Latest Offenders

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Simon Matthew Virgo sent sexual messages to a ‘teenage girl’ named Mollie.

The 37-year-old contacted her through an online messaging program called Kik.

Prosecution attorney Emily Lanham said “The” messages back and forth contained references to implied sexual acts and whether or not she liked old men. ”

Daily Echo: Simon Virgo covers his face outside Southampton Crown Court.Simon Virgo covers his face outside Southampton Crown Court.

However, Virgo, of Walker Gardens, Hedge End, actually spoke to police officers.

After a raid on his home, officers seized two cellphones and two Ipads.

They found obscene images of children suspected of being abused between the ages of six and eleven.

He appears before Southampton Crown Court and is charged with two counts of indecent photographs of a child and a single charge that he was an adult who wanted to engage in sexual communication with a child.

During an earlier trial, he pleaded guilty to the offenses that took place between June and December 2019.

Defendant Jamie Gammon said his client was of good character and had no previous convictions.

Daily Echo: The 37-year-old actually spoke to police officers. The 37-year-old actually spoke to police officers.

He argued that the judge should suspend any indemnity sentence and added that if he gets a jail sentence, ‘he will be released and face a future without support’.

Mr Gammon, said: ‘My submission is that he can be helped and that he wants help.

Judge Christopher Parker QC warned that if Mollie was actually a child “the situation could be very different”.

He also mentioned ‘positive references from a number of people’.

Judge Parker sentenced him to six months in prison, suspended for 12 years.

Virgo must complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 40 days of rehabilitation.

He was ordered to pay £ 340 in costs.

Furthermore, he must register as a sexual offender for seven years and he will prevent an order against sexual harm for the same period.

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A former special constable has been jailed for 19 years for a string of sexual offences against a woman, three girls and a boy.

Phillip Gregory, 67, from Llanegryn Street, Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd, had pleaded not guilty to all 14 charges.

He was jailed for six counts of indecent assault, five of rape, buggery, sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and indecency with a child.

Mold Crown Court heard one victim said he had "stolen" her childhood.

In an impact statement, she added that as well as "inflicting suffering years ago", he had made his victims "relive the pain" by refusing to admit his actions and show remorse.

North Wales Police confirmed Gregory, who carried out the offences between 1975 and 2003, served as a special constable for a short period in the early 1990s but said this was not connected to any of his offences.

Another victim said she had not been able to form bonds with her own children as a result of what he had done to her.

'Still vivid'

Another of the victims said she had contemplated suicide and the memory of being raped by Gregory was "still vivid".

Judge Timothy Petts told Gregory he was a "dangerous offender" who had had taken advantage of the " vulnerability" of those he had abused.

He paid tribute to the victims for their "courage" in giving evidence and praised DC Gareth Wilcox Jones, of North Wales Police, who led the "long and complicated investigation" named Operation Blue Lichen.

Speaking afterwards, DC Wilcox Jones said: "Philip Gregory has damaged the lives of people he professed to care for and who looked to him for support and protection.

"He took their trust and abused it for his own sexual gratification.

"It is pleasing that the judge has sent a robust message that serial abusers like Philip Gregory cannot evade justice forever, and that survivors of childhood abuse can achieve justice no matter how long has elapsed."

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The chairman of a gardening community group in Bedfordshire has been jailed for the sexual assault of a young girl.

John Trinder, now 74, was chairman of the group when he sexually assaulted the young girl.

Trinder, of Chandler’s Cross in Rickmansworth, was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Thursday (22 July), after being found guilty by a majority verdict of one count of sexual assault.

The victim disclosed the assault years later to a member of her family who then informed the police.

Trinder was found guilty of one count of sexual assault by touching, and was sentenced to 44 months imprisonment. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for life.

PC Benjamin Robertson from Bedfordshire Police’s Protecting Vulnerable Persons Unit, who investigated: “I would like to commend the victim’s courage and determination to disclose this abhorrent crime to us.

“It’s hasn’t been an easy process for her to go through and I am glad Trinder has been sent to prison for what he did to her. He sexually abused her at young age for his own sexual gratification and will now have time to reflect on his actions.

“Hopefully this prison sentence will bring some closure and allow this brave young person to move forward in life.

“We would also like to encourage anyone who has experienced abuse to speak out, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. You will be believed and we will investigate.

“Our force is committed to protect the victims and bring the offenders to justice.”

Description

A charity volunteer who sexually assaulted three teenage boys is facing a jail sentence.

Stephen Murray, 50, attacked the lads on separate occasions while they stayed at his former home in South Queensferry.

Murray invited the boys, two aged 16 and one 14-years-old, to sleep over at his flat before creeping into their bedroom and climbing into bed with them.

He then kissed and groped the teenagers who were said to have been left petrified by the attacks and had pretended to be asleep.

The three victims, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, were left so terrified by the sex assaults they failed to tell anyone what had happened to them for years afterwards.

Once brave victim then came forward and made a statement to police and the two other boys decided to inform police of the assaults on them.

Murray pleaded guilty to the three sex attacks on the teenage boys at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

His social media states he is a volunteer with the International Fire and Rescue Association charity who aid emergency services in developing nations around the world.

The bus driver also states on the page he is an RAF reservist, a sessional medic and home carer for his family.

Prosecutor Alan Wickham told the court Murray was a widower and made contact with the first of his victims through a Facebook private message after the lad had posted a relative had died.

Murray told the boy he had recently lost his wife and understood what he was going through before sending the boy gifts through the post.

The boy was invited to stay at Murrays home after the pervert had invited the lad to attend an event at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife in April 2014.

The pair had dinner and watched TV before the boy retired to bed at around midnight with Murray saying he would sleep on the couch.

During the night the boy heard the door of the bedroom opening and Murray slipped into bed beside the youngster, tickled his ears and performed a sex act on him..

The boy pretended to be asleep and made no mention of the attack the following day. The victim told police he was also sexually assaulted a second time by Murray six months later.

The second victim also stayed over Murrays home in April 2014 and presumed he would sleep alone in the perverts bed.

But again during the night Murray made his way into the room and after creeping into the bed he kissed and fondled the boys genitals while the lad pretended to be asleep.

The boy told police he did not tell anyone as he was petrified by the attack and that Murray said to him the following morning sorry for getting into bed but he was cold and had come through for a heat.

The boy told police Murray had also assaulted him a second time at an address in Ayrshire.

The third boy was attacked in a similar way at the South Queensferry home in January 2015 after agreeing to stay the night.

The sex assaults eventually came to light in January 2019 when one of the victims made contact with police to make a statement.

Sheriff Nigel Ross placed Murray on the Sex Offenders Register and deferred sentence to later this year. Murray was released on bail.

Murray admitted to sexually assaulting two teenage boys on two occasions at an address in South Queensferry and an address in Ayrshire between April 1, 2014 and January 31, 2015.

He also admitted to a charge engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old boy by rubbing his leg and touching his penis over his clothing at the South Queensferry address between January 1 and 31, 2015.

Description

A man used his love of Japanese cartoons to groom a 12-year-old girl before claiming to be a "hero" exposing paedophiles.

Fantasist Adam Eltabib - who appeared in a crown court dock sporting bright pink and green hair - had met the schoolgirl at a convention for fans of anime, cosplay and comics in London in 2018.

Her mother began to notice a number of texts the child was receiving from the 30-year-old, who was later found with 3,000 indecent images on his computer.

Eltabib, of Eden Avenue, Chatham, has now been sent to prison for a year after admitting having sexual conversations with a child and two charges of making prohibited images.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how Eltabib is a fantasist who said he was a "hero" who was downloading vile pictures to bring down those who took them.

But Judge Philip Statman rejected as "fanciful" the claim that he was "a citizen trying to bring others to justice".

He said: "The nature of your conversations has, as a background, conventions held around the country by supporters of anime and cosplay, which allow people to go dressed as their favourite Japanese (cartoon) characters."

Prosecutor Kathryn Hirst said: "The victim attended an event in London dressed as her favourite anime character.

"After returning home she showed her mum pictures of her posing with people also dressed as anime characters and it appeared that she had had a really good time."

Afterwards the victim's mother became aware of "inappropriate messages" which had been sent to her daughter from a man called Adam.

She asked to see a photograph and realised Adam was an adult and explained to her daughter that the WhatsApp messages were not appropriate.

Ms Hirst told how police began investigating Eltabib for unrelated matters and he was arrested at his work.

She said that when officers carried out a forensic examination of his phone they discovered images and details of chats he was having with the child, including references to sex.

Between February and November 2018 he sent WhatsApp messages saying he wanted to have sex with her when she was 16.

During a sentencing hearing that was interrupted by a suspected gas leak, the judge heard that the effect on his victim had been "deeply upsetting" and her health suffered because of it.

"A young girl was being asked in these texts to confront adult issues and you took advantage of her expressing your sexual desires," he added.

Eltabib had used the name of an anime character known to stalk and spy on women.

On his Facebook he wrote: "Live in Medway. I (love) cosplay and have a long list of comic cons this year. Wish I could do more. Love anime. Gaming. The usual."

Description

A man who attempted to lure who he thought was a 14-year-old girl to Swansea on the train was intercepted by a paedophile hunters group when he went to meet her.

Paul Leslie Lewis began messaging the profile purporting to be the teenager on Facebook messenger in May this year. It was actually a decoy profile being run by a paedophile hunter group called Black Flag Hunters.

Lewis began sending messages from a profile called 'Paul Rio' asking how old the girl was. She replied that she was "only 14" and he made out he was 28 - despite actually being 56. He told her he was from Swansea, and she replied that she was from Blackburn but had a grandmother who lived in Cardiff.

He told her that he worked for famous rock bands, and sent her a black and white picture of Queen along with others, including himself with a guitar and said it was himself performing. He turned the conversation to meeting up, and the decoy said "they had never met someone from the internet", and Lewis encouraged her to "try different things".

The decoy made out that it was their 15th birthday soon, and it was later discovered that Lewis had taken particular interest in this, marking the date down in his diary. He told her "it was a shame she would not be in Swansea as he would have bought her a birthday treat."

During the course of the conversation he also offered to "teach her how to kiss properly" and told her it would be done respectfully. He also told her he wanted to hold her and cuddle her. He also told her that she should keep quiet about talking to him until she was 16.

Things began to escalate when the decoy made out she planned to visit her grandmother in Cardiff. Lewis began calling her his "beautiful sexy girlfriend babe" and pushed for them to meet up, offering to pick her up from Cardiff, but she said she would get on the train as she needed to get back to her gran's house. He also offered to buy her swimwear.

They arranged a meet on Saturday, May 22, and Lewis had sent the decoy a picture of himself so she would recognise him. But when he arrived, he was instead met by the paedophile hunter group along High Street as he made his way towards the train station. He was subsequently arrested by police who had also been notified over the plans for the meet-up. Lewis told officers: "I knew you would need to speak to me."

His home was searched and they found the diary with the decoy's 15th birthday marked down on it, and they also found an internet browser search for GHB, commonly referred to as a date-rape drug. He provided a no comment interview at the police station and was charged.

Lewis, of Somerset Place, Maritime Quarter, Swansea, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing having admitted charges of being an adult meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, a separate offence relating to another decoy which was run by a different paedophile hunter group called Fleetwood Enforcers.

Mitigating, his barrister Andrew Evans said: "This defendant has been living a solitary lifestyle for a number of years and had been abusing alcohol for a number of years. It is no excuse for him behaving in this way."

Judge Huw Rees sentenced Lewis to 12 months in prison.

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A SERIAL paedophile was caught in an online sting after a decoy tricked him by offering him two young girls for sex.

Peter Warry, 46, of Chepstow Road, Newport, was the prey in an entrapment operation, prosecutor Matthew Roberts.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the defendant thought he was grooming a 13-year-old girl but Sienna was a fictional character used to lure him in.

Warry was also sharing vile child abuse images on social media via the Kik and WhatsApp platforms.

He also had previous convictions for sexual crimes against children and was jailed at Derby Crown Court for 12 months in 2012 for distributing indecent images.

Warrys latest offending occurred over the past 14 months.

He pleaded guilty to the distribution and possession of indecent images of children.

The defendant was found with 85 pictures at the most serious level of category A, 25 at category B and 19 at category C.

Warry also admitted that he attempted to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempted to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements.

Ieuan Bennett, representing Warry, said in mitigation: He knows he needs help.

His barrister added how his client said he had ruined his own life.

Judge Huw Rees told the defendant: A decoy was offering you, unbelievably, two young girls for sex.

He added: Your previous convictions are a serious aggravating factor in this case.

You have said that your life has been left in ruins but you have nobody to blame for that but yourself.

Warry was jailed for four years and four months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until 2036.

Description

Evil Anthony Burn subjected seven young girls to life-ruining sex attacks in a campaign of rape and abuse that spanned his entire adult life.

The vile 57-year-old's sick offending began when he was in his teens, and lasted for almost 40 years until he was finally snared.

Burn somehow managed to abuse children "under the radar" subjecting his young victims to multiple and regular rape attacks.

He would go to the Northumberland home of one schoolgirl around once a week to rape her over a period of a year, meaning she suffered around 50 horrific ordeals.

The abuse began when she was still playing with dolls.

As Burn got older his crimes continued, but the age of his victims remained consistently low, between around nine and 16 years old.

And even after police questioned him over his abuse of five girls in Northumberland, he went on to target two more youngsters in Cambridgeshire.

But now thanks to the courage of the women he targeted Burn's reign of terror has finally been brought to an end.

As he locked Burn up for life with a minimum of 15 years at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Christopher Prince described him as "extremely dangerous" and said he would pose a risk to others until the day he died.

He told him: "The gravity and amount of offending is abhorrent to any right thinking person. The risk in your case will continue until the day you die. These are extremely serious offences committed by an extremely dangerous defendant.

"They are among the worst offences of this type to come before the court."

The court heard how Burn's crimes began in the early 1980s when he was in his late teens.

And David Lamb, prosecuting, explained how he spent his entire adult life abusing young girls, without being caught.

"There are a total of seven young female victims in this case," he said. "The campaign of offending spanned nearly all the defendant's adult life.

"It commenced in 1982 when he was aged 17, and concluded in 2020 when he would have been 57.

"A remarkable feature throughout this defendant's existence is he's managed to get himself into the lives of so many children to such a degree he was able to sexually abuse them over a substantial period of time virtually under the radar."

The court heard how after befriending the family schoolgirl who lived on the same Northumberland estate as him, Burn started to let himself into her home to rape her repeatedly.

And Mr Lamb, explained how, like many of Burn's victims, the girl was raped so many times she eventually stopped trying to fight the fiend off.

"She was still a very young looking girl. The defendant would have known how old she was," he said.

Describing the first time the girl was raped by Burn, in a bedroom in her house, Mr Lamb said: "(The victim) describes it as painful. She was crying throughout because of the pain. He would have known she was not consenting."

The rapes continued for around a year

"It happened at least once a week over a year until she moved house," said Mr Lamb.

"The incidents were never discussed between the two of them. He would just come round and get what he wanted every time he got the opportunity."

Burn also repeatedly raped another schoolgirl at her home in Northumberland during the early 1980s.

"She viewed the defendant as an adult and describes herself as being like a child." said Mr Lamb. "She remembers he had raped her a few more times but she can't remember how many."

"It got to the point where she became submissive. She thought it would be over quicker if she behaved in that way.

"She used to panic that she would get pregnant, but fortunately she didn't."

Burn got away with these sick attacks for more than 30 years.

But in November 2018 his first victim reported what had happened to her to Northumbria Police.

Detectives then spoke to the other victim, who was able to give them the name of a third girl she believed had been raped by Burn.

The third victim was contacted by police and eventually revealed that she had also been abused.

"She describes three incidents in which she was raped when she was 16 years old," said Mr Lamb. "He was four years older."

Burn was in his 30s when he began to target his next victim, who he first raped after she got in his vehicle thinking she would be given a lift home from the MetroCentre.

He instead took her to a flat where he raped her.

"Although he got older the age of his victims remained almost constant," said Mr Lamb.

This victim did report the attacks to police at the time. The allegations were investigated, but Burn was never charged.

He also systematically abused a fifth North East girl over a long period of around 16 years.

"Because she was raped so many times she is unable to describe specific incidents," said Mr Lamb. She recalls seeing his face through tears. She was really scared, and remembers that it hurt.

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A PAEDOPHILE operating online has been jailed after being caught by an undercover police officer working for Darlington Police.

Daniel Bateman unwittingly struck up a conversation with the undercover officer, who was posing as another online paedophile on the social messaging app, KIK.

Bateman then sent the decoy an indecent image of a child, before suggesting the pair meet up to have sex with children.

The 30-year-old of Birch Road, Darlington, was arrested and charged with distributing an indecent image and arranging or facilitating a child sex offence.

He admitted distributing an indecent image but denied the second charge.

A jury sitting at Teesside Crown Court, however, found Bateman guilty and he was jailed for three years last Monday (January 24).

He was also made subject to a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

Detective Constable Pat Finn, of Durham Constabulary, led the investigation. He said: Bateman is a dangerous and deceitful individual, who sought to realise his own depraved fantasies by seeking to meet up with other like-minded paedophiles to sexually abuse children.

He has shown no remorse throughout the trial, and he is now behind bars where he belongs, and is no longer in a position where he continues to pose a serious sexual risk to children.

Anyone who is suffering sexual abuse, please know that you are not alone and there are people who can help you.

Please, come forward and speak to us no matter who the perpetrator is, or when the abuse took place, our specially trained officers are here to help you and ensure you get the justice you deserve.

Either call us on 101 or dial 999 if you are in immediate danger.

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A high-risk Somerset sex offender who was being monitored 24 hours a day on a GPS tag has been jailed for trying to lure a 15-year-old girl into a field for sex.

Samuel Netley, 28, was branded as a danger to the public and a devious, manipulative sexual predator with an unhealthy interest in under age girls by the judge who jailed him.

He was on post-release supervision at a bail hostel in Bridgwater when he accosted the girl next to a skate park and offered her 20 to go with him to a nearby field.

He also showed her his car and offered to take her to Weston-super-Mare, Exeter Crown Court was told.

The girl escaped and alerted the police, who were able to trace his exact movements over the 15 minutes he had been with the girl from his GPS tracker.

The victim wrote an impact statement in which she said she is now wary of men, scared to go out alone and avoids the area near the skate park.

Netley was jailed in 2016 for grooming five girls on Facebook and trying to meet at least one of them. He was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which he has broken three times.

He had been released from an eight-month sentence for the third breach and moved into the hostel about two months before he approached the 15-year-old in Bridgwater in June last year.

At the time of his last sentence, he was assessed by probation as posing a high risk which could not be managed in the community.

Netley, aged 28, of Taunton Road, Bridgwater, denied inciting a child to sexual activity but was convicted by a jury at Taunton Crown Court in February 2021.

He was jailed for four years and three months with an eight year licence extension by Judge Peter Johnson, sitting at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: "You were almost twice her age and she says she was hysterical and unable to catch her breath. It is still affecting her markedly.

"I find you are a devious, manipulative sexual predator with an unhealthy sexual interest in under-aged girls. It is said this was not a contact offence, but it as close to one as you are going to get.

"There is a worrying pattern and I unhesitatingly find that you are a dangerous offender."

Mr Christopher Smyth, prosecuting, said the girl was walking home past the skate park in Friarn Avenue at 9pm on June 4, 2020, when Netley walked up from behind and grabbed her hand.

He asked her age and then offered her 20 to go to a field and masturbate him. She said no but he made her walk with him for 15 minutes during which he also offered to drive her to Weston.

At his trial, he claimed to have been remonstrating with the girl because she had scratched his car, but a police officer had noticed the damage several hours earlier.

Miss Emily Cook, defending, said Netley suffers from a form of autism which affects the way in which he interacts with other people.

He has never committed any sort of physical sexual assault.

She said this attempt was never going to have succeeded and a probation report rated his risk as medium rather than high.

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A terminally ill pensioner who raped a little girl "weekly" was today told he will probably die in jail.

James Knowles, 78, carried out "depraved sexual acts" on an "extremely young child" several decades ago.

She first went to the police in the 1990s, but said she was told "there was nothing they could do, because it happened years ago".

However, the woman found the courage to come forward again in 2018, leading to her abuser today being jailed for 25 years.

Judge David Aubrey, QC, told Knowles "your evil past has now caught up with you", stating: "You are likely to die in prison."

Liverpool Crown Court heard Knowles, of Amber Way, Stockbridge Village, abused the child when she was aged between five and 10.

He denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty after a trial last week of six counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault.

Knowles was allowed to give evidence from home via video link because of his poor heath, but today sat in a wheelchair in the well of the court, just metres away from his brave victim.

The paedophile, who didn't have any previous convictions, had claimed she was lying and still maintains his innocence.

However, Keith Sutton, prosecuting, told the jury Knowles had made admissions to his family, including that he "messed around" with and had "done some bad things" to the victim, before claiming that he was mentally "sick" at the time.

The victim said she was raped "weekly" by him and each count of rape specified "on no less than 10 occasions".

Judge Aubrey said this meant Knowles would now be sentenced for raping her "on no less than 60 occasions".

He said: "It can properly and indeed only be described in my judgement as a persistent campaign of rape upon a particularly vulnerable child."

The woman today read from a victim statement, in which she outlined the horrific impact of the abuse, how she spent her youth "looking over my shoulder", and how Knowles "did not only rob me of my childhood, but my life".

Judge Aubrey commended her "courage" and referred to when she first approached the police in the 1990s.

He said: "Unfortunately her complaint then fell on deaf ears and she was turned away.

"It was a different era then and now complaints are listened to, investigated and examined and your evil past has now caught up with you."

The judge said: "In her poignant victim personal statement she refers to her smile in an old photograph but behind the smile was a child living in fear, dread and incessant worry.

"She speaks now and still of her immeasurable pain and anguish."

Judge Aubrey said Knowles took away the victim's "innocence" and "destroyed her childhood".

He said: "You have taken away more than that, you have scarred your victim emotionally and psychologically for the rest of her life.

"You caused all of that everlasting hurt and harm for your own perverted sexual gratification."

Brian Treadwell, defending, highlighted his client's age and ill health, including his terminal heart condition and kidney failure.

He said Knowles had a pacemaker fitted with a defibrillator, but had decided to have the defibrillator switched off and had recently been receiving palliative care at home.

Judge Aubrey said Knowles quality of life was "very poor" and because his defibrillator had been switched off "it leaves you vulnerable to serious ventricular arrhythmias, which would be likely to end your life".

He said Knowles had made a personal decision that if he suffered a heart attack, he didn't want the defibrillator turned back on or to be resuscitated.

The judge said he took into account Knowles' age and heath, adding: "I bear in mind a prison sentence would be greater punishment for you than a younger person - I make a downward adjustment for that."

However, he added: "I cannot and do not overlook the gravity of these offences or indeed the extreme harm that you have caused to your victim."

The judge said Knowles was "an offender of particular concern" and handed him an extended one year on licence.

This type of sentence means Knowles must serve at least half of the 25 years - 12 and a half years - in prison.

Judge Aubrey said he would then be 90 when his case would be referred to the Parole Board and he would only be released before the end of the 25 years if he is no longer considered to be a risk.

Can you help us keep Merseyside covered?

He added: "It may well be that the Parole Board would never be in a position to consider your case."

Knowles shook his head and glared at the victim as he was taken out of court.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: "This was an horrific and prolonged period of abuse carried out by Knowles, and we hope his victim is receiving all the support she needs.

"Her courage in speaking out against her abuser cannot be understated and shows that offenders like Knowles can still face justice even decades after their unthinkable crimes.

"No matter when abuse took place, help is available to survivors and we would encourage anyone who has concerns about the wellbeing of a child or who has experienced abuse to speak out and seek support."

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A teenager has been jailed for sexually abusing children at the nursery where he worked.

Jayden McCarthy, 18, will serve 11 years and six months with an extended licence of three years, a judge at Exeter Crown Court ruled.

McCarthy was found guilty of one charge of rape and 13 of sexual assault at the nursery in Torbay by a jury in May.

He was also found guilty of two counts of raping a boy in a separate incident in 2014.

An investigation was launched when a child at the nursery McCarthy worked at told her parents that he had sexually assaulted her.

At McCarthy's trial at Exeter Crown Court the jury were shown 13 CCTV clips taken in July 2019 of him touching eight children inappropriately.

He had been taken on as an apprentice in March 2019 following an interview process and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

The father of one of the victims told the court that his family had been through the "fires of hell" over the last two years, suffered from anxiety and depression and that McCarthy had "broken" them.

'Emotionally challenging'

Judge David Evans said McCarthy, who was 16 at the time of the offences, posed a high level of risk given he could "barely contain" his sexual impulses while working at the nursery.

"You were placed in a specific position of trust and you exploited that situation," he told him.

"It seems to me that sexual offending may be in your nature and a great deal of work may be needed to work it out," the judge added.

Det Ch Insp James Stock, from the Public Protection Unit at Devon and Cornwall Police, said it had been an "emotionally challenging and incredibly complex case".

An independent review into McCarthy's abuse, commissioned by Torbay's Safeguarding Partnership, is now due to be completed.

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A child molester left a girl "broken" after carrying out horrific sex offences in the 1970s.

Kevin Howard preyed on three children in the Wirral over a number of years and forced two to perform sex acts on him, having attempted to force a third to.

The now 69-year-old left one child "broken" after repeatedly abusing her.

He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced for a catalogue of sex offences.

Judge Denis Watson, QC, said how Howard had tried to put his hand down the trousers of Child A and made Child B perform a sex act on him.

His worst offences took place against Child C.

The judge said he had "no hesitation" in categorising the harm to that victim as "severe".

Trevor Parry-Jones, prosecuting, read a statement from Child A in which she said: "I was destroyed by the abuse I suffered by Kevin Howard.

"I wonder how my life might have been without this."

She said: "There was no support, no one to talk to."

Child C said she takes antidepressants which she has been "on and off" all her life.

She added: "I feel the abuse I suffered and psychological effects prevented me from being a better mother."

She said Howard "has been allowed to live his life over the years that have passed while I have tried to deal with the consequences as best I could".

Howard was convicted, after a trial, of 18 counts of sexual offences against the three children, which were made up of two counts of gross indecency with a child and 16 counts of indecent assault on a girl.

Fiona McNeill, defending, asked the judge to consider his lack of previous convictions.

She said Howard, of Mucklougher, Leitrim in Ireland, had never tried to deter his victims when they came forward.

Ms McNeill said he was "only a young man" at the time of the offences and explained he was now receiving treatment for a number of health problems.

The judge said: "You took advantage of the fact that those were children and they were just too young to be able to complain about the graphic and horrendous acts you carried out."

Howard was jailed for 17 years with an additional three years on licence.

He must also sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A MARTIAL arts instructor who groomed and had sex with a 15-year-old girl in care, giving her so much cocaine her septum was damaged, has been jailed for 13 years.

Manchester Crown Court was told how Martin Yankey, then 34, would take the girl from a children's home to exploit her.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was often reported missing from the home, when she had been with Yankey.

Yankey, now 37, of Firs Road, Over Hulton, groomed his victim between February and May 2018 at his then-home in High Street, Atherton.

One taxi driver reported taking the girl to Yankey's home, in April 2018, and

The care home often reported her missing with police visiting Yankeys address on April 13 2018, where taxi drivers had reported taking her and it being a bit dodgy, and showed him a picture of her, telling him she was only 15-years-old.

Prosecutor Rachel Shenton said when police visited Yankey's home, on April 13, 2018, after a tip-off from a taxi driver, he denied knowing the girl.

Police went back on May 1 and 5 and he was told she was missing from home and he denied knowing her. Police again visited on May 5 and this time he (officer) showed the defendant pictures of her.

"He was told she was 15-years-of-age and was missing from a childrens home. He was specifically warned that if she was found in his home, he could be arrested for child abduction".

The court heard that due to the amount of times she went missing she went to live with foster carers. But on May 18 she left her foster carers and got into a white Range Rover, which sped away.

Yankeys home was visited again, as he complained about the repeated searches. He was arrested for child abduction and the girl was then found hiding in a kitchen cupboard.

The victim told police she would often go to his home, where they drank alcohol and he gave her cocaine.

She believed after a few visits that they were in a relationship and would visit regularly as he would tell her he loved her.

Ms Shenton said that was part of grooming the victim, who was particularly vulnerable as she was in care.

Yankey told police he believed the victim was 17 and denied their relationship was sexual.

A statement from the victim said: "I was given drink and drugs and suffered extreme sexual abuse. I started showering excessive amounts and self harming, I tried to make sense of it but I couldnt.

She has suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety and had tried to take her own life.

Yankey admitted to sexual activity with a child, abduction and possession of indecent images of a child.

He was also given an indefinite restraining order, covering his victim, and a sexual harm prevention order.

Defending Yankey, Jo Morris said that he was now in a committed relationship and he should be given credit for entering guilty pleas.

Ms Morris also said Yankey had been diagnosed with psychosis and epilepsy in 2019 and had not been making sensible decisions at the time.

Passing sentence, Judge Hilary Manley branded Yankey a "devious and selfish man".

The judge added: "You exploited a 15-year-old who was vulnerable and having a troubled time in her young life and in the care of the local authority.

You were more than twice her age and spent years working with young people. You would have had to have been well aware of child safe guarding issues.

You gave her so much cocaine her it damaged her septum and gave her a lot of alcohol.

You executed classic methods of grooming, being loving and making her feel like an adult.

Police visited you many times where you said you didnt know her but the last time searched thoroughly and found her hiding in a cupboard.

You are a devious and selfish man having an exploitative sexual relationship with her, giving her so much cocaine she lost a full days memory.

She doesnt feel she will ever recover and has tried to take her own life. She has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

You have shown no remorse and have no real idea the damage you have done. This is because you are a selfish man who sees yourself as the victim.

It is interesting and disturbing that your latest partner is 20-years-old, its not illegal but there is a significant age gap again.

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A man who raped a woman in Lee-on-the-Solent has been jailed for 12 years and a half years.

Richard John Babington, aged 56 years, of Twyford Road in Eastleigh, had been drinking with the woman overnight on 23 February 2019.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard that the woman awoke in the early hours of the morning on 24 February to find Babington seriously sexually assaulting her in a motorhome he owned at a caravan park along Browndown Road.

Babington then continued to rape the woman in the motorhome before she was able to flee and call police.

Officers attended and arrested Babington at the scene.

Following a lengthy investigation, he was subsequently charged with offences, and the case went to trial on 17 May this year.

Despite his denials, Babington was convicted unanimously by the jury of two counts of rape, and one count of assault by penetration on 24 May.

Appearing at Portsmouth Crown Court today (Friday 23 July), Babington was jailed for 12 years and 6 months.

Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Heather Hudson said: “This was a horrendous assault, and I commend the bravery of the woman who has had to endure a lengthy investigation and trial process due to Babington’s callous denials.

“He plied this woman with alcohol and took advantage of her, and continued to subject her to a horrendous assault after she regained consciousness.

“I am pleased the jury saw through his lies and he is now being rightly punished for this terrible crime.”