Latest Offenders

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A pub singer has been jailed after admitting carrying out a catalogue of vile sexual abuse on four young boys. David Donald, who performed as David Michaels in pubs and clubs around the region, plied the four boys with booze and drugs before inflicting his perverted sexual desires on them. The sick pervert was branded a dangerous offender as a judge locked him up for 20 years. Teesside Crown Court heard how the horrific abuse took place over a number of years in the 59-year-olds Teesside home and his caravan at Crimdon Dene holiday park. Tom Mitchell, prosecuting, said the sexual abuse had a devastating impact on the four young boys after he would buy them gifts and expose them to pornography. All four victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered multiple sexual assaults over a protracted period which started when they were all under the age of 16. In heart-breaking victim impact statements, they all said their childhood had been stolen by the sex offender with some turning to drugs to help them cope with the mental torture. One of the victims said he had attempted suicide to the trauma of the abuse after he started taking drugs as a child. Another of his victims said he was unable to trust anyone to look after his own child and had lived homeless for a number of years after struggling to deal with the fall-out and perceived shame of the abuse he suffered. Donald, of High Street, Eston, near Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to a total of 28 child sexual offences, including multiple charges of indecent assault on a child. Paul Abrahams, in mitigation, said his client had fully admitted his offending at the earliest opportunity after his arrest and he has shown genuine remorse. He said: He had a troubled upbringing but that in no way excuses his behaviour. Judge Chris Smith sentenced Donald to a total of 20 years for all offences but made it clear the sentence would not undo all the damage his sexual abuse had caused all four of his victims after he blighted their young lives. Your offending took place over many years, each of your victims was subjected to a sustained period of sexual abuse at your hands. Your four victims have spent a lifetime affected by what you did to them all those years ago, he said. It is understandable that they felt robbed of their childhood and the impact of what you did to them has followed them into their adult lives. Their courage in the face of that considerable adversity is humbling. Donald was also placed on the sex offenders register for the remainder of his life.

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A man has been jailed after his victim spoke out about being sexually assaulted as a child.

Christopher James Medes was handed a five-year sentence after being convicted of engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

The 33-year-old, whose address was given as Old Road West, Gravesend, had denied the charges.

But he was convicted following a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in July and sentenced last month.

The jury found him guilty of engaging in sexual (non penetrative) activity with a minor and three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Medes was made subject to a serious harm prevention order to remain in place indefinitely and also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

The victim told the court how numerous visits to the police station to report the crime and countless phone calls had left her "feeling dirty" as she waited years for her abuser to be brought to justice.

In her victim impact statement, the woman described how she had suffered depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder following the ordeal.

"I have had to explain my abuse to many strangers," she said. "Imagine being a child, a little girl and having to explain sexualised abuse to police officers, psychologists, counsellors and family members.

"It was embarrassing, degrading and left me feeling dirty every time.

"Waiting for years and being forced to go through a court case because my abuser refused to admit what he had done is a trauma that I will never recover from."

But following the verdict and her abuser's conviction she said she could now "stand proud".

"I was believed," she said. "Twelve strangers, members of the jury took a short time to unanimously believe me, believe the truth and I will forever be thankful for that.

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A "manipulative" paedophile has been jailed for eight years after having sex with a teenage girl and then trying to abduct her.

Richard Gilbert, of Quenney's Close, Gloucester, was found guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child from September 2021 to Spring 2022.

The 30-year-old had previously admitted abducting the girl.

Sentencing judge Neil Millard said Gilbert was a "dangerous predator" and and "abusive child sex offender".

Prosecutor James Haskell told the court the teenager's mother became suspicious of her daughter's friendship with Gilbert when she came home with gifts from him in August 2021.

The mother reported her fears to police and Gilbert was arrested.

At the time, he denied any sexual contact with the girl and was released under investigation with strict conditions not to contact her or her family.

"However Gilbert ignored those conditions, he continued his relationship with the girl," Mr Haskell said.

He said the mother contacted the police again.

"The girl was then interviewed by police and she admitted having sex with Gilbert on three separate occasions."

He said Gilbert was arrested for a second time and was again released with strict conditions not to contact the girl or her family.

The court was told Gilbert went on to abduct the girl after making plans to "run away together" and kept her in a room at lodgings in Cheltenham.

When police found her, she told them she was his girlfriend.

Giving evidence the girl said the relationship started when he kissed her at a social event.

"Gilbert would get jealous if he saw me with male friends from school," she said.

"On one occasion I was in the park with my friends when Gilbert texted me to say he could see me. This scared me as I couldn't see him.

"If I didn't tell him things he'd threaten me. He would log into my social media accounts and block my friends.

"This made me feel uncomfortable."

Jason Coulter, defending, said the plan to run away with the girl was "utter lunacy", and that Gilbert had "genuine, but wholly inappropriate, feelings of affection" towards her.

Sentencing judge, Recorder Neil Millard, told Gilbert he was a "dangerous predator" and would not be considered for parole until he had served at least two thirds of his sentence.

He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and told to sign the sex offender's register indefinitely, and banned from ever working with children.

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Richard Murray was previously handed a suspended sentence after being snared by paedophile hunters A pervert who showed a '14-year-old girl' his naked body was jailed after breaching the terms of the Sex Offenders Register. Richard Murray, 53, was spared jail in January 2021 after being snared by multiple paedophile hunter groups. Murray thought he had been sending obscene messages to a child and showed his naked body to a 14-year-old girl, who was actually an adult, posing as the girl on Facebook. At Liverpool Crown Court in January 2021, it was explained that Sharon Robson was posing as a 14-year-old girl called Jade Charles and "engaged in Facebook chats with the defendant". Murray had been charged with three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. Murray, learning the 'girl's' age, said: "Well you won't like what I like doing". When sent pictures of "Jade", Murray said she was a "good looking girl" but told her not to look at him as he was "getting into the bath and had a big thing". Prosecuting barrister Trevor Parry-Jones said that Murray: Told her to be careful on these sites as people do naughty things." When asked what he meant Murray told the 'girl' "s***ing". Murray had also requested photos of the child and "told her he was naked and in the bath". Murray video-called the 'girl' later that month and the four minute video began with Murray topless before he moved the camera to his naked genitals. He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and forced to complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirements. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years. After signing the Sex Offenders Register, Murray was forced to register any change of address to police within three days. On Friday (September 2), Liverpool Crown Court heard that he had moved into a home on Mossy Bank Road in Wallasey on November 27, 2021. On April 30, 2022, Murray told police the property on Mossy Bank Road was his address. The court heard officers then made numerous attempts to visit the property in order to make checks on Murray. Police attended the home four times across April and May 2022, as well as visiting an address on Bisley Street in Wallasey - where Murray was living when he was sentenced. However, they did not see him on any of those visits. On one trip, the police saw an estate agent's sign reading "under offer" as they checked the home on Mossy Bank Road. On their visit on May 7, officers were met at the door by a female who said she had bought the property two weeks previously. Officers found that Murray had moved to an address on Arbour Close in Northwich, Cheshire. The court heard he had signed a tenancy agreement for the property in February 2022. Murray was arrested and stood trial in Chester Magistrates' Court. Asked why he had not informed the police of the change in circumstance, Murray said he had not actually moved address, but was in the process of doing so. However, he was convicted by magistrates of failing to notify police of his change of address. Mitigating at Friday's sentencing, defending barrister Mark le Brocq said that Murray, who used to work as a self-employed plumber, was struggling with life in the community after his sentence. Mr le Brocq said Murray "lives in fear, looking over his shoulder all the time". The barrister added that his client had his "windows smashed" at his home in Wallasey and was now "living in fear" in Northwich, where a "neighbour had been informing people in the locality of the sex offender living next door". Sentencing, Judge David Potter told Murray: "This was a deliberate failure on your part to notify police" The judge did not believe that Murray would have informed police of his new address in Northwich if they had not found it themselves. As a result, he said he had no choice but to activate Murray's previously suspended sentence in full. He was jailed for 12 months in total - the six months from the previously suspended sentence and six more for failing to notify police of his address change.

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A woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a surveyor said the abuse had made her feel dirty, violated and humiliated. The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was subjected to repeated assaults by Raj Garewal, 57, as she slept. Aylesbury Crown Court, where the Oxford man was jailed on Thursday, heard that the sexual assaults had escalated from touching the slumbering womans private parts as she lay in bed. A last incident saw Garewal try to place his genitals into the womans mouth as she lay, fully clothed and drunk, on her own bed in November 2019. Tim Naik, prosecuting, said the woman was pretending to be more drunk than she was in the hope he would give up. The ordeal lasted a couple of minutes. In a victim personal statement, she said the assaults had left her suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. The defendant, who carried out the assaults in Buckinghamshire but now lives in Marston Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty at the start of the year to various counts of sexual assault, sexual assault by penetration and causing sexual activity without consent. He had no previous convictions. His case was first before the crown court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on January 4, when he admitted some of the offences but denied others including rape. At a time when trials of serious sexual offences can take more than a year to be heard, Garewals case was listed for trial on January 31. Jane Bickerstaff QC, defending, said: This is a matter that came astonishingly quickly from first appearance to trial because one of your honours fellow judges at this court wanted to put it into a slot that had unexpectedly become available. On the day of his trial, the Crown Prosecution Service accepted his guilty pleas to the lesser charges of sexual assault and causing sexual activity. Garewal ran his own surveying business. Since entering his pleas in January, the victim was said by Ms Bickerstaff to have contacted his clients to tell them hes a sex offender whos going to prison. One client remained with his firm. Judge Catherine Tulk jailed him for three years and imposed a 10 year restraining order banning all contact with the victim. He will be on the sex offender register for life.

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A teacher from Oldham has been jailed for a decade after being found guilty of a series of non-recent sexual assaults on students.

Christopher Pickup (76), Underwood Way, Shaw was today (2 September), sentenced to 10 years after being found guilty at trial of 37 counts of sexual assault against 19 victims.

The offences occurred whilst he was a teacher at two primary schools in Oldham between the years 1971 and 1983.

Detective Constables Craig Rice and Natalie Sykes, of Oldhams Non-Recent Sexual Offences Team, said: Experiencing sexual abuse at any stage in life can have a devastating and long lasting impact on an individuals life, but to experience it as a child by someone who you respect and trust is unfathomable. This investigation demonstrates our ongoing and determined commitment to ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice.

We would like commend and thank the victims for the courage, strength and dignity they have all demonstrated in coming forward to the police and supporting an investigation into Christopher Pickup. We hope that the unanimous guilty verdicts by an independent jury and todays sentencing offers closure to them knowing that he is finally facing the consequences of his actions.

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A FORMER Tesco Haddington worker has been the target of an undercover police sting after he was caught sending indecent images of himself to people he believed were young schoolgirls.

Stephen Bennett, 63, contacted two online accounts which had been set up in the name of the children by police officers who were operating in a bid to catch online paedophiles.

Bennett began the contact by sending sexual messages to the children before his behaviour soon escalated and he sent images of his erect penis to the accounts.

But instead of him contacting children as Bennett believed, he was in fact in communication with two undercover police officers.

Following the contact, police officers raided Bennetts former home at Aberlady Road in Haddington in September last year.

It is believed that Bennett was working at the Tesco supermarket within the town at the time of his offending.

He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year to admit two charges of attempting to indecently communicate with two children aged 12 years old between December 2020 and September last year.

Bennett was back in the dock for sentencing last Wednesday and avoided a custodial sentence; he was instead handed a community payback order as a direct alternative.

Sheriff John Cook placed Bennett on the sex offenders' register for three years, as well as imposing a supervision requirement for the same length of time.

Bennett was also ordered to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work in the community and issued with a conduct requirement, meaning he will have his mobile phone use and internet history monitored on a regular basis.

The court was told that Bennett had split up from his partner following his arrest and had since moved to an address in Leeswood in Wales.

Sheriff Cook said that the court order would be transferred to the authorities in Wales.

Bennett pleaded guilty to two offences of attempting to communicate with 12-year-old girls, who were in fact undercover police officers, by sending them written sexual communication and repeatedly sending images of his erect penis between December 19, 2020, and September 6 last year.

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Attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child.

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A teacher who took dozens of secret photographs of pupils and kept almost 53,000 indecent images and videos of children has been jailed.

Jeffrey Wilson used a camera pen to take images of pupils and staff at Thomas Clarkson Academy in Wisbech, before taking more photographs of students at Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.

Police officers carried out a warrant at Wilsons home in Bluebell Way, March after an IP address was linked to viewing indecent images of children online.

Several electronic devices including mobile phones, laptops, USB sticks and tablets were seized.

Of these devices, 45 upskirting images were taken over a six-month period from April to September 2019, when Wilson worked at the two schools.

Wilson had also used a hidden camera in a clock to secretly film a woman undressing at his home.

A further search of Wilsons property was also conducted, where officers found the pen used to secretly take photographs at the schools.

Analysis of the electronic devices seized from Wilsons home also revealed nearly 53,000 indecent images or videos of children.

Of these, 90 were category A the most severe.

Wilson, 31, admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, three of voyeurism and two of recording an image under clothing to observe another without consent.

On August 30 at Peterborough Crown Court, Wilson was jailed for a year and was made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

DC Keith Evans said Wilson abused his position of trust at the schools, both with staff and colleagues.

This was a truly disturbing case, said DC Evans.

Wilson was in a position of trust, which he abused by violating both colleagues and students for his own gratification.

His behaviour towards the woman he secretly filmed at his home was also disgusting. Im pleased his offending has been discovered and he has now faced justice.

DC Evans added: These images were taken without the knowledge of the victims and it is impossible to identify them.

Wilsons actions will inevitably cause a great deal of distress to pupils, their parents and staff at the schools.

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A trusted school IT worker downloaded and shared vile photos and videos of children as young as two being sexually abused.

Matthew Bateman's online activities only came to light after he arranged to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl for a drive in his car and a burger. In fact the defendant was communicating with members of a so-called paedophile hunter group who confronted him at the agreed rendezvous point in a local park.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Bateman downloaded the child sex abuse images over a period of almost a decade, and a judge said it was troubling that the defendant had been in possession of such material while a valued member of staff at the school and mixing on a daily basis with pupils.

Megan Jones, prosecuting, told the court that in February last year Bateman contacted what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl on the Kik app. The defendant began exchanging messages with the contact, and during the conversation he talked about meeting the girl, taking her for a "spin" in his car, and visiting a McDonald's burger restaurant together. In fact the profile he was communicating with was an account being run by a so-called paedophile hunter group.

The Carmarthenshire man arranged to meet the supposed schoolgirl in Drefach Park on February 23, and when he turned up he was confronted by the people running the decoy account. Thee police were called and 40-year-old was arrested, later giving a "no comment" interview.

Miss Jones said Bateman subsequently rang Ysgol Gyfun y Strade in Llanelli where he worked in the IT department and told the headteacher he had "done something stupid" and been speaking to an underage girl. The defendant no longer works at the school.

The court heard that a search warrant was executed at Bateman's home address, and electronic devices were seized and examined. Police found a total of 299 indecent images of Category A showing the most extreme kinds of sexual abuse along with 255 of Category B and 417 of Category C. Some of the photos and videos showed toddlers as young as two being sexually abused, and they had been downloaded over a period of almost a decade. The court heard there was also evidence the defendant had shared a small number of images of all three categories with others.

The prosecutor said the defendant had not been charged with any offences in relation to the communication with the decoy account being operated by paedophile hunters.

Mathew Bateman, of Crwbin, Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to making - that is possessing - indecent images of Category A, B and C, and to distributing indecent images of Category A, B and C when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Matt Murphy, for Bateman, said his client's conviction had already had a significant impact on his life, leading not only the loss of his job but also to the ending of his relationship with his partner. He said the court orders which would inevitably accompany the defendant's sentence would make it extremely difficult for him to find work in the IT sector where unfettered access to computers was an integral part of the job. The advocate added that while the dates of the offending spanned almost a decade, it had not been a period of continuous offending over that length of time but rather there had been a "relapse into previous behaviour" during the Covid lockdown.

Judge Geraint Walters told Bateman that the children in the photographs and videos he downloaded were not actors but were real youngsters being sexually abused. He said he was troubled by the fact that Bateman had such material while being a valued member of staff at a school and mixing daily with youngsters.

The judge noted that Bateman maintained he did not derive any sexual gratification from the images - something the judge said courts routinely heard in such cases and always treated with scepticism - but he said what "gives the lie" to that version of events was that the defendant had arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Bateman was sentenced to a total of 14 months in prison comprising eight months for the possession charges and 14 months for the distribution charges to run concurrently. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time which is designed to control his access to the internet.

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A 'predatory' paedophile living next door to a primary school who directed a man in the US to sexually abuse a toddler while he watched online has been jailed for 20 years.

Luke Smith, 53, lived just yards away from the school in West Sussex as he begged the man to commit the horrific acts to a 20-month-old toddler on camera for him.

He then moved to a new home sandwiched between two inner-city schools in Portsmouth which are a stone's throw from each other.

But the convicted paedophile has been jailed for 20 years after a string of offences including posing as a 20-year-old woman on an online messaging service to convince the unnamed man in the US to sexually abuse his partner's son.

Officers from Sussex Police worked alongside the FBI in the US to catch the predator who was committing crimes online while using fake names and a different gender.

After raiding his home, they found child porn and chat logs with dozens of requests Smith made for the victim to be abused.

Smith had been living on a street right next to Barnham Primary School in West Sussex.

But a few months later, he moved to a road in Portsmouth right next to Mayfield School and round the corner from Cliffdale Primary Academy.

Smith admitted 13 child sex offences at Portsmouth Crown Court - nine of which were encouraging the penetrative sexual assault of a child under 13 and four of making indecent images of children.

The offences occurred between July 2018 and December 2019.

Detective Sergeant David Rose, from Sussex Police, said: 'Luke Smith is a predatory paedophile who thought he could hide by committing his crimes online while pretending to be a different gender and using a fake name.

'Although Smith's actions cannot be undone, we hope that his admission of guilt and long custodial sentence will bring some form of closure to the victim and his family.

'His actions are amongst the most reprehensible the team have encountered, and I thank them for their strength and professionalism throughout the investigation.

'We would also like to place on record our thanks to the FBI for their help and transparency during the investigation.'

Smith is now on the sex offenders register for life.

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A boasting Snapchat predator has been jailed after he offered to send pictures of his big package to a 15-year-old schoolgirl.

David Collings, of Topsham, claimed to be a 21-year-old Londoner called Gypsy Davy but was actually a lonely 26-year-old who has a history of online abuse.

He was banned from using Snapchat by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) but installed the app on his phone despite a specific warning from the police, Exeter Crown Court was told.

He used two different accounts on the app, calling himself Davyboy and GypsyDave and made contact with the girl from Essex earlier this year.

The police were alerted after her horrified mother found a stream of messages on her phone in which he offered to send her pictures of his boy and sent a voice note which asked Ive got a big package, can you handle it?.

Collings is a registered sex offender who has previously performed webcam sex acts while being watched online by an 11-year-old girl. The SHPO was intended to prevent him doing the same thing again and allowed the police to monitor his internet and social media activity.

His police offender manager caught him with Snapchat on his phone four times in six months during unannounced visits. He was given a specific warning on the first occasion and prosecuted over the other three.

Collings, of Exeter Road, admitted sexual communications with a child, two breaches of the SHPO, and breach of a suspended sentence imposed for the first breach in March.

He was jailed for a total of a year and 10 months by Judge Timothy Rose, who put him on the sex offenders register for 10 years and imposed a tighter SHPO which will last for the same length of time.

He told him: You carried on doing as you pleased. I have to look at the history of what you have done and you have breached the order for the third time.

That raises a profound concern about the level of risk that you pose and will continue to pose in terms of committing sexual offences directed towards young people.

"I have made a new SHPO but your history does not indicate much optimism that you will comply with it.

Judith Constable, prosecuting, said Essex Police contacted the Devon and Cornwall force in February this year over messages that had been sent to a 15-year-old girl from a Snapchat account in Devon.

Inquiries led them to identify Collings, who had used two different names and claimed to be aged 21 and living in London.

He repeatedly asked for pictures from the girl and offered to send explicit pictures of himself, despite her telling him not to.

Miss Constable said: She felt uncomfortable and each time she was asked, she said no. He sent a voice note which said Ive got a big package, can you handle me? to which she did not reply.

Shortly afterwards, the childs mother found the messages and took the phone away.

"She said she had been concerned about a change in her daughters behaviour over the six weeks in which the messages were sent.

Layla Jhaveri, defending, said Collings suffers from severe autism but has been able to hold down a job as a building labourer and has been working well with probation to change his behaviour.

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Officers confronted Smoggie who was seen acting 'suspiciously' around women A registered sex offender was spotted taking "hundreds" of pictures of women at a Pride event by plain clothes police officers. Andrew Smoggie - also previously known as Andrew Mackie, 51, of Thelwall Lane, Warrington, was caught acting "suspiciously" around women during Manchester Pride on Peter Street in the city. When police checked his phone they found hundreds of pictures of women and they suspected many were taken at Pride. Specialist officers had detected that Smoggie was walking around with his phone to his ear, but the screen was discreetly in photo mode. Police officers caught him taking a picture of a woman who was unconscious of his actions and they confronted him. After being spoken to by police he was identified as a registered sex offender with an order preventing him from taking pictures of any female not known to him whilst in a public. Smoggie was charged with a breach of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). A SHPO is a court order that can be requested by the police, imposed in court when there is a specific concern about an individual. It can remain in place for at least five years - or can be imposed by a court indefinitely and any breach is a criminal offence. Conditions for a SHPO can consist of telling the police what devices they own, who they are in contact with, and, in exceptional cases, restricts where they can and cannot go in the community. He was remanded in police custody and appeared at Manchester & Salford Magistrates court on Monday, August 29 where he pleaded guilty.