Latest Offenders

Description

A couple, who used the former online chat site Omegle to facilitate sexual offences against children have been jailed for a combined total of 15 years.

Summer Andrew, 23 of Old Road, Clacton and Nick Barrett, 23 of Claydon Road, Harwich appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday 17 July where they were sentenced.

An investigation by our Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) was launched in December 2021 following intelligence about Andrew and Barrett engaging in sexual activity online whilst in the presence of children online.

Further enquiries revealed that the pair had filmed themselves having sex in exchange for watching live footage of a four-year-old child being abused.

They were arrested and charged on 29 June 2022. Nick Barrett was charged with engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

Summer Andrew was charged with arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

Barrett pleaded guilty to both offences and was sentenced to 12 years to serve at least 7 years in prison. During the court process, Barrett was described as lacking insight into your sexual preoccupation and present a real risk of sexual harm to children in the future.

Andrew pleaded not guilty but following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, was found guilty on 11 April 2024. She was sentenced to three years in prison.

Both were issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite NRO (Notification Requirement Order).

Judge Morgan said This offence is so serious only a custodial can be justified.

Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Nicola Hadfield said The tireless work of our officers has managed to safeguard other children from coming to harm in the hands of Barrett and Andrew.

The two will now be registered sex offenders, meaning that they will have indefinite notification requirements and every interaction with any children in the future will be monitored.

These offences took place on the former online chat room site Omegle, which would allow users to video chat with randomly selected users.

Omegle shut down after 14 years in November 2023 following multiple investigations into child abuse being attributed to the site.

Its a positive move forward to see a large online platform taking accountability for offences which may take place on their site.

Description

A convicted sex offender who had a long-standing interest in indecent images of children fell foul of the police yet again after he tried to cover up and hide his internet search history.

Gary Crowhurst was banned under a court order from deleting his internet use but he defiantly ignored the requirement and carried on anyway. He was caught out after he forgot that police had put monitoring software on his phone, Hull Crown Court heard.

Crowhurst, 40, of Park Avenue, off Princes Avenue, west Hull, admitted two offences of breaching a 10-year sexual harm prevention order between July 13 and November 9, 2022.

Jazmine Lee, prosecuting, said that the sexual harm prevention order was made at Hull Crown Court in November 2017 after Crowhurst was arrested for being in possession of indecent images of children.

He initially denied the offence but he later admitted installing file-sharing software which downloaded the images. There were 23 images in the most serious Category A, eight in Category B and one in Category C as well as three extreme pornography images.

Under the terms of the sexual harm prevention order, Crowhurst was banned from installing and using a virtual video downloader but he installed one in September 2022. Monitoring equipment set up by the police on his phone detected this activity.

During police interview, he admitted installing the software but he claimed that he had forgotten that monitoring equipment was in place. Crowhurst was also banned from deleting or modifying his internet search history. He admitted that he installed an app to download adult pornography and that he did so.

"There is nothing to suggest any child content," said Miss Lee. Crowhurst had convictions for six previous offences, including making indecent images of children in January 2015. He had been jailed in 2017 for 20 months for those offences and the sexual harm prevention order was made then.

There was a similar offence in March 2014.

Michael Forrest, mitigating, said that the latest offences happened in 2022 and, since then, Crowhurst had complied with the terms of the sexual harm prevention order.

Crowhurst had limited previous convictions but he had served a short prison sentence in the past for similar offending. There was a pattern of offending involving his internet use and not disclosing it to the police.

"He can be managed in the community," said Mr Forrest. Crowhurst was keen to take advantage of a course that had previously not been available to him.

"He needs to face up to the fact that he can't be downloading these images and, if he does, he needs to seek help," added Mr Forrest.

Crowhurst was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence and 20 days' rehabilitation.

Description

Simon Pritchett needed to go and 'get some fresh air' at the coast instead of sitting in his room looking at images involving child abuse, Hull Crown Court heard.

Pritchett, 46, of Withernsea, East Yorkshire admitted three offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing extreme pornography, involving animals.

Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that police were alerted about images on the internet, including Snapchat, in February 2022 and they went to Pritchett's home. 

They seized his mobile phone, laptop and a computer and hard drive.

'All four were found to have illicit images in varying numbers,' said Mr Hammersley.

There were 157 images of children in the most serious Category A, 82 in Category B and 91 in Category C. There were also images of bestiality.

Pritchett originally denied distributing the images and he had been due to face a trial on August 27 but that charge was dropped. 

He claimed that he was sent images by a stranger but closed them and sent them back, telling the person on Snapchat to 'f*** off'.

He later denied knowledge of the indecent images and having a look at them and claimed that he had been sent links but that, when he realised that they involved children, he deleted them.

He admitted having an interest in bestiality.

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Pritchett pleaded guilty and he was willing to comply with a community order.

He had no previous convictions.

Judge Mark Bury told Pritchett: 'I suggest you get out more. 

'What you have been doing over an 18-month period is downloading and retaining indecent images of children and extreme pornography images.

'You have no history of contact sexual offending. There is no suggestion that you are a risk of it.

'You must understand that the seriousness of this offending is that each image that you have possession of represents an image of an abuse of a child. 

'Okay, you didn't take the photograph of the abuse and you, even less, were not the abuser but if there wasn't market for this sort of offending, then fewer children would be abused in the first place. That's why it's serious.'

Pritchett was prepared to admit that he had an interest in bestiality. 

'You need to stop doing that as well,' said Judge Bury. 

Pritchett lived in a coastal area and there were plenty of things that he could do to 'get some fresh air and meet people' rather than 'sit in your room and access images like this'.

Pritchett was given 30 days' rehabilitation and a five-year sexual harm prevention order. 

A deprivation order was made for his computer equipment.

'It's very important that you put behind you this offending,' said Judge Bury. 

'If there is any repetition of it, next time it won't be a community order, it will be a prison sentence.'

Description

A semi-professional football player has been jailed for the rape of a woman after a night out in Shoreditch. Nathan Ashton, 27, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the attack having denied raping the victim, saying the sex was consensual.

The rape took place in the early hours of a night in 2023, after Ashton and the woman had been at a bar in Shoreditch with a group of friends. The woman and her two friends left the bar and were offered a lift home by Ashton.

She reported to officers that Ashton had been touching her inappropriately throughout the night, leaving her feeling guarded and vulnerable as a result. Once they arrived at the address in Romford, Ashton decided to stay with the three women.

They all ended up going to bed and fell asleep in different rooms, after which Ashton entered the victim’s room and raped her.

The woman reported the attack to police and officers launched an investigation. Ashton was brought in for questioning at a local police station and denied the claims of rape, maintaining that the sex was consensual. The jury found otherwise. Ashton, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 16 years in prison at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, July 16.

Detective Sergeant Ben Wallen who led the investigation, said: “Our officers were meticulous in their investigation against Ashton and secured a great outcome as a result. The victim-survivor is extremely brave reporting this to the police and we encourage all victims to come forward and speak with our specialist officers to help remove these prolific offenders off our streets.

“We remain dedicated in providing support to rape victims and protecting women and girls from predatory offenders, and I would encourage anyone who has been a victim to go to the police.”

The Met Police has said it is trying to change the way they investigate rapes. A spokesperson said: "At the heart of our new approach in investigating rape, the Met have a greater focus on the suspect’s life, with a shift away from the ‘credibility’ of the victim-survivor. This means that the victim goes through a less invasive process when reporting an incident such as rape, which officers know is already an incredibly difficult time for them."

Description

Recording devices including sunglasses with a built-in camera were amongst the evidence secured by Kent Police officers that led to the conviction of a sex offender from Ashford.

John Gilliver, of Maidstone Road, Charing, admitted multiple offences including voyeurism before being sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday 11 July 2024.

Devices seized

On Sunday 10 July 2022, officers were called to Folkestone Harbour and arrested Gilliver, 62, after he was seen behaving suspiciously and taking photographs on the beach that afternoon.

A pair of sunglasses and a neck chain, capable of recording and storing images, were seized and a search of Gilliver’s home in Charing led to further devices and recording equipment being recovered.

Data downloaded from the devices were found to include indecent images including of children.

The investigation by Kent Police detectives uncovered further offences of voyeurism. Gilliver was found to have secretly installed cameras at the home of a man and a woman he knew, in order to spy on them for purposes of his own gratification.

Gilliver was later charged and pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, voyeurism and possessing an indecent image. He was jailed for a year and eight months and was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A sex offender raped a jogger at knifepoint during a four-day spree of violence against eight women after he was allowed to walk free from a secure hospital.

Louis Collins, 29, hit the woman over the head and forced her to the ground in Marble Hill Park in Twickenham, south-west London during the hour-long attack on Aug 21 last year.

Brandishing a knife and a broken bottle he said dont scream, nobodys going to help you, before tearing her clothes off and assaulting her, the court heard.

Two women began to approach after they heard the victim screaming for help, but Collins yelled f--- off or I will kill you and they left.

Patricia May, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing that Collins was let out of Lambeth Hospital without supervision on Aug 18 last year after doctors agreed he could have an unescorted absence.

Shattered my sense of security

Shortly after being released, he groped a woman at Clapham Common station as she travelled up the escalator.

Collins later returned to the hospital past his curfew, but despite this was allowed to leave again on Aug 20.

That day he attacked and attempted to rape two other women, sexually assaulting four more and threatening to kill another, before raping the jogger at around 8am on August 21, Ms May said.

At Kingston Crown Court, Collins pleaded guilty to 27 charges including rape, attempted rape and sexual assault between August 18 and 21 last year.

Siobhan Molloy, mitigating, said Collins, of Croydon, south London, claimed voices in his head had told him to carry out the attacks. However, a doctor said Collins did not show signs of a psychotic illness.

Pleaded guilty to all charges

In a statement read at court the victim said: On August 21, my world turned upside down. What happened on that day shattered my sense of security, trust in people and justice.

The victim said she had waited 18 months for professional counselling to help her deal with the trauma.

A spokesman for South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, responsible for Lambeth Hospital, said: We strongly support the courts decision today in sentencing Louis Collins who pleaded guilty to all charges.

These are appalling crimes, and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

We have completed a thorough internal investigation and continue to do our utmost to improve our services.

Collins will be sentenced on Tuesday.

Description

A convicted UK paedo who served five years for his disgusting crime is currently touring Ireland in a camper van - and is heading for the west of Ireland.

The English man informed Garda in Ireland upon his arrival in the country that he would be travelling the country in a camper van for three months and is set to leave the east of the country with his intended next stops set to be around the Wild Atlantic Way including a possible stop in Galway.

56-year-old Neil Wood was sentenced in 2019 to five years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16. Wood, from Knaresborough, was also given a 15 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and was then also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely after his 3 June 2019 sentencing.

The convicted paedo landed in Ireland in June 2024, and, according to a source, informed Gardai in Bray of his intention to stay for three months in Ireland. Wood was also reported as travelling the south west of the Ireland, before heading to the west.

Wood is obliged to sign in with local Gardai at every location he visits, with Gardai furnished with details on the make, colour and registration of the camper van in which Neil Wood is travelling the country. Failure to register with Gardai as he travels will lead to his arrest. It's also known that Wood will be arrested should he make advances to young girls.

Speaking in June 2019 about the sentence handed to Wood, investigating officer Detective Constable Rebecca Prentice of Harrogate CID said: "Neil Wood has caused the victim and their family unimaginable distress and upset.

"The sentence handed to him reflects the seriousness of the offence he committed against an innocent child. I’m also pleased that the court saw fit to place him on the sex offenders register and impose a sexual harm prevention order on him, reflecting the severity of his offence."

"I would like to take this opportunity to also thank the victim for coming forward and showing incredible bravery throughout both the investigation and trial. I hope the result provides the victim and family with some sense of closure, allowing them to move on to more positive times.

"Finally I hope that this result reassures and provides confidence to anyone who may have been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward and report it to police.

"It doesn’t matter when the abuse happened, whether it’s happening now or occurred decades ago. Even if it is not possible to put an offender before the courts, it’s important that you are offered the support and advice that is available."

Description

A 'monster' who sexually abused three girls was told by one of his victims: "I lost my childhood because of you." Colin Ruscoe, 64, has been locked up for 10 years for a series of sickening crimes. A jury found him guilty following a Manchester Crown Court trial.

He was convicted of six counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity; two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13; sexual activity with a child; and assaulting a child under 13 by penetration.

Ruscoe, from Longsight, was told of the impact his crimes has had on his victim as they bravely faced him in court. Two of the women read statements in person.

"I lost my childhood because of you," one of them said. "The impact of what you did caused so much distress and hurt. I wanted to end my life. My relationships have been affected and I no longer trust men. You were dishonest and a coward."

The second woman said: "You caused me so much pain, anger, hurt and made me hate myself and hurt myself to try and block it out. You are a monster. I was a child. My mental health suffered greatly and I found it difficult to talk about it. I tried to end my life six times in six months. Today, because of you, I have no trust in men."

The third victim told Ruscoe: "This was not something I wanted or consented to. How could I... I was just a child? I have never felt so isolated and alone. The last few years I feel like I have been on a rollercoaster blindfolded. It's a numbness I've never felt before.

"I have been getting flashbacks multiple times a day and they've started to turn into nightmares. I am now free and you can never hurt me again."

Mitigating for Ruscoe, who has no previous convictions, Simeon Evans said: "He continues to maintain his denials. He has a number of health issues. He does not have much of a life."

Sentencing, Judge Kate Cornell told Ruscoe: "It was hard to listen to their account and the impact on them of your actions has been profound. They felt confused and disgusted by what happened and feared they would not be believed.

"It was clear to the jury who unanimously found you guilty that the girls were telling the truth and I too agree. You continue to deny your guilt. It's clear you are capable of being a kind man, but that can't take away from the darkness. How you behave in public is far from how you behaved with those girls."

Ruscoe, of Cornford Avenue, was jailed for 10 years. He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A man has been jailed for 10 years after being convicted of a series of violent and sexual crimes against women in the Edinburgh area.

James Kelly, aged 43, targeted six women between 2014 and 2021.

His crimes included multiple sexual offences, including six counts of rape. He also assaulted one victim to her severe injury.

He was previously found guilty of 18 charges following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh and returned for sentencing on Monday, 15 July, 2024.

Detective Inspector Eirlys Fraser said: “James Kelly subjected his victims to a shocking level of violence and sexual abuse. He is an extremely dangerous individual, who showed no remorse for his behaviour, but he is now paying the price for his despicable actions.

“I would like to commend the women for their strength in coming forward during this investigation and helping us build a compelling case against him. I hope this outcome provides them with some sense of closure and allows them to move on from this horrendous ordeal.

Description

An Isle of Wight paedophile who left one of his child victims unable to sleep has walked free from court after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Serbas Mohammed, 31, abused two young girls in 2022 when they were aged just 15 and ten.

During a single incident, Mohammed kissed one girl on the cheek and neck, moving closer to her every time she edged away from him.

Then he began massaging the thigh of his other victim, asking her to give him a massage.

He was brought to court when one of the two girls reported the incident to a friend and later the school that she attends.

In a statement read out in court, one of the victims said: “This incident has had a big impact on me. I felt a lot of anger.

“I have also been unable to go to school properly. I have been struggling with my mental health. Struggling to sleep.”

Mohammed continues to deny the offence until this day but in June, he was convicted by a jury of two counts of sexual activity with a child.

Following concerns being raised during the proceedings, a psychiatric report was carried out on him, leading him to be sectioned and diagnosed with schizophrenia.

He now requires injections to control his condition.

His barrister, Thomas Evans told the sentencing judge that this would not be monitored properly in prison.

Mohammed, of Market Place, Newport, Isle of Wight, was sentenced to 15 months suspended for two years on Friday.

He must complete up to 40 rehabilitation days and is subject to a mental health treatment requirement for 12 months.

The court also ordered that he register as a sex offender and made him subject to a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order for the next ten years.

Judge Brian Forster KC said: “What took place has had a considerable impact. I have no doubt that the case crosses the custody threshold.

“The reality of the case is that you suffer from Schizophrenia. That is a challenging mental health condition.

“You have served earlier this year a period in hospital. You have been compliant with the treatment programme.

“If you are sent to prison today that will be a major step back in your rehabilitation which will affect not only you but also the public.”

Prosecutor Ellie Fargin added that Mohammed has two previous convictions for a public order offence and making threats to kill.

But Mr Evans said: “This is one of those rare examples where an offender comes before the court and radically improves his situation as a result of the criminal proceedings that he has faced.

“When he first came to court his presentation was concerning. His presentation before and after that is like night and say in my submission.

“He has radically improved his situation. He is someone who came to this country as a youth with preexisting trauma which is going to have an impact on his mental health.”

Description

A “dangerous” sex offender found with face masks, knives, balaclava and latex gloves failed to turn up for sentencing today.

Shaun Powell, aged 42, of The Glasney, Penryn was sentenced in his absence at Truro Crown Court today (Monday) after refusing to get on the transport from prison where he is currently in custody.

Powell also refused to attend his trial in May, where he was found guilty in his absence of three counts of breaching a five-year sexual harm prevention order made in March 2023, and a further three counts of failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offenders register.

Prosecutor Phillipa Harper told the court that as the sexual harm prevention order still had four years to run the Crown Prosecution Service would not be seeking to extend it.

Powell was found guilty of breaching the order by failing to notify the authorities that he had acquired a passport and that he had a bank card, and in November 2023 failed to notify the authorities of a change of circumstances.

He was also was found to have breached the order by owning items in his possession found at the house he shared with his parents.

This included face masks, balaclavas and gloves, knives and bladed articles.

Judge Robert Linford said Mr Powell was “highly dangerous" and the harm that Powell could have done could have been “very significant” if the items found had been used for their intended purpose.

“It caused a risk of very serious harm,” said Judge Linford “even though he has not actually caused serious harm. Having regard to the items in his possession and considered the facts of the breach gave rise to the risk of very serious harm in light of his criminal record."

He said these offences were aggravated by previous convictions most particularly in October 2019 when he failed to comply with the notification requirements and breached that order.

The court heard that in 2010 he was convicted of outraging public decency, in 2013 he was convicted of masturbating in a public house and in 2016 he was caught masturbating in front of a female student at Falmouth University. When he was arrested he was found in the possession of a cosh and a Stanley knife.

The judge said he had read a pre-sentence report made without Powell’s engagement as he had not attended his appointment, and refused to avail himself for it. However it concluded that there was a very high risk of reoffending and the risk to the public was high.

It said Powell had not had the best start in life, he was socially isolated and only seemed to have the company of his parents although he had no mental health issues.

He said the offences were so serious that he could only consider a custodial sentence.

For the six breaches he was given a total of three years in prison.

An order was made for the destruction of all the items.

Description

An award-winning BBC Scotland film director has been banned from using social media after being convicted of sending explicit sexual images of himself to three teenage girls.

Simon Craig, who worked as a writer and director for BBCs The Social under the name Simon Fox, targeted his victims when he was a DJ at under-18s club nights in Edinburgh.

He added the girls, then aged 14 and 15, on social media platforms before going on to send them explicit images of himself and pornographic videos.

A victim, now in her 30s, said: He thought he was untouchable. I doubt were the only vict-ims, Im sure there will be more.

Craig, 41, from Airdrie, Lanarkshire, was convicted of lewd, explicit and libidinous practices and behaviour, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, towards three victims between February 2005 and July 2007.

Despite his conviction, Craig remained as someone commissioned by the public broadcaster until last week.

His work was listed on their site until we asked them about his criminal past. His profile has since been removed.

In June, Craig was handed a community payback order, placed under supervision for 18 months and banned from social media platforms.

He was snared after a victim came across his photography website. She was so concerned over the images feat-uring kids she reported his crimes against her.

She said: The sentence he has been handed is not nearly enough after what he has done. I met him through Studio 24 when he was in his mid -twenties and I was 14.

He then added me on the Vampire Freaks website and it wasnt long before he started sending me images. It was really disturbing and unsettling. I was a child. I didnt ask for any of it.

He went on to become an award-winning actor, writer and director. He then began working as a freelance photographer and started to work on one with young girls doing photo sessions.

It was when I came across his website I knew I had to come forward. It was full of photographs of young girls in compromising positions and very little clothing.

The positions and poses are uncomfortably suggestive. He is well known in film circles but, in truth, he is a predator.

BBC The Social is a digital platform based in Glasgow that develops creative new talent.

On the BBC Scotland site, his profile, listed under Simon Fox, explained that he began writing at the age of 17 before progressing onto filmmaking.

He has created web content and short films and internet series Met-alhedz was nominated for Best International Comedy at the 2016 Miami Web Fest.

The BBC website stated: Simon continues to write and direct for film and TV, and enjoys photography on the side.

Craig was convicted of sending one of the victims, then 14-years-old, explicit images of himself between February 2005 and 2006.

He was also convicted of repeatedly sending another victim, then aged 15, sexual images of himself and messages of a sexual nature between July 2006 and July 2007.

Craig was also convicted of sending another 15-year-old victim sexualised messages and a pornographic video.

The offences took place at his Musselbrugh home.

A BBC Scotland spokeswoman said: This individual was a former freelance contributor to The Social and we have not worked with him since October 2022. He was contracted under the name Simon Fox, not Craig, and has never been employed as BBC staff.

Description

A depraved man who left people “traumatised” by handing out graphic images of children on trains has avoided prison.

Perverted Steve Blackthorne, 38, of Winchester, has been sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to making and distributing indecent photographs/ pseudo-photographs of a child. Blackthorne will be put behind bars if he offends again in the two year timeframe.

He has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years, and issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years. Investigating officer, Detective Constable Phil James, said: “Such was the level of Blackthorne’s depravity that the images he had collated left those who inadvertently happened upon them deeply traumatised.”

Winchester Crown Court heard a train guard was handed six pages of A4 sheets by a passenger left by a men who got off the train at Basingstoke on January 23, 2022. The pages contained horrific indecent graphic images of children - 16 Category A pictures (the most severe), five Category B and 16 Category C.

Court heard the train guard was left in tears, who reported it to British Transport Police officers at Southampton Central railway station. On January 31 of that year, a cleaner found another batch of images when he pulled down a folding table. They were left horrified and upset, reporting it to his manager.

Those pages contained 16 Category A, five Category B and 16 Category C indecent images of children. CCTV footage found Blackthorne left the printouts on the train. Officers arrested him on March 14 at Basingstoke railway station.

His mobile phone contained 60 Category A, 27 Category B and 81 Category C images, with further pictures being discovered on the laptop he was carrying. Another portable computer was found at his address, containing even more sickening images.

Blackthorne admitted during a police interview that he printed out the images out at work from a work device. DC James added: “No one in their right mind would ever willingly choose to see these sickening images. Blackthorne showed no shame in his perversion even transferring the images to a work computer so he could print them out at work to look at at his leisure.”

Description

A registered sex offender from Woodford Green has been jailed after raping a woman at knifepoint. 

Keanu Vella, 30, of Maldon Walk appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on July 11 to be sentenced for rape, false imprisonment and breaching a court order.

His sentencing follows an incident on May 10, 2023, where he arranged for a woman offering escort services to visit him at his home. 

When their agreed appointment time had finished, the 30-year-old was found to have held the victim against her will and raped her at knife-point. 

The Metropolitan Police were alerted to the incident after a passer-by discovered the victim outside Vella's address. 

The 30-year-old was arrested and police discovered the registered sex offender had changed his address to the Maldon Walk property without telling his offender management officer. 

He was charged on May 12, 2023, and remanded in custody to appear in court where he later pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements.

On March 12, 2024, Vella appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court and pleaded guilty to rape and false imprisonment offences. 

Det Cons Jessica Stephens, said: “Keanu Vella is a registered sex offender who is a clear danger to women.

“He has demonstrated that he is unable to comply with the court ordered notifications that allow him his freedom, and it is right that he will now be in a place where he no longer poses a threat to women and girls.

“I hope that the sentence handed down encourages other victims of sex offences to come forward."

Vella's sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court:

• For failing to comply with notification requirements he was sentenced to 40 weeks' imprisonment.
• For false imprisonment he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
• For rape he was sentenced to twelve years and nine months' imprisonment with an extended licence to 18 years and nine months.

He is also subject to an indefinite Registered Sex Offender notification requirement.

PC Emma Porter said: “We are grateful to the victim in this case. She has shown strength, courage and patience throughout the court process.

“Now that Vella is behind bars it is my sincere hope that she can put his abhorrent actions behind her and move forward with her life."

Description

The streets of Essex are safer today for women and girls after a dangerous sexual predator, who plotted to kidnap, rape and murder a television presenter, was handed a life-sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years in prison.

Following a robust investigation by Essex Police’s Major Crime Team, which led to the successful conviction of 37-year-old Gavin Plumb, he was today sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.

During a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, jurors were told Plumb had been plotting an attack on Holly Willoughby since 2021.

Obsession

Plumb developed an obsession with Holly Willoughby over a number of years.

He had scoured social media and material online, amassing thousands of images of the star and gaining detailed knowledge of her activity and movements.

But Plumb – who has previous conviction for kidnap and attempted kidnap of women - had a sinister and violent streak and began plotting to abduct, attack and murder the television presenter.

He joined various online forums, including one called “Abduct Lovers”, and began a series of discussions on online forums dating back to 2021 where he discussed his plan to kidnap the presenter from her family home.

During online discussions, Plumb discussed how he would restrain his victim and even purchased equipment to assist him including metal cable ties, ropes and chloroform.

Jurors were shown evidence of conversations between Plumb and a man called “Marc”, where they discussed graphic detail about sexual and violent offences they plotted to carry out against the victim.

Plans thwarted

But Plumb’s depraved plans were thwarted thanks to the work of an American undercover police officer. In October 2023, Plumb continued planning his attack in online forums but did not realise that another man he was seeking to draw into the plot, was in fact an American undercover police officer.

However, thanks to the American police officer and the prompt actions of Essex Police detectives, Plumb was arrested in October 2023 before he could carry out his crimes against his intended victims.

The officer, engaged in conversation with Plumb online and spotting the immediate danger to Holly Willoughby, duly contacted the FBI and British police. Plumb was arrested by Essex Police at his home in Potters Field, Harlow on 4 October 2023.

A significant risk to women

Following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, Plumb of Potters Field, Harlow was convicted of soliciting the murder of Holly Willoughby, encouraging or assisting the commission of her kidnap and encouraging or assisting the commission of her rape.

Handing down sentence to Plumb, Judge Mr Justice Murray praised Ms Willoughby’s “considerable courage” and said he “has no doubt that this was all considerably more than a fantasy” for Plumb.

He also pointed to the Plumb’s previously violent and sexually motivated convictions, the purchase of items in order to commit offences and concerted research into the personal life of Ms Willoughby.

Speaking directly to Plumb, the judge said it was clear from the evidence that Plumb posed a significant risk to women and passed a discretionary life sentence, with a minimum of 16 years to be spent in prison before being eligible for release from custody.

If and when Plumb is released, he will be subject to licence conditions for the whole of his life.