Latest Offenders

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A Northampton man who sexually assaulted a young girl has been locked up for 10 years.

Ryan Johnson, from Duston, denied all allegations against him during his trial - but last month, a jury convicted him on four counts of child sex offences.

The 31-year-old was found guilty of sexually assaulting the young girl two years ago.

At his sentencing at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (February 11), Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane told Johnson: "Victim impacts statements have shown how your victim now finds it hard to trust people.

"It has affected her friendships. her mother says it has destroyed her confidence."

The court heard how the young girl messaged a friend after the incident, who then alerted the girl's mother to what happened.

Johnson was jailed for 10 years and nine months. He will remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

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A man caught with so many indecent images of children that investigators 'gave up counting' has been spared jail time.

Pinky Caine, aged 31, had almost 4,000 illegal photos on his devices and 22,0000 more which were never classified.

He had a secret mobile phone and 'boasted' of hiding his internet history so police would not catch him, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Caine was also in breach of a suspended sentence for identical offences.

But he avoided immediate custody after a judge heard that it was more than two years since he had last offended and the steps he had taken to tackle his perversion.

His family sacrificed their savings to pay privately for treatment at The Priory, a London psychiatric hospital famous for its celebrity clients.

Handing him a fresh suspended sentence, Judge William Mousley told Caine: “You have been given a huge chance on this occasion. You have come as close as it is possible to get to going straight to prison.

“I am prepared to accept that you do not constitute an immediate risk of harm to the public. There are still hopes of your rehabilitation through work which is ongoing.”

The judge said that there were 22,000 images on his devices which were “questionable”, but as they were not classified they cannot be seen as indecent in law.Caine, of St Johns Terrace in Totnes, pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of indecent images of children in 2018.

The vast majority of the 3,902 files found on his devices were in the lowest bracket, but 12 were in Category A - including videos and images depicting adults abusing children.

He also admitted breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by having an internet enabled mobile phone which was not declared to the police.

Ian Graham, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that he was handed that order after he was convicted of making indecent images of children in July 2017.

He was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

Mr Graham said that police found indecent images on his devices in both May and December 2018.

The barrister added Caine was heard saying that he was "still viewing" indecent images during a group counselling session in August 2018.

Mr Graham said: “He said that he was covering his tracks and he was not worried at that stage about the police finding anything wrong.”

Lee Bremridge, Caine's defence, said that he had pleaded guilty at an early stage and showed “genuine remorse”.

He added that the judge should take into account the long delay in the case – with the defendant not appearing in court until September last year.

Mr Bremridge said that Caine had used the time to tackle his problems, including heavy drinking, on his own initiative.

The barrister added that his family had used their savings to pay for his treatment at The Priory.

Judge Mousley handed Caine a fresh nine-month prison sentence but suspended it for two years.

He ordered that he have six-month alcohol treatment and 35 days of probation’s intensive Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

Caine was also fined £1,000 for breaching his original suspended sentence.

The judge also ordered that his phones and computers be forfeited.

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A FORMER teacher has been deemed to pose a significant risk to members of the public after he made arrangements to commit sexual acts on an ’11-year-old girl’.

Nigel Peter Grigg communicated on messaging platform Kik with a man called ‘John’ who had said he was willing to provide his ‘daughter’ for sexual activities.

‘John’ was in fact an officer from the police South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU).

Grigg arranged to meet ‘John’ and his ‘daughter’ with the intention of committing child sex offences.

The 69-year-old purchased presents for the ‘girl’, including items from Ann Summers.

Shortly after arriving at the agreed meeting point – McDonald’s in Totton – he was arrested by police.

Sentencing Judge Robert Pawson said: “The facts of this case make chilling reading for any parent, or any person in fact.”

Grigg was jailed for five years and issued with a two-year extended licence period at Bournemouth Crown Court after Judge Pawson deemed him to be a dangerous offender.

This was after he admitted a single charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence between March 4 and March 12 last year.

Prosecuting, Jane Rowley told the court Kik was being used by paedophiles and this activity was being investigated by the ROCU.

She said online communication took place between the defendant, using the display name Randy Peter, and the undercover police officer posing as adult male ‘John’.

Ms Rowley said there was subsequent telephone contact between the two and two meetings were arranged.

The prosecutor said the evidence “clearly shows his sexual interests in children and efforts to groom the child”.

Grigg posted on Kik he was “looking for anyone near Bournemouth and interested in taboo family fun”.

“Conversation from the outset was sexual,” said Ms Rowley.

Dorset Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), a specialist team who work with partner agencies to identify offenders operating online and protect vulnerable children from sexual exploitation, assisted in the case, which culminated in Grigg being arrested and charged.

Mitigating, Kevin Hill said Grigg, of Croft Road, Poole, had no previous convictions and had shown “a lot of remorse”.

Mr Hill said his client had referred himself to get help for his sexual offending since his crime was committed.

Summarising the case, Judge Pawson said Grigg had “boasted” on Kik that he had “done a 13[-year-old] in Thailand”.

The defendant had time to reconsider his actions and time to realise the risk and the magnitude of what he was doing, said Judge Pawson.

Grigg was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

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A man who attacked a vulnerable woman after she confided in him about being sexually abused as a child has had his sentence increased.

Michael Smith, 26, from Bitton in South Gloucestershire, raped the victim following a party in August 2017.

Earlier in the evening she had told him she was very anxious about having sexual intercourse because of her experiences as a child, but he removed her clothing while she was asleep and attacked her.

When the victim threatened to report him, Smith made a false allegation to the police that she was harassing him, despite apologising for the incident in previous text messages to her.

Smith, who was employed by Bristol Ambulance Service, admitted to colleagues he had raped the woman and they also reported the incident to the police.

Police found four extreme pornographic images on his phone – one of which Smith had disseminated to his friends via WhatsApp.

Smith eventually pleaded guilty to one count of rape and four counts of possession of extreme pornography at Bristol

Sentencing judge Julian Lambert took into consideration Smith’s age, his good character and his pleas of guilty, as well as the current problems in the prison system caused by the pandemic.

But Attorney General Suella Braverman argued at the High Court that Smith had been treated too leniently considering the impact of the offence on the victim.

During the appeal the court heard the victim was left feeling worthless and dirty, and even three years on from the attack could not contemplate having a relationship with a man.

Ms Braverman said the starting point should have been eight years, before both mitigation and the mandatory reduction in sentence due to guilty pleas were taken into account.

She also argued his four-month sentence for the extreme images should not run concurrently to Smith’s sentence for rape, as the offences were unrelated to the attack.

Increasing Smith’s sentence for rape to five years and three months, Lady Justice Macur said: “This sentence should not have been reduced below the bottom of the range before the discount was applied.”

She added that the extreme images were a “separate category of offending” that call for consecutive sentencing, but reduced the sentence to three months to run concurrently on each count.

It brings Smith’s total sentence to one of five years and six months.

Smith appeared at the hearing via video link, but could be seen with his head in his hands at the end of the ruling.

The Attorney General said after the hearing: “Smith’s repulsive actions, and the extent to which he lied to cover up his guilt, were truly shocking and caused severe harm to the victim.

“I am pleased I was able to personally present this case and I welcome his sentence being increased.”

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A "PREDATORY" man who lured a woman into his van and repeatedly raped her has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Shafiullah Zahid, 33, of Sirdar Road, Southampton, approached the woman, who was alone after a night out in Southampton, and spoke to her.

Southampton Crown Court heard that the victim was offered a lift home by Zahid, before he drove her to an unknown location and attacked her in his vehicle.

Zahid pleaded not guilty but was found guilty of two charges of rape after a trial.

Detective Constable Sue Hampton said: “I would like to commend the woman’s courage for doing what she did and reporting the incident to the police.

"With her help, we have been able to identify a man who’s behaviour we can only describe as predatory.

“From the start, Zahid completely disregarded his crime and at no point has he considered the impact he has had on this woman.

“We want to show you that no matter the circumstances, Hampshire Constabulary is committed to supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault and we will do everything we can to identify offenders and put them in front of a court.”

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "If you’ve been the victim, please report rape or sexual assault as soon as possible.

"Even if you’re not 100 per cent sure, we’d sooner hear from you so that we can make sure you’re safe.

"If you’re not ready to talk to the police just yet, that’s OK.

"There are a range of places to get support, advice and medical help.

"You can speak to a number of organisations in confidence and what you tell them won't be shared with the police unless you ask for it to be."

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A SHOCKED mother discovered her 12-year-old daughter had exchanged sexualised messages and swapped indecent images with an older teenage boy, a court heard.

Durham Crown Court was told she became concerned at her daughters secretive behaviour, being unwilling to allow her to scrutinise her phone early last year.

When she finally insisted on checking its contents, she came across an unrecognised phone number and was told it was a mutual friend.

It emerged her daughter had been exchanging messages via a chat room and text with a male, Shaun Williams, then aged 17, in which he inquired about intimate matters and asking her to send him sexual photographs, as well as mentioning that they should meet.

Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said the girls mother immediately stopped her daughter communicating with Williams and inquired as to the nature of the photographs.

The girl said he sent her pictures of his naked genitals and asked her to reciprocate.

It was reported to police, who arrested Williams and seized his phone for analysis.

Miss Waugh said the flavour of the messages became apparent, with Williams referring to the girl as, Babes, asking her about performing sexual acts.

The exchanged pictures included one sent by the girl of herself in her underwear.

Williams, now 18, of Westbourne Street, Stockton, admitted causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The case was adjourned for preparation of a psychiatric report on the defendant.

Chris Baker, mitigating, said the author was unable to confirm if Williams was on the autistic spectrum, but pointed to, other personality issues, as well as an adjustment disorder.

But Mr Baker said he had jeopardised his future by his behaviour, having already affected his education.

Judge Ray Singh said, in essence there was a form of grooming of a 12-year-old girl, which only ended when her mother discovered the nature of the messages.

The judge said although Williams has some mental health issues, in my view these do not provide meaningful mitigation.

He imposed a two-year sentence in a young offenders institution and ordered that Williams should be subject to restrictions under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, as well as registration as a sex offender, both for ten years.

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ANDOVER paedophile Callum Lee Bates has avoided a prison sentence after admitting to breaching his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to speak to a 13-year-old boy on the dating app Grindr.

The 21-year-old, from Andover, was sentenced to a three-year community order at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday (February 4).

The court heard how Bates is a unique case due to his complex learning difficulties and naivety.

Wesley Potterton, prosecuting, told the court how Bates, having been sentenced to a five-year SHPO in April 2018, was prohibited from unsupervised contact with any male child under the age of 16.

However, in February of last year, police had concerns about the contact Callum Bates had been having on Grindr, after it was raised by probation officers and other agencies.

Officers seized his phone and computer and found messages on the Grindr app which indicates he had contact with a child who indicated that he was 13, Mr Potterton told the court.

He added: They started off with some sexual messages, but on the basis at that point that Mr Bates was under the impression that he was 18. But it becomes clear that he becomes aware he is under the age of consent.

There are no sexual messages from the point it is clear that Mr Bates knows that the child is under 18 years of age, but contact does continue when clearly it is prevented by the sexual harm prevention order.

Speaking on the seriousness of the offence, Mr Potterton said: Crown accepts it cant be identified if the child exists or in fact, is under 16 or not, but would point out what he has done is carried on messaging the child and clearly should have stopped as soon as he became aware he was 13.

Those are not just innocent messages about friendship. There have been previous sexually charged messages between them.

In mitigation, Lucy Conroy, defending, called it a unique case and urged the judge to consider a community order and mental health programme requirement.

She said: It is a unique case in this particular area of the law, in the type of defendant Mr Bates is. We see very regularly individuals who are out to prey on the young of society. That is not this defendant.

Ms Conroy told the court that Bates has a low IQ and is functioning in only the third percentile of cognitive ability at 21 years of age.

That in and of itself is cause for concern, she said.

This is a case that is crying out for somebody to tackle the route cause of Mr Bates behaviour, which seems to be his cognitive difficulties.

When the order was first put in place he had just come out as gay, was struggling with that, and turned to Grindr which reports to be an app for those over 18.

There is a naivety, in my submission, to his behaviour online that needs to be addressed.

The doctor who carried out a psychiatric assessment of Bates - who has been diagnosed with autism - recommended an 18-month mental health programme.

It is clearly work, in my submission, that cant be done in a custodial setting, but it is vital, both to the community at large and Mr Bates, that it is done, said Ms Conroy.

She urged the judge to allow professionals to strike while the iron is hot, as Bates has already begun weekly therapy sessions aimed at working on interests off the computer and developing tangible friendships in the real world which he does not currently have.

Ms Conroy stressed the important role of Bates mother, Mrs Grant, in his life, and of carers who attend his house three times a week to help him control his diabetes.

She said: That gives a flavour of how little Mr Bates can be responsible for his own care.

Addressing Bates, Judge Angela Morris said: You are now 21-years-old Mr Bates and I must consider that usually doing what you did would mean that you would go to prison today.

She added: But I also have to look at the reports. It is clear that you have a complex series of learning difficulties and that is a very strong factor in your case. I have come to the conclusion that imposing an immediate custodial sentence on you today would not in any real sense address your offending behaviour and protect other people in the future, particularly young people, and protect you from yourself.

Judge Morris sentenced Bates to a three-year community order, with a mental health treatment requirement, also for three years.

Bates must also take part in 60 days of rehabilitation activities, including the adapted sex offender treatment programme.

He will remain subject to his existing sexual harm prevention order until 2023.

I am satisfied that there is a doctor who will oversee your treatment, so there are many people that are going to look after you, said Judge Morris.

If you do not attend, it will put you in breach of this order and you will come back before me and if that happens, Mr Bates, you will go to prison.

You must help yourself in order for others to help you too.

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A Cheltenham man who racially and sexually threatened his female probation officer with a tirade of graphic hateful messages and phone calls has been jailed for two years and four months.

Gloucester Crown Court heard yesterday (Feb 2) that when the probation officer turned on her work phone on August 10 last year she had numerous messages and two voicemails from Sonny Rogers, 21, of Grosvenor Street, Cheltenham.

Prosecutor Lucie Stoker said the voicemails were 'particularly graphic' and added They were directed at the probation officer and contained threats of sexual violence towards her.

The messages were very graphic and threatened the woman with female genital mutilation. Rogers told her to 'get ready for nine inches of a prime 20-year-old manhood.'

Other messages included threats of terrorism acts towards her and other extreme acts of sexual violence towards her. This included stating that he was going to cut her womb and ovaries out and saying that he would smash her face in so it would be black and blue.

He suggested that the woman was subjected to sexual abuse when she was a child and he stated that he wanted to have sex with her as if she was a little girl.

Rogers also used the 'N word' towards the woman on numerous occasions and threatened to throw battery acid over her."

The court heard a recording of a seven minute call made by Rogers who vented his thoughts to the woman, without pausing.

Judge Ian Lawrie QC commented: While the content wasnt clear, the tone and the delivery certainly was.

The language is extreme and because of the nature of the threats it nudges the severity of this offending upwards.

The court was told that Rogers had previously been in prison for accessing child and extreme pornography and had been released on licence that required him to keep in contact with his probation supervisor.

The probation officer said she had been working in the sector for 14 years and had never been subjected to such abuse before. She is now uncomfortable in making home visits on her own, she said.

Joe Maloney defending, said: Rogers has a Jekyll and Hyde quality about him. He is a pleasant and personable man who has written to the court and the probation officer to apologise for his actions. "

Judge Lawrie interjected: His behaviour is so appalling that a mere apology does not cut any ice.

Mr Maloney added: Rogers accepts that he will receive a custodial sentence. However he is aggrieved that he was not properly assisted by probation in that they did not engage with him to address his sexual problems.

Rogers pleaded guilty to harassment by putting a woman in fear of violence between August 8 and 10, 2020 and sending the woman by means of electronic communications messages that were grossly offensive, obscene and menacing on August 11, 2020.

Judge Lawrie told Rogers: In sentencing terms you present the court with a dilemma as these offences cause me great concern. They demonstrate irrational behaviour, offensive behaviour in respect of a woman trying to help you.

Ive read all the messages you sent the woman and listened to that lengthy call. They are rampant, offensive and insulting. Your actions have installed an enormous amount of fear for the woman.

You went beyond the boundaries of decency because of your emotional graphic terms towards her.

I have no option that only an immediate custodial term will reflect the gravity of your irrational and alarming offending.

I take the view your actions were persistent, extreme in nature and I think in your current condition, you are dangerous."

Judge Lawrie sentenced Rogers to a jail term of two years and four months and imposed an indefinite restraining order not to contact the woman. He also ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of 190.

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A teacher and university worker caught with sick videos of children was finally jailed five years after being arrested.

However, despite possessing videos which were in the most serious Category A and lasted up to forty minutes, German national Olaf Raetzel is likely to be released within a matter of weeks.

Preston Crown Court, sitting at Burnley Crown Court, heard that Raetzel, 51, was arrested in Ormskirk in 2015 but failed to turn up for a police appointment.

He started a new life in Dublin where, despite his perverted past, he was working as a content moderator for a social media company.

He was detained again in September last year on a European Arrest Warrant and brought before a special High Court session which granted his extradition.

More than five years on from a police raid at his home in West Lancashire, he pleaded guilty in December to three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Prosecuting, Eleanor Gleeson said police seized a laptop, USB device and Samsung tablet in May 2015 and recovered 21 files containing the sick photographs and videos.

In total, there were seven videos classed as Category A, five videos in Category B and nine Category C photographs.

However, there were further inaccessible files whose names alluded to illicit content, while his browser history was also suggestive of illegal content.

The youngest children seen in the videos were estimated to be aged between five and eight, while the majority involved girls believed to be girls aged 9-15. The videos ranged between two to 39 minutes long.

Raetzel, now of no fixed address, gave no comment in interview and was released on bail, only to fail to turn up to an appointment at Ormskirk police station in November of that year.

Defending, Peter Holden said Raetzel came to the UK in the early 90s and had undertaken a degree in Theoretical Physics. He then started a PHD before moving into teaching and went on to a job as a learning technology development officer at Ormskirks Edge Hill University.

Mr Holden said: It was an unhappy time for him in Lancashire and he began to engage in the activities outlined in the pre-sentencing report.

Mr Holden admitted that the perverts refusal to attend a police appointment painted a picture of a man who panicked and fled justice.

But he said that Raetzel had no previous convictions in Europe or the UK and had committed no further offences in the Republic of Ireland.

His devices were searched upon his latest arrest and no further illegal images were found.

Sentencing, Judge Sara Dodd said that had Raetzel been brought before the court in 2015, he would likely have been handed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

However, as that time has now passed and no further offences committed, this was no longer deemed necessary to protect the public.

She handed Raetzel a five month sentence, of which he will serve no more than half.

The two months already served in Preston since the hearing at the lower court count towards that time, meaning he is likely to be released within weeks.

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This is the face of a vile paedophile who has been jailed for sexually abusing a girl, toddler and a baby.

Christopher Mark Parkes has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the sickening offences.

The 48-year-old's offending came to light when the oldest of his victims, a teenage girl, told her mother that she had been assaulted by him..

She told her mum that Parkes had started "blackmailing" her, asking for sexual activity.

Further investigations into the paedophile showed he had also abused a toddler.

Parkes, from Vardon Way, Kings Norton, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on January 21, where he was jailed for 17 years and three months.

He had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, one count of voyeurism and three counts of making indecent images of a child.

He will also be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Parkes committed the offences between January 2019 and August 2020 against his three victims.

When police raided his property, they found images of some of the abuse including that of the very young children on the defendants phone.

Parkes initially denied the charges but changed his plea after overwhelming evidence was presented to him.

West Midands Police released a picture of Parkes.

Julia McSorley, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: This was a distressing case and our thoughts are with the young victims and their families.

"Christopher Parkes is an extremely dangerous man with a perverted sexual interest in very young children, including a baby and a toddler.

"It is rightly so that he has received a lengthy prison sentence which reflects the seriousness of his offending. He will now be in prison where he can no longer be a danger to other children.

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A Norfolk man who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl was discovered after the victim’s mother saw the offender on a phone watching her sleep, a court has heard.

Simon Price, 40, met a girl on a gaming platform in November 2019 when he said he was 26 and the victim said she was older than she was.

Norwich Crown Court heard after a while conversations between the two moved to Instagram and became more personal, including his medical illnesses and her difficulties.

Benedict Peers, prosecuting, said “conversation became increasingly flirtatious”.

Price, of The Fallows, Taverham, began behaving as if they were in a relationship.

The conversation became more sexualised and they exchanged images and videos as well as live streaming each other.

Mr Peers said there came a time when the victim blocked Price on Instagram but he contacted her on other social media sites.

The court was told she was to tell police she felt “guilty” due to his medical history.

In March last year Price drove down to the south coast where he picked up the victim and sexually assaulted her in the back of his car on the sea front.

The victim told police she “froze” during the course of the assaults.

Mr Peers said following the sexual assaults Price “encouraged” her to self harm and said “he wanted to help her do it”.

The offences came to light after the victim’s mother came into her bedroom in May last year and found her asleep.

But “she could see a man watching her during a live stream video on her phone”.

Police were contacted and Price was later identified.

A victim impact from the teenager described how she had been self harming more and did not feel safe being on her own anymore.

She said she found it hard to trust people because she did not want to be lied to.

A victim statement from her mother described the “horror” she felt at what had happened and how it affected her daughter as well as her, her partner and other daughter.

She also could not put out of her mind the picture of her daughter asleep next to the phone with the defendant watching.

Price appeared in court for sentence on Monday, February 1 having previously admitted an offence of an adult meeting a girl under 16 following grooming and two counts of sexual activity with a girl.

He also admitted an offence of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one count of making an indecent photo of a child.

Price was given an extended sentence of 10 years four months made up of five and a half years in custody with an additional five years on licence.

Judge Andrew Shaw said Price posed a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public.

He said Price had “lied about your age” and groomed her before committing the sexual assaults on her.

Price was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and put on the sex offenders' register for life.

Andrew Oliver, mitigating, said the best mitigation he could advance were his guilty pleas which demonstrated his contrition.

He said it was clear the victim was vulnerable to his grooming and had suffered a deterioration in her mental health.

But Mr Oliver said it was a deterioration in the mental health of the defendant, who suffers from multiple personality disorder, which precipitated these offences.

He added Price suffered abuse as a child himself during a severely traumatic childhood.

Mr Oliver said Price had believed the victim to be older but by the time he committed the physical offences against her “knew her true age”.

He referred to it as the “biggest mistake of my life” and is appalled he harmed a child in the way he was harmed as a child.

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Pervert Andrew Parsons was snared by paedophile hunters after turning up to a "secret" meeting with an underage boy.

The 51-year-old chatted to a "boy" called James on gay dating app Grindr, not realising it was a decoy profile set up by Dark Justice.

Despite being told James was only 15 and a virgin, Parsons asked if he was "discreet" after describing in detail the sexual acts they could do together.

When a meeting was arranged Parsons said it should be "kept a secret".

Prosecutor Lee Fish told Newcastle Crown Court: "The defendant asked if anyone knew that James was coming to his house and he said no.

"What then happened was members of Dark Justice and the police went to the agreed meeting point and the defendant was arrested."

Parsons admitted attempting to meet a child following grooming, in April 2017.

The court heard he has a previous conviction for sexual activity in a public lavatory.

Judge Robert Adams sentenced Parsons to 18 months behind bars. and imposed a sexual harm prevention order and told him he must sign the sex offenders register, both for ten years.

The judge told him: "James said he was a virgin and had never done this before.

"This did not deter you.

"You gave him your contact details, where you lived, well aware what you were doing was wrong.

"You asked if he was discreet and could keep a secret."

The court heard Parsons claimed he had "turned a blind eye" to the boy's age and was "disgusted" by child sex abuse.

Judge Adams added: "No sexual activity with a child did occur or in fact could have occurred. No child existed, it was a decoy.

"This is a sentence which cannot be appropriately suspended, although non-custodial options are available, it seems to me there has to be some form of deterrent in cases like this, where people take risks, not expecting to be caught.

"Had this person been a child, significant harm could have been caused."

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THE jailing of a Ross-shire man caught with thousands of sickening indecent images and videos of children smashes the myth that computers provide a hiding place for abusers.

Police made their remarks in reaction to the sentencing yesterday of Dingwall man Liam Mackay (31) of Deas Avenue.

He had previously admitted downloading indecent images and videos of children aged between two and 12.

He was sentenced to 22 months' imprisonment and 30 months on licence thereafter.

He has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Last May, officers carried out an operation at Mackays home in Dingwall where electronic equipment was seized and analysed.

Thousands of indecent images of children were recovered which led to Mackay's arrest.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Banks of Police Scotlands National Child Abuse Investigation Unit said: There is a misunderstanding by some that the internet provides anonymity. Mackays arrest shows that this is not the case and no matter what steps you have taken to avoid detection you cannot hide behind a computer.

We will work with our partners to take action against anyone who is involved in these abhorrent crimes. Any form of child sexual abuse is a serious criminal offence and a priority for Police Scotland. I would urge anyone with any concerns about a child at risk of abuse, or a potential victim, to contact us immediately.

The court was told that Mackay had previous convictions, one for a sexual contact offence against a 14 year old girl, and for similar charges of possessing child porn.

His latest offence was committed while he was still under supervision for his offending.

The court heard he had also downloaded child porn on a previous occasion whilst under supervision.

When officers arrived at the property on May 7, 2020 to execute a warrant, they discovered a USB stick hidden in the hollow leg of his bed.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that a cursory examination of it revealed images of children aged between two years and 12 years being abused.

Fiscal depute Alison Young said that forensic analysis discovered 2180 still images and 315 videos and that Mackay was a registered sex offender and on a community payback order.

They were categorised in three rankings of obscenity, the highest being 'A', of which there were 308 images and 171 videos.

In 'B', there were 511 stills and 107 videos, and in 'C', the memory stick had 1,361 photographs and 37 videos.

They were created between March and December, 2019.

Mackay admitted downloading indecent images and videos, the play time of which was a total of one day, six hours, three minutes and one second.

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A man who groomed a teenage girl online before meeting her for sex has been jailed for a string of child sex offences.

Alex Cadwell, 21, was arrested on Friday, August 30 2019 after a report of a rape involving a 13-year-old girl.

It took place in the toilets to the rear of the British Legion on Hollyhedge Road, Cobham on Saturday, 24 August 2019.

A court heard that Cadwell had groomed the victim online over the period of a month, inciting them to commit sexual acts before meeting in real life.

Police said he then engaged in sexual activity with the teenager.

Surrey Police responded and Cadwell was identified, arrested and interviewed. His digital devices were seized and further enquiries revealed extensive online grooming of the victim, together with other offences involving other victims.

He was charged and following a trial in November was found guilty of 22 sexual offences including two counts of sexual activity with a child, making indecent images of child, inciting a child to commit sexual acts and causing a child to watch a sexual act.

Cadwell, of Greenacres Avenue, Uxbridge, appeared at Kingston Crown Court via video link on Friday (January 29), where he was jailed for ten years with a five year extension period.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Cadwell will be subject to a strict Sexual Harm Prevention Order on his release.

Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Alan Poland said: “I hope that this sentence brings some closure to Cadwell’s victims who have shown courage throughout the proceedings from the initial report through to giving evidence in court.

"Further to this I hope that it acts as a deterrent to those who seek to prey on children for their sexual gratification.

"Whether this is done hiding behind a computer screen, or hiding behind an alias in real life offenders will be identified, arrested and prosecuted.”

An NSPCC spokesperson said: "Cadwell’s use of online platforms to groom and abuse a 13-year-old child highlights the risks young people are currently facing on the internet.

“This will have been a terrible ordeal for the victim and we hope she gets all the support she needs to move forward with her life. It is also imperative that online platforms continue to design in safety measures for all the young people who use them."

Description

A paedophile groomed a schoolgirl on Snapchat before meeting in woods near her home to sexually abuse her.

Matthew Gomez, then 20, pretended to be 16 when he targeted two 13-year-old victims on the social media platform.

The pervert sent the girls disgusting images of himself and asked them to provide him with sexual photos in return.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the now 23-year-old, of Crabtree Close, Netherley, secretly recorded photos of the children.

He took his abuse a step further when he met one girl in Widnes, filmed her on his phone performing a sex act on him, then repeatedly asked for sex.

But when she told him to stop because he was hurting her, Gomez called her a "d***head" and as he walked away revealed that he had recorded her.

One of the main features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time, before they are automatically deleted.

However, Gomez used an iPad to film and permanently retain indecent photos and videos sent to him on his mobile phone by five separate girls from Merseyside and Cheshire.

Steven Swift, prosecuting, said these girls included one child as young as eight, shown dancing around in a bedroom with her sister, aged 12.

Gomez admitted three counts of possessing indecent images, including Category A files - the most serious category - on the basis he didn't accept the girls were under 16.

He still maintained this stance today, but Judge Denis Watson, QC, said a trial over the issue wasn't required, because it wouldn't impact his overall sentence.

The court heard this was because Gomez was convicted of even more serious offences at a trial in December.

He was found guilty of five sexual offences in respect of one 13-year-old girl, and two sexual offences in respect of a second girl, also aged 13, in 2017.

The two girls said they told Gomez they were 13 and that he claimed to be 16.

However, he denied lying about his age, or knowing that either of them were underage.

Gomez was convicted of causing a child to watch a sexual act, after sending the first girl a photo of himself masturbating, and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, relating to asking her for a nude picture and the girl sending a photo of her breasts.

He was convicted of meeting a child following sexual grooming, after travelling to Widnes to meet her, then going to the woods.

Two convictions for sexual activity with a child related to the girl performing the sex act on him and him repeatedly asking for sex, then touching her with his penis.

Gomez was found guilty of another count of causing a child to watch a sexual act, for sending the second girl a photo of himself masturbating, and of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, when she sent him an image of her performing a sex act.

David Birrell, defending, said his client, of previous good character, still maintained his innocence in relation to the convictions following the trial.

He said: "Your honour will have seen from the pre-sentence report that he continues to deny the offences, but he does respect the jury's verdicts and he put that in his letter to your honour."

Mr Birrell said the offences took place over several months in 2017, when Gomez had been "young for his age", as shown in a medical report.

He said: "It appears that his significant health issues, the brain tumour, stunted both his physical and emotional development.

"Certainly the author of the pre-sentence report points to his immaturity as one of the reasons, certainly not the only reason, but one of the reasons for the offending."

Mr Birrell noted the report found he was "willing to engage in work around his offending".

He said: "He has some qualifications, he has worked in the past, he's from a good family, a good home, his parents sit in court, they stand by him, and others speak highly of him."

Judge Denis Watson, QC, said Gomez had "a sexual interest in younger girls" and knew due to using Snapchat that it was popular with younger teenage girls, some of whom were willing to "flirt sexually" and meet with him.

He said Gomez was "adept" at using a second device to film and store photos of the girls on Snapchat.

The judge said there were "elements of planning, grooming, targeting and persistence".

Referring to the first victim who he took to the woods, Judge Watson said: "These are events that she will never forget."

Judge Watson told Gomez that a medical report set out "the condition that you had led to not just a lack of physical development and growth, but a lack of self confidence, which seems to me to be a factor why you were interested in contacting younger girls".

He said: "You appear to have accepted the jury's verdict. Quite how that sits with you contesting and continuing to contest the correctness of the verdicts in the pre-sentence report is a difficult one, but it does suggest to me that you're willing to address your behaviours."

Judge Watson jailed Gomez for six and a half years, and imposed an indefinite restraining order to protect his victims.

The judge ordered Gomez to sign on the Sex Offenders Register and to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely.