Latest Offenders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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An 80-YEAR-old man who committed sexual assault and made indecent photographs of a child is now behind bars.

Gordon England, of Main Street, Offenham, near Evesham, appeared in the dock of Courtroom 2 of Worcester Crown Court. 

England was sentenced for three sexual assaults and for taking indecent photographs of a child. 

England was sentenced for three sexual assaults and for taking indecent photographs of a child. 

Judge Nicholas Cartwright jailed England for 32 months.

The judge also told England he would have to sign the sex offenders register. 

England was also given an indefinite restraining order which prevents him from contacting the victim of the sexual assaults. 

The case was heard at the court on Friday, (March 3). 

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A sex attacker who targeted a schoolgirl has been jailed.

Terence Robson was convicted of historic indecent assault charges by a jury after a trial. Newcastle Crown Court heard the 69-year-old continues to deny the offences and claims the victim made a "malicious" complaint against him.

In a statement read to the court, the victim, who is now an adult, said she has been left traumatised by what Robson did to her and added: "I was just an innocent child, I didn't understand. He took my childhood. I have spent my life worrying about bumping into him."

Robson, of Victoria Road, South Shields, was jailed for seven years by Judge Stephen Earl He must also sign the sex offenders register for life.

Jamie Adams, defending, said Robson, who had good employment and was in charge of others, was a heavy drinker at the time of the offences. Mr Adams added: "He is a very different man to the man he was then.

"He doesn't drink at all like he used to." The court heard he is in poor health, meaning prison will be more difficult for him.

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Two teenage girls were left frightened and disturbed after a serial flasher exposed himself to them at a bus stop just yards from Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Steven Moir made and held eye contact with the 15-year-olds as they waited for a bus on Castle Street in Aberdeen, before exposing his private parts to them.

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A man from Milton Keynes has been sentenced to 19 years in jail after being found guilty of the rape and sexual assault of a child, and a separate assault where a man was stabbed in Borehamwood. Frank Mooney, 36, from Bletchley, Milton Keynes, was arrested and charged in May 2022 after reports were made to police of sexual offences against a child.

Mooney appeared for sentencing at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday, March 2 after being found guilty at trial of the rape of a child under 13, encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of sexual assault. He was sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison for those offences, has been added to the sex offenders’ register and must obey the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The 36-year-old man was also sentenced to an additional three years after pleading guilty to common assault, possession of a knife and wounding with intent during an incident on July 23, 2022 which the assailant committed while on bail.

Mooney attended a residential address in Borehamwood, where he punched and stabbed a man in the shoulder after an altercation with a man and woman. However, the man's injuries were not life threatening.

Detective Constable Jacqueline Oliver, of the Joint Child Protection Investigation Team, said: “The bravery of the victim and her family has assisted in sending a dangerous offender to jail for many years. I hope this result can provide them with some sense of closure, having seen her abuser brought to justice.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to stress that we take all reports of abuse seriously. We are here to hold offenders to account and will always support the victim throughout the investigative process.”

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, you can report it to police on the non-emergency number 101, or report it online here. Anyone in Hertfordshire who has experienced sexual abuse or sexual violence can contact the Herts Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) for practical and emotional support.

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A chef who subjected a woman to a sickening sexual assault was said to "not feel an ounce of remorse" over his vile crime.

Aaron Pressdee, who was also described as "extremely manipulative", carried out the "humiliating" attack and then called his victim a "dog", Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday (March 2).

The 37-year-old, of Frank Street in Widnes, has previous convictions for a total of 17 offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm - committed against a two-year-old child - and an assault in which he caused a "deep laceration" to a 17-year-old girl with a bottle, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Carmel Wilde, defending, told the court: "He clearly lacks internal restraint, influenced by his untreated ADHD and drug use. The defendant has struggled to process a number of bereavements and losses.

"He had an unsettled and traumatic upbringing. It is a very sneaky, mean and disgusting offence. He may not present a risk in a number of years when he is released. The defendant expresses a desire to pursue his previous work of cheffing."

Pressdee was found guilty of sexual assault after a trial, prosecuted by Matthew Dunford. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for five years and handed an extended three-year licence period.

The defendant was handed a 10-year restraining order and told to sign the sex offenders' register for life. Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "You thought you could commit this offence and she would either not have the confidence to report you to the police or you could talk you way out of it if she did go to the police.

"It is clear you feel not one ounce of remorse. You present as an extremely manipulative man."

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A woman racked with shame and guilt called the police and confessed to sexually abusing two young girls when she was in her 20s. She repeatedly indecently assaulted one of the girls, on one occasion abusing her after becoming aroused from a rape scene in a film.

Sarah Bennett, now 50, of Cardiff, brought her sexual offences to the attention of the authorities in 2021, after she had giving up drinking and turned to religion. Her victim was contacted by the police and agreed to bring charges, while the second girl involved did not wish to.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard the abuse began when the victim was just 12-years-old. The defendant groomed her by giving her cider and giving her money. The victim developed a crush on her and Bennett told her she had feelings for her.

Prosecutor Ruth Smith heard the first incident of sexual abuse began when Bennett kissed the victim's hand and mouth. She would often "cwtsh" the victim, who described herself as "needy for affection". There was regular kissing and the defendant would "thrust" herself onto the victim.

The abuse escalated to Bennett taking off the victim's shorts before sexually abusing her. Ms Smith said the victim "didn't really know what she was doing". Afterwards, Bennett told the victim not to tell anyone about what had taken place or they wouldn't be able to see each other. Even though she didn't enjoy what was happening, the victim said the idea of not seeing the defendant made her "sad".

On another occasion, Bennett touched the victim's breasts before pulling her tights down before touching her privates.. The victim described herself feeling "stupid" and the actions of the defendant as "forceful and painful". This happened on another occasion, causing the victim to bleed and she had her first period not long afterwards.

The victim said the abuse carried on at "every time the opportunity presented itself". Bennett gave the victim pints of cider and was "rough" with her. She was also verbally abusive towards the victim, calling her a "slag". The victim described herself as "isolated" and "just wanted to die". She wanted the abuse to stop but felt conflicted as Bennett made her "feel special". Ms Smith said the victim began to cut herself with a piece of broken mirror and described her stomach "knotting up" when Bennett was verbally abusive.

On another occasion, Bennett and the victim were watching a film when the defendant became sexually aroused by a rape scene. She threw the victim onto the ground and sexually assaulted her. The abuse continued for a number of years, the victim describing herself as "scared and frightened" when the defendant was in drink, and she began drinking regularly herself. When the victim made new friends, Bennett grabbed her by throat and smashed up her belongings.

The victim said she later realised Bennett had been "controlling" and realised "how wrong" the abuse had been. She later told police: "It wasn't a caring loving relationship. It was a very controlling relationship. She had a hold on me for a long time. I didn't see my family for years and didn't have any confidence in myself or self esteem. I suffer with anxiety which affects me and bothers me."

Matters came to ahead in 2021 when Bennett contacted the police and disclosed the abuse of two girls, including the victim. She said she felt "terrible" and needed to confess. She also described herself as a "different person" after giving up alcohol. When police arrived at her home to arrest her, she left a note.

It read: "Dear Sir/Madam, I confess when I was in my 20s I had a relationship with two teenage girls..... I have hated myself with a passion for year. It seems like a different person or lifetime. The shame and guilt remains within. I am truly sorry."

Bennett, of Pen y Bryn Way, Gabalfa, later pleaded guilty to 14 counts of indecent assault of a child. The court heard she was of previous good character. In mitigation, Adam Sharp said the matters would not have come to light had she not confessed to the police, having been "riddled with guilt" and wishing to atone.

He said the defendant was from a "traditional and religious family" but suffered trauma in her childhood and left the family home before going on to work as an auxiliary nurse and a delivery driver. He said was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and had been clean from alcohol for eight years.

Sentencing, Judge Lucy Crowther said: "You have overcome serious illness and overcome addiction and reconciled with your mother. You did what many wouldn't do. You had the courage to ring the police and tell them something that was not previously known. I accept you are overwhelmed with remorse for what you have done."

Bennett was sentenced to a total of three years imprisonment. She was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a restraining order indefinitely, and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 20 years.

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A drunk man has been jailed after he robbed a 14-year-old boy of £10 and groped a 14-year-old schoolgirl. 

Dean Hughes approached the schoolboy as he was about to enter a shop in Colchester at 1.30pm on May 21 last year and asked him for £5, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

He then took hold of the boy’s wrist and took the £10 note after prising his fingers open.  

When he was arrested later in the afternoon, he had a sandwich and £8 change and appeared to be drunk.

Shortly after the robbery, Hughes walked past a 14-year-old schoolgirl, who was with her younger sister, and grabbed her bottom and squeezed it.

Hughes, 40, of Six Bells Court, Braintree, admitted robbery and sexual assault and in addition to being jailed he was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years.

Nicola May for Hughes said he was horrified when he saw CCTV of him sexually assaulting the schoolgirl.

She said her client had been homeless and had turned to drink at the time of the offences after his relationship had ended.

At court Hughes was jailed for 17 months.

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Leon Ward, 49, of New Addington, appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Friday, 24 February where he was sentenced to ten years, to serve six years and eight months custodial, and the remainder on licence for the attempted rape and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

He will also be on the sex offenders register for life. Ward had previously been convicted at the same court on Friday, 10 February.

The court heard how Ward had befriended the child in May 2020 when he had seen her in New Addington.

Further to some chance meetings, Ward soon began texting the victim and asking her to send compromising pictures of herself which she did not send.

On Monday, 18 May 2020 the victim agreed to meet with Ward for a walk into the woods, during which Ward assaulted her and attempted to rape her.

Ward was arrested on 18 May 2020 and was charged on 10 November 2021 with attempted rape of a 14 year old girl, three counts of sexual assault by penetration; two counts of sexual assault by touching and sexual communication with a child. All offences were committed against the same victim.

Detective Constable Jamie Munro, the investigating officer, said: “Ward took advantage of a vulnerable young girl believing that she would not tell anyone.

“Thankfully he was wrong. I applaud the bravery of the victim in coming forward. Her actions may have saved other potential victims from suffering the same offences.

“Identifying and apprehending those who commit violent offences against women and girls is a priority for us, and I urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence to speak to police, at the very least to ensure you are supported.”

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Steven Morris had previous convictions for child sexual offences when he started talking to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy online

A convicted paedophile tried to meet a schoolboy for sex because he was "lonely and isolated" during the national Covid-19 lockdowns.

Child sex offender Steven Morris was jailed and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in 2014 for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and making indecent images of children. However, the 45-year-old proved he hadn't learned from his past sordid mistakes when he started messaging what he thought was a 14-year-old online.

In fact, Morris was actually talking to a fake account, set-up by an undercover police officer. Newcastle Crown Court heard that the messages soon turned increasingly sexual and resulted in Morris arranging to meet the boy at a hotel in Gateshead.

When police showed up at the premises and arrested Morris, they found he had lubricant, baby oil and a further sex-related item in a plastic bag in his room. The pervert, of Booth Street, in Chesterton, Newcastle Under Lyme, has now been jailed fro five years with an extended three-year licence period after a judge deemed him to be dangerous.

Sentencing him, Judge Amanda Rippon said: "Your previous convictions were planned, sophisticated and serious. You were sentenced to a term of imprisonment as a result. The most serious offence was committed against a boy the same age as you believed your current victim to be.

"You're an intelligent man. You undertook a sexual offenders' course with the Lucy Faithful Foundation. You engaged with work with the Probation Service and you undertook personality disorder work with a psychologist. Despite all of that and being subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, you went on to commit further very serious sexual offences.

"The probation officer identified you posing a high risk of serious harm to children. It's argued that it was your isolation during Covid that led to your offending. Countless suffered anxiety and isolation during Covid, who didn't commit offences.

"You have this history and you have not learned to control your behaviour. You prioritise your own sexual needs above everything else. I'm extremely satisfied you will commit further, specified offences and cause serious physical or psychological harm."

The court heard that Morris began chatting to the "boy" online on September 26 last year before the conversations move to Snapchat. Nicoleta Alistari, prosecuting, said Morris's messages became increasingly sexual and he requested photos of the teen before sending images of himself lying on a bed in his boxer shorts.

Ms Alistari added: "The defendant suggested meeting up at a hotel in Gateshead and said he would not do anything to [the boy] without him wanting to." The prosecutor said Morris also asked what the boy's favourite snacks were.

The court heard that police attended the Premier Inn, in Gateshead, on October 15 last year, arrested Morris and found him in possession of the lubricant, baby oil and sex-related item. He went on to plead guilty to arranging the commission of a child sexual offence, breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and attempted sexual communication with a child.

Brian Mark, defending, said Morris made no excuses for his behaviour and expected an immediate custodial sentence. He added: "He was running a café but there was a very long period during Covid when he became isolated and depressed and, in that state, he reverted to that behaviour."

Judge Rippon responded: "There were loads and loads of people who were isolated during Covid, it was an isolating experience for huge swathes of the country. Those people didn't commit offences like this. People didn't resort to serious sexual offending."

Morris was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for the same period.