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Description

A convicted sex offender who got mixed up over how long he had to register his address with the police has been sent back to prison just days after he was last released from jail.

Oxford man Wilfred Mosira, 37, left HMP Bullingdon, near Bicester, on June 23.

As a registered sex offender, he was under a duty to tell the police of his new address within three days of moving.

But Oxford Magistrates Court heard on Thursday (June 29) that Mosira mistakenly believed that meant three working days and not three calendar days.

Having been released on a Friday, he thought he had until the following Wednesday three working days to register at the police station, his advocate Charlie Moss said. He did not.

On Tuesday (June 27), the police were called after Mosira argued with a member of staff at a Co-op in Abingdon when his bank card was declined. Prosecutor Liz Tweed said the defendant 'pushed' the store assistant.

He was found outside the shop, arrested and held in custody until he appeared before the court on Thursday afternoon.

Mosira, of Owens Way, Cowley, pleaded guilty to breach of sex offender notification requirements and common assault.

The magistrates jailed him for four weeks, with chairman of the bench Jon Kearsey noting that he had been given a months imprisonment earlier this year when he was before the court for the same offence.

He was also ordered to pay 50 in compensation.

Description

A woman has told of the horror of discovering her fianc was a paedophile just days after the birth of their baby girl.

Amy who has asked for her surname not to be used - looked through Jamie Kennedy's phone as he slept at their Sittingbourne home because she suspected he was cheating on her.

But instead she found he had been blackmailing children into sending him naked pictures on Instagram.

The shocking revelation sparked a series of events that would ultimately lead to Kennedy going on trial at Canterbury Crown Court.

The 41-year-old, who more recently lived opposite a play park in Herne Bay, was convicted of 16 charges relating to rape, sexual activity with children, and possessing indecent images.

After the hearing, his ex-fiance spoke to KentOnline about the awful moment she learned the truth about her partner, and how she fought for years to bring him to justice.

The shocking discovery

Amys suspicions first arose following the birth of their daughter in 2016, as Kennedy was spending a lot of time on his phone and showed little interest in their newborn baby.

Five days after they returned home from hospital, Amy took the opportunity to check his messages.

I was up in the middle of the night with our baby and his phone was on charge on the floor, so I picked it up thinking he was definitely having an affair, she said.

At first I couldnt find anything but I kept looking and eventually I saw all these conversations with really young girls sending fully nude photos. It was awful.

I was in complete and utter shock - we were engaged, saving for a mortgage and Id just had a baby 17 days before.

I literally lost everything in the space of an hour. My child no longer had a dad. My mortgage plans were off. Our wedding was off. In the snap of a finger Id become a single parent who had essentially lost her whole life.

I didnt know what to do so I carried the baby into my mums room and said: You need to get up.

She said whats wrong? and I replied: Jamies a paedophile.

Three days later, after agonising over whether she was overreacting or being influenced by the trauma of her complicated birth just weeks before, Amy asked her mother to report Kennedy to the police.

The trial at Canterbury Crown Court heard Amy and her mother stayed up all night copying and transferring the evidence from Kennedys online communications with young girls, conscious that he had destroyed a phone in a previous argument.

Everyone knows hes a nonce

Despite these events taking place in 2016, Kennedy was only convicted last month, with some of the offences he was found guilty of taking place as recently as last year.

The jury ruled he groomed a series of girls aged between 11 and 16, plying them with perfume and promises of a career in modelling, over a period of almost 25 years.

The court heard that a year after Amy raised the alarm about Kennedy, she was at barbecue when she learned her former partner had a history of targeting young girls.

Prosecutor Nina Ellin KC told the jury that when the partys host showed a picture of her sons christening to the gathering, one guest pointed to Kennedy and said: Why is a nonce at a christening?

Amy approached the guest to ask what they meant and she replied: Hes a nonce, hes always been a nonce. Everyone knows hes a nonce.

More revelations emerge

Amy later reported to police information she had received that Kennedy had been romantically pursuing an underage schoolgirl almost 10 years before.

Two years later, after discovering the lead had not been followed up, she reached out to the girl herself and asked if she would consider speaking to police.

It transpired she had been 16 at the time of Kennedy's approaches - so not underage - but had been victim to the most heinous of crimes, which she reported to detectives with Amy's encouragement.

During the trial, she told how Kennedy had messaged her online and made flirty conversation. But he then threatened to share the screenshots of their chats with her parents unless she did what he asked.

The blackmail escalated until she felt forced to meet him. She bravely described in court how he raped and sexually assaulted her in his car while it was parked down a country lane.

After interviewing the girl, detectives charged Kennedy, and the report of his impending court case in the media encouraged another victim to come forward.

This victim had met Kennedy more than 20 years ago, when she was just 13, and following an invite to Sunday lunch he sexually assaulted her while a relative lay passed out drunk just metres away.

In court she spoke of the guilt she felt over having not come forward sooner and potentially preventing the harm that came to his later victims.

The final charges against Kennedy related to offences that took place last year while he was on bail awaiting trial.

The court was told how he coerced a 13-year-old girl into sexual activity at his home, with the victim and her family unaware he was facing a trial for rape.

Kennedys lies exposed

When first confronted with the allegations in a police interview, Kennedy said he was messaging children on social media purely for research purposes for an online safety app he was developing.

But after it was discovered he had only registered the business under the name Keyword the day after he was caught, he admitted this was untrue.

However, Kennedy told jurors he only lied because he was being blackmailed by Amy - outrageously claiming that she had in fact committed all of the crimes he was accused of.

Describing her as 100% evil, he accused her of forcing him to go to the police to admit to the offences or she would take away his newborn daughter.

Kennedy rebuked every claim made against him and said that all but the allegation stemming from more than 20 years ago could be traced back to Amy in some way.

On the charges relating to that historic abuse, he alleged the victim had seen the news of his arrest and decided to jump on the bandwagon.

Addressing the jury, prosecutor Nina Ellin KC rubbished these claims, saying: If you were going to break up with someone would you do it this way? If you were going to break things off with your daughters father, would you want people to believe he was a paedophile? If you were going to frame someone as a paedophile, is this how you would go about it?

The damning verdict

Jurors took just under 11 hours to unanimously convict Kennedy of all 16 charges.

He was found guilty of two counts of causing or attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts relating to indecent images of children, six counts of rape and sexual assault, and five counts of sexual activity with a child.

Kennedy closed his eyes in anguish as soon as the first guilty verdict was read.

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on September 8.

Following the verdict, Amy took her daughter to the park and for the first time let her play without feeling the need to stand over her shoulder or hold her hand constantly for fear that her father would appear.

She said despite her holding a non-molestation order against him he had harassed her online and in person for the last seven years, forcing her to move house three times.

She told KentOnline said: Throughout the seven years there have been times when Ive been beside myself, probably depressed and had overwhelming anxiety, but Ive had to just keep going knowing eventually we will get there.

Then when the trial arrived I didnt want it to because I was just so scared that he would get away with it.

Hearing the verdict was a very surreal experience. I sat between my mum and my husband and they each held one of my hands for that awful wait.

The public gallery is so close to where the defendant sits and he came in and he just stared at me even in the courtroom he was still trying to intimidate me.

But then the absolute relief when I heard that guilty was something I've never experienced before.

We all burst into tears because you are all pent up with adrenaline and anxiety.

It was surreal because I had felt like I was never going to get there. It had been going on for so long and it had such a huge impact on our lives.

Amy admits that she has spent a long time almost blaming myself and questioning whether there were signs she should have seen.

But I think as time has gone on Ive realised no, there wasnt, she said.

He got away with this for such a long time.

Should he have been stopped sooner?

Although Amy is relieved justice has prevailed, she feels frustrated that it took seven years from Kennedys initial arrest in 2016 for him to be convicted.

She believes if police had been quicker to take action, the harm caused to Kennedys more recent victims could have been avoided.

On Kennedys latest victim, she said: Can you imagine being that poor girl's parents? Going to the police and them saying that they know thats what hes doing, hes under investigation.

How can someone who is sexually abusing children be allowed to walk the streets?

I just think how could you ever apologise to those parents enough, because had the case been dealt with properly from the beginning he would have been in prison and that child would not have been a victim.

Supt Nick Sparkes, of Kent Polices North Division, says the force places victims at the heart of everything we do and investigates reports of crime as swiftly and efficiently as possible.

He added: In this particular case, the suspect was arrested one day after the initial report was received and an investigation was launched.

Subsequent enquiries led to the identification of more victims, prompting a highly complex and sensitive investigation. This included carrying out various interviews with witnesses and victims and gathering evidential materials, including downloading and analysing numerous digital devices.

This investigation resulted in several sexual offence charges being authorised and a conviction at court with the offender awaiting sentencing. We hope this provides some justice and closure for the victims in this case.

We are committed to ongoing learning and have measures in place to ensure the strongest possible casefiles are submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service at the first attempt.

We are continuing to review the circumstances of this case to identify any areas of improvement and future learning and have since been in touch with those involved to address any concerns raised.

Description

A sexual predator has been sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court last Thursday (22 June).

Michael Morgan, 35, from Hounslow, London, was found guilty of one count of rape and one count of voyeurism against two separate victims when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, 31 March.

The extensive investigation into Morgan began when he was reported to police on suspicion of rape. It was later discovered that he had encouraged a 14-year-old to drink alcohol so that he could groom her and commit the offence of rape.

In a separate incident, Morgan also filmed himself engaging in a sexual act without consent with a woman in her 20s. The two offences were tried in conjunction at his trial at Guildford Crown Court.

Morgan was given a sentence of 11 years and 6 months for the rape offence and a 6-month sentence for the voyeurism offence that is to run concurrently.

Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Connor Leney, said: “Morgan’s behaviour has impacted many lives, and I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the bravery and courage of both victims who have helped put this man behind bars for a long time.

“This investigation and sentencing shows that we will work tirelessly to ensure sexual predators face the consequences of their actions.

“If there is anyone reading this who has been a victim of sex abuse, I would encourage you to speak to us. We will do everything we can to support you.”

Description

A serial sex offender who repeatedly targeted a young girl for a series of "grotesque" rapes and other sexual abuse has been jailed for 22 years.

The victim had been left suffering nightmares, sleepless nights and great stress as a result of the ordeal that she had been through, Hull Crown Court heard. Grzegorz Krosman, 41, of 10th Avenue, north Hull, denied six offences of raping a child under 13 and two offences of sexually assaulting a child under 13 but he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

Charlotte Baines, prosecuting, said that the gravity of the offences escalated significantly. The girl said in a statement that she had been left worried and upset by what happened to her.

She had not been able to sleep very well and had been anxious about the outcome of the case. "I feel that my life has been turned upside down," she said. "I am no longer the person I used to be." She felt "drained" thinking about what Krosman had done to her and "anxiety took over".

She felt that her childhood had been taken away from her and she had found the police investigation very stressful. She had found it very difficult to talk about what Krosman did.

"It's caused a lot of changes in my life," said the girl. "I just wanted him to tell the truth and give me some closure. It has left me feeling insecure and lacking body confidence.

"I feel sad that he put me and my family through the court process. I look forward to the day that I can have some sort of normality in my life.

"I have been having trouble sleeping and having nightmares because of the abuse that I have suffered. There have been nights when I have stayed awake instead of sleeping.

"I have been worrying about what the outcome of the trial would be." She was "very relieved" when she was told that Krosman had been convicted and she felt safer now.

"I have to live with what he has done to me for the rest of my life," she said.

Krosman, who is Polish, had convictions for nine previous offences between 2014 and 2021 but none for sexual offences. Paul Genney, mitigating, said that Krosman still maintained his position despite being convicted by the jury and claimed that the offences did not happen.

Krosman had lost everything, including his job as a factory worker and his reputation, because of the convictions. He would now lose a substantial amount of his liberty and, because he could not speak English and had no friends who could visit him in prison, he would find his time in custody "particularly arduous".

It would not be until he had served at least two thirds of his sentence that he could be considered for release.

Judge Mark Bury condemned the offences as "grotesque". Krosman will be on extended licence of one year after his release from prison. He will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Judge Bury said of the victim: "I hope she feels some comfort from the sentence."

Description

A Plymouth man has been jailed after admitting a plethora of historic sexual abuse with a child. The incidents took place in Bristol when Wayne Willis was a teenager.

Willis, whose address was given as Belmont Guest House on Plymouth Hoe, was described as "feral" when, aged 17, he sexually abused the youngster who was half his age.

Bristol Crown Court heard earlier this month that, ultimately, the girl's mum managed to stop contact between them. Willis, now aged 52, pleaded guilty to multiple accounts of indecent assault and gross indecency, BristolLive reports.

Judge Michael Cullum jailed him for four years and ten months. The judge told him: "Offences such as this have an enormous, life-long, damaging effect. It is obvious, it is unsurprising that from 13 to 21 there was very acute, dramatic suffering (for the complainant). Her mental health was very significantly affected."

The judge ordered Willis to register as a sex offender for life, barred him from working with children and vulnerable adults, imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop reoffending and issued an indefinite restraining order banning him from all contact with the victim.

The court heard Willis suffered abuse himself as a child and went on to abuse the youngster. After showing her interest, giving her sweets and favours he enabled himself to commit very serious indecent assaults on her, the court was told.

Mark Worsley, defending, stressed his client had not used alcohol or drugs to groom the youngster and had not threatened her with violence. Mr Worsley said: "He does not recall the acts. He accepts everything he did. He has expressed remorse."

The court heard Willis suffers from anxiety and depression and has heart problems. Mr Worsley said Willis was realistic about his fate after "putting his hands up to the whole thing".

Description

Crack cocaine transformed a man into a pervert who flashed at females of all ages, a court heard. Jody Hawkins exposed himself to a girl aged 15 on a Facebook video call.

In a similar drug-induced state he was in a ladies lavatory when he exposed himself to a woman aged 69. He then followed a woman aged 71 and exposed himself to her, Bristol Crown Court was told on Thursday (June 29)

Hawkins, 41, of Keynsham, pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, causing a child to watch sexual activity and enticing a child to engage in sexual activity. Judge Moira Macmillan jailed him for two years and four months.

The judge told Hawkins: "I have to sentence you for really serious matters. I know you're aware of that. I want you to put yourself in (the young complainant's) position."

Hawkins was handed an indefinite restraining order banning all contact with the young complainant. He was handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop reoffending and was told to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Charles Thomas, prosecuting, said Hawkins - wearing just boxer shorts and socks - engaged in a Facebook video call with the 15-year-old girl. After asking her questions she felt were "awkward", he showed her a sex scene on his TV and engaged in a sex act, encouraging her to do the same.

The embarrassed youngster declined to do so, the court heard. She told her mum, Hawkins was tracked down and arrested and initially denied wrongdoing.

The court heard he was in a ladies lavatory when he exposed his penis to a woman aged 69. He then followed a woman aged 71 into a garden, told her "I bet you haven't seen a d*** like this for a long time", took out his penis and engaged in a sex act.

One of the older victims stated how the incident had upset her. She said she had already felt vulnerable after suffering illness. The younger victim said the incident badly affected her mental health. She also said she had suffered flashbacks.

George Threlfall, defending, said his client was on drugs at the time and had little recall of events. But he said Hawkins was now clean of narcotics. Mr Threlfall said: "He has let himself down badly. He said he was sorry that his behaviour had had this effect on (the young complainant)

"It was wrong. It was very wrong, it shouldn't have happened. It only happened because he was taking too much crack cocaine. People, especially middle-aged people, ought to realise when you take these Class A drugs you have no real control on your behaviour. Anything can happen."

Description

A dangerous sexual predator who drugged and raped a teenager in Accrington has been given a further prison sentence.

44 (pictured), 44, was jailed for 11 years in 2020 after being found guilty of raping a woman whilst threatening her with a knife.
 
Having seen media coverage of that case, the Accrington victim contacted our officers to say that Shafiq had drugged and raped her when she was 17.
 
Shafiq initially denied the offence, falsely claiming that he had been in a relationship with his victim and he had ended it when she became possessive of him.
 
He encouraged a family member from prison to repeat that lie to police.
 
Shafiq, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to rape and perverting the course of justice. He was jailed for eight years at Preston Crown Court today (June 29) with a further eight on extended licence after a Judge deemed him to be a dangerous offender.
 
He was previously ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

DS David Tait, who led the investigation, said:

“Shafiq is a sexual predator who presents a very real danger to women by his perverted and warped views towards them.

“I am pleased by the sentence handed down to him by the court, which reflects the seriousness of his offending.

“I want to praise the bravery of the victim. She has had to live with the impact of what the Shafiq did to her for many years and I am pleased we have now been able to achieve some form of justice for her.

“I hope the outcome of this case will encourage other victims to come forward, knowing they will be believed, listened to and that we will do everything in our power to put them before the courts.”

Description

Godfrey Bignell, whose criminal career dates back to the early 1970s, returned to his old stomping ground on the east coast for what he claimed was a holiday, York Crown Court heard.

He was swiftly brought to book after police found him with the blade in a betting shop in Westborough.

Godfrey Bignell, whose criminal career dates back to the early 1970s, returned to his old stomping ground on the east coast for what he claimed was a holiday, York Crown Court heard.

He was swiftly brought to book after police found him with the blade in a betting shop in Westborough.

Bignell, who had lived or been staying in the town as recently as 2021, had lately been living in Doncaster.

He had been subject to notification requirements and a sexual-harm prevention order after being convicted of his latest sexual offences in 2018.

“In March this year his registered address was in Doncaster but when that was visited by his support workers, they realised he had not been staying there,” said Ms Dasaolu.

“There were further enquiries regarding bank withdrawals which brought (police) officers to Scarborough.

“He was found in Scarborough on March 23 after a member of the public approached police officers on duty and informed them there was a man in a nearby betting shop covered in blood.

“They found him in the shop where he was stopped and searched.

"He was found to have a knife.”

Bignell told officers he was on holiday in Scarborough and that he had stayed in a bed-and-breakfast for a few nights.

He claimed he had suffered a bloody nose after a fall.

He said he had been in Scarborough for about a week and was carrying the knife to remove a tag attached to a new belt.

Bignell, whose last registered address was Beckett Road, Doncaster, admitted breaching his notification requirements and possessing a knife in public.

He appeared for sentence via video link on June 28 after being remanded in custody.

The court heard he had a criminal record dating back more than 50 years, including convictions for indecent exposure, sexual offences against children, violence, outraging public decency and breaching court orders designed to prevent further sexual offending.

He had served numerous prison sentences down the years, the latest being an 18-month jail term imposed at York Crown in August 2021.

Jazmine Lee, mitigating, said that Bignell had serious mental-health issues which had been confirmed by a doctor’s report.

She said there was no suggestion he had been talking to children during his stay in Scarborough.

A probation report recommended an immediate prison sentence because Bignell, a “high-risk” offender, was unmanageable in the community.

Judge Sean Morris described Bignell’s record as “worrying” particularly as he was in a seaside town “where children go” and said that his carrying of the knife was “incredibly dangerous”.

He told the pensioner: “You are 71 and you are coming back before the courts again and again for breaches of (the court orders).

“I don’t think you are going to get any help on the outside because you won’t help yourself and you do need help.”

Bignell was handed an 18-month jail sentence of which he will serve half behind bars.

Description

Shane Jenking, 36, described as a “high-risk offender”, was supposed to inform police of any new electronic devices under a sexual-harm prevention order imposed in 2018 when he was jailed for attempting to incite a young girl to engage in sexual activity.

But when police monitoring officers went to Jenking’s flat in Albemarle Crescent, they found a phone with a new SIM card under a pillow in his bedroom, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Rachael Landin said that Jenking, who worked as a chef, had not notified police about the SIM card which was a breach of the 10-year court order which placed curbs on his internet use.

In July 2018, Jenking was convicted of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and given a 10-month prison sentence, along with a 10-year sexual-harm prevention order which included monitoring checks at his home.

On March 29 this year, officers were on a routine check at his bedsit where Jenking seemed “displeased about their attendance”.

“When he was asked to provide his mobile phone for inspection, he became defensive, asking why they needed to see it,” said Ms Landin.

“He was asked again to provide his mobile and he replied that he had just got up and needed time to wake up.”

An officer told him she would give him “two minutes to wake himself up” but would then need to inspect his phone.

“He remained defensive, made himself a cigarette and was asked a fourth time for his phone,” added Ms Landin.

“He told officers he needed a cigarette first and wanted to go to his room to smoke it.

He was told he couldn’t (whereupon) he raised his voice.”

Another officer warned him not to shout and he was asked a fifth time to hand over his phone.

“He continued to take objection to the officers’ attendance…and began to push out his chest, tense his arms and went red in the face,” said Ms Landin.

The officers said that Jenking looked “ready to fight them”, but then he turned towards his bed, reached under a pillow and pulled his phone out.

However, he then made a “quick movement” towards the window and officers believed he was about to throw the phone outside.

They pulled him away from the window, but Jenking resisted and threatened one of the officers.

They tried to cuff him but Jenking pulled his arm down to try to hamper them while continuing to threaten officers and warning them that he had been “violent in the past”.

He was eventually handcuffed, arrested and taken to Scarborough Police Station.

During a subsequent search of his bedsit, police found a dual SIM card about which Jenking had failed to notify them.

During questioning by police, Jenking was “disruptive” and told officers to “get on with it please”.

He even claimed his phone was “taken without permission” and that officers were “twisting what he said”.

He told interviewing officers: “You lot are on my back when I’ve done nothing wrong.”

He said he had borrowed the SIM card from a friend because his didn’t work and that he had forgotten to remove it from his phone.

However, he ultimately admitted two counts of breaching a sexual-harm prevention order, failing to comply with notification requirements and resisting a police constable.

He appeared for sentence via video link after being remanded in custody.

The breaches included deletion of data, the use of aliases, failing to make his phone available for inspection and failing to notify police about the new SIM card.

Jenking had 23 previous convictions for over 40 offences including eight sexual offences between 2018 and 2020.

He had three previous convictions for resisting a police officer, five previous raps for breaching a sexual-harm prevention order and three previous breaches of notification requirements.

He was last released from prison last year following recall.

Jenking, who represented himself, told the court he had worked as a chef for 18 years but had now lost his job in Scarborough.

He said that the job had been kept open for him if he kept his liberty.

He said the contract had run out on his SIM card and that when police went to his home “I had just woken up; I’ve been suffering with insomnia for 24 years”.

Judge Sean Morris jailed Jenking for six months for the “deliberate breaches (of the order)”, but due to time spent on remand, it would mean his immediate or imminent release from prison.

Description

An 82-year-old swimming pool pervert is behind bars after being found guilty of molesting two young girls in Angus.

Michael Haugh was convicted at Dundee Sheriff Court of two charges of molesting young girls — on one occasion at Arbroath Swimming Pool — and taking and possessing hundreds of images of child abuse.

Description

A man who breached the conditions of a previous sentence by hiding an internet-enabled phone from the police has been given further jail time.

Gary Sheridan, 36, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for breaching the terms of his notification requirements and for breaching the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.

In 2017, Sheridan was sentenced to more than six years in prison for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, when he was 27.

As well, he was sentenced to 42 weeks in prison in 2020 when he pleaded guilty to a sexual harm prevention order by having contact with two boys under the age of 16, as well as four charges of failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offender register.

With regard to these proceedings, Sheridan, of Church Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of his notification requirements and breaching terms of his sexual harm prevention order.

Prosecuting at Burnley Crown Court, Stephen Parker said in January 2023 officers visited Sheridan at his home and there were no issues as he handed over a phone which could not access the internet.

At the next visit on March 28, he informed them he had lost the phone previously given to the police, who then on May 4, were contacted by a witness to say she had been communicating with Sheridan through Facebook and Snapchat since February.

For a while she was unaware of Sheridan’s surname, as the Facebook profile was in the name of ‘Gary Gary’ and the Snapchat account did not display his full name either.

When she learned his real name, she searched it online and found out about his previous convictions, leading to her contacting the police.

A further search was conducted at Sheridan’s flat and a police dog found a phone hidden away in a communal area of the property.

Mr Parker said Sheridan had panicked when he was informed the police were looking for him and he had admitted “it was a stupid thing to do.”

Mitigating, James Heyworth said: “This is the second time Sheridan has disobeyed the court’s order and he understands there is a public interest in making it clear that breaching court orders are inevitably going to face sentences of immediate custody.

“He had not committed these offences through any inappropriate contact with children. He was trying to engage in a relationship with an adult female and he was worried she might find out (about his past).

“He understands he has nobody to blame but himself.”

Sentencing, Recorder David Temkin said: “You were convicted of serious sexual offending in March 2017. It was against a 13-year-old girl. I note you struck up a relationship in that case with her through Facebook.

“You were made subject of an order which prevents you from possessing any device with access to the internet unless you made the device available on request. You breached those orders in a serious way.

“On March 28 this year you misled the officer and told them you had no phone which was internet enabled.

“On May 5 you were visited by police and you tried to mislead them again by producing a non-internet enabled phone and telling them you did not have another device. Hidden behind an air vent was a phone you had kept from the police.

“It was said you have learnt from your mistakes. You clearly have not. These offences were committed fairly soon after your release from those offences. You have something of a history with disobedience towards court orders.”

Recorder Temkin sentenced Sheridan to 10 months for the breach of notification requirements and four months for the breach of the sexual harm prevention order, to run consecutively, giving a total sentence of 14 months.

Description

A Wiltshire man caught by paedophile hunters twice has escaped a prison sentence after spending over four months behind bars on remand.

Michael Wadley, 69, asked what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl for naked photographs, stating he wanted to print them off and put them on his wall.

The defendant also sent the girl a photograph of a penis and encouraged her to masturbate.

Unbeknown to him, he was actually talking to paedophile hunters posing as the youngster who attended his home in December 2021 and confronted him about his behaviour.

During a 40-minute-long live stream, police attended the defendants home in Bancroft, Bradford on Avon, and arrest him. He was released on police bail before being charged in late 2022.

Later appearing at Salisbury Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and making four indecent images of children three in the most serious category.

Having been released on bail again ahead of sentencing, a different group of paedophile hunters arrived at his address to confront him over new offending claiming that he had been communicating with a child online again.

He was arrested and put before Swindon Magistrates Court the following day. He admitted breaching his bail conditions by initiating contact with a 14-year-old girl and telling her she was stunning.

He was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing and subsequently, his health deteriorated significantly which resulted in the sentencing hearing being delayed multiple times.

On Monday (26 June), he was finally sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court by the judge, Recorder Neil Millard.

He said: Of concern in this case, whilst on bail you breached your bail by contacting a 14-year-old girl, resulting in you being remanded in custody.

You have served a four-month custodial sentence, which is equivalent to an eight-month sentence.

Mr Millard took into account his time spent in custody and imposed a 15-month prison sentence suspended for two years. He also imposed a ten-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

As part of the order, Wadley is banned from having unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16 excluding one person named on the order and is prohibited from wiping his internet history.

He can continue to use the internet, including social media, but has to seek prior approval from the police and must provide them with his usernames and passwords.

Description

A Calne father who downloaded child abuse images has narrowly avoided prison.

43-year-old Martin Tyrrell was caught with the vile content after police officers seized and later examined devices taken from his former home in Devizes in late 2022.

The raid came after the force received a tip-off about his perverted digital behaviour – with a report that an email address linked to the defendant was being used to access illicit material.

Eleven indecent images were discovered on one of his electronic devices and he was subsequently charged. In an interview, he lied to officers by claiming he wasn’t home when the files were downloaded.

But at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court in March, he admitted the offending. During that hearing, defence solicitor Matthew George said his client was referred to the mental health team after his arrest.

He was referred to Stop It Now, an organisation that helps people worried about their thoughts and behaviour relating to child sexual abuse, and he completed a programme with them.

Mr George said that Tyrrell, of Lambourn Court, has “learned a good deal about himself and his offending behaviour” and added that he is “now able to stop it himself”.

On 1 June, at the same court, he was handed a 26-week prison sentence suspended for two years. Tyrrell must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 40 rehabilitation activity days.

The magistrates also imposed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for seven years, which bans the man from using internet devices unless approved by the police, deleting web search history and using social media or chat rooms without asking the Public Protection Unit prior and providing them with his passwords.

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AN Ellesmere Port child rapist who took indecent pictures of his victim and also continued to be an online predator while on police bail has received an extended prison sentence.

Derek Smith appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday, June 23, where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, plus five years extended licence.

The 42-year-old was earlier found guilty of 24 counts, including the possession and taking of indecent images of children, engaging in sexual communication with a child, inciting a child aged 13 to 17 to engage in sexual activity and multiple counts of rape.

The investigation initially began following a report from the National Crime Agency (NCA) which made Cheshire Police aware that a 'category C' indecent image of a child had been uploaded to the internet.

Detectives were able to successfully identify the address of the user who had uploaded the image and on Tuesday, July 27 last year, Smith was arrested, and searches were conducted at two addresses linked to him in Chester and Ellesmere Port.

Officers recovered numerous electronic devices during the warrants, two of which were later found to contain 231 indecent images and videos of children.

Of the images found, 43 were of category A, 74 were of category B, and 114 were of category C.

Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team (OCAIT) discovered that 26 of the images recovered were first generation images of a young girl, taken by Smith on his own device.

On Friday, September 9, Smith was charged with nine offences and was released on conditional bail for the case to be heard at court. However, he was not deterred by this and continued his predatory online activity.

Smith, who went by the name 'Degsi' on a dating app, engaged in several sexualised conversations with three young girls, aged 13 and 14. He requested inappropriate images of them and encouraged them to commit sexual acts upon themselves.

However, unbeknown to Smith, he was speaking to three adults acting as child ‘decoys’.

In a bid to identify Smith, the decoys arranged a meeting on Wednesday, October 5, using a decoy profile of an adult woman.

Smith was waiting at Cheshire Oaks when he was confronted by the decoys and swiftly arrested by officers.

During questioning, he answered no comment to everything posed to him by officers, even when shown messages that he had sent to the three different decoys.

A further seven sexual charges were secured against Smith, and he was remanded into custody.

As detectives were working to bring the extent of his crimes to light, the victim pictured in the indecent images (recovered from Smith’s devices), felt able to disclose her abuse at the hands of Smith.

While he was still on remand, Smith was arrested again and subsequently charged with eight more offences, including multiple counts of rape and sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 17.

Smith pleaded not guilty to all offences. However, after listening to the extensive evidence gathered against him, a jury found him guilty on all charges on Wednesday, May 17 this year.

Detective Constables Louise Murphy and Abi Axon, from Cheshire Constabulary’s Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, attended Smith’s sentencing and said: “The long list of offences Smith subjected the victim to is nothing short of horrific.

“He has shown no consideration for the victim at any stage, refusing to admit to the extremely serious sexual offences he committed and making the victim give evidence at court.

“Being subjected to the court process can be a stressful experience for victims in cases involving sexual offences, particularly when they are so young.

“We would like to praise the victim for the bravery shown in disclosing what Smith subjected her to and how she conducted herself whilst the trial was ongoing.

“On top of this, he also possessed more than 230 indecent images of children for his own sexual gratification – behind each of these images there is a child being sexually abused.

“We hope the fact that Smith is now behind bars, where he can no longer sexually exploit young girls, gives the victim and her family some closure.

“However, they will continue to receive the help and support they need to move forward with their lives.”

In addition to the custodial sentence Smith was ordered to sign the sexual offenders’ register and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for life.

Detective Sergeant Dave Walton, of the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “Sexual abuse is an unforgivable crime, and this is a particularly distressing case.

“I would like to thank the officers involved in this complex investigation for all their hard work in unravelling the extent of Smith’s offending and gathering the required level of evidence to secure convictions for all 24 offences.

“Smith’s attempts to engage with children online highlights the need for parents and guardians to warn their children of the dangers of communicating with people via social media, to check that they are using those applications safely and to keep an eye out for any warning signs of sexual exploitation.

“I hope that Derek Smith’s convictions and sentencing encourages anyone who has been subjected to similar offending to report it to the police.

“They should feel confident that they will receive the help and support they need from our specialist officers and other support agencies we work alongside.

“All victims will be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve, and any allegations will be taken extremely seriously and thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and the needs of the victim as our main priority.”

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Abuse suffered by a boy more than 40 years ago was discovered after his abuser discussed it with prison workers while in jail for other sexual offences, a court has heard.

Barry Harmer, 55, had been serving an extended 15 year sentence after being convicted of indecent assaults and the rape of a girl when he opened up to a key worker in 2015 about previous offending as part of a course aimed to help rehabilitate him.

Norwich Crown Court heard the conversation was "disclosed to police" with Harmer initially stating he would be "happy to speak to them" although he later "refused to engage with police when they saw him in prison".

Stephen Spence, prosecuting, said the victim had not wanted to speak to police back in 2015 but in 2021 contacted police and was interviewed.

Harmer, currently of HMP Bure, near Coltishall, appeared at court having previously admitted four counts of indecent assault on a male and one offence of indecency with a child.

The offences occurred in Norfolk against one male victim between July 1982 and July 1987.

Mr Spence said Harmer began the offending when he was 14, and the victim was 11 and carried on until the defendant was 18 or 19.

Mr Spence said the abuse had "a huge and long-lasting effect upon" the victim and "his mental state".

Imposing an extended 10-year sentence, made up of five years and four months in prison and four years and eight months on extended licence, Judge Andrew Shaw said Harmer "systematically and persistently" abused the victim and was "clearly extremely dangerous".

Azza Brown, mitigating, said the court is "dealing with a person who was a child" himself at the start of the offending.

She said he had been living in an "abusive" and "emotionally neglected" household without support and was himself vulnerable.

Harmer has already been put on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Speaking after sentence, Detective Constable Victoria McDowell said: "I would like to commend Harmer’s victim, who has been extremely brave throughout this investigation.

“This sentence ensures a dangerous man is kept in prison and I hope the result provides his victim with some closure.”