Latest Offenders

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A pervert from Hartlepool who was caught spying on a female with a hidden camera has been jailed. Former Army officer Peter Cartwright installed the camera to record the victim a number of times without her knowledge for his own sick kicks. He was arrested after the stunned victim discovered it leaving her feeling sickened, Teesside Crown Court heard. Prosecutor Nigel Soppitt said she found it after she spotted a red light and shouted out: Why is there a camera [here]? Cartwright, 44, tried to suggest he had been trying to recreate the same thrill from his former surveillance activities in the Army. But the judge strongly rejected that. Cartwright initially claimed it was the first time he had hidden the camera to spy on the female. But he later confessed he had done it several times. The victim said she felt physically sick upon finding it adding: It was the nastiest shock Ive ever had in my life. The court heard it has had a major effect on her and her family with the victim even feeling suicidal and said she still has nightmares about it. Her partner said she had changed from being a bubbly outgoing person previously. Cartwright, of Oxford Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to a single count of voyeurism at Teesside Magistrates Court last month. His lawyer Rod Hunt urged Judge Howard Crowson to draw back from immediate prison citing Cartwrights lack of previous convictions and 22 years military service. Mr Hunt said: Your Honour is not dealing with a man who is a habitual attender of these premises. "He was obviously a very good soldier indeed. Sometimes thats eclipsed by an act such as this. But Judge Crowson told Cartwright: Im afraid I do take the view that this type of offence is so serious and the harm caused is so grave that the only way I can appropriately punish you is by immediate custody. The judge said he did not believe Cartwright had shown real remorse adding: Your claim that this was done to recreate the thrill of your time as an Army surveillance officer is unbelievable and I reject it. Cartwright was jailed for eight months and will be on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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Parents have expressed outrage at the sentence handed to a teenager who possessed images showing the rape and torture of young children.

Dillan Waters, 18, of Horbury, Wakefield, who lives just 100 metres from a nursery, admitted six counts of possessing indecent images of children and one of distributing the images when he appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court last month.

But he avoided a prison sentence despite downloading and sharing images of child sexual abuse including some in Category A, which are the most serious. The images covered all levels of indecency including the most severe showing the rape and torture of young children.

He was handed a community order of 150 hours of unpaid work. A five-year sexual harm prevention order was imposed to limit his internet activity and he was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

Jodie Heaton said: "We don't want him living here and he shouldn't be living here, everyone on this cul-de-sac has small children. I have five aged 13, 10, nine, seven and 10 months and my neighbours have kids younger than 10, and there are at least 15 kids just on this street not to mention the kids at the nursery.

"I've only just started letting my children play on the front on their bikes if I'm out doing the garden but I won't even let them do that now. The street is usually full of kids playing but since this has come out it's been deathly silent, no kids have been out playing.

"It's disgusting really that he's been allowed to live here with his grandmother. It's so wrong and at only 18 with all the vile images he must have had I think he's only going to get worse as he gets older."

And Jade Leather who lives opposite him said: "As a parent of two young children, (one is autistic and due to this - doesn't like being clothed and is often spotted naked around the house) this absolutely terrifies me. The fear of not knowing if someone who lives on the same street, opposite your house is spying on your children is horrific.

"This offender has been found guilty of possessing and distributing horrific things in relation to young children. I don't understand how any legal body can find community service and a measly fine a fit punishment for that?

"How is he allowed to return home, to a street full of young children, with a nursery less than 30 seconds from his doorstep? Why is he allowed more rights, than our innocent children are?

"Every child has the right to play safely on their street or in their own garden and home. This street is in uproar over it. No kids are out playing.

"Parents are hurrying their children inside when bringing them home. It's not normal. All while he gets to parade around, living life as normal. It's not right and something needs to be done about it, however, if we try do something and force him out we will be the ones that end up in trouble with the authorities. It's so backwards - it needs to change!"

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A rapist who carried out "vile and persistent" sexual abuse of a child over a period of years has been caged for 24 years.

Majid Rafizadeh perpetrated a "campaign of rapes" against a child over a period of around six years during a "sinister process" of grooming. The 46-year-old continues to deny the offences, despite being found guilty by a jury of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault following a trial in May.

On Thursday, Rafizadeh, of Fenham, Newcastle, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for the four counts. He required a Farsi-Persian interpreter throughout proceedings.

Judge Tim Gittins said Rafizadeh carried out "vile and persistent sexual abuse" of the child and also carried out "random and repeated violence" against the victim. He said Rafizadeh also "began a sinister process of grooming" while undertaking a "campaign of rapes" at a time when he was addicted to opium. The court was told that Rafizadeh's crimes finally came to light when the victim grew older and reported the abuse to police.

Susan Hirst, defending, said Rafizadeh continues to deny the offences and said he had no previous convictions prior to his trial. She said Rafizadeh was born and raised in Iran and was a "productive member of society there" after setting up a small business selling car parts. She said: "He then became involved in political demonstrations against the government and had to flee the country. He arrived in the UK in 2000 and has always had a strong work ethic."

Ms Hirst added: "Once in the UK he found employment working on construction sites before training as a gas engineer. In recent years he was running his own company." The court was told that Rafizadeh had also suffered from depression and was "very vulnerable in his own right".

Judge Gittins jailed Rafizadeh for 24 years and made him subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. He will also be on the sex offender's register for life. A restraining order was also imposed.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Nicola Wade, said the victim had shown exceptional courage speaking out against Rafizadeh and hopes it will help encourage other victims of abuse to speak out. She said: "This man is a predatory paedophile who has taken advantage of the victim and left them emotionally broken. They have suffered at the hands of this vile man but has been so brave throughout this investigation. I hope this sentence can bring some form of closure but also give others the confidence to come forward and report abuse of any form to police."

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A SEX offender was filmed on his doorstep by civilian paedophile hunters as he labelled his relentless online pursuit of a 13-year-old girl as just a bit of fun.

Denis Turner, 29, thought he was engaged in a six-week-long sex chat with a young girl.

In fact he was talking to a member of the Child Online Safety Team, who had set up a decoy social media profile to snare paedophiles.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard Turner asked the decoy if she would be a bad girl and repeatedly warned her not to tell her parents about their conversation.

Gary Rutter, prosecuting, said: He would regularly ask her if her parents knew she was talking to him and would suggest on numerous occasions that she delete the inbox so she didnt get told off.

Questions about her school, her brothers and her sisters were interspersed with requests for her to play with herself.

He said: I bet you have a little bum, adding: If I were there, would you let me slap your bum?.

Turner also sent pictures of his penis to the decoy.

The paedophile hunters visited Turner at his Colchester home following the conversation, which unfolded from June to July 2019.

The confrontation was filmed and posted on Facebook, with Turner saying it was just a bit of fun.

Turner, now of Ibstock Close, Dagenham, was arrested and later admitted one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

The case faced significant delay, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and he appeared for sentence on Thursday.

Peter Clark, mitigating, said Turner had endured difficulties in life, but added they did not excuse his offending.

He said his client cares for his 72-year-old father who is awaiting open heart surgery.

Mr Clark said Turner had remained out of trouble in the three years since the offence, adding: This is a case where there is a prospect of rehabilitation.

Judge Mary Loram QC said: Your pursuit of sexual conversation with a child was relentless.

Your focus was purely on getting sexual images from her, sending her sexual images of yourself and trying to get her to masturbate.

You paid no heed at all to the clear evidence and repeated protestations of total sexual naivety from the child.

The judge said Turner had been on and on at the decoy for weeks, adding there was inevitably an element of grooming involved.

She added: You tried to get her to conceal evidence, significantly by suggesting it was her who would get into trouble if she didnt do so.

That was manipulative and would have been very frightening to a real 13-year-old girl.

The court heard Turner told the author of a pre-sentence report he had no sexual interest in a 13-year-old girl.

I reject that, thats obviously not true, said Judge Loram.

What you have had is a less than happy upbringing.

However, I do not see the link between that sadly all too common in this court and your sexual incitement of a 13-year-old girl.

She said the real mitigation in his case is the three-year gap between the offending and sentence.

You have not re-offended in that time and I accept, without question, the delay in sentence will have had its impact on you and will have created a lot of stress, she said.

Turner was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years.

He will remain the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

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A Nuneaton man has appeared before magistrates charged for five offences including indecent exposure and assaulting a police officer. Luke Armes, 34, of Wood Street, Nuneaton, appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Monday, August 1.

He faced two counts of indecent exposure, one count of threatening behaviour towards someone else, one count of theft and one count of assault on a police officer. They related to an incident on July 29.

The court heard Armes climbed over the fence of his neighbour's garden where he pulled down his trousers and boxers before dancing around completely naked. Armes' neighbour was left upset by his actions after he refused to leave for 10 minutes - when he did leave he stole a bag of her clothes, the court heard.

He then went to the Tesco car park in Nuneaton where he punched a man, tried to take the man's child from a car and then attempted to take the keys from the ignition. Armes then exposed himself again but to a car full of children in the car park.

Warwickshire Police were called and when they attended the scene Armes headbutted an officer twice causing him an injury to his lip and forehead. When passing sentence, the judge was made aware of Armes' 105 previous convictions, four of which were assaults on an emergency worker.

Armes originally pleaded not guilty to all offences but later changed his pleas after he was told he would be remanded in custody until a trial date. His lawyer told the court he has a problem with alcohol and these events were a "moment of madness".

After pleading guilty to all five charges, he was sentenced to 34 weeks in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. Armes was also ordered to pay 100 compensation to his neighbour, the children he exposed himself to and 50 to the police officer he assaulted.

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A SERIAL exposer has been jailed again after being caught naked while holding his genitals at a bus stop. Andrew Fearnley-Hill was spotted by police on one of Warringtons busiest roads, with one officer commenting that he appeared to be performing a sex act on himself. The 52-year-old has a history of sex offending, with a long list of previous convictions for being naked in public. He is now facing more time behind bars, with a judge stating that the more he offends, the longer he will spend locked up. Fearnley-Hill appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday videolink from HM Prison Altcourse to be sentenced on a charge of exposure. Joanne Cronshaw, prosecuting, explained how the offence occurred on July 2 this year, which happened to be the defendants birthday. At around 11.30pm, two officers were returning to Warrington Police Station when they spotted him standing at a bus stop on Folly Lane while fully naked. One of the officers said that he was holding his penis and appeared to have been performing a sex act on himself, with his pants and underwear on the floor beside him. He was holding his genitals in full view of passing motorists, pedestrians and people living in homes opposite the bus stop. After approaching him, officers remarked that he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, was slurring his word and had empty beer cans beside him. Ms Cronshaw revealed to the court that Fearnley-Hill has 17 previous convictions for 26 offences, 11 of which have been sex offences, including 10 for either exposure or outraging public decency and one for sexual assault. Among his previous convictions are incidents of approaching lone females while naked and holding his penis. He is currently in prison on recall having committed this latest offence while out on licence. Defending his client, Jeremy Rawson said: His strongest piece of mitigation is his guilty plea at magistrates court, and he also made admissions in his police interview. He explained that the defendant takes a cocktail of drugs for a heart condition, which do not react well to alcohol. Before sentencing, judge Gary Woodhall said: An explanation can be deduced by way of your previous convictions you are a serial offender for exposing yourself in public, with an established pattern of offending. None of the interventions have done anything to stop you from committing this sort of offence. I was never going to suspend the sentence in any event due to your previous convictions. You pose a high risk of sexual offending. I am satisfied that the offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified. Fearnley-Hill, of Lovely Lane, was sentenced to 12 months in prison. On his release, he will be subject to sex offender registration requirements for 10 years and abide by post-sentence supervision for a further 12 months. Before ending the hearing, judge Woodhall added: You must understand that if you keep committing these offences, you simply will keep getting prison sentences.

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A serial child sex offender from Inverness has been jailed for deliberately loitering around a Highland swimming pool.

Convicted paedophile Scott Murray (36) claimed to staff at the Macdonald Spey Valley Resort in Aviemore that he needed to charge his phone and electronic cigarette.

However he spent two hours hanging around in the reception area while the items were charging.

During this time he was seen looking through a glass window at the swimming pool area and later found to have propped a window open in the toilets.

Murray, who has previously served an 18 month jail sentence for possessing extremely graphic videos involving children aged one to three years old, is forbidden from entering such places unless granted police permission.

Of the videos 99 of them were of the most graphic and depraved kind, a court heard previously.

He was previously put under a 10 year long Sexual Harm Prevention Order which was granted at Inverness on July 20, 2015.

And in March, 2017 he was released early from a 21 month jail sentence for peeking at boys in a leisure centre.

Murray, described as a prisoner at Barlinnie, has now appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court on indictment where he admitted going into Aviemore hotel's leisure centre in breach of the court order under the sexual offences act.

He also admitted threatening and abusive behaviour at the resort, which is also known as Dalfaber Golf and Country Club.

The court heard he was shouting, swearing, muttering, laughing and uttering threats while in the lobby area on March 14 this year.

At one point he started yelling about aliens and other random phrases.

Fiscal depute Susan Love said: The accused is a registered sex offender.

He would have to ask permission from the police if he wanted to attend a swimming pool.

Around 4pm on the day he became known to staff at the front door of the country club.

He said he needed to charge his phone and his vape.

He was seen making remarks about 'my head' and 'aliens and planets' as well as going to the glass door over the swimming pool area.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard he also used the toilets several times after staff gave him a charging device.

When he finally left staff found a window had been left ajar in the toilets to the leisure centre.

Solicitor William Young said his client was intending to go swimming in the Aviemore area on the day in question.

Mr Young said: During the course of the day he realised he needed to charges his phone and his vape.

Even if Mr Murray had wanted to access the facilities he would needed to have made arrangements or prove he was a guest at the hotel.

Mr Young added: There were no individuals in the swimming pool at the time for what it's worth.

Sheriff Robert Frazer said the record of previous convictions before him meant only one option was open to him a custodial sentence.

The sheriff said: I note that this is your twelfth conviction under this section of the sexual offences act.

You knew exactly what you were doing when you attended the Macdonald Hotel leisure centre.

It seems to me you simply cannot stop this type of offending and therefore you are a danger to the public.

Murray was jailed for 20 months.

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TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari's accomplice Raees Jamal had already been convicted of rape long before being convicted of murder. On Friday, four people, including Jamal, were found guilty of murder by a jury at Leicester Crown Court after a trial lasting 50 days.

Now it can be reported that Jamal had been convicted last year of raping a 17-year-old girl at his home in Loughborough. The trial for that crime took place before the TikTok trial and to ensure fair verdicts in the murder trial the jury was not told of the rape case and the press were not allowed to report it.

Jamal was sentenced for the rape at Leicester Crown Court in August 2022 and was given 10 years behind bars. During that hearing, the judge urged Jamal's young rape victim not to blame herself. The jury heard how Jamal had invited his victim to his home to watch a film just a few days after she had turned 17. Jamal pinned his victim on his bed and had unprotected sex with her, despite her trying to push him off and repeatedly telling him 'no'.

Judge Robert Brown told Jamal's victim's family members, who were in court for the sentencing: "She is a victim. She must not think she did anything to cause this rape. She did not. Tell her that from me. I hope it helps her come to terms with this."

The rape took place in June 2020 when the girl agreed to go out in Loughborough town centre with Jamal and later went back to his home in Lingdale Road in the town. His parents, who were at the house when she arrived, went off to work a night shift and Jamal took the girl upstairs to watch a film and he was "pestering" her for some time before trapping her under him and attacking her.

Daren Samat, prosecuting, said the girl had been 16 when Jamal started chatting to her on social media. Describing the day of the rape he said: "They went upstairs to watch a film and within minutes the defendant began to pester her. She said she didn't want that. She said no several times and tried to persuade him physically."

In a letter to police about how the crime had affected her, the victim said she had tried to kill herself and she remained "haunted" by what had happened, as well as being left with the scars of her suicide attempt. She said in the letter: "It's been two years since the rape happened and I still, to this day, get haunted. I've never felt so isolated and most nights I cry myself to sleep. I haven't learned how to live with this." Mr Samat said: "There is psychological harm here and grooming, via social media, over the course of about six months."

Ayoub Khan, representing Jamal, tried to argue there had not been any grooming and that the attack had not been sustained but the judge rejected both those statements. Mr Khan added: "He had only just turned 20. He is a young man who had a fairly turbulent upbringing."

The judge told Jamal: "When she met you she did not have sex in mind and did not want intimacy in that early stage of your relationship. I think it is justified to describe it as sustained. She was trapped. She was pinned on the bed and you overpowered her. She was not egging you on - she repeatedly said 'no' and 'stop it' and tried to push you off.

"She has undergone severe psychological harm." His sentence for the rape is likely to be eclipsed by whatever minimum term the judge decides in the murder case. As well as being jailed for the rape, Jamal was given a lifetime restraining order to keep him from contacting his victim and will be on the sex offenders register for life.

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A predatory sexual offender who admitted raping a young girl in Norfolk has been jailed.

Anthony Smith, 41, had been due to stand trial at Norwich Crown Court having previously denied a raft of offences against the girl, aged under 13.

Offences included rape, in the King's Lynn area between February and December 2019.

But Smith has been given an extended 21-year sentence, made up of 16 years in custody and five years on licence, after he admitted rape.

Smith also admitted assault of a child under 13, sexual assault of a child and an offence of causing a child to engage in sexual activity without consent.

The court heard Smith had "pestered" the victim who he met up with and took to a secluded spot by the River Ouse in King's Lynn where he attacked her despite her cries for him to stop.

Sentencing Smith on Thursday (July 28), Judge Katharine Moore described Smith as being a "significant risk of causing serious harm" to other children.

Judge Moore said: "She (the victim) was telling you no but you didn't stop.

"She was crying but you didn't stop.

"She was scared."

The judge said that from "first to last" Smith had been "grossly corrupting".

Smith, of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, was prohibited from contacting the victim indefinitely and was also put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Robert English, for Smith, said this was not a conviction after trial for his client who entered his guilty pleas before a jury was sworn meaning witnesses were saved from giving evidence.

He said the offences were "out of character" for the defendant who has no previous convictions for matters of this type.

A Norfolk Police spokesman said: "This case involved the predatory sexual behaviour of an adult over a young child.

"The sentence passed by the court reflects the severity of the defendant's actions and the threat that he poses and will ensure that the victim and public will remain safe from this individual in the future."

The spokesman added: "The victim and family wish to express their thanks to all involved and are relieved that they now have the closure they needed to move forward with their lives.

"Most importantly I hope the victim can move forward and have a happy and successful future.

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A convicted sex offender posed as a paediatric doctor and effectively manipulated three women into having relationships with him.

Jeremy van der Sanden was subject to a sexual harm prevention order that gave police the power to monitor his devices and that he must tell police if he got a new device, or stayed at a different address.

But Swindon Crown Court heard on Friday (July 29) that van der Sanden, of The Heights in Kingshill, posed as a doctor online to enter into a relationship with an unsuspecting woman.

He used a different name, itself a breach of notification requirements he was subject to.

Summing up, Judge James Townsend also said he posed as a woman to enter into a social media relationship.

You worryingly posed as a paediatric doctor and entered into a relationship with an unsuspecting woman, he told the defendant.

That posed a clear risk, not only to her but also because you could have come into contact with children.

The three people you have effectively manipulated have been badly affected by your deception.

I bear in mind that the offences on the face of them dont appear to be an effort to gain access to children.

But, the judge continued: A troubling feature of this case is in spite of the fact you have a highly supportive family, and in spite of the fact there has been intervention by the probation service, you have continued to offend.

The facts of these offences and the troubling contents of the pre-sentence report suggest you remain capable of manipulating people and I suspect to some extent you are a fantasist.

The court was also told that the 27-year-old had been subject to a community order for possession of Class A indecent images of children.

Van der Sanden had pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching his sexual harm prevention order, namely not notifying police of his address or new laptop, and three counts of breaching his notification requirements.

This included using an undisclosed name and staying at an address for more than seven days in a year and not notifying the police.

He was given a total sentence of 19 months imprisonment, which Judge Townsend said would be immediate.

The community order was revoked.

Van der Sanden will also be subject to a new sexual harm prevention order, under the same terms, that will last until May 2032.

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A sex offender who amassed a sick collection of more than 150,000 images and videos of children wanted to castrate himself, a court heard.

Judge Nigel Daly was told that James Carvell, 56, had collected the images out of an obsessive compulsion rather than out of a sense of sexual gratification and because struggles in childhood had left him with a deep self-loathing.

He was desperate for help but did not know where to start even to the point he wanted to castrate himself, his barrister Preetika Mathur told Oxford Crown Court on Friday afternoon.

In total, more than 156,000 indecent images of children in categories A to C were discovered both on Carvells digital devices and on papers kept beneath his bed.

The twisted collection amassed over 10 years included sick and violent images involving child victims some involving animals.

Photographs discovered beneath his bed depicted children aged between six and 13 and featured elements of sadism, the court was told.

In total, he had 1,057 images in the most serious category, 847 in the next category down and 155,073 images in category C.

Analysis of his devices showed he had searched for the material, using a special internet browser to try and hide his web history. He had bookmarked websites where indecent images could be found and appeared to have downloaded large numbers of files in one go.

Carvell, who was made a sex offender in 2004 when he was jailed for six months for having indecent images, was also in breach of his sex offender notification requirements. He had failed to tell the police he moved in with a new partner at the start of the pandemic.

Jailing him for 28 months, a visibly disgusted Judge Daly told the defendant: The total number, as you have heard, of the different categories are in excess of 150,000. That is a staggering amount and it represents tens of thousands of children being exploited.

Everyone of those images is an image of a child.

It is almost unbelievable that such images in such quantities can exist and yet, no doubt, what we are looking at over all is but a tip of the iceberg.

Carvell, of no fixed address, admitted breach of his sex offender notification requirements and possession of indecent images of children and extreme pornographic material of people having sex with animals.

He was said to be deeply remorseful and had recognised the impact of his offending on children.

Judge Daly imposed a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.

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A man with now two convictions for rape has been given an extended sentence after being branded, a high risk" of causing sexual harm to women.

Callum Smith, now 45, served a seven-year sentence for the rape of an 18-year-old woman committed on New Years Day, 2013.

He appeared at Durham Crown Court last month to stand trial accused of the rape of another teenage woman, said to have been committed on May 1, last year, in the victims own home.

Smith entered uninvited on another pretext, establishing she was home alone, but then committed the offence on a sofa, before leaving.

The court heard for several weeks after the attack he manipulated the woman to try to prevent her reporting the incident to police.

But she did eventually make the complaint resulting in her having to give evidence, under cross-examination, for last months trial.

A week after the start of the hearing the defendant, of Church Street, Seaham, was found guilty on a ten to two jury majority.

He appeared via video link from nearby Durham Prison for todays (Friday July 29) sentencing hearing.

Tony Dunne, prosecuting, read from the victims impact statement, in which she said she has given up her job since the attack and has struggled to find the will to leave her home on a daily basis, and she feels she is in a, living hell.

She suffers flashbacks making her feel uneasy and is on medication for anxiety and depression, while she is on a waiting list to receive counselling and wants to move from her home.

David Lamb, for Smith, argued that the defendant should not be classed as a dangerous offender as he has only one previous relevant conviction and time has elapsed since the last rape conviction.

But Judge James Adkin said for much of the time between the offences Smith was serving his previous prison sentence.

He said the defendant clearly targeted his victim, going there with rape in mind.

Judge Adkin said he does consider Smith poses a high risk of sexual harm to females and told him: You do seem to have deep-seated misogynistic attitudes to young women.

He imposed an extended determinate sentence with a 13-year custodial element, to be followed by a five-year licence period.

It means Smith must serve two-thirds of the 13 years before being eligible for consideration for release at the behest of the Parole Board.

But he told Smith: Unless theres a dramatic reduction in your risk profile you may end up serving the full 13 years.

Smith was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must register as a sex offender, both for life.

A restraining order forbids him from trying to contact or approach his victim, also for life.

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A FATHER has been locked up after sending disgusting sexual videos and photos online to someone he believed was a young girl.

David Reading thought he was communicating with a 12-year-old, asking her to perform sex acts on herself and send photos of her naked.

But the 38-year-old was in fact chatting to an undercover police officer tasked with catching online child sex offenders.

The defendant, from Orford, appeared to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, where he was told that the only appropriate punishment was immediate custody.

He attended after pleading guilty to attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, attempted sexual communications with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity.

He also admitted charges of possessing and making indecent images of children at an earlier hearing.

Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, explained how on November 22 last year, the defendant instigated a conversation with another user on the chatroom Chatiw a site which the court heard is often abused by paedophiles.

Throughout the discussion, Reading believed he was talking to a 12-year-old girl, but it was in fact an undercover police officer working to identify online child sex offenders.

His profile, which contained the name David and stated he was a 37-year-old man from Cheshire, began the conversation with an account under the username NotInSchool.

The account stated it belonged to a girl from Lancashire aged 18 the lowest the age can be set when making an account on the platform.

The girl received a message from the defendant saying what do you think, followed by a photo of a penis, to which she asked why he had sent her that.

She told him that she was not really 18, and when he asked how old she really was, with another photo of a penis, she said 12.

Reading told her this was ok and asked her if she thought his penis was small, as well as for her ID on Kik Messenger.

The girl added him on the social media platform, with her Kik account including the name Izzy Jane, and he asked her if she wanted to see his little d**k before sending her a 15-second video of him performing a sex act on himself.

On another occasion, he sent further images of his erect penis and asked her to send naked photos of herself, to which she reminded him that she was 12.

Another interaction saw him tell her he was naked in bed and ask if she wanted to perform a sex act on herself and show him her knickers.

Police investigating the defendant tracked his IP address to his home, and on January 7 this year at 6.50am, officers from Cheshire Polices Online Child Abuse Investigation Team arrested him.

A number of devices were seized and he offered no comment during his police interview.

The following month, a forensic analysis report returned with evidence of indecent images of children on his iPhone.

The six images were graded as category C, showing children as young as nine naked in sex poses and positions.

Mr Baxter revealed to the court that Reading has no previous convictions, with his only prior brush with the law being a police caution for being drunk and disorderly in 2004.

In defence of his client, Jeremy Rawson referenced his guilty pleas entered at the first opportunity and how he has lived an otherwise blameless life.

He is remorseful and regretful. He has a very steep and high hill to climb to address his offending, but he is open to rehabilitation, the barrister said.

He faces a custodial sentence, there is no doubt about that. The only issue is if it can be suspended or not.

I submit that appropriate punishment can be achieved without the need for an immediate custodial sentence because of his strong personal mitigation.

However, this view was rejected by judge Anil Murray, who commented: Looking at your behaviour overall, this is a case where appropriate punishment can only be achieved with immediate custody.

Reading, of Orford Avenue, was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

He must also abide by a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and sign the sex offender register for the same length of time.

In addition, an order was approved to deprive the defendant of his iPhone which contained the indecent images of children.

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A pervert shared vile images of children on WhatsApp and Kik and had fantasy chats with other paedophiles about abusing children - months after molesting a girl. Nigel Gardiner, 42, was found with 239 indecent images of children on his phone after police executed a search warrant.

Some of the horrendous images depicted children as young as three-months-old being sexually abused, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Further analysis of his phone showed he had shared some of the images with contacts on messaging apps and had fantasy discussions about what he wanted to do to the children.

Following the discovery of the images, he was found to have sexually assaulted a young girl.

Gardiner initially pleaded guilty to eight offences of possessing and distributing indecent images and further offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his former partner. He later pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child after they had already been cross examined during a Section 28 hearing.

Today (July 29) he was jailed for eight-and-a-half years and put onto the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Prosecuting, Geoff Whelan said police received information that Gardiner possessed indecent images and carried out a search warrant at his house in Heywood. He wasnt present at the time, but they later found him at his place of work where they seized his phone and analysed it, and he subsequently admitted possession of the images.

Police recovered 83 category A images - said to be the worst type, 51 category B images and 70 category C images, as well as extreme pornographic images and prohibited images of children.

The age of the children depicted in the images ranged from six to 17-years-old, Mr Whelan said. Some of the images were sent to 41 contacts on Kik and three contacts on WhatsApp.

After discovery of the images, it came to light that he had sexually abused a girl. The court also heard that he had headbutted his ex-partner and bitten her following two separate arguments.

Gardiner was said to have previous convictions, including for an offence of battery. Mitigating, Betsy Hindle said that her client struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and said he previously couldnt remember a time when he was clean.

He believes drugs led him to do what he did, she said. There is sincere remorse and he takes full responsibility. The presentence report indicates a lack of ability to deal with personal circumstances.

Sentencing, Recorder Mark Rhind QC said: Some time after the sexual assault, you engaged in discussions which have been described as fantasy with other perverted men relating to the sexual abuse of children.

You sent a picture of a child to them and discussed what they might do and what you might do. The sexual assault was not some sort of drunk incident which you do not remember, this was you acting on your sexual attraction to children.

If you had any remorse for what you did, you would have admitted it far sooner.

Gardiner, of Tonge Street, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years, made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign onto the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Description

A Cornwall man offered a teenage girl a place to stay after a night out before going on to sexually assault her as she slept. David Waters’ terrified victim was so scared she was going to be raped she pretended to be asleep.

Waters, 28, of Illogan near Redruth, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to sexual assault. Prosecuting the case, Rachel Drake described how on the night in question Waters and the victim had been out socialising together.

The victim had no way of getting home so Waters offered her a lift with his uncle who agreed to take her as far as Waters’ house. Ms Drake said: “An arrangement was made she’d sleep in his bed and he’d sleep somewhere else but he got into bed with her. She drifted off to sleep but was awoken at 5am to the sensation of him touching her.”

Ms Drake described how Waters touched the victim’s stomach, breast and privates and forcibly tried to remove her shorts and underwear. She could feel his privates against her and Waters went on to pleasure himself while touching her.

Ms Drake added: “She feigned being asleep because she was frightened she may have been raped. Once he [finished] she remembers him picking up his iPad and scrolling on it.”

The next day there were messages between the two. Waters asked the victim out, she declined and challenged him about what happened to which he replied he had no recollection. Following an examination Waters’ semen was found on her clothes.

In a moving victim impact statement, the victim spoke of how the ordeal has left her struggling with self-harm, depression and suicidal thoughts. She takes medication but still suffers panic attacks.

Representing Waters, Robin Smith said: “Here we have an absolutely terrified first time defendant. From his first interview he was utterly aghast about his behaviour and his regret and sympathy is genuine. He has vastly reduced his alcohol intake and social activity and given up work as a labourer.”

Sentencing Waters, Recorder Andrew Oldland, QC, said: “Your victim was aged just 19 and on that night you were out for a drink together. You offered her a place to stay and went to your home address. She got into bed fully clothed. You were supposed to sleep in a separate bed but at 5am she woke to find you sexually assaulting her.

“She was scared and feigned sleep throughout whereas you would have remembered full well what was going on.” Recorder Oldland described the devastating effect on the victim, but noted Waters’ lack of previous convictions, his work ethic and his remorse, as well as the time since the offence. Waters was given a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years.

He must complete a sex offenders’ programme and sign the register. He also has to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £750 in court costs.