Latest Offenders

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A ‘PERSISTENT and prolific offender’ has been jailed for 28 months for his latest crime spree – which included sexually assaulting a woman neighbour, indecent exposure, shoplifting, and screaming racist abuse at a black police officer.

Lewis Trenchard, formerly of Buckshaft Road, Cinderford, but now of Worcester Street, Gloucester, already had 70 offences on his record before committing his most recent spate of crimes in Sedbury and Cheltenham, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault, assault by beating, criminal damage, exposure, theft and using threatening and offensive behaviour with intent to harass or alarm.

Prosecutor Rhianna Fricker said on April 10 2021, Trenchard answered the door to police at an address in Buttington Road, Sedbury.

Ms Fricker said: “He appeared to be very drunk and disorderly. He was taken into custody.”

He started shouting racial slurs at the officers.

The offences began on January 18 2021 when Trenchard was living in Cheltenham.

A woman resident of another flat in the building was at home when Trenchard, who was drunk, started going in and out of her home at a time when Covid restrictions banned people mixing indoors.

During the incident he held her against the sofa and thrust his hips into her. His groin made contact with her hips.

After he was removed from the flat, police received a calls from about Trenchard running into traffic.

Trenchard got onto the bonnet of a car but another man tackled and removed him.

Ms Fricker said the indecent exposure offence followed shortly afterwards and again involved the woman Trenchard had earlier assaulted

“She was sitting near her home with friends and saw the road altercation. Trenchard then joined her and exposed his penis a number of times, making her feel very uncomfortable. He then kicked out at the window of her flat and smashed it. He laughed at the damage he had done and then approached the same woman and touched her breasts with his hand.

Later that day he was found in a nearby shop he was found to have goods concealed in his clothing.

Ms Fricker said Trenchard’s past convictions, beginning in 2015, included 39 thefts, four offences of criminal damage, two of battery, an assault causing actual bodily harm, burglary, two of robbery and one of being drunk and disorderly.

Thomas Griffiths, defending, conceded “This is a particularly unpleasant set of offences and an unhappy record of previous convictions.”

Mr Griffiths said Trenchard had been abusing alcohol and drugs from an early age as a result of events in his troubled childhood.

Trenchard had been in custody on remand awaiting sentence since May last year so had already served the equivalent of a 20 month jail term, said Mr Griffiths.

He asked the judge to consider passing a sentence which would allow Trenchard to leave prison immediately and take up an offer of a fresh start at Bridgend.

Trenchard was anxious to be at liberty as soon as possible to support his mother, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he added. Trenchard would never forgive himself if he could not be there for his mother in her final days, he said.

“He does not wish to drink alcohol again - he knows now that he cannot have just one drink because it spirals to ten and then to new offending.”

Judge Lowe sentenced Trenchard to a total of 28 months, telling him that although it would not mean his immediate release he would be out of prison in the near future.

Trenchard’s personal problems and background did not excuse his trail of offending but did put it in context, said the judge.

“I am very sorry your mother is ill and I very much hope you will be released in time to go and see her.”

As well as the jail term the judge made a two year restraining order barring Trenchard from contacing the sex assault victim in any way

He also ordered Trenchard to pay £264.64 compensation for the damage to the flat.

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A paedophile who arranged to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old boy for sex has been jailed.

William Grassby was handed the two year term at Sheffield Crown Court today (Thursday 9 March) after admitting to multiple offences relating to sexual communications with children.

Grassby was identified through two sting operations one led by the police, and the other by members of the public.

The then 47-year-old had been messaging the first decoy, who he believed to be 14, over the course of a week before arranging to meet him for sex at Meadowhall, Sheffield.

Grassby also befriended an undercover police officer, posing as a 12-year-old boy, on social media. He began to send multiple sexual messages to the boy, asking about his sexual interests and arranging to meet up and have sex.

Following his arrest, Grassbys electronic devices were seized which divulged his engagement in multiple sexual communications with suspected children.

He was charged with two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to meet a boy under the age of 16 following grooming. He entered a guilty plea on 16 February before being jailed today.

Investigating officer Sarah Anderson said: Grassby is an incredibly depraved individual with abhorrent intentions towards children.

Grassby knew of both the childrens ages, and we have screenshots of messages where hes arranging to meet with them out of the view of CCTV.

This is obviously incredibly concerning for parents and carers of young children, particularly those who are on social media. If you have suspicions about who your child is speaking to online, I would urge you to contact us.

Grassby, formerly of Spring Close View, has also been issued a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He will also remain on the sex offenders' register for a decade.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE has been locked up after sending a disgusting sexualised photo to someone he believed to be a child.

Phillip Collins engaged in sick sex chats online and even discussed arrangements to meet up with the young girl.

However, the 42-year-old was in fact communicating with an adult posing online to catch digital child sex offenders.

He was later charged with attempted sexual communications with a child and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Collins appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, February 21, where he was told that only immediate imprisonment was appropriate.

The court heard how the disgusting sex chats were exchanged between January 3 and January 10, 2022.

The Padgate based defendant, being an adult and for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, intentionally attempted to communicate with ‘Miyah’.

He believed this person to be a girl under 16, but it was in fact an adult using a decoy profile.

The court heard how Collins encouraged the girl to perform sex acts on herself, discussed sex with her, sent flirtatious messages and sent a photo of his penis.

As the chats progressed, the defendant was charged with intentionally arranging or facilitating a meet-up which would involve the commission of a child sex offence.

Collins, of Marsh Street in Padgate, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order for a period of 10 years and ordered to abide by sex offender registration and notification requirements for the same period of time.

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A teenager has told how his childhood was ruined after he suffered years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a predatory Derbyshire sex offender.

Michael Sutton hit the teenager with a belt as well as sexually assaulting him on repeated occasions over an eight-year period from 2012 to 2020.

The abuse came to light when the 32-year-old was arrested for an offence of taking a child without lawful authority after an incident involving another teenager in Nottinghamshire in February 2021.

In a victim personal statement, explaining the effect Sutton’s abuse had on him, the teenager said: “I don’t feel like I can trust anyone and I have felt like this since he started doing what he did to me. I am always wary around new people and I know that is because of him.

“At first I thought what he was doing to me was normal because I was so young. It was only when I got older that I started to realise it was wrong. Even then, I didn’t feel like I could tell anyone because I felt like no-one would believe me.

“I will never be able to forgive him for what he did to me, he ruined my childhood. I’ll never be able to forget what he did to me and this really upsets me.”

Sutton, of Killamarsh, admitted assault, sexual assault, child cruelty and taking a child without lawful authority. He appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on January 25, where he was jailed for a total of four and a half years.

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order for ten years, preventing him from having any contact with the victim.

Detective Constable Naomi Davies, of the child investigation team, said: “The survivor in this case suffered years of abuse at the hands of Sutton, a predatory sex offender.

“At a time when they should have been carefree and enjoying spending time with their friends and all the usual childhood fun, they were instead left feeling traumatised and hurt by Sutton’s evil actions.

“The physical and sexual abuse may have stopped but the nightmare never ends for the survivor, who will have to deal with the psychological effects of what happened to them for years to come.

“I’m pleased Sutton is now behind bars for his crimes where he belongs.

“The bravery this young person showed in coming forward and telling police about the abuse they suffered is incredible and I’d like to commend them for that, as well as their dignity throughout the legal process.

“If anyone out there is suffering or has suffered sexual abuse of any kind, please don’t suffer in silence. We will listen and support you throughout the whole process without any judgement. Our specially trained officers are on hand to help you, no matter when the abuse took place.”

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A survivor of sexual abuse and her mother have described their feelings after a man was jailed for 16 years yesterday.

Ian McCarthy, 42 of Central Avenue, South Ockendon appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Wedneday 8 March where he was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for non-recent sexual offences against a child.

The victim in this case bravely came to police in 2020, to report that McCarthy had subjected her to multiple sexual assaults between 2015 and 2020.

Following the report, McCarthy is arrested and bought in for interview. He is then charged with numerous sexual offences.

On 23 January this year, he appeared in court where he was found guilty of the following:

• Four counts of sexual assault against a child
• Two counts of digital penetration
• Five counts of rape of a child
• Two counts of Inciting a child by offering money
• One count of sexual activity by touching
• One count of sexual communication

On Wednesday 8 March, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison plus 2 years and 10 months on license. He was also given a life-long Sexual Harm Prevention order.

Speak to your children

Following the sentence, the mother of the victim described how they are both "still processing the result". The victim’s mother said:

“All I want is for anyone reading this to speak with their children and grandchildren and make sure they’re reporting anything which has happened to them.

“I would 100% encourage people to report these offences to the police as they will be listened to.

"The police have been amazing in their approach, and I don’t think we would have got through this as a family without the investigating officer.”

Dignity and courage

Investigating officer in this case, Detective Constable Jeffery Wainman said:

“It’s felt a real honour to investigate this and support the family through this process.
"They have demonstrated a huge amount of dignity and courage to continue pushing on with the investigation despite it taking a large amount of time to get to this point.

“McCarthy didn’t even grant the victim the respect to admit to what he did, putting them through the court process.

“I hope they feel as though they have the justice they deserve. I hope that they can now find closure and flourish as a family again.”

Description

A pervert who wanted to meet a child 50 years younger than him was snared by paedophile hunters for the second time.

David Pick had already been caught by online vigilantes once when he started talking to a profile on social media who initially purported to be an 18-year-old called Charlotte but soon told him she was only 13.

Undeterred, the 63-year-old sex offender started sending sexual messages and the conversation moved to WhatsApp and he requested sexual images of her. Among the messages he sent were "I bet you would like to be having sex with me" and "let me see you in the shower with nothing on".

Newcastle Crown Court heard he also send two images of his penis and even discussed travelling from Sunderland to Preston, where he thought Charlotte lived.

In fact he was talking to a member of a paedophile hunting group called Secrets and Lies Confronted and he was confronted at his home by the vigilantes and another group and police were called.

Pick, of Derwent Street, Easington Lane, Sunderland, was also found to have breached a sexual harm prevention order imposed in 2018 by deleting most of the messages he had sent to Charlotte.

Pick has 47 previous convictions, including the almost identical offending in 2018 and breaching the sexual harm prevention order in 2019 by deleting his internet history. For the latest offending, he admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and breaching the sexual harm prevention order and was jailed for 20 months. He was given a new, indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offenders register for ten years.

Martin Scarborough, defending, said Pick suffers from physical and mental health issues which will make his time in prison harder.

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A Cardigan man has been sent to prison for more than three years and must register indefinitely as a sex offender, after admitting sexual activity with a child.

Thomas Phillips, of Maes Glas, Cardigan, was sentenced to three years 11 months in custody after entering a guilty plea to the charge of sexual activity with a child.

The Western Telegraph understands that the offence took place in February 2021 and involved a girl in her early teens.

Phillips, 30, had initially denied the charges and was due to stand trial for the offence on January 30 this year.

Just before his trial he admitted the offence and was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on February 17.

He was sentenced to three years 11 months imprisonment. The notification requirements of the sex offender register apply indefinitely.

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A sex offender who abused two young girls 'for his own sexual gratification' - one almost 50 years ago - has finally been brought to justice and jailed.

Frederick Bowman, now aged 73, faced a courtroom decades on thanks to the bravery of his victims, now women, in coming forward to report the abuse they suffered at his hands to police.

He was locked up last week for six years for indecently assaulting them as girls in Manchester, the Crown Prosecution Service has revealed.

Bowman, formerly of Ansell Close in Gorton, Manchester, pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault against a girl aged under 13 between 1974 and 1976, the CPS said.

Prosecutors also confirmed he admitted two counts of indecent assault on a second girl also aged under 13 between 1996 and 2001. Bowman admitted the charges in July last year and was jailed by a judge sitting at Manchester Crown Court on March 3.

The CPS said the second victim came forward first and reported the abuse to police in February 2021. The first victim then came forward in March, 2021. They cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Tim Greenald, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West said: "Frederick Bowman abused the two young girls for his own sexual gratification. Thanks to their bravery, we were able to bring Bowman to justice for his actions.

"I hope that despite the undoubtedly long-lasting effects of his abuse, these young women can get some sense of closure in the knowledge he has finally had to face the consequences of his actions before a court of law."

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Hugo De Sousa of Havelock Road pleaded guilty to the rape and sexual assault of a child, and making and distributing indecent images of children.

The 46-year-old must also serve an additional five years on an extended licence, meaning he won't be eligible to apply for parole until two thirds of the way through his sentence.

The case was brought to court following an investigation after one of his victims reported how De Sousa had raped and sexually abused her as a child.

Having heard that he had been convicted of an uploading indecent images of children to the internet in 2021, the woman decided to set up a fake profile online to try and get him to admit what he had done to her.

Using the fake profile and name, she befriended him on a forum, and he eventually admitted how he had raped a child in the past without realising that person was actually the victim.

At this point she felt she had the strength and confidence to report how he had forced her to have sex with him, and sexually assaulted her.

In her statement to police, the victim told officers how it had affected her schooling, that she still suffers from nightmares and has difficulty sleeping, as well as recurrent thoughts about what happened.

De Sousa was sentenced at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday 1 March, and as well as the jail term he will be on the sex offender register for life and subject to a lifetime sexual harm prevention order.

He will be liable to deportation on his release from prison.

Detective Constable Hayley Beautyman, who was one of the officers involved in the investigation, said: “Hugo De Sousa subjected a child sexual abuse, and he has quite rightly been jailed for his despicable actions.

“In 2021 De Sousa was convicted of various offences in relation to indecent images of children and from that date through proactive investigation and policing, it was found that he had continued to fuel his obsession with such material.  It was because of these investigations that the victim found she had enough courage to come forward and report her ordeal.”

DC Beautyman added: “I would especially like to thank the victim in being brave enough to come forward and report this and to urge other victims of abuse to come forward.

“We have specialist officers committed to targeting serious sexual offences and abuse. We will treat any reports or information you have very seriously, sensitively and with support through the process.”

Description

A paedophile was found hiding in a cupboard after sending a naked picture of himself to an undercover police officer.

Violent domestic abuser and convicted robber Wayne Jones, 34, then tried to shift the blame onto his innocent partner who was in hospital at the time. He appeared via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to one count of attempted sexual communication with a child and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

Kate Morley, prosecuting, told how Jones flew into a rage in Runcorn on March 25 last year when his then-partner - who we have chosen not to name - “confronted” him and "questioned his sexuality" due to content she discovered on his phone. In her words, Jones “flipped” and attacked her, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Ms Morley said Jones “jumped on (his victim), kneeling on her legs, and shouted in her face - she couldn’t move”. In the ensuing struggle she grabbed his T-shirt and said she might have scratched him while “trying to escape”, and he elbowed her in the face, knocking her glasses off.

She began to cry, and “described not being able to breathe out of her nose and her lip was bleeding”.

Officers learned of the incident during a routine welfare safeguarding visit a few days later. Jones, of Arden Drive, Speke, pleaded guilty to one count of ABH on the basis he didn’t bite her.

The victim suffered bruises including to her nose, left eye, body, arms and legs. When interviewed by police, Jones said the claims were “laughable and quite funny and all a lie”.

In her victim personal statement, she said she realised she was a victim of domestic violence and when she read back what had happened - “it sounded like a film - I thought ‘is that my life?’” She said she’d completed “so many domestic violence courses” in the past but following the assault it “sank in, everything fell into place” adding: “I don’t know why I protected him.”

Jones’s conduct left her suffering “panic attacks in the night” and waking up “not being able to breathe like I’m being strangled - the doctors think it’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)”. She was now trying to rebuild her life but had to move to another area, and away from friends and family, and no longer wants to go out and socialise but was “glad I’ve spoken up”.

The assault happened around only a month after Jones had been engaging in a lewd conversation on social media with an undercover police officer he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Ms Morley told the court Jones used the pseudonym “JohnJones” on Kik Messenger and said he was 32 years old.

The “girl” said she was 13, to which Jones replied “yeah”. At first he asked “why are you on this, it’s dangerous for you?” He was back three weeks later in February, telling the “girl” he was “from Runcorn” and sent a picture of his genitals.

His watch and a “distinctive” tattoo on his left wrist were enough for investigators to match the picture to Jones later on. When she said she was 13 years old, Jones made out he wasn’t aware and said he “didn’t know” and told her not to message him.

He was back again on Valentine’s Day, February 14, asking the “girl” to chat on SnapChat, where he “immediately asked for pictures”, only to “delete her” when snubbed. Jones wasn’t finished, and a week later messaged her on Kik asking if she wanted to see his genitals and perform a sex act. He also asked to see pictures of her breasts.

She refused and he branded her a “weirdo” and told her to “f*** off”, but a few days later made a similar request to see her genitals. Police enquiries linked the account to his then-partner’s address in Runcorn - but she had been in hospital. Officers found the pervert Jones “hiding in a cupboard behind a wardrobe in a rear bedroom”.

Police found the incriminating picture of Jones’s genitals with watch and tattoo on his phone in addition to screenshotted messages, and although he had deleted Kik and SnapChat, the phone still contained files showing the apps had been previously installed.

Jones tried to blame the innocent victim of his domestic violence for the messages and picture, but police eliminated that as a possibility because she had been in hospital at the time and the phone had been traced to the residential property and they had been in communication with each other so “it couldn’t be her”.

When interviewed on April 1 he denied “ever having a Kik account”.

Ms Morley said Jones had 22 convictions for 34 offences including multiple robberies, affray, dwelling and non-dwelling burglaries, ABH assaults, criminal damage, “exposure”, possessing the Class B drug ketamine and possessing prohibited items in prison and most recently possessing a prohibited item namely a phone in prison for which he was sentenced to eight months in prison last April.

James Preece, defending, noted Jones’s guilty pleas on the day of trial for the attempted sexual communication and day before trial for the ABH, and lack of previous child sex or domestic violence convictions.

He said the victim’s injuries were “not serious injuries in all the circumstances”, and he said the victim statement referred to a course of alleged conduct that went beyond the scope of the convicted ABH offence, noting the court had ordered other charges to lie on file.

Mr Preece conceded the judge would impose consecutive sentences for the different types of crime, and as such he appealed to the “principle of totality”.

He added that father-of-three and former joinery worker Jones was “embarrassed” by his child sex offence conviction and had found custody “difficult”, struggling with his “mental health and low mood”.

Mr Preece said Jones said the reason why his last sentencing hearing was adjourned was because two men had attacked Jones with a broom handle in his cell on his “usual prison wing” after he entered his guilty plea to the sexual communication matter.

The attack left him with “two black eyes, bleeding behind one eye and a gash to the front of his face”, as well as being moved to another wing. Mr Preece said Jones has been undertaking courses with a view to rebuilding his life after leaving prison.

Judge David Potter sentenced Jones to two years and two months in prison and placed him on the sex offenders register with Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years in addition to a restraining order.

He said the relationship between Jones and his then-partner had been “toxic” and troubled with “difficulty from day one”

Commenting on the impact of Jones’s domestic assault during his sentencing remarks, Judge Potter said: “She now suffers from panic attacks and PTSD from the trauma she’s been put through and as a result of the assault had to leave her home area and start again with no friends or family. This relationship is thankfully at an end and there will be a lengthy restraining order imposed today.”

The judge gave a factual chronology of the attempted sexual communication matter, adding: “You denied that you had been responsible for those messages and in fact blamed the victim for being the author of those messages. You persisted with that denial right the way through until the beginning of your trial."

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A West Yorkshire takeaway owner has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years after he admitted sexually assaulting and raping a young woman after he “plied her with alcohol” at his Shipley premises.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday that some parts of Sivaganeshan Pardeep’s prolonged attack on his victim had been captured on CCTV footage and at one point he was filmed walking about the premises without his trousers on. The 37-year-old, who had also been drinking alcohol that night, maintained that he could not recollect what had happened and even after being shown the CCTV footage he claimed that there had been no sexual contact between them.

But in January, less than a fortnight before his victim was due to be cross-examined ahead of his trial, Pardeep indicated that he would be pleading guilty to the charges of rape and two sexual assaults.

At one point during the footage his victim appeared to be trying to fend him off with a knife, but she then dropped it and collapsed to the floor. The court heard that married Pardeep, of Barnard Gardens, New Malden, London, had no previous convictions and as a result of his jail sentence he will now have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Judge Andrew Hatton said the complainant, who must not be identified for legal reasons, had very quickly started to feel drowsy after drinking some of the alcohol. He told Pardeep: “You began to speak to her about problems in your marriage and then over the course of the next two or three hours when she was at times almost unconscious, and throughout under the influence of the alcohol with which you had plied her, you engaged in a variety of sex acts with her."

He said the woman had been crying and feeling faint as Pardeep attempted to kiss her and he had then removed her underwear.

“She was screaming and felt unable to breathe,” said Judge Hatton. It was said that at times Pardeep had been physically manipulating his victim’s body when she was either intoxicated or unwell. After the attack Pardeep had offered to take the woman home, but she ran from the premises and reported what had happened.

Pardeep denied there had been any sexual contact following his arrest, but his barrister Gillian Batts said he now accepted the strong scientific evidence along with the CCTV footage. She added: “He instructs me that he is sorry about what he has done."

Jailing Pardeep Judge Hatton said it had been a “prolonged and sustained” incident. He told him: “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to the fact that you had plied her with alcohol and it was apparent to you the impact that the alcohol had had upon her."

The judge said the victim personal statement demonstrated that the offences had had a significant impact on the complainant.

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A rape victim has been praised by police for their "strength and courage" after her attacker was jailed for nine years.

James MacKenzie, 32, has been locked up after he raped a woman and took naked pictures of her after she had been on a night out in Ipswich.

Mackenzie, of Kelsale, was found guilty of rape in the early hours of December 2 2018, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The court was also told there was argument during which MacKenzie verbally abused the victim and struck her.

Suffolk police has now praised the victim, who cannot be named, for speaking out and helping put Mackenzie behind bars.

Investigating officer DC Kerry Bradley, of Suffolk police, said: "I’d like to pay tribute to the complainant’s strength and courage over a four-year period – she remained engaged during the whole investigative and judicial process.

"Whilst this was not easy, her evidence undoubtedly helped secure this conviction."

“It is important to point out that the victim was supported the whole time by an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) to ensure justice was done despite the passage of time.”

James Mackenzie was jailed at Ipswich Crown Court. Picture: Suffolk police (Image: Suffolk police)

Sentencing Mackenzie, Judge Emma Peters said that in addition to raping the victim he had punched her, thrown her off the bed and threatened to kill her.

Giving evidence, Mackenzie claimed the woman had touched him sexually and denied that she had said “no” and “stop it” when he had oral sex with her.

He accepted taking naked pictures of her but denied that she’d been trying to go to sleep at the time.

Mackenzie had denied orally raping the woman but was found guilty by a jury by a 10-2 majority verdict after a trial at Ipswich Crown Court last month.

As well as being jailed, Mackenzie was banned from contacting the victim indefinitely and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

Description

A paedophile voyeur who carried out the horrific sexual abuse of two children has been caged for 13 years.

Keith Lynch groomed and sexually abused two children and even managed to set up a covert camera to film one of them as they undressed. The 47-year-old also took indecent photographs of one child and saved the images to an SD card.

Lynch, of no fixed address, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for charges of sexual assault, indecent assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, taking indecent pictures, voyeurism and making indecent images of children. He had been found guilty of the offences after a trial.

Also appearing at the same hearing was his co-accused, Mark Smith, 39, of Burnopfield, Newcastle, who was being sentenced for three counts of sexual activity with a child. The offences involved one of the children that Lynch had also abused and he had pleaded guilty to the charges.

Philip Morley, prosecuting, said that Lynch sexually abused two children and also set up a secret camera so that he could watch one of them undress. He also took naked pictures of a child and had stored images to an SD card. He was later found in possession of category A, B and C indecent images.

The court heard that when Smith was in his mid-20s, he began to carry out sexual activity with one of the children and was unaware of Lynch's abuse. The court heard that Smith stopped his offending after he was caught on one occasion.

In a statement, one victim - who is now an adult - said the abuse had left them "sad and angry" and said Lynch had told them "not to tell anyone". The second victim said they were made to feel the abuse was their fault.

The court heard that both Lynch and Smith were of previous good character.

Brian Mark, defending Lynch, said he carried out "very serious offences" but explained that he could not fully mitigate as Lynch had been found guilty after a trial. He said: "In my respectful submission, I would invite your honour to pass the least sentence commensurate with your public duty."

Sue Hirst, defending Smith, said he had not carried out any further offending in the time since and that he had no knowledge of Lynch's offending. She said: "He is taking tablets for depression and is genuinely a hard working man. He moved into the retail sector and secured full time employment.

"He then lost his job following his guilty plea to these matters but intends to find further employment in the future. He is keen to move forward in a productive manner."

Sentencing Smith, Judge Jo Kidd said he "groomed" the child by "putting them at ease". He was jailed for two years and will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years. A 10-year sexual harm prevention order and 10 year restraining order were also imposed.

Sentencing Lynch, Judge Kidd said: "Your sexual interest in children is embedded and you've taken each and every opportunity when you have been alone with children to sexually abuse and groom them." Lynch was jailed for 13 years and will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely. An indefinite sexual harm prevention order was also imposed, as well as a 10 year restraining order.

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A man found guilty of the rape of two women has been jailed for 18 years.

Andrew Mellis, 58, of Tarner Road, Brighton, appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Monday (March 6) for sentencing having been convicted by a unanimous verdict in July last year of four counts of rape.

The first three offences had been disclosed following an investigation into an assault. During the investigation another woman came forward to report a further offence.

The two women had victim impact statements read out to the court detailing the impact and long-term effects that Mellis's crimes had had upon them over many years.

HHJ Christine Laing said that the crimes he had inflicted on his victims were 'brutal' and that he should feel shame at the way he had abused them. She deemed him 'a dangerous man' and in sentencing him to 14 years and ordered a further four years on licence in the light of the threat that he posed. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Stewart Cameron, from Sussex Police's Brighton safeguarding unit, said: "Both of these women have shown huge amounts of coverage in coming forward and providing accounts of the harrowing abuse they suffered at the hands of Andrew Mellis.

"He has shown no remorse for what he did to them, subjecting them to the ordeal of having to stand in court to go through what happened to them all over again.

"This required enormous strength and bravery and it is thanks to them that justice has finally caught up with this evil man. I appreciate that this is something that will stay with them forever, but I hope that the verdict and the sentence will go some way to helping them rebuild their lives.

"The case also demonstrates that it's never too late to report offences of this nature. We will take reports very seriously, no matter how long ago they occurred, and your report will be handled sensitively and compassionately."

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A man caught with more than 15,000 indecent photographs of children claimed he ‘didn’t realise it was illegal’.

Tony Collins, 49, escaped jail after officers searched his Liverpool home in 2021 to find images of children as young as five and ‘children’s knickers’.

Investigators, acting on intelligence, found the trove of images on electronic devices including a Samsung mobile phone, a hard drive and a laptop.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday how officers found ‘category A images’ – the most graphic – on the devices, including a photo of a 13-year-old girl.

Around 138 ‘category B’ pictures were also found on top of 15,248 ‘category C’ images of children aged between eight and nine.

Some of the photographs included a child estimated to be around five and seven, prosecutor Sarah Holt added.

The images were all downloaded across the space of four years from 2017 to 2021, some of which ended up in the recycling bin of the devices.

During a voluntary interview, Collins said he has learning difficulties, struggles to read and write, and ‘didn’t realise it was illegal to look at those photos’.

He alleged he ‘didn’t look for images of children he wasn’t sexually attracted to’.

Collins faced a maximum punishment of a decade in jail – but the judge spared Collins jail, given his lack of prior convictions and his ‘personal characteristics’.

‘It’s important to note viewing and downloading of images, you are perpetuating a wicked and repellent market for the exploitation of children, some are very young,’ Recorder Harris said.

‘The corrosive effects and psychological harm caused to children who are forced to pose for these photographs is incalculable.’

Collins previously pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs and possessing indecent images and prohibited photographs of children.

‘Making’ indecent images of children, which can involve producing or distributing them, carries far more severe punishments than ‘possessing’ them.

Such charges are ‘serious enough to warrant punishment by immediate imprisonment’, Recorder said.

Though he was assessed as being a ‘medium risk of harm to children’, Recorder Harris said Collins had a ‘realistic chance of rehabilitation’.

Collins was handed an ‘alternative’ punishment that includes three years of concurrent community orders and a rehabilitation requirement of 30 days.

He must show his probation officer he is taking the steps to prevent further offending by ‘educating’ himself and working with the police sexual offences unit.

Recorder Harris also ordered Collins to be on the sex offenders register for five years and issued a sexual harm prevention order.

Collins must also pay £70 costs within a year and a statutory surcharge.