Latest Offenders

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.

Description

 A SEX offender from Merseyside has been jailed after committing sexual offences against "vulnerable" teenager from Bury. 

Kyle Jago, 24, was sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to several sexual offences against a 15-year-old girl from Bury.

Jago, of Higher Road, Halewood, met the victim on social media in May this year, before arranging to meet her in person later that month.

The defendant proceeded to groom the girl and engage in inappropriate sexual behaviour, including exchanging sexually explicit images.

Peter Cadwallader, prosecuting, told the court that Jago travelled with the victim from Manchester Piccadilly rail station to a park in Bury on three occasions.

On the third occasion, the court heard the victim has sex with the defendant in a nearby wooded area. 

 Mr Cadwallader described the girl, who has additional learning needs, anxiety and depression, as “immature and extremely vulnerable".

He said: “It shows how successful he was at grooming her.”

“She was besotted by him and wanted to marry him.”

Jago was arrested on June 22 this year at his home after the victim’s mother found sexually explicit images on her daughter’s phone.

Jago was transferred to Bury Police Station where he was interviewed by members of Greater Manchester Police's (GMP) Child Sexual Exploitation Team. 

Through her victim impact statement, the victim's mother told the court her daughter was “trusting of all the wrong people".

She said: “Since the sexual assault and grooming, she is no longer trusting of people.

“She finds it hard to trust what I say.

“Our relationship has been set back.”

Mark Shanks, defending, told the court that Jago deserved credit for pleading guilty to the charges at the earliest opportunity.

He told the court that Jago had suffered a difficult start to life and has been unable to access adequate mental health support while in prison.

He said: “He has begun his life in a very, very difficult and chaotic way.”

“Since he has been in prison he has been threatened.”

“To say he has not had a good time of it is an understatement.”

Judge Tina Landale jailed Jago for four years and made a restraining order for him not to contact the victim and her mother.

Addressing him, Judge Landale said: “You contacted [the victim] on social media and you knew she was 15 from the very beginning.

“Your corruption and grooming of her were so skilful that she became besotted with you.”

Jago is now subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has also been ordered to sign the sex offender’s register for life.

Detective Sergeant Ben Harris, of Bury’s Complex Safeguarding Team said: “We are pleased with today’s sentencing result.

"This is another example of GMP getting those who target children off the street.

“There’s nothing more important than protecting Greater Manchester’s young people from harm.

"Our district’s complex safeguarding teams are here to build strong and positive relationships with victims and young people who are at risk from child sexual exploitation (CSE), support them into adulthood and help change their futures.

“We are supported by partner agencies and support services, who do invaluable work in helping us get sexual predators off the street.

"If you, or anyone you know, is a victim of this type of crime, we encourage you to contact us either by dialling 101 or through our LiveChat facility on our website, www.gmp.police.uk.

"We can assure you that you will be listened to and supported.” 

Description

A child sex offender hid his past to go on a caravanning holiday with a friend and her young son, a court has heard.

Jonathan Harris was also a regular visitor to the family's home, including on occasions sleeping there overnight. However, the 27-year-old is banned from having unsupervised contact with boys under 16 unless the child's parents know about his past conviction for causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Swansea Crown Court that Harris' concealing of his past was the second beach of a sexual harm prevention order in less than two years - on the first occasion he had secretly installed WhatsApp on his phone and had been visiting online chat rooms with names such as "teen chat" and "squirt". 

Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, said Harris befriend a woman he met in Swansea Market, and though the relationship was initially sexual it later became platonic in nature. He said the defendant was a "regular" visitor to the house where the woman lived with her child, on occasions spending the night at the address. Then in September Harris went with the woman and her child to a caravan park for a three-night break.

The court heard it was only in October that Harris told the woman about his previous conviction for child sexual offences, and about the restrictions he was under as a result. The mum reported the matter to police and the defendant was arrested at his place of work in Swansea Docks. He subsequently made full admissions in interview.

Jonathan Harris, formerly of Sageston, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, but now of The Kingsway in Swansea city centre, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching the conditions of a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

In 2019 Harris was sentenced to 27 months in prison for causing a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act, and he was placed on the sex offenders register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to control his access to young boys. Just days after getting out of prison on licence for those matters he breached the SHPO by joining dating websites including Match and Elite Singles, making online searches using terms such as "teen porn", visiting online chat rooms with names including "teen chat" and "squirt", and installing the WhatsApp messaging application. In October 2020 he was jailed for what the judge described as that "flagrant breach" the order.

David Rees, for Harris, said the defendant moved to Swansea to make a fresh start after "effectively being hounded out" of Sageston by vigilantes, securing his own accommodation in the city and then finding a job. He said his client retained the support of his family, and also acknowledged the omissions which had led him to being in dock.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Harris he had committed a "persistent and blatant" breach of SHPO, not only by being a regular visitor to the woman's house but also going on holiday with her and her young son. The judge said he accepted the defendant had eventually told the woman about his past conviction but he said it was clear Harris had not learned his lesson following his jailing for the first breach. With a one third discount for his guilty plea, Harris was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

Description

A MAN from Cardiff who used Snapchat to groom and meet up with a schoolgirl has been jailed.

James Vaatstra, 35, knew his victim was 14 years old when he sent her a video of him masturbating.

He arranged to pick the girl up in an old ambulance which he had converted into a campervan and drove her to Ogmore-by-Sea.

The victim told police how he asked her to cuddle him while in the van after giving her cannabis.

The alarm was raised by one of the parents of one of the victim’s friends, who became concerned about some comments that she made.

He was arrested on September 21, 2021, the day after the initial call to police.

Officers found numerous sex toys during a search of his van, which was also equipped with a bed.

They also found footage similar to what had been described by the victim on his phone. In one message to the girl, entitled ‘DADDY’, he told her: “Haha if I liked prison food then I would of for you baby already taking a naughty risk meeting but I ******* love you !!!Xxx”. 

Officers were able to link this message to Vaatstra’s Snapchat account.

Vaatstra was charged with meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming. He pleaded guilty before appearing at Cardiff Crown Court on October 14 where he was jailed for two years.

He was also subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order prohibiting him from approaching or contacting the victim.

Detective Constable Sam Evans said:

“I would like to give praise to the person who acted on their suspicions and raised the alarm with police. It is my belief the intervention very likely prevented any further escalation and safeguarded the victim from further harm.

“The 14-year-old victim admitted that she was so glad that somebody had made contact because she didn’t know how to get out of the situation herself.

“This case, and others like this one, should remind everybody that there are predators online who are targeting children.

“Online safety awareness is so important, and everybody has a role to play.

“If anybody does suspect that somebody is being groomed, then please report it immediately.”

Description

A paedophile targeted teenagers in chatrooms and shared sexual fantasies and pictures with another pervert, a court heard. Mark Stevenson, 37, struck up conversations with what he thought were girls aged 12 and 13 and asked if they wanted to have sex with him.

He did not know the people he was chatting to online were undercover police officers looking to catch paedophiles. But even after his arrest he continued to offend, asking one decoy if she was a virgin and sending videos of himself masturbating.

Stevenson, of Pilton Causeway, Barnstaple, was described in court as a lonely man who led a solitary life. He said he was not motivated by a sexual interest in children but admitted multiple offences, including distributing indecent pictures of children and attempting to engage in sexual communication with children.

The judge said: "The offences represent a series of offences that demonstrate you have a clear sexual interest in young children and those in their early teens. It is quite clear you were seeking out various contacts with those in their early teens and were quickly made aware the children concerned, in each case decoys or similar, made their age known to you but you did not desist."

Stevenson was jailed for 21 months.

Prosecutor Ms Victoria Bastock said Stevenson was arrested after a visit by police to his home address in November 2020. They seized a number of devices and found messages dating back to November 2017.

They showed Stevenson in enthusiastic communication with another paedophile sharing fantasies about rape and sex with children. He also shared indecent images of children aged between five and 16.

Stevenson also joined a teen chatroom and started talking to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl. He followed this up with messages to other decoys on Kik Messenger, Skype and WhatsApp. In each case the conversation was sexual and Stevenson would make lewd suggestions and ask if they wanted boyfriends. He also asked for photos.

Stevenson was released under investigation but committed almost identical offences in July 2021. He joined the UK Teen Friends chatroom and direct messaged a 12-year-old decoy, sending her an indecent video of himself and saying he wanted to see the child naked.

Mr Jason Beal, defending, said Stevenson endured a difficult lockdown, family bereavement and was a good candidate for rehabilitation.

Judge Peter Johnson said Stevenson had minimised his crimes by suggesting he was sharing in the fantasies of others.

The defendant admitted distributing indecent photos of children; making indecent photos of children; four offences of attempting to engage in sexual communication with children and two of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

He must sign the sex offender register for 10 years and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period. 

Description

The founder of an Army veterans' charity who groped a woman's bottom to check if she was wearing underwear has been spared jail.

Timothy Evers, 54, sexually assaulted the woman when she posed for a picture with him at an awards night at a Westminster hotel.

The former Royal Engineer founded Sapper Support in 2014 and had won the prize for Best New Charity on October 5, 2017.

Evers, a father-of-two, now serving in South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, denied sexual assault and told Westminster Magistrates' Court it 'did not happen'.

But District Judge Neeta Minhas convicted Evers of sexual assault following a trial last month.

Judge Minhas referred to a Twitter exchange between Evers and the victim, where he blamed 'fizz and exuberance' and said: 'No malice, but also no excuse.'

The judge added: 'I interpret the tweet as him apologising for his actions.'

Wearing a grey suit, blue shirt and red striped tie, Evers was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work.

He must also attend a 15-day rehabilitation program and register as a sex offender for the next five years.

The woman had told the court how Evers approached her and asked for a photograph with her.

'His charity had won. I did recognize him as one of the winners,' the woman said.

Evers told her to 'come over this way' for the picture.

'I didn't like that. I thought that was weird,' she said.

She said they then went to another part of the building, where she saw a large group of men on the stairs.

'I thought they wanted a group picture. They were all giggling and watching him take a photo of me.

'One of them took the photo.

'He put his arm around me like that [indicating her waist], and then put his hand on my bum.

'He put his hand all the way around my bottom and squeezed it.'

'He said "I just wanted to check if you've got knickers on". He then pointed to his colleagues and said "sorry lover, they dared me to do that".

The victim said that she shouted at Evers as she tried not to cry, before running away.

She said she then went and told someone at the event what had happened.

'I was crying and saying "that bloke just touched my a*se".

The woman added: 'At an event like that at that time of night I assume everyone's a bit squiffy. He wasn't staggering.

'I went home and sat in my room. I was furious I was crying. I was really upset. It occurred to me to call the police. But I didn't.

'I felt very humiliated. I don't like to use the word triggered, but I was very triggered at being touched on an intimate part of myself.

'I felt very angry with myself because I kept thinking what I could have done to avoid that. I was cross with myself for walking with him and not staying where I was.'

The woman said she wrote a tweet to charity Sapper Support, which replied saying 'exuberance and fizz were to blame.'

'I assumed it was him. I felt it was very dismissive, and not connecting with the fact that I was hurt,' the woman said.

The victim reported the incident in 2020.

'It happened just before the #MeToo movement which was significant to me,' she explained.

Evers, who has been a firefighter for 26 years, said he founded the charity after hearing about the death of a fellow 'Sapper' from PTSD.

He told the court he had a single glass of champagne at the event that evening.

'This was a big deal for me. We were a very junior charity. I wanted to be able to remember it,' he said.

He said he asked the woman for a picture for his social media and she agreed.

'I put my arm around her waist. I had my trophy in my hand,' said Evers.

'The pictures were blurred, it was dark. I deleted them. I said I wasn't going to bother her again.'

His barrister asked: 'She says you lowered your hand and squeezed her buttocks.'

Evers replied: 'That did not happen.'

He said when he saw her tweet 'I felt sick to my stomach if I'm honest. I was astounded that she thought we did it. So I wrote a clumsy reply at four in the morning.'

In the tweet, Evers said 'too much alcohol and exuberance were probably to blame. No malice, but also no excuse.'

He told the court: 'It wasn't an admission of guilt. It was a badly worded, early morning tweet.

'I asked if any volunteers had had any interaction with her.'

Evers said he deleted the tweet because he got a 'torrent of abuse.'

'It was quite vile. I was called a paedophile,' he said.

Prosecutor Jennifer Gatland asked Evers and asked him why he used the words 'sincere apologies'.

'I wasn't apologizing for anything I've done. I didn't know who had done it... I thought one of my volunteers might have done it,' he replied.

Ms Gatland asked: 'Did you delete it because you realized you were admitting to touching her?'

'No, not at all,' said Evers.

Evers, of Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, denied the charge but was convicted of sexual assault.

The judge had said of the victim: 'I found her a compelling witness. The incident left a lasting impression on her.'

According to the Sapper Support website, Evers joined the Royal Engineers in 1992. 

After an operational tour he moved to 33 Engineer Regiment EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Wimbish, later serving in Bosnia. He became a fireman after leaving the military.

He founded the charity in 2014 after a close friend of his committed suicide after suffering from PTSD, a court heard.

Evers' colleague and close friend Mike Jenkins described him as 'the driving force behind a charity that quite literally saved lives.'

Description

A Glenrothes sex offender was told his “deviant” sexual interests are legal – so long as he does not act on them.

Richard Heatherill was jailed for a catalogue of offending against multiple teenage girls.

Description

 A convicted sex offender caught with an indecent image of a child he had downloaded on his laptop has been jailed after he breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Craig Neal Jenkins, aged 52, and from Burton, has been sentenced to two years and two months imprisonment after appearing at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday, October 19.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order at the same court. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years and made the subject of a further Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was caught on August 2, when he was visited by officers from Staffordshire Police’s Sexual Offender Management Unit, who checked his devices as part of the Sexual Offences Prevention Order he was subject to. The order had been imposed in 2014 and was to last 10 years. A check of his mobile phone identified deleted WhatsApp messages, one of which was an indecent image of a child, said a Staffordshire police spokesman.

Jenkins denied having any other devices. However, a search of his home was conducted following his arrest. A camcorder and several camcorder tapes were recovered and seized by officers. He was found to be in possession of indecent images of children and to have breached his order by deleting his WhatsApp history, failing to hand over devices and using an incognito browser.

Jane Mulliner, from the Sexual Offender Management Unit, said after the court case: "We take the management of sex offenders extremely seriously. Jenkins rightly, has very strict notification requirements he is expected to abide by and he has shown a complete disregard and lack of respect for them."