Latest Offenders

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Sex offender Gavin Ross, who was jailed for dancing at the side of the A90 with his trousers around his ankles, shouted to the guard: What do you think of this, then?

The 41-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted intentionally exposing his genitals in a sexual manner to an employee at the citys jail on August 29, 2020.

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A Bradford man has been jailed after he was found guilty of raping a woman following a re-trial.

Christopher Davies was convicted at Bradford Crown Court on 14 January 2021 following a five-day trial.

The initial trial was held in May 2021, but jurors failed to reach a verdict.

The incident occurred on 6 January 2019, when Davies, 49, invited the victim to his house in Thornton Drive, Bradford.

Davies lured the victim into the property, before raping her. The victim fled the property on foot when Davies went into the bathroom.

She then reported the incident to the police and Davies was arrested and later charged with rape and sexual assault.

Following his guilty verdict, he was remanded and today at Bradford Crown (4 February 2022), Davies was sentenced to seven years and three months for rape and one year and nine months for sexual assault, to run concurrently.

He has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

West Yorkshire Police Detective Emma Lindley, who led the investigation said: I would like to praise the victim for coming forward and reporting Davies actions. Its not been easy especially going through a re-trail, but she has shown courage throughout and Id like to thank her for her bravery.

I hope this sentencing brings comfort to the victim and also brings closure, as she moves forward with her life.

We take all reports of this nature seriously and anyone who is a victim of a sexual assault can rest assure we will do all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Description

A former sergeant in the Spanish army was jailed for 44 months for storing and distributing the worst child sex abuse videos and images.

Gabriel Gonzalez, 43, had one 17-minute long video called Daisys Destruction, which showed the abuse of an 18-month old girl.

The police officer who viewed it said it was the worst he had ever seen and said other police should not look at it, Luton Crown Court heard yesterday (February 3).

The sentencing follows that of Bedford couple Nicholas Harris and Clare Buttrice, who were jailed for a combined 35 years for sexually and mentally abusing children last week.

Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams said that acting on information, the police raided a multi-occupancy house in Campbell Road, Bedford, on the morning of 18 October, 2018.

The officers seized one laptop and three hard drives from Gonzalezs room. He was not there at the time, but handed himself in later. He made no comment to the police questions.

Ms Kettle-Williams said 404 images were found on the devices, along with 182 videos. The total length of the videos was 20 hours, with the longest single film lasting 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Gonzalez had distributed nine moving images at Category A, the most serious level, and three Category B moving images to other paedophiles.

He had downloaded 85 still and moving images at Category A, 65 at Category B and 379 Category C images and 57 images of extreme pornography.

The images were stored under the names of music albums in an attempt to disguise them.

Ms Kettle-Williams said: He had a personal video library of indecent images. They showed pre-pubescent girls, with the victims in pain and crying. There was also bestiality and torture.

He said Gonzalez had used computer search terms such as 'sadistic', 'torture' and 'snuff'.

Gonzalez, now of Pine Road, Didsbury, Manchester, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of distributing indecent images of children, three of making (downloading) and one of possessing extreme pornography. He had no previous convictions in England and Wales or Spain.

Defending, Richard Saynor said he had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He said: He served successfully in the Spanish armed forces and worked his way up to the rank of sergeant.

He gained a psychology qualification. He moved to the UK and gained employment using his psychology qualification by assisting people with autism. At all times he was working with adults.

After his arrest he moved to Manchester, where he had been working in a car wash.

In a letter of apology to the judge, Gonzalez said: Serving as a sergeant taught me strong standards of protecting community and having personal integrity.

I realise in the position I am in today I have fallen far from those high standards. I wanted to apologise to all the victims in this case.

Referring to the Destructing Daisy video, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said: This was the horrific, sadistic and tortured abuse of a completely vulnerable child of 18 months.

The investigating officer stated it was the worst he had seen in his five years in this role. He said other officers should not have sight of it. The abuse was beyond words.

The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop and the hard drives.

Gonzalez must abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, is barred from working with children or vulnerable people, and register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE has been locked up for more than two years of possessing and sharing indecent images of children. James Krengel was jailed for 28 months when he appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court last week. The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to sex offences including possessing and distributing indecent images of children and a breach of his notification requirement order. Essex Polices Online Investigation Team (POLIT) arrested Krengel at his home in Nipsells Chase, Chelmsford, on December 30, 2021. It came detectives received receiving information he had uploaded an indecent image of a child. During the investigation, officers discovered Krengel had breached a sexual offences notification requiring him to register at a police station yearly. Krengel was charged in December 2021 and admitted the offences during a separate hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court. Following sentencing, investigating officer Courtney Evans said: James Krengel is rightly behind bars now where he cannot pose a threat to the children in our society. There is nothing more important than protecting children and young people from those who are intent on exploiting or abusing them. This is the work we carry out every day to keep the people of Essex safe, and this sentence will keep the public just that bit safer. The Police Online Investigation Team are a team of specialist officers dedicated to the investigation of offences involving indecent images of children and paedophilia material held on a computer.

Description

A sexual predator who wanted to emulate serial rapist Joseph McCann when he attacked a string of women on the streets of east London has been jailed for 20 years.

Abdallah Baballah, 26, targeted women as they walked home alone at night, threatening to stab the victims as he carried out violent sexual assaults and stole their possessions.

When he was captured by the Met Police, officers discovered Baballah had looked online at news articles about his attack and even downloaded CCTV footage which had been released in a bid to catch him.

His phone also revealed internet searches for Joseph McCann, who had carried out rapes and sexual assaults on 11 women and children just a couple of months before Baballahs crimes.

At Snaresbrook crown court on Thursday, Baballah was jailed for 20 years and will spend an extra five years on licence when released from prison.

Baballah is an extremely dangerous offender who targeted these women as they walked home alone in the dark, said Detective Sergeant Sara Yems, of the Mets Specialist Crime Command.

He waited for the most opportune of moments before making his attack and his actions have left these women traumatised by what happened to them.

"I would like to thank them for coming forward and supporting the police investigation, and for providing crucial evidence which led to this conviction and has ensured Baballah cannot subject anyone else to such horrific attacks.

Baballah, a former Barking and Dagenham College ESOL student, carried out the attacks over the course of 11 days in July 2019, targeting the first victim when she stepped off the N15 night bus in Plaistow at 2.30am.

After following her down the street, he told the woman: Give me your phone or I will stab you and then dragged her to a secluded spot where she was raped three times.

Baballah then stole cash from her wallet, but handed back the victims phone complete with a thumb print which helped police to identify him.

The second victim had just left Leyton underground station at 3am on July 6, 2019, when Baballah grabbed hold of her and stole her phone. He demanded she perform oral sex on him, but the woman managed to get away.

An hour later, Baballah attacked another woman in Leyton, sexually assaulting and raping her, punching the victim in the face and stealing her phone and ring.

At around 3am on July 8, 2019, he struck again on a woman getting off the N15 bus in Dagenham, chasing her down the road while demanding she hand over her phone.

The final victim was attacked in East Ham on July 11, 2019, when she was dragged into a side road by Baballah who pinned her down and started punching her.

The woman managed to break free and sought help from a nearby resident, while Baballah stole her bag and phone.

Baballah was carrying one of the victims phones when he was arrested on July 25, and was linked to the crimes by his Oyster card use.

His phone records revealed searches for man raped two women in east London and rape rule in Britain.

The Sudanese national, of no fixed address, admitted rape, attempted rape, two charges of robbery, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was convicted after a trial of three further rape charges, three robberies, sexual assault, attempted rape, and making a threat to kill.

Description

A paedophile who sexually abused an award-winning Scottish actress was today convicted of offences against two other children after she gave evidence against him for a second time.

Colin McKissock, now 70, was jailed for three years in 2017 for offences he committed against the star when she was aged just 11.

After reading reports of that case on the internet, a man went to Hertfordshire Police to say he had been a victim of McKissock when he was aged between 11 and 13 and was living in Watford.

A woman also told officers she had been touched by McKissock, who now lives in Northampton.

McKissock, who was released on bail pending sentencing next month so he could receive cancer treatment, was warned by a judge that he would be returning to prison.

The star, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told a jury at St Albans Crown Court she had been groomed by McKissock who had 'blindsided her by sweets'.

In the 2017 case, Ayr Sheriff's court heard he exposed himself to her, showed her pornographic films and magazines, performed a sex act in her presence, used a sex aid, persuaded her to expose herself and perform a sex act.

He was also found guilty of indecent practises and behaviour towards a friend of hers.

McKissock, a retired bank worker and finance manager, from Bellinge, Northampton, was convicted of 13 charges: eight charges of indecent assault on a male, three charges of indecency with a child and two of indecent assault on a female.

The male victim from Watford said he was aged between 11 and 13 in the early 1990s when he went to McKissock's home after school where he found him in a dressing gown watching pornography on a television and masturbating.

He said McKissock got him to engage in sexual activity saying he was 'giving him an education'.

The female victim said she was aged 12 and 13 when he touched her on two occasions.

McKissock, who still denies the 1980s offences, said he never discussed sex with any of the children and did not have pornography on the television when they were present. He said he was not sexually interested in children.

Judge Richard Foster said McKissock will be sentenced on Friday March 18.

He granted McKissock bail as an 'act of mercy' so a treatment plan can be prepared for his diagnosis of cancer but he warned him: 'When you come back you will be going to prison so prepare yourself for that.'

Description

A Wiltshire man who sexually abused two girls over a number of years has been jailed.

Semi Tuilovoni Lave, 31, from Tidworth, was found guilty of six counts of rape of a child and one count of sexual assault of a child by touching, following a four-day trial at Salisbury Crown Court.

On Thursday (February 3) he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The court heard his offending came to light in July 2020 when his young victims bravely reported the abuse and police arrested Lave.

Detective Constable Claire Heathcote, from Wiltshire Polices Public Protection Department, praised the victims for the way they had handled the case.

She said: We know how incredibly difficult it can be for victims of sexual abuse to tell someone about what has been happening to them, especially when the victims are children.

Once these girls took the very brave step of reporting these horrendous crimes, we have worked hard to ensure they have been able to receive the relevant help and support they need, particularly when they had to re-live that abuse giving evidence in court due to the fact that Lave refused to admit his actions.

We welcome the verdict in this case and todays sentence and I hope it provides some reassurance to the victims that justice has now been done.

I also hope it gives others the confidence to speak out if they have been the victim of similar crimes. If you dont yet feel ready to speak to the police, then please just tell someone you trust. There is help out there and you dont have to suffer in silence.

Description

A disgraced Metropolitan Police officer who sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl after sneaking into her bedroom at night has been jailed for four years.

Andrew Kirkland, 42, crept into his victims room and pulled down her bed sheets before performing a sex act, Reading Crown Court heard.

Jurors were told that traces of his semen were found on the child's pyjamas and sheets after her mother suspected Kirkland and handed them over to police.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict Thursday following a four-day trial, finding Kirkland guilty of sexual assault on a girl under the age of 13 years.

Judge Kirsty Real sentenced him to four years' imprisonment and he will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.

Kirkland, a former neighbourhood officer based in Ickenham, London, was kicked out of the Met for theft and fraud in 2014, the court heard.

At trial, prosecutor Paul Fairley explained how Kirkland encountered a seven-year-old child in Berkshire in March 2021.

He told the jury that Kirkland had gone into the child's room at night and had pleasured himself over her, believing the little girl was asleep.

The prosecutor added: 'The next thing that the mother remembers is her daughter at the door saying 'my bed's wet' and saying someone had made it wet but it was not her.

'She said she thought a man had been taking photos of her on his phone.

'As you could imagine, her mind was going at 1,000 miles an hour and racing all over the place.'

Mr Fairley told the jury that the girl's mother immediately took the bedsheets and Kirkland's phone to the children's school, where police were called.

Officers seized the bedding, the girl's nightie and Kirkland's phone and arrested him for questioning.

DNA evidence taken from the samples given to police revealed that there were semen traces on three items, including the victim's bedsheets and pyjamas, all matching with that of Kirkland's.

Sarah Kalageros, a DNA expert, told the court: 'In my opinion, the scientific findings provide extremely strong support for the view that Andrew Kirkland had entered the victim's bedroom and ejaculated onto the bed rather than he did not.'

Kirkland maintained in his defence in court that the semen was on the bedclothes because he had performed a sex act alone earlier and may have had semen on his hands.

Less than three hours after the jury was sent out to consider its verdict, the panel filed back into crown court and convicted him on the charge of sexual assault on a child.

As the verdict was announced, loud sighs of relief could be heard from the public gallery.

Kirkland's head fell into his hands after hearing the word 'guilty.'

The prosecutor then read a statement from the child's mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

She said the child kept thinking she was seeing Kirkland and hearing him throughout the day, and that while walking down the road certain noises would make her jump.

Kirkland was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police in 2014, after having convictions for theft by an employee, taking money from the workplace and two counts of fraud by abuse of position.

One of the latter charges related to an incident were he was convicted for using his work phone to contact sex chat lines, the court heard.

Defending the former policeman, Colin McCarraher said: 'He is an ex-Metropolitan Police officer. When he goes off to serve his sentence, that will not be an easy sentence to serve. He is an ex-copper.'

Sentencing Kirkland, Judge Kirsty Real said: 'The victim was particularly vulnerable, ostensibly asleep and at a young age.'

She had earlier been told that detectives found internet searches on Kirkland's phone for porn websites which included how to get into bed with a sleeping person.

The judge added that, although the pornographic videos found on his phone 'showed contemplation, there was no significant planning.'

Kirkland, of Leicester, was sentenced to four year's imprisonment.

He was also ordered to sign onto the Sex Offender's Register for the rest of his life and a Sexual Prevention Harm Order application is to be adjusted at a later date.

Description

A dangerous sex offender who groomed an 11-year-old-girl over a period of three years in incidents dating back to the 1990s has been jailed. John Best appeared before Judge Graham Knowles at Preston's Sessions House on Thursday, after admitting nine counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 13. The court heard how Best, now 55, had groomed his victim from the age of 11 by plying her with sweets and cigarettes. At an earlier hearing, prosecutor, Peter Barr said the offending 'progressed' over 12 months, starting with Best attempting to kiss his victim, before inappropriately touching her, over the top of and then underneath her clothes. Mr Barr told the court the offending only came to light in May 2020, following an incident whereby Best had gone missing from his home. When he was found, he was arrested and admitted his guilt. Best, of Church Street, Accrington, has 20 convictions from 67 offences, including a long period where he was driving while disqualified and went to prison time and time again, but no previous sexual offence convictions. It was heard that the courts had also tried something other than immediate imprisonment but to no success. In a personal statement, Best's victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had been affected by the incidents her entire adult life. Her statement read: "I feel like I lost my childhood. As I grew into an adult I developed anger issues, and find it difficult trust anyone. "It's affected my relationships with my family and friends and has caused me severe mental health issues. "It's affected me my whole life and I am still suffering now, all these years later. "I found the police investigation difficult but he needs to be held responsible. "He took my childhood from me and he needs to be punished." Best was given an extended sentence and jailed for 11 years and given 10 years on licence and placed on the sex offenders register for life. He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order until further notice. Detective Constable Vicky Heys, of Blackburn CID, said: Best abused his young victim over a number of years to satisfy his own twisted sexual desires and has robbed her of her innocence. This conviction and sentence is justice for her and I commend her for her courage in coming forward and facing her abuser through the court process. "It must have taken extraordinary bravery to do this, especially after so many years and she has behaved with dignity throughout this investigation. Lancashire Constabulary remains committed to investigating allegations of this nature, no matter how historic, and no matter what the role, position and status of the alleged offender, and we would encourage anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward safe in the knowledge that they will be treated sensitively and professionally.

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A SEX offender taken in by a woman to give him a chance on release from prison, tried to entice her daughter to snuggle in with him on the sofa on the first night, a court heard. Joshua Bate, who is now said to identify as a female, Lily, was jailed for seven years in 2015 for rape of a young woman after entering her flat and removing her clothing. Durham Crown Court heard that after release on licence, Bate sexually assaulted a school girl on a bus and was jailed for a further six months, in 2020, while also having to serve the full remainder of the original seven-year sentence. Chris Baker, prosecuting, said Bate was released from prison in the Midlands on New Years Eve and after joining a Facebook group, was invited to stay at the home of a woman in County Durham, who thought he/she should be given a chance. Having travelled by train northwards, Bate was met by her at Durham station and went to stay at her home, on January 3. The plan was for Bate to sleep on the sofa and not to go upstairs, where her daughters were in their bedrooms. Mr Baker said during the first night, the womans 12-year-old daughter went into her bedroom and showed her messages sent from a phone, registered as Lilys. In them the girl was invited to creep downstairs and to snuggle in under the covers with Bate, where they could lie, face to face. Bate also asked the girl: Do you mind if my hands wander and we kiss on the lips. Dont feel awkward. This is our secret She was also told to only come downstairs if her sisters were asleep. The girl replied that Bate was, being a paedo and blocked further messages. Mr Baker told the court that on seeing the messages the girls mother got out of bed and contacted the police as well as confronting Bate, who was arrested. When interviewed, Bate admitted having sent the messages and said they were sexually motivated. Bate regretted it and said it would have been, limited to kissing and cuddling, but accepted posing a risk to children and being unable to control himself/herself, in the presence of children. In her victim statement, the girls mother told the court she now regretted the snap decision to allow Bate to stay at her home, adding: He says he wishes to change sex and identity. Hes a sex offender no matter what changes he makes. I feel hes a danger to everybody, but particularly vulnerable people and younger girls. Bate, 25, now care/of HMP Durham, admitted inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. Peter Sabiston, mitigating, said the defendant has not sought to minimise the offending and, there was clearly immediate remorse when confronted. It was a simple and short grooming incident, a short incitement. Mr Sabiston said Bate, accepted there would have been some sexual contact, but certainly not serious and penetrative activity. Judge Ray Singh said he considers Bate poses a significant risk of serious offending and, therefore, passed an extended 40-month prison sentence, to protect the public. It means Bate must serve two-thirds of the sentence before being eligible to apply for parole and may have to serve the entire 40-months. On release, Bate will be subject to five years extended licence period. Bate was made subject of a lifetime restraining order relating to the girl, plus indefinite registration as a sex offender, while also being subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, again indefinitely.

Description

A convicted sex offender who searched online "how to kill a woman" before stabbing a 23-year-old in the back has been given a life sentence. Brandon Bloice planned to rape his victim after stabbing her, but fled when she shouted for help. He struck in Carpenter Street, Perth, minutes after following another woman, who ran away. Bloice, 23, was given an Order for Lifelong Restriction, and must serve a minimum of four years in jail. The order means he will only be freed when the authorities deem he is no longer a risk to the public. Bloice previously admitted attempting to murder the woman with intent to rape, as well as threatening and abusive behaviour towards the other. Judge Gillian Wade QC warned Bloice that he may never be freed. She said: "This was an abhorrent and pre-meditated assault. "These events occurred against a background of established sexual offending and stringent monitoring, but you failed to comply with the measures put in place to protect the public."

Sharp pain

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the woman was walking to a local shop at about 00:40 when she felt a sharp pain in her back. Prosecutor Shanti Maguire told the hearing: "She screamed and turned around. She saw Bloice facing her. "She started screaming "help, police" over and over again." Bloice ran off in the direction of Perth Concert Hall and was traced in a city hostel the next day. Officers examined phones and a tablet device discovered in his room. Miss Maguire said: "During the analysis, it was established he had used the search terms "how to kills (sic) a woman stabbing" and "can a dead woman still get pregnant"." The advocate depute said Bloice now accepted that the assault was carried out with intent to rape. Ronnie Renucci, defending, said background reports into Bloice made "somewhat depressing reading". The QC said: "It will be entirely up to him if he engages with the authorities to try and improve his situation."

Description

Race hate sex offender Billy Charlton has been jailed for distributing an indecent image of a child to 47 people.

Charlton was under investigation for stirring up racial hatred when he forwarded an indecent image of a young boy and an animal to contacts on WhatsApp.

A court heard it is not suggested he is a paedophile but rather than he has a "sick sense of humour".

When Charlton was jailed for 21 months for the race hate offences in 2019, he shouted at jurors: "I hope your daughters don't get raped".

He was locked up for spreading toxic lies in a series of public speeches in which he hid behind the cloak of wanting to protect women and children from sexual assault while disseminating hate-filled falsehoods about immigrants, Asians, black people and the police.

He was convicted of five counts of stirring up racial hatred after using allegations of rape, kidnap and drugging by a female to spread racist lies.

The judge who sentenced him on that occasion said he had "conflated all immigrants with rapes and sexual offending, thus peddling racist hatred based around falsehoods" and branded him a bully.

Now Charlton, 57, formerly of Seaham, County Durham, but latterly of Sidmouth Road, Bensham, Gateshead, has been jailed for three years for sending the video of a young boy aged between 10 and 14 in the summer of 2018.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Prosecutor Ian West told the court: "It's not suggested he is a a paedophile or gained sexual gratification from watching it or forwarding it.

"He just has, it seems, a sick sense of humour."

Description

A paedophile who said he wanted to take a girl to bed has avoided jail.

Philip Street, 41, sent sexually explicit messages to a person he believed was a 13-year-old child.

He asked the supposed girl whether she would make him wear a condom if they were to have sex.

The pervert, of Bedford Avenue, Rock Ferry, was actually talking to an undercover police officer.

But a judge said his "very significant disability" substantially reduced his responsibility for the crime.

Street admitted attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Street's solicitors previously raised concerns about whether he was capable of entering a plea.

Derek Jones, prosecuting, said Street had a profile on Chat Avenue, a social media website "mainly used by teenagers aged between 13 and 18", with 13 being the minimum age.

He said Street entered a chat room called "teen chat" on February 12, 2021 and messaged the decoy profile "Kaylee13".

Mr Jones said: "The defendant told her straight away he was 40 years of age and asked her whether she had a girlfriend.

"She then informed him that she was 13.

"It was actually Kaylee who said 'we can move to Skype because we can't share pictures on here'.

"The defendant did say at that point 'I haven't asked for any pictures', but they then agreed to go onto Skype."

The prosecutor added: "When they went onto Skype, he jokingly said to her 'you will be after a picture of my d*** next' and then said 'I will show you my d*** later if you're good'.

"He then asked her whether she would make him wear a condom if they were to have sex."

Street sent a clothed picture of himself to Kaylee, before telling her: "I would like to take you to bed, I would be gentle with you."

He asked further sexually explicit questions and requested a photo of her face, to which the officer sent a generic photo, which Street said was "pretty".

Mr Jones said the pair discussed a female friend of Kaylee, and Street talked about "him being involved with the two girls".

Street did not suggest meeting up with the girl during three conversations, which lasted around an hour and a half in total.

He was traced by his email address and arrested at his home on April 13, when a police search did not reveal any illegal material.

Mr Jones said: "He was interviewed, your honour will have seen not just with an appropriate adult, but somebody acting as an intermediary.

"He accepted the messages were from him, albeit he couldn't remember some of them. He claimed to be drunk when he sent some of them and denied having a sexual interest in children."

Bernice Campbell, defending, said her client, who had no previous convictions, was accompanied at court by his uncle, who is his carer.

Judge Stuart Driver, QC, said: "This is an exceptional case Ms Campbell. The recommendation in the pre-sentence report is realistic and that's the course that I'm going to follow."

The judge told Street he would have to sign on the Sex Offenders Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.

Judge Driver said he would not read out the details of the order "as I think it will be hard for you to understand''.

However, he said they included restrictions on Street's use of the internet, and he must not attempt to contact, have unsupervised contact with, or live in the same house as anyone under 16, unless exceptions applied.

He said: "This is a complicated order. I'm afraid it's your responsibility and the responsibility of your carers to make sure you know the rules and that you stick to them, or you will be committing an offence for which you could be sent to prison."

Judge Driver said: "In mitigation, there was no child, this was an adult impersonating a child, and your messages were confined to a single day.

"However, the most important piece of mitigation in this case is the fact that you suffer from a very significant disability.

"You have cerebral palsy and spastic paraplegia, which substantially reduces your culpability for this offending.

"You're in your 40s and have never offended before and of course you pleaded guilty."

The judge handed Street a two-year community order, with a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and a sex offender treatment programme.

Description

A "repulsive" Bedford couple who sexually and mentally abused children have been jailed for 35 years.

Nicholas Harris, 54 and Clare Buttice, 41, were jailed for 23 years and 12 years respectively for abuse that was described as "degrading" in court.

Bedfordshire Police launched an investigation after the victims came forward to report their ordeal, which also included physical violence and abuse.

The couple will have to serve at least two-thirds of their sentence before they are considered for release, must register as sex offenders indefinitely, and are banned from having any contact with the victims.

Detective Constable Nina Bradbury, from Bedfordshire Police's Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) team, led the investigation.

She said: "This was a horrific series of crimes, in which children were exploited into performing acts for the offenders' sexual gratification.

"These offences have had a significant impact on the victims, and they will carry this trauma with them for the rest of their lives. I am pleased the courts have issued such a strong custodial sentence and that this repulsive pair will spend a long time behind bars.

"This case was a lengthy and complex investigation, and is just one of many which demonstrates our commitment to tackling offenders and keeping children safe."

DC Bradbury added: "Protecting children from this kind of sickening abuse is absolutely imperative - and work that needs our collective effort to succeed. Our specialist officers and partnership services will continue to work with and support the victims as they try to move on with their lives.

"But if you have concerns that a child is being neglected, exploited or abused, these concerns are too important not to share. We must all play our part in protecting children."

Description

A THIRTY five year old mechanic from Sandwick has been ordered to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work after admitting possession indecent photos and videos of children. Erik Stove, of Setter, had previously pleaded guilty to possessing and taking or permitting to be taken indecent photographs of children between 23 August 2014 and 8 March last year. Lerwick Sheriff Court had previously heard that Stove had three still images and 11 videos on his mobile phone, several of which fell into the most serious category A. Defence agent Gregor Kelly said a social work report had been full and helpful, showing that, while his wife had temporarily absented herself from the marital home, she had now returned and was supportive. He said Stove who told police when he was arrested I know theres stuff on my phone thats borderline and I wish to f**k I didnt have it was genuinely remorseful and ashamed of his actions. Kelly said his client was in many ways relieved to have been caught as it had forced him to address a pornography problem that left him locked in a prison of addiction. He had been sent two videos involving moving images of children in 2014 and, during the Covid-19 lockdown, had gone on a dark pathway where idle hands precipitated a spectacular further fall from grace. In the past year he has done much to rid himself of this addiction and is thought of highly by his peers, Kelly added. Sheriff Cruickshank noted that the offending was unusual in that it took place over a lengthy period but only a small number of images were involved. He handed Stove a community payback order under supervision for 18 months, during which time he will also be subject to notification requirements under sexual offences legislation.