Latest Offenders

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A CONVICTED sex offender has appeared in court after having unauthorised contact with young children.

Matthew McCormick admitted breaching the terms of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) after repeatedly visiting his step-sister when her children were present.

The 25-year-old failed to notify the relevant authorities that he was regularly visiting her over a three-month period.

Teesside Crown Court heard how McCormick attended her home on numerous occasions between November 1 last year and January 31.

Robin Turton, prosecuting, said the defendant was made subject of a five-year SHPO following his conviction for sexual assault in 2015.

He said McCormick had breached his order on two previous occasions in 2016 and January last year.

Mr Turton added: "On a number of occasions, he visited the address of his step-sister and her two young children and he said she was aware of his conviction."

McCormick, of Ridley Terrace, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to breach of his SHPO when he appeared at magistrates's court.

In mitigation, Martin Scarborough, said his client had always maintained that his step-sister knew about his conviction despite her initially denying the fact.

Mr Scarborough said McCormick was always supervised during the visits and his pregnant girlfriend attended with him on occasion.

He added: "There was no risk of him offending because his step-sister was aware of the order and he was supervised at all times."

McCormick spent ten weeks on remand, the equivalent of a 20-week prison sentence, he added.

Judge Deborah Sherwin passed a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also made subject to a new five-year SHPO order.

As a 19-year-old he kissed a 12-year-old girl while they were on a playing field in Hartlepool in front of her brother and sister and his own brother last year.

McCormick was found guilty of sexual assault after a four-day trial at Teesside Crown Court in April, 2015.

He was given a 12-month community order with supervision and banned from having contact with under-16s for five years.

The court heard McCormick, formerly of West View Road, Hartlepool, suffers from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

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A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed after sexually assaulting a girl under 13 twice and trying to incite a teenage boy into sexual activity.

Wayne Daykin, was locked up on Friday at Basildon Crown Court for three years.

The 26-year-old of Queens Road, Southend admitted five counts relating to incidents that happened in south Essex in April 2019.

Daykin would take the boy aside and attempted to get him to expose himself and asked if he could touch him sexually.

The teenage boy would refuse Daykins demands but he would continue to repeat them, and demand the same thing through messages to him on Instagram.

The boy was left feeling scared and eventually shared his account with his family and police officers.

The sexual assault of the girl took place on two occasions when Daykin forcibly undressed and exposed her.

On both occasions the girl quickly re-dressed herself but was left shaken by the incidents.

Daykin was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court on Friday.

Mitigating, Mike Warren said Daykin was regretful for his actions.

He said: He is fully understanding of the harm he caused to these people.

Judge Andrew Hurst told Daykin: These children were at an extremely impressionable age. You preyed upon them sexually, there is no other word for it.

It was for your gratification.

Judge Hurst jailed Daykin for three years and made him subject to a sex offenders notification requirement indefinitely.

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Anthony Stallard, 30, of Alverstone Road, Southsea, admitted assault by beating in Fareham on June 28.

Portsmouth magistrates jailed him for eight weeks.

He must pay a £128 victim surcharge, a statutory requirement courts must impose.

Magistrates declined to impose any compensation.

He admitted failing to surrender to court from bail but received no separate penalty.

His guilty plea to the assault was taken into account when he was sentenced at court.

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A MAN was today found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint on school playing fields in Dorchester.

Adrian Cordery attacked the teenager as she walked back from her part-time job at night.

The 32-year-old, of Dorchester, had originally admitted rape, but changed his plea to not guilty, leading to a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.

But today a jury unanimously found him guilty of the charge, along with another of threatening with a knife relating to the attack in fields on Barnes Way on December 5 last year.

Cordery has been registered on the sex offenders register. He will be sentenced on November 3.

During the trial, the jury was played a pre-recorded interview given to officers by the schoolgirl on the day after she was raped, in which she told how she thought she was going to die.

The girl said: I was texting and listening to music when the next thing I knew the man had his hands on my arms. He said, dont move, be quiet, Ive got a knife, if you do what I say I wont hurt you'.

I was confused, really confused, when he first put his hands on me. I thought it was one of my friends trying to scare me. I realised that it was not anything like that.

I was really scared, I was trying to think about everything I have been told in my life about what to do in that situation.

He dragged me from the path onto the field. I kept trying to get away, I tried to snap my head back to hit him on the nose and I kept kicking back. He pulled the knife up to my throat.

I was doing everything I could to get him off me. He threw me to the ground. He got on top of me. He kept trying to get my clothes off but I was wearing a jumpsuit so he grabbed the knife and slit my clothes. He was clawing at it. He took the knife and just slashed. He cut through my tights, he cut through my underwear and he ripped them.

In her police interview, the victim said the attacker put her jacket over her head to prevent her seeing his face.

She added: I couldnt breathe, he kept pushing it closer and closer he was strangling me. I was crying and getting panicked, I was making a lot of noise

I was saying get off me, why are you doing this, go away, please stop.

He then raped me, holding my head down to the ground and I just knew I wasnt going to get out. I just had to wait for him to finish.

He used a lot of force. It hurt a lot, it was very uncomfortable and he was being very rough. I felt vulnerable and scared. I thought he was going to kill me.

I felt worthless and vulnerable and completely and utterly violated. I was extremely embarrassed. I grabbed my stuff and just ran as fast as I could back home.

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An "extremely devious" paedophile tried to groom two teenage girls online and encouraged them to meet with him.

Christopher Walsh, from Barry, contacted online accounts he thought belonged to two teenage girls, aged 13 and 14, in early 2019.

The 41-year-old encouraged the two teenagers to send pictures of themselves in swimming costumes and in the bath, before asking them to meet up with him.

But the accounts were actually decoys used by adults to report predators to the police, a sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard on Friday.

A judge said the evidence suggested Walsh, who has numerous convictions for sexual offences against children, has a "longstanding, entrenched and predatory sexual interest in children".

Prosecutor Eugene Egan said Walsh contacted the social media account of what he thought was a 14-year-old girl on March 20, 2019.

Mr Egan told the court the person he was actually speaking to was an adult.

"He said that he was 40," Mr Egan said.

"He asked if she had a boyfriend. He said that he was from Barry in south Wales and suggested they could meet in a hotel.

"He told her to keep their conversation secret. He told her she was beautiful and that he wanted to meet her."

Mr Egan said Walsh asked to see a picture of the girl in a swimming suit and began to speak to her in "more sexual ways" as time went on.

Walsh later "offered to help her with sex education".

"He offered to teach her about sex and assured her it wouldn't hurt her," Mr Egan said.

Mr Egan said he also encouraged her to masturbate, before the contact between the two ended on March 20.

The prosecutor said the second offence was also committed with a decoy, this time a social media account purporting to belong to a 13-year-old girl.

Between February 26 and March 30, 2019, Mr Egan said Walsh engaged in repeated communication with the account.

Walsh told the girl he was 40 years old, competed as a cage fighter, and "invited her to Wales for a walk on the beach".

Mr Egan said Walsh encouraged her to masturbate and take a photograph of herself in the bath.

He also suggested moving nearer her address "to be closer to her" and that he wanted to "play with her flower".

Walsh was arrested in April 2019, and initially made denials in a police interview.

"The case against him was frankly overwhelming," Mr Egan said.

Walsh, of Evans Street, Barry, pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child.

The prosecution told the court Walsh has a significant history of similar offending.

In 1999, he was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders' institution for an indecent assault on a female under 16.

In March 2002, he received a five-year sentence for two offences of indecent assault of a female under 14.

In 2008, he was convicted of another offence of engaging in sexual activity with a child under 16, for which he received a four-year sentence.

Walsh further failed to comply with registration notification requirements and has received convictions for that, Mr Egan said.

Andrew Taylor, defending, said his client deserved credit for his early guilty pleas.

"He has a record showing that he is attracted to young women," Mr Taylor said.

"He has to accept that that is something that is not tolerated in today's society and so far as the criminal justice system is concerned it will not be tolerated in future."

Addressing the defendant, Judge Daniel Williams said: "You are 41 years of age with 51 previous convictions including convictions for sexual offences in 1999, 2002, and 2008.

"You pose a high risk of causing sexual harm to children and I'm satisfied on all the evidence that you have a longstanding, entrenched and predatory sexual interest in children.

"You are extremely devious. The spectre of you at your computer keyboard is every parent's nightmare."

Walsh was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.

He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offender's register, both for a period of 10 years.

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A SERIAL sex offender has been jailed for four years at the Isle of Wight Crown Court today (Friday).

Phillips Brookes was recently seen on video smirking as a team of paedophile hunters challenged him about his behaviour with what he thought was an 11-year-old girl, and it was broadcast live on Facebook and shared widely.

The footage showed how the paedophile hunters became increasingly agitated as the man, confronted in a sting operation on the Island, fired back sarcastic comments when they questioned him over sexual communications with a child.

He later claimed he had wanted to be caught.

At the end of the film, a police officer arrives to arrest him.

Phillip Brookes, of Clarence Road, East Cowes, was already a serial sex offender, having once uploaded a video of himself abusing a 12-year-old girl to the internet for money, Winchester Crown Court heard in July.

In that instance, he was jailed for a year.

Soon after his release, Brookes had started to send sickening messages to a 'girl' who told him she was 11 years old. Brookes told the child to perform sexual acts, among a series of depraved topics.

The 41-year-old arranged to meet the child in East Cowes, but instead found himself confronted outside a supermarket by several adults from the Northwest Hebephile Hunters, who had travelled overnight from the north of England to catch him out.

During a two-day trial at Winchester Crown Court, Brookes was cross-examined by prosecuting lawyer Gemma White, who asked him about his eight previous offences against children since 2012 and the fact that he had been made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

After just one hour of deliberation, Brookes was convicted by the jury of four counts of attempting to cause a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of attempted communication with a child.

Judge Susan Evans sentenced Brookes today.

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Carl Thomas Morgan's computer was "riddled" horrendous abuse footage and photographs

A vile pervert with a collection of extreme child abuse images was today jailed for three years.

Carl Thomas Morgan's hoard of pictures and videos was so extreme it included pictures of necrophilia.

Morgan's vile stash contained over 150,000 images and videos - so many that police gave up counting.

Of the 956 images that were analysed, 337 were placed in the worst category.

Many showed girls aged 15 and under being abused.

Rhys Rothwell prosecuting said analysis of the material showed Morgan's "enjoyment of necrophilia, paedophilia and rape," Caernarfon Crown Court heard.

He said Morgan, 28, of Garth Road, Bangor also had an interest in familial sex abuse as well as children being abused while intoxicated or drugged.

Some images also contained animals.

Outlining the case, Mr Rothwell said it was in November 2018 that the social media site, Kik Messenger reported that users in a private group had shared a number of videos "depicting serious child abuse".

An "indecent" 13-second clip had been shared by a user called TheTitch00 - the IP addresses of which were traced back to Morgan's home in Cornwall and to his university address in Bangor.

Police executed a search warrant at the Bangor address and seized Morgan's phone and laptop.

When he was arrested and questioned, he admitted being TheTitch00 and accepted he'd uploaded the image, but claimed he was part of a vigilante group searching the dark web for evidence to catch paedophiles.

Mr Rothwell said: "He said he knew what he was doing was illegal but was willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good."

But Morgan said he'd accidentally deleted all information about the vigilante group some months beforehand, the prosecution added.

Forensic analysis of the phone and laptop found more than 150,000 images.

Of the 956 that were categorised, 337 were listed as Category A.

Some 16 were prohibited images and 37 were images depicting extreme pornography.

During a second interview, Morgan denied any sexual interest in children and said he'd been "intrigued from a medical perspective" about some of the more extreme images and was "curious about human nature and its ability to participate in such behaviour".

He pleaded guilty to seven charges including one of distributing an indecent image, three of making indecent images, one of possessing prohibited images and two of possessing extreme images.

In his defence, the court heard how Morgan had no previous convictions and "there was no suggestion of any attempt to make contact with any child".

The offences had dated back "quite some time" and there had been no further offending since Morgan was arrested.

Sentencing him to three years in jail, Judge, Timothy Petts said: "In November 2018, you shared...a disgusting video of child abuse.

"You were traced. Your computer was examined.

"It was found to be riddled with horrendous videos and images of abuse, so many that the police stopped counting.

"Everyone who searches for, downloads and shares such images plays their part in the abuse of children."

He added: "The affect of such behaviour towards a child is almost certain to be lifelong and immeasurable.

"The schedule of images that gives some examples of images and videos that were found on your computer makes for disturbing reading.

The judge said Morgan's account to the police about the vigilante group was "obvious nonsense."

Morgan was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

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A MAN from Basingstoke was found in possession of more than 178,000 child sex abuse images, including of newborn babies and toddlers, a court has heard.

Keith Sayer collected the tranche of images, stored on a network of 19 devices, USB sticks and hard drives, in a “deliberate and systematic” filing system that caused “immeasurable” harm to babies and children “across the world”.

The court heard how his collection started immediately after he was released from prison after previously being found in possession of indecent images of children. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison in 2014.

The 39-year-old admitted that he was “sick” and “obsessed” and told a psychiatrist that he was spending five hours a day looking at the images and movies.

Sayer, formerly of Bolton Crescent in South Ham, was also found in possession of six paedophile manuals, as well as cable ties, masking tape, bungee ties, children’s colouring sets and a newspaper article on the abduction of a child.

These were found when police raided his bedsit, prosecutor Sophie Chaplain told Winchester Crown Court on Thursday.

Police were first tipped off to someone accessing indecent images of children in April 2019, when they detected two IP addresses searching for the content.

They traced it to Sayer, and when his property was searched, he showed officers to a cupboard under a sink where he had hidden the devices – of which he was banned from using under a Sex Offenders Protection Order (SOPO) issued after his previous conviction.

When they searched the devices, they found a “deliberate and systematic” filing system of the offending photographs and videos, which constituted more than 10,000 images at category A.

The Sentencing Council state that category A offences include “penetrative activity” as well as activity involving “an animal or sadism”.

Ms Chaplain also told the court that he had more than 1,000 movies saved to his stockpile.

Sayer, who appeared via video link from Lewes prison in East Sussex, was also said to have used the TOR browser, which can allow users to access the dark web and hide their identity.

In mitigation, Sayer was said to have had “nothing else to do” other than search for and look at child sex abuse images.

“He has never had a job, he had no ambition for himself,” defence counsel Rose Burns told the court.

“He doesn’t have any intimate relationships with anyone and never has. He doesn’t have social interaction and says it is not something he was able to have.”

She labelled his addiction to these images as an “illness, a disease”, like any other addiction.

Applying for a community order so that Sayer can be given treatment, she said that a prison sentence was not benefitting the public nor him, adding: “It is the only way that this man is going to be diverted from his compulsive addiction.”

However, Recorder Adam Feest decided that he would give a longer prison sentence than guidelines would suggest, adding: “It is sometimes said that people who view images of child abuse don’t cause harm to children, but that is incorrect.

“Anyone who has images of children being raped is creating a market for those type of images and that market harms children across the world.

“Where someone has this quantity of images involving the rape of babies and other children the harm that has been caused is impossible for me to measure.”

Sayer was sentenced to 32 months in prison for the six charges of making indecent images – discounted for early guilty pleas – as well as two years for the breach of the SOPO, to be served consecutively.

For possessing six paedophile manuals, he was given a six-month custodial sentence to be served consecutively, resulting in a total prison term of three years and two months.

However, Recorder Feest admitted he is likely to only serve half of that sentence.

He ordered an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, an automatic disqualification from working with children and the forfeiture and destruction of the images and manuals.

Additionally, he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Behind these images are often children who have been subjected to unthinkable pain and suffering.

"By continually seeking out horrific quantities of this sickening material Sayer has helped to leave a trail of devastation by fuelling demand for more children to be abused.

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A MAN who accessed 30 indecent photographs of children has avoided a prison sentence and instead been placed under supervision for three years.

Marcus Marriott, 42, of Dunrossness, committed the offence on or between 12 September and 8 December last year at an address in Brae.

At Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday for sentencing, defence agent Tommy Allan said his client viewed his behaviour as an addiction.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the offence involved 30 thumbnail images, of which seven were deemed to be category A in severity, 14 category B and nine category C.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said the offending took place at a time when his client was suffering in his personal life.

He views this as an addiction and this is a lapse, he said.

Since that time hes sought help to address the problem.

Allan said it was clearly a serious matter but said Marriott made no secret of his problem and was motivated to change.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said balancing all the factors including the extent of the offence and what was said in mitigation he felt that prison was not the only option.

I consider that theres a direct alternative to a custodial sentence and that is by imposing a community payback order, he said.

In addition to the three years of supervision, Marriott was given 200 hours of unpaid work to complete.

He was made to undergo the Moving Forward: Making Changes programme, and was placed on the sex offenders register for three years.

Sheriff Cruickshank also granted forfeiture of the device involved in the offence.

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Christopher Postans had unsupervised contact with children by the Elgar Statue in Worcester which breached the terms of a sexual harm prevention order designed to safeguard city children.

The 43-year-old of Ombersley Road, Worcester, was jailed for four months by Judge James Burbidge QC at the city's crown court on Thursday.

The breach happened when the registered sex offender had unsupervised contact with children near the Elgar statue in Worcester High Street before going to Starbucks on July 23 this year.

We have previously reported how Postans used the internet to groom girls and tried to meet one in a Malvern park so he could assault her.

Christopher Postans appeared at Worcester Crown Court via videolink from HMP Hewell last June where he admitted sexual communication with children, all young girls.

Then living at Longridge Road, Malvern, he admitted three counts of sexual communication with three different underage victims.

Postans tried to meet one of the girls in Victoria Park, Malvern, with the aim of sexually assaulting her. The first offence happened between April 1 and May 24 last year in Malvern when Postans attempted to communicate with a girl under 16 via Instagram.

Postans admitted two similar offences of sexual communication against two further victims and an ‘attempt to meet a child following sexual grooming’ on more than one occasion.

This involved an attempt to meet a girl aged 14 (one of the three victims already referred to) in Victoria Park, Malvern which would have involved the commission of a relevant sexual offence, namely a sexual assault.

He was jailed last July at Hereford Crown Court yesterday.

Andrew Wilkins, prosecuting, said the defendant messaged a girl of 13 on Instagram, describing a photo he believed was of her bottom as ‘a nice picture’, a comment she told him was 'inappropriate'. Postans attempted to meet her on April 16 last year at 11pm, telling her 'you don’t need to be scared - I just want to talk' and 'kiss me'.

The girl replied 'I'm 13 though'. Postans responded: "'Would you let me?”

Postans sent a topless photo of himself to another underage girl, also 13, which she said ‘made her feel really uncomfortable’.

Postans communicated with a third 13-year-old girl about ‘being naughty and smacking bums’, sending her his topless photo. However, the first victim, the one Postans had tried to meet in the park, told her father what had been happening, police were called and the defendant was arrested. In interview Postans made ‘limited admissions’ but denied any sexual motivation.

In 2003 Postans met with a 14-year-old girl he had contacted via an internet chat room, having penetrative sex with her.

The defendant, sentenced in 2005, received a community rehabilitation order and later breached the notification requirements.

Jailing him last July, Recorder Jason MacAdam said: “This is familiar territory for you. You have done this sort of thing before some considerable time ago."

He added: “The fact is you’re a paedophile. You’re sexually attracted to children. I have no doubt whatsoever if you had met any of these children you would have abused them in the same way you abused your victim in the past.”

Last July the judge had jailed him for 27 months, imposed a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and ordered him to sign the sex offender register for the same period.

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Dylan Jones even performed at mother-and-baby gigs

A comedian who has performed at mother-and-baby gigs has a conviction for child pornography.

Dylan Jones, now 53, received a 12-month suspended sentence in 2017 under his real name of David Parton after police found 549 indecent images of children on his computer when they visited his home in Penarth, near Cardiff. He remains on the sex offenders’ register.

Comedians on the South Wales circuit reacted with shock and revulsion after learning about his past, and feared his use of a stage name was designed to hide his conviction.

The case also raises questions about what checks promoters should make on comics performing at family gigs. The law does not require sex offenders to volunteer their convictions, but must do so if an employer asks.

Parton apologised for ‘the hurt I  have caused to the comedy community’ as well as the victims of the images he downloaded, and said he had successfully been seeking help for his problems. A total of 44 of the images were of the most serious kind, category A. 

His 2017 sentence was suspended for two years. He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work, be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and to register as a sex offender for the same amount of time.

At Cardiff Crown Court, he admitted that he had been viewing images for four or five years and had an interest in spanking. He said he had never wanted to participate in such activity and needed help. Passing sentence,  Recorder Simon Mills acknowledged  Parton had assisted the police, expressed remorse and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Since his conviction, Parton has continued to perform on the stand-up circuit under his new stage name, including performing at two mother-and-baby gigs, Babi Comedy, last autumn.

After his conviction was revealed on a Facebook group for Cardiff-based comedians yesterday, colleagues registered their disgust. One even said: ‘I've been in a car with him, been to gigs with him,  lived next door to him. And now I feel physically ill and like I have to phone my Dad to tell him to move because I won't go over the house ever again knowing he breathes next door.’ 

Others said: This is very shocking and saddening and I only hope he understands the magnitude of what he's been doing’; ’I like everyone else was totally unaware of this sickening news. I find myself in complete shock and anger’; and  ‘There are so many layers of horrible to this that it's hard to know what to think other than at every opportunity he has failed to do the right thing’. 

Another comic posted: ‘I’ll tell you what: the one who needs "help" in this situation is each and every child who was abused, assaulted and trafficked to make the indecent images he kept. THEY need rehabilitation. THEY need therapy.’

There were also concerns about him using a professional alias. One comic said: ’When sex offenders are sincerely working on changing their behaviour I would usually urge against this sort of thing [naming-and-shaming],  but immediately creating a new alias is certainly immoral. Shocking.’

However Parton insisted he had not intended to mislead people.

In a statement to Chortle, he said: ‘It's obviously been a shock to many, and I fully understand the hurt I have caused to the comedy community, my family and friends and most importantly the victims of the images I downloaded. 

‘There is no justification for what I did, but I have been working with voluntary organisations, the police and mental health professionals to address my offending behaviour and my underlying serious mental health issues.

‘I am in a very different place to where I was four years ago when I was arrested. I am under regular supervision by the police.  My mania and depression are under control, and I have not reoffended in four years.

‘Police were aware of my change of stage name, and there has never been an attempt to disguise my identity or mislead people.’

Speaking of the mother-and-baby gigs he said: ‘There was no interaction between myself or the mother, babies or toddlers. More importantly I was accompanied the whole time. Again I can only apologise to those who have been hurt by my actions.’

But fellow comic Jorden Haste said: ‘The fact he's put himself around children multiple times, even lending his PA system when he's not actually an act so he's there, shows he's not ashamed.’

Hales Corney, promoter of the Babi Comedy gigs in Cardiff, told Chortle: ‘I’m shocked and saddened by these revelations. It’s a big wake-up call and we’re going to put extra steps in place when we restart after the lockdown.’

In a blog post on his website earlier this year, Parton spoke of suicidal feelings around the time of his conviction, saying he took an overdose of paracetamol and drove to his favourite beach. He explained: ‘I was a mess. I had done a lot of stuff I’m not proud of, and put everything, and everyone I valued at risk.’

But he said he was buoyed by messages online to try to turn his life around. ‘I wasn’t "cured",’ he posted. ‘There was no overnight recovery. It too all sorts of therapy and drugs to get me back on an even keel. Part of my recovery was to change my name…. It’s not too late to change direction.’

Parton started on the comedy circuit in 1998 under his real name. According to his biography he had previously been ‘a failed radio presenter, wedding DJ, musician, social worker and brush salesman’. He took some time off the circuit to become an actor, before returning in 2015.

However the revelations about his past are certain to curtain that career. One promoter posted: ‘I’ll obviously never book him again and I can assure you that I’ll make this known to other comics and bookers.’

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A DAD-OF-THREE who was confronted by paedophile hunters at a Swindon Burger King has been jailed.

David Johnson, 37, was sent to prison for 18 months after he admitted attempting to groom a child and inciting sexual activity.

Swindon Crown Court heard last March he contacted a profile belonging to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl called India on social media website Chat Hour. The conversation later moved to WhatsApp.

He sent a picture of his private parts and suggested the “girl” touch herself. The married dad said he wanted to be India’s boyfriend and spoke of “taking it slowly and not doing anything she wasn’t comfortable with doing”.

Prosecutor Andrew Stone told the court: “Mr Johnson was told that India was a 14-year-old girl on several occasions. He acknowledged that and gave the very strong impression that he took it seriously because he expressed concerns about vigilante groups who were there to expose paedophiles. He knew exactly what was going on.”

The pair arranged to meet. At 7pm on April 24 last year, Johnson arrived at the Burger King restaurant on Queens Drive – only to be confronted by a group of so-called paedophile hunters. The vigilante group filmed the exchange and posted it to social media.

He answered no comment to questions put to him by police officers in his interview, but soon after confessed to his wife about what had been going on.

Mr Stone acknowledged there was no evidence that Johnson had made arrangements to have sex with the “girl” when he set up the Burger King meeting, for example by booking a hotel room. But he said throughout the pair’s conversations there were “quite clear statements from him he wanted a sexual relationship”.

Johnson, of Stoford, near Salisbury, pleaded guilty to attempting to groom a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Richard Williams, defending, said his client had paid to put himself through counselling. He had lost his marriage, been forced to leave two jobs, had had to leave the family home and was living with his mother.

Footage of his apprehension by the paedophile hunter group had made its way onto the internet. While that had since been taken down by the group, the court heard, it was an “extreme source of humiliation” for Johnson.

The lawyer said his client was a man of previous good character and could be rehabilitated. He has three daughters.

Judge Peter Crabtree sentenced Johnson to 18 months imprisonment. He must abide by a sexual harm prevention order limiting his access to the internet for 10 years and sign on to the sex offenders’ register for the same length of time.

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AN ANDOVER man who drove hundreds of miles to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex, only to be caught by a paedophile hunters group, has been jailed.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Ian Mace, then 51, travelled 400 miles to Scotland thinking he was going to meet a teenager he had been speaking to online.

It was reported that Mace had sent her thousands of messages on WhatsApp and app Highfive over the course of a month.

But when he arrived at the destination, 'Kelly' was not there. The girl who he thought he had been talking to was instead an adult from a group called 'Rising Against Online Predators', which describes itself as a "team who endeavour to take as many people who sexually exploit children online off the streets to make it a better place for children to grow up."

At a previous appearance at Hamilton Sheriff Court, he admitted communicating indecently with 'Kelly' and also attempting to meet with her between February and March 2018.

On Friday last week (August 21), Mace was jailed for 30 months for the incident.

A statement released on behalf of Hamilton Sheriff Court read: "The court having seen and considered the reports and having heard from Counsel in respect that no other method of disposal is deemed appropriate sentenced the accused to six months imprisonment from this date on charge 1.

"The court sentenced the accused to 24 months imprisonment on charge 3, said period to be consecutive to the period imposed on charge 1.

"Total period of imprisonment 30 months from this date."

Mace was placed on the sex offenders' register. Mace was present at sentencing.

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Music tutor David Brown was jailed for 11 years and one month, with an extended licence period of three years, for a string of sex offences against boys as young as seven at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday.

The 40-year-old was described as a “vile excuse for a man” by a victim’s mother and assessed as presenting a significant risk of causing serious harm by further offending.

Brown, formerly of Duke Street, Hintlesham, near Ipswich, had already admitted 20 offences against nine boys, including six counts of sexually assaulting three boys under 13, four of recording the abuse, six of voyeurism, three of making indecent photographs and one of attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Judge David Pugh said Brown, more recently of Elthorne Park, Clacton-on-sea, “acted as a predator” by deliberately grooming boys in order to abuse them for sexual gratification.

Prosecutor Claire Matthews had described how the scale of offending was uncovered after one of the boys confided in his mother.

When arrested in January 2019, Brown tried to accuse her of fabricating the allegations in retaliation for an unrequited “obsession”.

Police uncovered 1,831 indecent images and movies of children on Brown’s laptop, including a video and images of him sexually abusing three boys and footage from secret cameras installed in toilets used by other boys.

Each victim’s image was cropped by investigators and had to be presented to their parents for identification.

Forensic analysis also recovered online chatroom messages sent by Brown under the guise of a 14-year-old girl, encouraging young boys to send indecent images and engage in sexual activity.

The court heard statements from parents of the boys Brown abused, expressing their anger, shock and disgust, and describing the various nightmares, flashbacks and trauma still suffered by his young victims.

One described Brown as a “dangerous and vile excuse of man, who saw prime pickings in the innocence of children”.

Joanne Eley, mitigating, said Brown had entered guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity at crown court last month following the service of a wealth of evidence.

She added: “The offences were committed at a time when – as the defendant states – he was at a loss to explain why he did what he did.”

Miss Eley said Brown had since spoken frankly to the probation service and did not deny being sexually attracted to children.

She said Brown had sent a letter to Judge Pugh, expressing sorrow and remorse, and “wishing he could turn back the clock to right his wrongs”.

Brown will have to go before the parole board before being considered for release from jail, and once free, must sign the sex offenders’ register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

Judge Pugh publicly recognised the work of Detective Constable Elizabeth Smy by recommending her for a chief constable’s commendation for her work on a complex and sensitive case.

After the sentencing, Det Con Liz Smy thanked officers and the safeguarding team for their dedication and professionalism, and paid tribute to the victims’ families for their courage in supporting the investigation.

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A Tory campaign chief who admitted possessing 1,500 child porn images has been handed a suspended jail term and told to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

Mark Lerigo walked free after Warwick Crown Court heard he has been judged not to pose a high risk to children.

The 49-year-old, of William Bristow Road, Coventry, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to charges brought following a National Crime Agency inquiry, including two of distributing images.

A court hearing on Friday was told Lerigo was arrested in 2018 and initially denied having a sexual interest in children.

Some of the images, the court heard, showed babies, while others involved bestiality and torture.

Sentencing Lerigo for offences relating to more than 1,500 images, Recorder Martin Butterworth said: 'I have to sentence you for downloading dreadful images of children, of children being abused, and downloading other unlawful sexual images.

'Any consumer of this dreadful material causes others to make it.'

Addressing Lerigo's former job, the judge added: 'You held a senior post in a political party.

'You are now disgraced, your reputation destroyed.

'Those two factors are not mitigation and you're not entitled to any sympathy for that.

'But you have demonstrated remorse and shame by your attitude in interviews, latterly with the police but most recently with the Probation Service, and you have pleaded guilty.'

Explaining the decision to suspend the jail sentence, the recorder added that he had to consider the best way to protect the public and children.

He told Lerigo: 'The pre-sentence report demonstrates that you want help and you have already sought it.

'That help can only be offered if you remain the subject of some order to be served in the community.'

Lerigo was given a two year jail-term, suspended for two years, and made the subject of a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also made the subject of a four-month curfew and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.