Latest Offenders

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A rapist who targeted underage girls and abused partners for more than a decade, before being brought to justice with the help of a social media appeal, has been jailed.

Darren Gibson admitted preying upon women at addresses in Fife between 2008 and 2019.

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A pensioner who used a driving lesson to give the 17-year-old learner a vibrator has been jailed and placed on the sex offenders register.

Alexander Bell also repeatedly touched the girl’s leg during lessons, despite her friend also being in the vehicle.

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A MAN from Llangollen who “took advantage” of a group of “vulnerable” and “troubled” teenagers has been jailed.

Stephen Thomas, of Erw Deg, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court today (October 10) to six years and six months’ imprisonment.

The 46-year-old had previously admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), supplying a class A drug (cocaine), and attempted sexual assault of a child.

Simon Rogers, prosecuting, told the court that Thomas invited the group into his home, with the promise of drugs, alcohol, and a “place where they could spend time”.

This took place across a six-week period in January and February 2022 – he was already a registered sex offender, so was subject to a SHPO at the time, which meant his mobile phone was being monitored.

He told the teenagers he was dying, which made them “sympathetic” to him and exchanged mobile numbers with them.

Thomas was also moving SIM cards between multiple phones at the time, while the phone he used to contact the group was deliberately hidden from police.

Inviting the teenagers to “chill” at his house became a “regular occurrence”, Mr Rogers said, adding that Thomas began to buy them alcohol and cocaine.

One of the teenagers also said Thomas would “always want pictures of us on his phone, but he would never be in them”.

On one occasion, one of the females passed out on Thomas’ sofa after he had given her cocaine and alcohol, while most of the rest of the group were outside.

Thomas carried her upstairs and lay her on his bed before starting to remove her clothing, but it was at this point that some of the group returned and noticed him.

They became “angry” at him, because it was apparent that Thomas was seeking to “take advantage of an extremely vulnerable girl for his own sexual gratification”.

Following this, police became involved – at the time of his arrest, Thomas had an old mobile phone on his person, which the battery was falling out of.

In interview, he painted the children as “liars”.

One of the children said in a statement: “I don’t want to be his victim. I just want to be OK. I will be a survivor, not his victim.”

Another said they felt “violated” by Thomas, and added that he “ruined my childhood”, while a third said they “feel sick at the thought of seeing him”.

A fourth child added: “I feel like life just spiralled out of control. I’ll always be scared of him, he made my childhood hell.”

Defending Thomas, who had four previous convictions for 34 offences, Duncan Bould said his client is suffering from “chronic and serious ill health” which “isn’t going to get better”.

He said Thomas has made “a little bit of progress” since being remanded in custody, and asked the court to acknowledge his “limited number of previous convictions”.

Sentencing, Judge Nicola Jones told Thomas: “You put them in positions of particular vulnerability for the purposes of grooming them.

“It’s clear that the aim was to groom these children for sexual purposes.”

Thomas was made subject to a SHPO and sex offenders register notification requirements for an indefinite period.

Judge Jones also issued indefinite restraining orders, preventing Thomas from contacting five people.

All items seized from him by police were ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

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Christopher Cooper, 36, of Portland Road, Birmingham (previously of Leamington) has been jailed after he exchanged sexually explicit communications with a teenage girl while he was subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Cooper was arrested by officers from Warwickshire Police Sex Offender Management Unit (SOMU) on the day he was released from prison where he was serving time for breaching the SHPO which was put in place when he was previously convicted of child sex offences. The SHPO prohibited him from making contact with anyone he believed to be under the age of 16.

While he was in prison detectives found evidence that he had exchanged the messages with the girl in 2022. Cooper claimed to be 18 while the victim had made clear early on in the exchanges that she was only 14.

Cooper was jailed for three years and four months at Warwick Crown Court last week having pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching a SHPO and one count of inciting a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity. He will serve a further six years on licence. If he breaches the terms of this licence he can be returned to prison.

Detective Constable Matt Collins from the SOMU said: “The sentence reflects the danger Cooper poses to children. It also demonstrates the power of the SHPOs in allowing us to monitor the behaviour of sex offenders and shows how seriously the courts treat offenders who breach them.

“This case also shows the dangers of social media and how it is important for parents to be aware of what their child is doing online.

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A care worker from Maidstone who sexually abused a severely disabled person has been jailed.

Naguib Lootfun, 69, of Mill Walk, abused a vulnerable patient while working for an assisted living facility.

Suspicions about his behaviour were raised on 8 May 2024 after colleagues found an empty condom wrapper discarded in a bedroom at the premises after he had been on night shift.

Lootfun alleged the wrapper had been in his pocket and claimed it had fallen out as he worked.

He was suspended from work while an investigation into the circumstances was underway.

The following day, a used condom was found in a bin bag within the care home and Lootfun was arrested on suspicion of rape.

Lootfun initially denied allegations of sexual abuse but, following an extensive search of the premises, a second used condom was found in the waste bin area outside and an examination of DNA linked him to the offences.

Convicted

He was convicted on 9 July at Maidstone Crown Court, after he admitted to having sex with the victim, who was unable to consent.

He was remanded in custody pending a hearing at the same court on 9 October, where he was sentenced to 11 years and ordered to serve an extra four years on licence.

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A registered sex offender from Medway who was serving a suspended sentence has been jailed for failing to comply with court restrictions. 

Richard Howes was issued with a sexual harm prevention order at Maidstone Crown Court on 20 August 2021, following a conviction for making indecent images of children.

The conditions of this order required him to make any internet-enabled device available for inspection by the police on request, and to notify them within three days if he acquired any new devices. 

Attempts to deceive

On 28 February 2024, officers visited Howes after they suspected he had a new phone and had failed to notify police. Howes presented a phone and a tablet for inspection and denied having any other devices. 

He was arrested and a search of his property located two further tablets and another phone he had not declared.

Howes, of Prospect Row, Chatham, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to three breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

The 59-year-old was sentenced on Thursday 3 October, to one year and six months’ imprisonment. This included six months for breaching a suspended sentence.

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A man who preyed on girls as young as ten years old has been sentenced to more than two years and given a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order by a judge at Southampton Crown Court after being previously found guilty of child sex offences by a jury.

Paul Wright, aged 46, of Tyndalls, Hindhead in Surrey was convicted of sexual assault of a girl under 13 by touching and engaging in sexual communication with a child when the offences took place in August 2020 in the Winchester area.

The jury heard how Wright, who was known to the victim and their family, had been sending inappropriate messages to the victim, who was 10 years old at the time of the offences, which very quickly became sexual. He had also previously requested explicit images of the child.

The jury were also told that he had set up a separate social media account, utilising a different name, to speak to the victim in private in order to stop other people interfering.

At an earlier hearing at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday 29 August 2023, Paul Wright pleaded not guilty to the aforementioned offences.

During a three-day trial in August 2024 at Southampton Crown Court, a jury reached a verdict of guilty against the count of sexual assault of a girl under 13 by touching and engaging in sexual communication with a child.

Paul Wright was sentenced on Tuesday 8 October at Southampton Crown Court to two years and four months in prison. The judge also granted a 20 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order against him in addition to requiring Wright to sign on to the Sex Offenders’ Register for a period of 20 years.

PC Kallum Sillence of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Child Abuse Investigation Team (CAIT) said: “Paul Wright betrayed the trust of a family, who unknown to them was a previous Registered Sex Offender. I am certain that had they been aware of this fact, they would not have allowed such contact and we would not be in the position we are in today in that a young girl had been sexually assaulted.

“The disclosures made by Paul Wright about the allegations were damning in this case. It is clear that Mr Wright posed a significant risk to young children through the course of his actions.

“The sentencing is a result of outstanding bravery by the victim in disclosing the interactions in the first instance and while this sentence in no way will negate what has happened to her, the hope is that she can now begin to put this ordeal behind her, and move forward, knowing that justice has now been served.”

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Walsall man who won an award before being jailed for sex offences

This is the face of a man from Walsall and a former chauffeur for the mayor of Birmingham who is starting a jail term of nine years for child sex offences.

Kenneth Bond, aged 56 of Sycamore Road, was awarded the Royal Human Society Testimonial last year after persuading a woman who was standing in the road brandishing an eight-inch knife to give the weapon up.

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Andrew Burke, from Cardiff, has been jailed for rape and other sexual offences.

The 60-year-old was found guilty of rape, violence against a child, indecent assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, taking an indecent photo of a child, and assaulting a girl under 13 by touching.

Burke was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, October 3, to 15 years in prison. He is also subject to a 30-year restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

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A NORTHWICH man collected hundreds of indecent images of children and shared one of the most serious with someone via WhatsApp.

Paul Birleson has avoided jail after pleading guilty to a string of seven offences relating to the possession and distribution of images of children and animals.

At Chester Crown Court on Monday (October 7) the 48-year-old was handed a 24-month sentence - reduced from 30 months on account of his early guilty plea - suspended for two years.

If you had a trial I could not have given the sentence I did today, that is how close you came to going to prison, said judge Simon Berkson.

Prosecutor Tom McLoughlin explained that police raided Birlesons home on July 28, 2022, following reports of suspicious behaviour on his Google account.

Police analysed his devices and found a total of 529 images, including 28 category A images and 115 category A videos, the most serious.

Birleson was also found to be in possession of 40 category B images and 89 category B videos, as well as 124 category C images and 106 videos.

Also found on the devices were 25 extreme pornographic images involving dogs and cats.

Mr McLoughlin continued to explain there was evidence Birleson had watched these images on a TV at his home.

He had also distributed one category A image by sending it to someone over WhatsApp.

David Morton, defending, said his client was utterly ashamed of what he had done.

He added Birleson has a complicated medical history, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Birleson, formerly of Emmett Street in Barnton, also has no previous convictions and was described by the Probation Service as having a low risk of reoffending.

Ordinarily he is a bright, articulate and capable individual, said Mr Morton.

He has made it clear he is willing to put his back into effective work to rehabilitate.

Mr Morton continued, saying his client had shown he is capable of change, highlighting his battle with alcoholism, with Birleson now the best part of 20 months sober.

Taking this all into account, Judge Berkson sentenced Birleson based on what he saw as the most serious of the seven charges distribution of a category A indecent photograph of a child.

He said: Not only do you like to watch child abuse on screens in front of you but you are prepared to distribute them to others with similar interest.

Medical conditions are not in themselves a get out of jail free but here we have a combination of factors.

Birleson, now of Carlingford Road in Chester-le-Street, was also ordered to complete 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement.

On top of this, Judge Berkson imposed a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

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A former police officer has pleaded guilty to sex offences after he was confronted by paedophile hunters outside his home in a Norfolk town.

Christopher Sheldrick, 56, of Suffield Road in Gorleston, was arrested on September 29 after being approached by a member of The Ghosts Online Child Protection Team.

He was then charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting to breach a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offender register.

He was remanded and appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court on Saturday, October 5 where he pleaded guilty to all three offences.

Sheldrick is now due to appear before Norwich Crown Court on November 4.

Norfolk police confirmed that Sheldrick had been a police officer but had not served with them.

When confronted by the paedophile hunter group, Sheldrick admitted to them that he is a former police officer who has been out of the force for some years.

Sheldrick admits to the group in the video that he was fired from the force for a breach of misconduct and later he also says he served in the military.

A member of the group then began reading transcripts of the conversation between Sheldrick and someone who he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

The person told him that they were 14 and Sheldrick asked her to "stick her tongue out" and made a suggestive comment.

Sheldrick confessed to sending the account a pornographic video telling her "she needs to learn" about sex.

He said in the video that he had been in prison for sex offences.

Additionally, when asked if he is sexually attracted to children he replies "Partly I suppose" before confessing to speaking to "three or four" other children who he says have sent him indecent images.

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A rapist has received a prison sentence of almost 10 years after being convicted after a trial.

Thomas Osbourne, who also goes by the name Solomon Osbourne, was found guilty by majority verdict of two counts of rape against a woman committed earlier this year.

A nine-and-a-half year prison sentence was handed down to the 33-year-old from St George at Bristol Crown Court on Friday 27 September.

Any victim of a sexual offence is entitled by law to be kept anonymous. The victim in this case prepared a statement, which was read in court, in which she said she now feels scared of all men.

She said: “In terms of how this has impacted me and how I live my life, I am struggling with how to put it into words and find this very difficult. I’m not the same person I used to be since.

“This has also caused me to completely isolate myself from my family and friends, because I don’t want to talk or even think about everything that happened.

“He has completely ruined my trust in anyone and in particular men.

“I now feel scared of all men. I always used to try to see the good in people and feel as though that has been taken from me.

“Now, I always worry about what someone’s intentions would be and if the same things are going to happen again.”

Osbourne will be added to the sex offender’s register indefinitely, and his criminal record shared with the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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An NSPCC tip off has led to a Yorkshire child sex offender being jailed for crimes many years ago.

In 2022, the NSPCC received a referral stating two children had been sexually abused many years ago by Darren Hinson, 55.

The information was passed to specialist detectives from Cleveland Police’s CAVA team.

Detective Sergeant Natasha Vaughan, an officer in the case, worked to identify the two women and made contact with them.

Regardless of the amount of time that had passed, police were able to take action against Hinson and they were offered appropriate support.

The women confirmed that Hinson had sexually abused them as vulnerable children between the ages of 4 and 10 years old.

This “horrific offending” then continued over a period of years, a court heard.

In 2023 Hinson was charged with 16 non-recent sexual offences against two children; the offences included sexual touching and rape.

On August 16, 2024, a jury at Teesside Crown Court found Hinson guilty of all 16 counts and he was immediately remanded into custody until his sentencing at the same court.

The 55-year-old was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Hinson will be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and he'll be subject to stringent conditions and monitoring on his release from prison.

Det Sgt Vaughan said: “Because we received the information from a third party, the victim-survivors received contact from the police out of the blue, so I had to be very mindful of this and the impact it would have on them.

“Both women displayed great courage though, and they fully supported our investigations from the outset.

“I’m so grateful for this and I hope this result brings a degree of comfort as they continue to process everything they’ve been through.”

CAVA Chief Inspector Matt Murphy King added: “I’m extremely glad and grateful that someone took the time to report Hinson’s abuse to the NSPCC. He might have thought he’d never face justice for his abhorrent actions but he has now been held accountable for what he did.

“Anyone who has experienced abuse of any nature, whether recent or non-recent, can report via this organisation if they don’t feel able to contact police.

“If you do feel able to speak to police, I can promise you my specially trained officers will listen to you, they will believe you and they will support you.

“We can also put you in contact with our excellent specialist local organisations who can also give you bespoke advice and support during the police investigation and the entire court process.”

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A man from Luton described as a “monster” by a judge has been put behind bars for child sex offences – including raping a child.

Bharat Gohil, 59, and from Rodeheath in Luton, was found guilty of four counts of raping a child under the age of 13 and numerous counts of sexual assault by touching.

He was arrested in September 2021 after victims came forward following years of abuse in Dacorum, Hertfordshire at the hands of Gohil.

The 59-year-old was also charged with child cruelty after abusing another child between May 2004 and January 2017. Gohil was convicted of child cruelty and sexual abuse offences in December 2023.

He appeared in front of Judge Sheridan at Aylesbury Crown Court yesterday (October 7) where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Judge Sheridan described him as a ‘monster’ who ‘enjoyed the terror that he instilled’.

He was handed three restraining orders, an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Sergeant Adam Haines was “pleased that Gohil has received this heavy sentence for such serious offences, and that justice has been served for his victims”

DS Haines said: “The impact of his offending was far reaching, and this sentence rightly reflects the harm caused by him.

“I hope this serves as an example that sexual offences and offences against the most vulnerable in society are treated with the appropriate care and attention across the criminal justice system.

"These victims were brave enough to come forward about what happened and because of this, a dangerous offender has been imprisoned.

He encouraged victims of crime to come forward “so that you can get the support you need from specialist officers and other partners”.

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A paedophile who abused children for many years starting when they were very young has been jailed for more than 15 years.

Martin Slater’s sexual crimes, which began when he himself was underage, had had “devastating” effects on the victims, the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris told York Crown Court.

Christopher Bevan, prosecuting, said it took years for each of the victims to tell police what had happened to them. Both were at primary school when the abuse began. 

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Leah Gillon of Scarborough CID,  said: “Slater has caused immeasurable harm to the victims which has affected all of their lives and that of their families.

“They are to be commended for coming forward and reporting the abuse. As with many victims of abuse they have lived with the trauma caused by Slater for many, many years, before feeling able to report what had happened to them.

“I hope the guilty verdicts and the sentence handed out to Slater helps them to put a traumatic time in their lives behind them and provides a semblance of closure for them.

 “I also hope other victims of abuse feel they can report what happened to them to the police, no matter when it happened, in the knowledge that they will be listened to, we will carry out a thorough investigation and you will be offered professional specialist support.” 

Both victims had to give evidence against Slater after he denied any wrong doing with them.

Slater, 53, who lived on a houseboat, of no fixed address, pleaded not guilty to 16 charges of sexual offences against children but was convicted by a York jury earlier this year. The offences happened in and around Scarborough.

Today he is starting 15 and a half years in jail with a year’s extended licence after he is released because he is an “offender of particular concern”.   He will be on the sex offenders’ register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order, both for life and was made subject to a restraining order, banning him from contacting the victims, also for life.

For Slater, Derek Duffy said he had not offended for many years and that he himself had been a child when he committed the earliest offences. 

In his childhood he had been badly burnt and as a result had suffered visible scars on his face which had affected his life. In his later teens and early adult years he had moved from accommodation to accommodation.

“He has lived a quite isolated and lonely life,” said Mr Duffy.

Slater had a job, which he had now lost, and a houseboat.

Following his sentence, which would be his first spell behind bars, he would have to start his life again.