsley, appeared in the dock at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court after pleading guilty to assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault just days before his trial was due to start. The court heard that the abuse began eight years ago when, on the first occasion, Riley sexually touched the woman after finding her asleep on a sofa. She then heard the defendant say, I always knew you were a slag, said Mr Edwards, who added that the woman pushed Riley away asking him, How could you do that? Following that incident, the defendant made repeated suggestive comments to her, said Mr Edwards. The woman did not inform anyone about the assault but the following year Riley sexually assaulted her once more and, on a third occasion, he again repeatedly touched her as she was sleeping. She describes the defendants conduct as relentless, said Mr Edwards. When confronted, Riley claimed he had been sleepwalking. The woman eventually complained to police and Riley was arrested but initially denied the allegations against him. Damian Zelazowksi, defending, said Riley, who suffers with physical health problems, claims he was drunk at the time he committed the offences. He has quite openly accepted that his behaviour was entirely wrong, said Mr Zelazowski. He cannot explain his behaviour but he shows a willingness to understand why he behaved in that manner. He deeply regrets the harm and upset that his actions have caused. Judge Gilbart sentenced Riley to four years and nine months in prison, placed him on the sex offenders register for life and barred him from working with children and vulnerable adults. He told Riley that his victims life had been seriously impacted all because of your selfish decision to satisfy your own sexual lust. You should be utterly ashamed of yourself, he added.

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AN offender has been jailed for breaching his sex offender register requirements. Robert Dooley admitted breaching the terms of the register, which contains the details of anyone convicted, cautioned or released from prison for sexual offence against children or adults. The 34-year-old committed the breach in Warrington on June 24 this year. According to court documents, he failed without reasonable excuse to comply with the notification requirements of the register by failing to register with authorities that he had a new address or was of no fixed abode. Dooley, whose address in court was given as no fixed abode, but of the Widnes area, was subsequently charged with failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offender register. The defendant admitted the breach when he appeared before Chester Magistrates Court. Taking this guilty plea into account, magistrates jailed him for 26 weeks. In their reasoning, they remarked that the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified, as well as the defendant having a flagrant disregard for court orders.

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A 51-year-old paedophile was lured to an address in Hull as part of a sting operation and found with condoms and Haribo sweets.

Chef Darren Johnstone, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with teenage girls and pretended to be a 20-year-old. He was interviewed by Humberside Police for offences in 2018 and while under investigation he repeatedly tried to engage in sexual communication with more girls in 2020.

Grimsby Crown Court heard Johnstone who has "learning difficulties and low-level intelligence" did not realise the girls were decoys used by a paedophile hunter group called Elite Team. Michele Stuart-Lofthouse said the defendant was still under investigation for the 2018 offences when he was again arrested in 2020.

Johnstone also admitted possessing indecent images of children on his phone after it was seized on his initial arrest. She said a "decoy teenager" was set up by the paedophile hunter group who created a dating app.

Despite being told by the decoy teenager she was 14 years old, Johnstone sent a total of 605 messages, mostly of a sexual nature. He also sent images of his private area.

Ms Stuart-Lofthouse said: "The images were extremely sexual." The decoy agreed to meet him in Brisbane Street, Hull, where the paedophile gang waited for him.

He was arrested by police, who seized a quantity of condoms, Haribo sweets and 300 cash. The prosecutor said he could not offer an explanation for his behaviour, but admitted sending images.

"He said he had never had sexual relations or a girlfriend and had never spoken to a girl the way he did. He admitted talking to the 14-year-old girl and asking for sex," the prosecutor said.

While committing the second set of offences in 2020, Johnstone, of Cleethorpes, had described himself to a 13 year old girl, as a 20-year-old man. There were four separate occasions in which he sent images to the girls, which were in fact, decoys, used by the child protection group.

For Johnstone, Gordon Stables said: "The court is not dealing with a fully-functioning adult. The level of understanding is not there."

He said his client had attended a special school and when he was 16 years old took up a work placement at the St James' Hotel in Grimsby. He said: "They knew his limitations and he remained there for nearly 30 years."

He submitted psychiatric doctors reports which highlighted the defendant's "borderline understanding." Mr Stables said: "He could not understand that these decoys did not exist." He added the client thought he had been discharged following the first offences.

Recorder Alex Menary said it was "an exceptional case" and he was guided by the psychiatric reports on the level of Johnstone's intelligence. He said three years in prison would not provide adequate safety from the risk he posed.

He imposed a two-year community order in which he will attend 43 days of sex offender management and 55 rehabilitation days. He imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order to limit his access to the internet and ban any contact with children.

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