Latest Offenders

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A former security guard at Levens Diageo complex was caught by fellow workers after sending a sexually explicit message to a 14-year-old girl.

David Andersons colleagues had become concerned about the 56-year-olds behaviour on his phone to someone they suspected was a young female, Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard.

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A 76-year-old man has admitted making thousands of indecent images of children.

Keith Taylor admitted to a string of offences at Teesside Magistrates' Court after he was found with more than 7,000 indecent images of children. Of these, there were 287 category A images - the most serious - as well as 338 category B images and 6,585 category C.

Taylor, who appeared to be carrying a bag of groceries in court, also admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with the notification requirements he's subject to on the sex offender's register. He did not register a Vanquis gold credit card and a Santander credit card within three days of obtaining them.

Given the number of images, magistrates decided that the case should be sent to the higher court for sentencing. Taylor, of Dalby Close, Redcar, will next appear at Teesside Crown Court on May 12.

Taylor, who was represented by Andrew McGloin, was given unconditional bail and an a probation report will be carried out for his sentencing hearing. Taylor spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address and to enter pleas of guilty during the short hearing.

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A rapist who attacked two lone women on the same night has been sent back to prison - six months after being released.

Bobby Barclay was just 17 years old when he committed two violent sex offences within two hours of each other on the streets of Newcastle. During the first offence, he abused a 52-year-old unconscious woman in a back alley in Gosforth.

The teenager, formally of Gateshead, then followed a 25-year-old woman out of Newcastle city centre and threatened to stab her before brutally raping her in Exhibition Park.

Barclay committed the offences in June 2015 after drinking and taking legal highs. He admitted rape, sexual assault and theft and was sent to a young offender institution for seven years and three months, with an extended licence until 2028.

Teesside Crown Court heard on Monday morning how he was released on licence in October last year, placed on probation in the Cleveland area and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements.

Barclay, now 25, had registered a mobile phone with police and told them that he used the alias 'GeordieBobby' for his Facebook and Instagram accounts.

However, during a visit January this year, an officer seized a new mobile phone which he had been using. They discovered he had been using TikTok under the name 'Bobbybarc' and Snapchat under the name 'Bobby_B22815'.

Jenny Hague, prosecuting, told the court in Middlesbrough: "Neither of these had been registered with the police, which he was required to do.

"When the officer attended and went to speak to him in respect of that he was in the process of donning a rucksack and intending to abscond because he thought he was about to be recalled by probation."

Barclay, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching the terms of a notification requirement.

Gary Wood, defending, told the court how he had pleaded guilty during the first hearing at magistrates' court. He said the crimes he committed were not "sophisticated" and that the names were not particularly "discreet".

Mr Wood added: "There's nothing more sinister that's come about as a result of the investigation."

Recorder Aisha Wadoodi told Barclay, who appeared in court via a video link to HMP Durham, that he had received a "very considerable sentence" in 2015 for sexual offences.

She said: "You were released on licence in October 22. There were conditions and terms imposed. You clearly understood them because you registered your phone."

She sentenced Barclay, previously of Edgeware Road, Deckham, to 12 months behind bars.

Chronicle Live previously reported in 2015 how Barclay's first victim, a professional 52-year-old lady, had been out socialising and was walking home around 12.15am when he struck in an alleyway in Gosforth.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how she had no memory of the attack and was found unconscious on the ground by two women passing by. Prosecutors said they couldn't prove whether Barclay took her to the ground and knocked her out or abused her after finding her unconscious.

Barclay carried out the even more serious attack on the 25-year-old as she left the city centre after a night out at around 2am. A taxi driver spotted him following the woman as she headed past the Haymarket and up towards the Central Motorway and Barclay hid in bushes as the cabbie tried to raise the alarm.

But as the woman got inside the entrance of Exhibition Park, just off Claremont Road, she was attacked. The woman tried giving Barclay money in the hope he would leave her alone but he wouldn’t stop.

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A married father-of-three hacked into hundreds of webcams around the world to spy on women undressing and having sex.

Christopher Taylor, 60, from Abram, Wigan, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court on Monday to securing unauthorised access to computer material, voyeurism and possession of extreme pornography. He will be sentenced on Tuesday.

The court heard Taylor tricked 772 people in 39 countries to unwittingly relinquish control of their webcams so he could monitor their private lives.

He used the malware "Cammy" over a three-year-period to log to victims' devices without them knowing.

Police believe that Taylor watched 47 women engage in sexual activity with their partners from his laptop.

He was caught after staff at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US city of Atlanta alerted the FBI when the malware was found on the laptop of a student at the university's aerospace laboratory.

The court heard that when police in the UK later raided his home in 2016, Taylor, a full-time carer for his wife Wendy, said: Its just what Ive been meddling with on the computer.

Taylor had amassed about 80,000 images and videos from his voyeurism between August 2012 and July 2015.

There were also 82 bestiality related images and videos, the court was told.

Taylor lured his victims with a phony link he placed on pornography sites, which, when clicked, would allow him full access to their laptops.

US officials had asked for Taylor to be extradited to the US to face trial for wire fraud and computer fraud but a UK court ruled it out.

Neil Fryman, prosecuting, said of Taylor on Monday: He downloaded these malware viruses and learnt how to spread them onto pornography websites.

"He used torrent files to upload the malware on to various websites and disguise it as another link for a programme called 'Cammy', which was described as all-in-one camera alarm system.

"Individuals were invited to click the link, thinking they were going to view porn. Once they had done so, the defendant gained access to their laptop features, including their webcam. He hid his online identity using obfuscation software, making him hard to track."

The prosecutor added: "He had many more thousands of files saved on his computer that had never been downloaded.

"Many of these images and videos captured people eating, working, lying in bed and doing yoga.

"However, there were also a number of images that showed people in various stages of undress and involved in sexual activity. In total, 47 victims were pictured engaging in sexual activity."

Defending Taylor, Andrew Jebb said: He still struggles to provide an obvious answer as to why all of this began. Hacking on this scale is a very odd interest for any man to have but it merely started out as an interest in viruses before it developed into something more sinister."

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A 65-year-old man has been jailed for historic sexual abuse on a girl under the age of 14.

Neil Kinney, of Fielding Street, Rishton, appeared at Preston Crown Court last week charged with four counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14.

The court heard how the offences were all carried out on the same victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between January 1978 and January 1979, in Clitheroe.

Kinney, who would have been 20 or 21 at the time, was jailed for 22 months.

He was also made subject of a 10 year sexual harm prevention order, told he must sign the sex offender’s register for the next 10 years and was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order in relation to his victim.

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A convicted sex offender who absconded from HMP North Sea Camp in November last year has now been arrested.

Paul Marshall, 54, was serving a life sentence for rape and wounding with intent.

Lincolnshire Police and their Nottinghamshire colleagues have been investigating since Marshall was reported missing from HMP North Sea Camp near Boston on November 22 last year.

Humberside Police shared an appeal last week saying they believe “Paul may now be in the Bridlington area” in East Yorkshire, and he was arrested in the Humberside area. This comes after there were previous sightings of him in Mansfield town centre, and in Doncaster.

On Monday (April 17), Lincolnshire Police said: “A 54-year-old man who was wanted after absconding from HMP North Sea Camp, in November, has been arrested. Thank you to everyone who shared our appeals.”

Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman previously said the “fault lies with the system that puts people in the wrong kind of prison” after Marshall absconded from HMP North Sea Camp.

The local MP later told The Lincolnite that, despite it being the first abscond since a tightening of the open prison system, it was a “sign of failure”.

He added that it is important to look at various factors when considering those placed in open prisons.

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A 47-year-old man has been jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting a woman in his car at 4am. A Detective from Kent Police has labelled the incident ‘despicable’ and has said tackling violence against women and girls is one of the forces key priorities.

Peter Wrotchford, formerly of Ashley Avenue, Folkestone, targeted the victim as she walked in the Tram Road area of the town at around 4am on September 4, 2022.

After raping the woman, Wrotchford then drove her to various locations near Folkestone and carried out sexual offences, before driving her to the address of a friend of hers. Once at her friend's home, the victim told her about the incident and it was reported to Kent Police.

An investigation connected Wrotchford’s vehicle a white Ford Connect being connected to the offence. The Police arrested him the day after the incident took place and he was charged with rape and sexual assault on September 6.

Wrotchford was found guilty of rape and sexual assault charges following a trial and was jailed for 18 years at Canterbury Crown Court on 14 April 2023. He will serve an extra four years on licence.

Detective Constable Chris Brett, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: 'Tackling violence against women and girls is one of Kent Police's key priorities and part of that work is bringing offenders like Wrotchford to justice.

'His actions on the night of this offence were despicable and I am pleased he will now be in prison, and off the streets of Folkestone, for a considerable amount of time.

'I would like to pay tribute to the victim's courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings, and I hope the quick arrest of this offender and the sentence now imposed assist her as she rebuilds her life.'

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The perverted behaviour of 27-year-old Windermere man Callum Spedding came to light after he was taken in by a police sting which involved an undercover officer posing online as a 13-year-old girl.

When police seized the defendant’s digital devices, they discovered that he was also sexually grooming a 13-year-old boy, though the victim was never properly identified.

Spedding, of Mill Brow, Droomer, Windemere, admitted six offences – one count of making an indecent image of a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual behaviour; and three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Tim Evans outlined the offences, which were all committed on dates in March, 2020.

The first set of offences related to the police sting, when Spedding began communicating online with a person who repeatedly identified herself as a 13-year-old girl.

During a series of online exchanges over several days, the defendant offered to buy her sweets and other treats – clothing, jewellery, and a phone; and he spoke to her about taking her to McDonald’s.

“It’d be cool to take you out and spoil you,” he told the ‘girl.’ As the contact continued, Spedding’s conversation became increasingly sexual, said Mr Evans. He spoke of wanting to meet her and described explicitly the sexual contact he wanted with her.

The court heard that the defendant encouraged the girl to “practice” certain sex acts in preparation for a potential meeting.

It was after police raided the defendant’s home and arrested him on April 1, 2020, that officers examined his digital devices, they found incriminating evidence that Spedding had also been grooming a boy.

Once again, the communication amounted to sexual grooming, with Spedding discussing sexual matters, including his desire to sexually abuse the child in graphic detail.

Jack Troupe, defending, said the defendant had struggled to come to terms with the offences he had committed. He was also struggling with mental health difficulties, said the barrister.

But with three years having elapsed since the offending, there had been no repeat of the illegal behaviour, added Mr Troupe.

Judge Nicholas Barker told Spedding that it was clear that he had genuinely believed he was communicating with children who were aged just 13. On March 20, 2020, he had clearly stepped up his attempt to sexually groom the girl, offering to buy her gifts.

He told the child he wanted to see her in swimwear.

In the days that followed, the communication became increasingly sexualised, with Spedding asking the “child” to send him indecent photos of herself.

The judge noted that Spedding had been “socially isolated” but he rejected the defendant's claim that his offending was triggered by the pandemic lockdown, given that the illegal behaviour began before the national lockdown.

The judge said: “You were socially isolated and you were suffering mental health conditions and continue to do so.” But a Probation officer had assessed Spedding as posing a “direct risk” to children, given the extent of his efforts to have sexual contact with the two 13-year-olds.

He jailed the defendant for 31 months and put him on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely. Spedding will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

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A paedophile with "an entrenched sexual interest in children that will never go away" is back behind bars for engaging in sex chats with a Filipino child. Franklyn John Williams, 75, also went money to the victim's mum in the Philippines.

Williams, from Penrose Court in Penzance, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child.

Prosecuting the case, Judith Constable told the court how Williams is a known sex offender and was jailed at Truro Crown Court for similar offences back in 2019.

He was released from prison and in January of last year two PCs attended his home to complete a risk assessment. They examined his phone and found a suspicious Facebook Messenger conversation. The girl he was communicating with was nine or ten-years-old and lived in the Philippines.

In the disgusting chats Williams complimented the girl and made lewd comments. Pictures were exchanged and he sent her a topless photo of himself in bed saying that he'd like to kiss her and wished she was there with him. Ms Constable added that Williams is considered a high-risk sex offender.

The court heard how Williams has sent money to the Philippines also also helped pay for a school out there. He sent money to the victim's mum which helped her pay for a washing machine.

Representing Williams, Martin Pearce said: "He has reached a low ebb and is asking for help. He doesn't understand why he commits these offences but he knows they're wrong and he is seeking help for his actions."

Sentencing Williams, Judge Simon Carr outlined the sexualised nature of the conversation and said the reasons were obvious why Williams sent money to Asia. He added: "You have an entrenched sexual interest in children that will never go away."

Judge Carr jailed Williams for 15 months, near to the maximum sentence he could legally pass for such an offence.

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Anthony Pitman, aged 51, from Pontarddulais has been sentenced today (14 April) to 21 years in prison for raping a teenage girl.

He was found guilty at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday 12 April of 21 offences which occurred over a period of seven years from 2010 to 2017.

The offences started when the girl was just 12 years old.

Detective Constable James Llewellyn from South Wales Police said, The victim in this case was abused in the worst ways possible and Anthony Pitman exploited her for his own pleasure.

I would like to praise her for the immense bravery she has shown in reporting what happened to police."

I hope this case will demonstrate that we will always listen to and support anyone who reports matters to us and offenders will be held accountable for the crimes they commit.

This sentencing sends a clear message that child sexual exploitation will never be acceptable, and we will ensure anyone who engages in this type of behaviour will be brought to justice, as we have seen today

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An ex-boxer who a judge says was "preoccupied with teenage girls" was caught with more than 26,300 indecent images of children.

Joe Wilson, 33, of St George's Road, off Hessle Road, west Hull, admitted three offences of possessing indecent images of children between April 2016 and January 2021. The images were part of a "disgusting" trade which led to sexual abuse against children, Hull Crown Court heard.

Stuart Bell, prosecuting, said Wilson had been arrested in his home in February 2021 after his activity online caught the attention of the National Crime Agency. Two phones were seized from him, reports Hull Live.

There were 20 images and nine videos in the most serious Category A, 120 still images and eight videos in Category B and 26,171 still images and 11 videos in Category C. They were in a "zipped" folder, a way of storing large numbers of images but taking up little space on the phone.

Wilson claimed that he had downloaded and viewed only 529 of these images. He had saved and accessed links to websites known for having indecent images of children.

There were 114 pages of internet history linked to the websites, with search terms including "little girls". There were also searches for "Lolita" and under-18 dating apps.

Chat logs showed he had communicated with girls aged from over 16 to under 18. Wilson had sent intimate pictures of himself and had received naked pictures back from one girl. There were no charges regarding this aspect, however.

Nigel Clive, mitigating, said Wilson had no previous convictions and he had finally pleaded guilty on the day of a scheduled trial. "There is perhaps little to mitigate offences such as these," said Mr Clive.

Most of the images were in the least serious category and were in the "zipped" folder and were not accessed. Wilson, a groundsman, accessed images when he was in a "downward spiral" and he turned to pornography instead of drink or drugs. He was remorseful and had been assessed as being a low risk.

Judge Mark Bury said: "He is sexually preoccupied and likes girls under 18." Judge Bury told Wilson: "You have a sexual interest in teenage girls between 16 and 19. You were essentially looking for females who were under 18 but not necessarily under 16."

The vast majority of the images found were of girls aged under 16 but very few were under the age of 10. "You had a high sex drive and you were sexually preoccupied," said Judge Bury.

"Offences like this are always serious. There are victims. Children under the age of 18 need protection." Each image that was viewed meant that there were victims of abuse and people made money out of the "disgusting" market. "You need to leave alone teenagers who are not 18," said Judge Bury.

Wilson was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and 20 days' rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years. The two phones will be forfeited.

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A former bus driver has been jailed for six years for sexually abusing a teenage boy. Mark Gadsby, who worked around the South Derbyshire and East Staffordshire areas, committed the heinous acts when he was in his 20s, but his sickening crimes went unpunished for years.

The 41-year-old lived a normal life and was even featured in a national newspaper for weight loss before the victim, who was 13 when the abuse started, came forward to tell his story. He had been targeted by Gadsby after being driven to school by him on the bus.

It begun with text messages asking the boy to meet up, before Gadsby began to give the boy lifts in his Ford Fiesta and eventually began to physically abuse the victim on a country lane in Staffordshire. That abuse then progressed to taking place in public toilets and in Gadsby's mother's house when she was out at work, Derbyshire Live has reported.

As well as the physical acts, Gadsby also groomed the victim and threatened to tell others about the abuse, which "ruined his teenage years".

The victim, who is granted automatic anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act, released a statement, saying: I do get upset about it still and I just think why did he need to do that?

Its just the way of how controlling and overpowering and how frightened he made me feel but why would someone want to do that to someone whos 13-14 years old? He was just a big fat sweaty person, no one else would look at him, at 21 years old he shouldve been going out Friday and Saturday nights, not targeting a 13-year-old.

Gadsby, of Cross Side, Ashbourne, was sentenced at Derby Crown Court on April 3. He pleaded guilty to one charge of buggery and six of gross indecency with a child under 16.

Separately he also admitted to two indecent images offences after a number of indecent images of children were found on his phone. As well as his six-year jail term, Gadsby was also given a sexual harm prevention order will have to sign the Sex Offender's register for the rest of his life.

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A judge slammed the 71-year-old's "caveman attitude to consent and boundaries".

A pensioner nicknamed 'Dirty Dave' by locals asked police officers “are you supposed to ask permission these days?” when they questioned him about sexually assaulting a woman.

A judge at Derby Crown Court told 71-year-old David Hannah that he had “a caveman attitude to consent and boundaries” as he sentenced him for two offences.

Appearing in court on two counts of sexual assault, even his own barrister said his client’s views were “like a dinosaur” in relation to what he did.

Handing the defendant a two-year prison term, suspended for two years, Recorder Adrian Reynolds said: “If you do this to another woman in the next two years you will be going to prison.

“Don’t think just because you are 71 you are too old to think you can behave in this way and in many ways, I think the most significant piece of evidence, in this case, is when you told the victim ‘if you tell anyone you will be dead’ because you knew perfectly well what you were doing was wrong. This woman was not consenting and you disregarded that."

Mark Achurch, prosecuting, said the two incidents took place in 2019, reports Derbyshire Live. However, the woman did not report them until the summer of 2021.

He said on the first occasion Hannah went to the victim's address and while in the kitchen said to her “you need k******g by a real man” and kissed and licked her face.

The prosecutor said: “He tried to undress her and then undressed himself. His trousers dropped to the floor, he took out his [private parts] and tried to put it in her hand. She brought it to an end by bringing her knee up to his groin. She said before he left he said to her if she told anybody she would be dead.”

Mr Achurch said the second assault happened outside when Hannah approached the woman from behind and grabbed her breast and private parts.

He said: “A witness later spoke of the way the defendant is known as 'Dirty Dave' and that perhaps speaks volumes.

"He was arrested and said to the police ‘are you supposed to ask permission these days?’ he did not simply understand what the ramifications were. He also said ‘if you don’t try it on with someone they will think you’re gay’.”

Hannah, of Gorman Close, Newbold, Chesterfield, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault against the woman, whose identity is protected by law. He has no previous convictions.

In a victim impact statement, the woman told how after it happened she did not want to take care of her appearance “so she would feel she was unattractive”.

Mr Achurch said: “She said to the police quite candidly that if she saw the defendant and had a knife in her hand she would consider using it.”

Will Bennett, his barrister, said: “His views are that of a dinosaur but that does not excuse his actions.”

As part of the suspended sentence order, Recorder Reynolds ordered the defendant to attend 45 rehabilitation sessions and placed him on the sex offender register for 10 years.

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A convicted sex offender was looking at ‘dog porn’ within weeks of being spared prison for sharing child sex abuse images.

Simon Jenkins, 62, received an 18 month jail sentence suspended for two years at Isleworth Crown Court in September 2021 for distributing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

But within barely a month he was searching Google for ‘bestiality images’.

Prosecutor Steven Molloy told a judge in Oxford on Thursday (April 13): “The defendant had [also] accessed a website which it would appear contained extreme pornography bestiality involving dogs.”

When the police caught up with him last summer, he was living at a new address.

Although the probation service was aware of the new address, he had failed to register it with the police - a breach of the requirements encumbent on him as a registered sex offender.

Jenkins, of Knowle End, Wormington, pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court last month to possession of extreme pornography and breaching sex offender notification requirements.

Mitigating, Kellie Enever asked the judge to follow the recommendation in a probation service pre-sentence report and sentence her client without sending him to prison.

At the time, Jenkins had been drinking heavily and had not yet had the chance to start working with the probation service.

Since his arrest, he had got sober and was working in exchange for his bed and board at a caravan park. He received a very modest weekly income.

Ms Enever said her client had ‘no recollection’ of the bestiality material police were to find on his phone. He accepted that he had looked at them.

Recorder John Ryder KC told the advocate: “Speaking for myself, I’d have thought they were somewhat memorable.”

The judge spared Jenkins an immediate prison term. Sentencing, he told the defendant: “You must understand that it is an obligation to comply with all the terms of your court order and you’re not entitled simply to forget those terms.

“You have an obligation and it is your responsibility to act in accordance with it.”

In imposing a three year community order for the bestiality material and fining him £50 for breaching the suspended sentence order, he said: “I am not trivialising that. I am not trivialising the breach of a court order.

“As Mrs Enever said, these breaches occurred very early in the order and putting it, really, in practical terms the therapeutic aspects of it had had no opportunity to take effect.”

As part of the community order, Jenkins must complete up to 60 rehabilitation activity requirement sessions with the probation service and pay £85 in costs.

Ending the hearing, Recorder Ryder said: “Engage with this order and overcome this inclination.”

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A serial flasher has appeared in court after he was caught masturbating on a train again.

Bobby Garande, 29, appeared in court on Thursday April 6 after he pleaded guilty to masturbating on a Thameslink train on October 14, 2021. 

The sex offender is already serving a 27 month sentence at HMP Thameside for masturbating in front of a woman on the same train line on October 12, 2021. 

On that occasion he peered at the woman through a gap in the seats while fondling his crotch. 

The woman took a photo of him and when Garande got off at Bromley South she followed him until police arrived and he was arrested. 

Garande, from Thornton Heath, had also previously exposed himself to a woman on the number 50 bus in Croydon while two children were sitting directly opposite him. 

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court he pleaded guilty that on October 14, 2021, he outraged public decency. 

He was given a prison sentence of 26 weeks, which will be added to the 27 month sentence he was already serving. 

Garande has around 20 criminal convictions, ten of which are for sexual offences.