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A convicted paedophile who travelled more than 150 miles to meet a child for sex will now be spending his days behind bars after a specialist partnership operation.

Mark Stephens travelled to Wallsend, in North Tyneside, from his home in Blackpool to meet a 10-year-old girl and her mother, who he believed he had been chatting to online.

However, what he didn’t know, was that he had actually been speaking with a police officer as part of a wider investigation.

Stephens sent countless messages stating his vile intentions with the child and also offered £400 to spend the night with them and record their time together.

Officers from Northumbria Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) launched an investigation and worked with Lancashire Police worked and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NE ROCU) to target Stephens and bring him into custody.

On April 12 last year, the 67-year-old travelled to Silverlink retail park – but was met by police and arrested.

A search of his vehicle recovered quantities of Viagra and a gift for a child.

During the course of the investigation it also came to light that Stephens was being looked into by another force after unknowingly sending explicit messages to an officer, as part of another investigation, the day before travelling to North Shields.

He was subsequently charged with arranging the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to meet a girl under 16 with the intention of engaging in sexual activity, and three counts of making indecent images.

The following day, Stephens, of Shannon Street, Blackpool, appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to all charges.

Additional charges were later brought and Stephens was later convicted of attempting sexual communication with a child and attempted breach of a sexual harm prevention order.

On March 30 he was jailed for eight years at Newcastle Crown Court and given an additional six years on extended licence, a deprivation order was also made by the court for the car that he used to travel to Newcastle.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Rob Smoult from POLIT said: “This is a great result which reinforces our commitment to protecting children from predators like Stephens.

“He made his vile intentions very clear and the overwhelming evidence collated by the team ensured a swift charge and left him with no other option but to plead guilty at court.

“Stephens set out on a long journey across the country to meet a girl he knew was underage and thanks to a thorough operation by ourselves and our partners, we have placed a dangerous offender before the courts, and prevented him from harming any children.

“We will continue to work with our partners to tackle online child abuse and sexual exploitation and would urge anyone who has been a victim of this type of offending, or has concerns about someone’s behaviour, to come forward and talk to us.”

If you have any information or concerns that a child is at risk you can report online using the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on our website, or by calling 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.

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Phil's brother Timothy Schofield was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, following a trial at Exeter Crown Court.

This is the mugshot of Phillip Schofield's brother Timothy after he was found GUILTY of sexually abusing a teen boy. ITV This Morning star Phil's brother Timothy Schofield was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, following a trial at Exeter Crown Court.

The 54-year-old, a civilian police worker from Bath, told the jury while giving evidence that he had watched pornography with the boy, whom he insisted was over the age of 16 at that time, and they had masturbated while sitting apart, but denied performing sexual acts on the teenager. The boy, who alleged the offending started when he was 13, told the jury he felt "emotionally blackmailed" by Schofield and "forced" to participate in sexual activity.

He said: "I felt that emotionally there was no escape from what we had to do and I felt that there was a tremendous amount of pressure and expectation for me to fulfil what was being asked and wanted." Giving evidence during the trial, the defendant told the jury he had been gay his "entire life" but had kept it "completely secret and hidden from everybody".

He described this as "incredibly difficult" and told the court he had struggled with mental health problems for years. The defendant wept as he was asked about phoning his famous brother before driving to his home in London.

He admitted searching for terms on a legal pornography website including "young boy teen sex" and "gay teen torrents", but insisted he believed this would return results showing men aged between 18 and their early twenties.

Schofield denied the charges but was convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity, three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: "Child sexual abuse can have devastating and long-lasting impact on a person's life and Timothy Schofield's actions were deeply harmful. We hope that the young man he targeted is receiving all the support he needs to move forward with his life." The NSPCC urged adults who are concerned about a child to contact [email protected] and young people to call Childline on 0800 1111.

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CHILDREN as young as six featured in thousands of sickening child abuse images which were downloaded by a Carlisle man.

But the jail term handed to 46-year-old Richard Nobes for his crimes was suspended after a judge accepted that he is a principal carer for his elderly father and that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

The defendant, of Sheffield Street, Carlisle, admitted four offences.

They were: downloading 1,359 indecent child images classified as Category A, the most serious kind of such image; downloading 674 Category B images; and downloading 4,291 Category C images.

He committed the offences between November 7, 2020, and May 6, 2021. Nobes also admitted possessing prohibited images of children on June 17. He denied a fifth allegation of possessing extreme pornography.

The prosecution accepted that plea.

Prosecutor Brendan Burke said the crimes came to light on June 17 when police, acting on intelligence received, visited the Carlisle home where Nobes was living at the time and carried out a search.

As police arrived, Nobes appeared to know why they were there but he told the officers: “That was years ago.”

Mr Burke said: “In fact, the images were created between April, 2019 and May of 2021."

All of the images recovered by the police were inaccessible to the defendant at the time of his arrest because he had deleted them, said Mr Burke. Nobes had been using a social media website that is popular with young people.

Judge Andrew Jefferies KC said there were two features of the defendant’s offending which were particularly serious. One was the sheer volume of indecent child images, which featured still and moving images, some as young as six.

The second aggravating feature was the charge involving distribution of some of the images involved. Judge Jefferies imposed an eight-month jail sentence but suspended it for two years.

He did this, he said, for three reasons: the defendant’s remorse, his prospects for rehabilitation, and the fact that he is the principal carer for his father, a fact supported by medical evidence.

The suspended sentence includes 40 rehabilitation activity days, designed to address the defendant’s “interest in children”. Nobes will be on the Sex Offender Register for a decade.

A sexual harm prevention order, governing his use of the internet, will be in place for the same period. Judge Jefferies told Nobes: “I would have sentenced you to [immediate] eight months prison but two things stopped me.

“One, the probation officer thinks you can be worked with to control any sexual interest you may have in children and the rehabilitative possibilities; and two, the material I have seen and extracts relating to the ill-health of your father and the fact that you are effectively his main carer.

“If I did put you in prison today, for a relatively short period, it would have a disproportionate effect on your father, who has done nothing wrong.”

The defendant, said to have been living under certain unspecified 'stresses' when he committed the offences, formerly lived at an address in Lightfoot Drive, Harraby, Carlisle. Nobes had no previous convictions.

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An Army commando who carried out a sex attack on a woman, leaving her with "irreparable damage", has been jailed.

Plymouth Crown Court heard Cpl Sam Evans, 29, attacked the 30-year-old after they met for the first time.

He was convicted at an earlier hearing of rape, two counts of sexual assault by penetration, non fatal strangulation and assault causing actual bodily harm.

Judge Robert Linford sentenced Evans to a total of 18 years for what he said was an "explosion of sexual violence".

'Her worst nightmare'

Evans, of 29 Commando, Royal Artillery Regiment, based in Plymouth, was also made the subject of 25-year-long restraining order banning any contact with his victim.

The court heard the pair had made contact months earlier through the Tinder dating app but only met by chance on the night of the attack last July and she went back to his flat in Ker Street.

His victim, who has lifelong anonymity, said during a cycle of violence that lasted for hours Evans knelt on her chest to pin her down, slapped and punched her in the head, spat in her eyes and face and urinated in her face and mouth.

The court heard he laughed off her attempts to tell him to stop and smothered her with a pillow when she screamed.

The victim said she repeatedly told him she did not want sex and she "thought I was dying" during the "violent and relentless" attack.

"Sam Evans has caused irreparable damage to me," she said.

Evans said his actions had been "playful and softly done".

The judge told Evans: "The two of you were absolutely saturated with alcohol but that is no excuse for the way you behaved; it makes it worse."

He said, when sober, "virtuous" Evans was "a hard-working, gentle, kind and considerate man" but on this night it was "an explosion of sexual violence".

Devon and Cornwall Police said the conviction was down to the "absolute courage of the victim".

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'Laurie' said Chris Brown was recruited to assist with the move but his true identity was only brought to her attention after he sent her daughter a Facebook friend request.

A horrified mother has slammed her landlord and the police after a registered child sex offender was sent out to help her and her five children move house. The woman, who wishes to be named as just Laurie, was moving between Aspire Housing properties in North Staffordshire when Chris Brown was recruited to assist.

She says the man's true identity was brought to her attention after he sent her daughter a friend request on Facebook the following day, Stoke Sentinel reports. The mother says the response to the incident from both Aspire and Staffordshire Police has seriously impacted her confidence in them.

Aspire has apologised for the incident but claimed the work being carried out wasn't a job that would have required background checks to be carried out on the firm it had contracted. Staffordshire Police said that no offence had been committed by Chris Brown at that time.

During the move, Brown was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) that he received in 2017, aged 29. He had been jailed for two years after exchanging explicit images with a 13-year-old boy.

Brown, who remains on the Sex Offenders Register, was back in court in August 2021 for breaching the order by deleting Snapchat messages. He told StokeonTrentLive that he had reason to believe from previous conversations with the girl that she was over the age of 18, which is a claim that Laurie strongly rejects.

Laurie, 33, who has four other young children living with her at home, said: Im baffled that the police seem to think that if someone just tells them they thought someone was over 18, thats good enough for them. They havent investigated this properly at all as far as Im concerned. They took no statements from me or my daughter, they just seem to have taken his word for it and left it at that. Its disgusting.

Brown was helping out local removal firm Bailey and Cooper Removals, which is owned by his stepfather, when he was sent out to the womans home. Laurie contacted the police after the Facebook friend request for her daughter arrived the next day.

She said: I rang them and then later on they came back to me to say theyd been round to check his devices. That told me something was up, so I asked if that meant what I thought it meant, but they wouldnt say. So we looked him up on Google and found out about his court cases.

"I was sick to my stomach. All they would say was that theyd been to see him and that as far as they were concerned, everything was ok. They were going on about having a duty of care to him and all that.

Staffordshire Police confirmed to StokeonTrentLive that it had visited Brown, and that there had been no breach of his SHPO. It's been reported that the now-expired SHPO imposed by the court did not forbid him from making contact with all children and was only applicable to boys under 18.

Laurie who found this 'astonishing' said: Why would anyone impose an order that only protected boys, not girls as well? These orders should be made with the protection of all children in mind.

It is understood that Brown's SHPO was not extended when he breached it in 2021. A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: At the time of the incident, the individual was subject to a SHPO that only applied to boys aged under 18. These terms were set by the judge at the time of the previous court hearing.

"Following the allegations, we visited the individual on August 4, 2022, to conduct inquiries. The relevant officer spoke to the girls mother later the same day. No criminal offences were identified as part of our enquiries. We can only base our investigations on the evidence we have available and within the constraints of the court order issued, this particular incident does not meet the criteria for the breach of that order.

When asked about the incident, Brown said: "With regard to the matter last August - yes, in the course of helping out on the job the woman and daughter started conversations with me and the daughter gave me the impression by what she said that she was over 18."

Aspire Housing said that the removal firms remit did not meet the criteria for a background disclosure check. Jon Dickin, Head of Neighbourhoods at Aspire Housing, said: We have taken this incident very seriously and have been providing support to the customer and working with local partner organisations to help investigate the situation.

"On this occasion, we used a new contractor due to lack of availability from our usual supplier. We would like to reassure our customers that we will not be using this contractor to undertake any further work. We are sorry to hear about the impact this incident has had on the affected customer and their family, and we will continue to work with and support them in any way we can.

A spokesperson for removal firm Bailey and Cooper Removals said: We were short staffed, somebody suggested he would work for us that day. We didnt know about his convictions. He hasn't worked for us since. We have got high standards, we would never hire someone like that intentionally.

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A teaching assistant sent teenagers at the school where he worked a ‘sex questionnaire’ asking their bra sizes and whether they were virgins.

Kevin Doxey, who worked at Anthony Gell School in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, admitted four counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child at Derby Crown Court.

The 27-year-old had sent a picture of his genitals to one of the victims, alongside a winking emoji and message saying ‘I wish you were here’.

One of his victims told her parents about what he had sent her and they contacted the police, which led them to seize his phone and found more messages to other young girls.

Laura Blackband, prosecuting, said: ‘He obtained the Snapchat details of four girls who were all students at the school and sent a series of sexually charged messages to each of them.

‘The communication included a “sex questionnaire” which had a huge number of questions on them which we say could have led to possible sexual activity.

‘[Victim one] was 15 and she was very distressed by the questions. He would ask her to pick a number and would get her to answer the questions.

‘She initially said no but when she was on a sleepover he texted her a [sexually explicit] photograph of himself with a winking emoji and three kisses.

‘She showed it to one of her friends and she said, “You need to tell someone about it.”‘

Three more victims were identified by police and said they were sent Doxey’s ‘sex questionnaire’.

Ms Blackband said a second victim told of how Doxey asked her ‘weird stuff’ over Snapchat, like asking if he could come and pick her up in his car and whether she was a virgin.

Another girl said she had been sent ‘inappropriate’ Instagram messages by Doxey.

Ms Blackband added: ‘In the questionnaire, he asked questions such as her bra size and “what do you wear in bed?”

‘She said she didn’t want to answer any of the questions but he replied, “You have to.”‘

The final victim ignored the questionnaire but the defendant was said to have ‘badgered’ her, asking: ‘Are you going to answer them?’

Doxey was initially suspended from the school and then left, and was said to have gone to work in a supermarket.

Two of his four victims, supported by their families, bravely read their victim impact statements to the court.

One said: ‘I was at school, a place where I felt safe and confident and all of that was taken away from me by a person in authority. I was a child, he was an adult, a teacher.’

Another victim revealed she tried to take her own life, adding: ‘Kevin was one of the main causes of this.

‘I recently saw him in Morrisons in Belper, I did not know he was working there and it brought back memories and I had to leave the store.’

One of the remaining two statements, which Ms Blackband read out, said: ‘I was only a child at the time, when I look back now it was shocking.’

The other said: ‘School was meant to be a safe place but Kevin took that away from me.’

Doxey told the police the explicit photograph was sent to his girlfriend, but ‘the police looked at thousands of messages between them and not one was of a sexual nature’.

Mitigating, Dan Scothern said Doxey now works for a company called Clear Group.

He said: ‘In his words, “I understand what I have done and the huge amount of damage I have caused not just to the victims but to their families and my family.”

‘He says, “If I could go back and change everything I would.”‘

Jailing Doxey for two years on Friday, Recorder Graham Huston said: ‘I have to deal with you as a persistent sexual predator who used his position of trust to exploit their vulnerabilities.

‘You have messed with the minds of these young women and you knew what you were doing was unlawful because you had undergone full safeguarding training.

‘I consider the witness statements and the victim personal statements of each complainant very carefully. You caused real harm to each one of them.’

Doxey, of Cromford Road in Wirksworth, will also be on the sex offender register for 10 years and was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Metro has contacted Anthony Gell school for comment.

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A Detective has described the behaviour of a convicted sex offender as dangerous and disturbing after he carried out attacks on two lone women in Loughborough last year.

Detective Sergeant Amanda Boswell, who oversaw the investigation, has spoken how the defendant – Grzegorz Luczak - showed predatory behaviour, targeting women who were both under the influence of alcohol as he was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday (30 March).

The 45-year-old formerly of Holmfield Avenue, Loughborough, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

During an evening in March last year, Luczak admitting spending a number of hours driving and frequently stopping around Loughborough town centre around the time that the bars was closing. The prosecution believed his intention was to voluntarily seek out a vulnerable woman to assault that night.

Hours later, an intoxicated woman got into his car believing it to be a taxi and asked to be taken home. He did not ask her to leave and instead he drove off with her in his vehicle.

A brave member of the public tried to intervene and assist the victim to get out after she felt uneasy about the situation. She took images of his car and warned the driver against doing anything to the victim.

These are words of warning he clearly ignored as when he continued his journey, he sexually assaulted the victim despite her protests.

She was thoroughly scared and the incident only ended when she escaped out of the moving car and fled to a nearby house, alerting the occupants shouting for help.

Luczak was arrested but without sufficient evidence to charge him at that stage, he was released under investigation to allow officers to complete further enquiries.

In August some months later, Luczak was once again driving around Loughborough town late at night, for what he later claimed was to collect scrap items discarded by residents that he could mend and sell.

He spotted another vulnerable woman walking home from an evening out, alone, in a quiet residential street and immediately turned his car around, travelling the wrong way down a one-way street, to approach her.

CCTV captured the moment he got out of his vehicle, instantly attacking the woman and wrestling her to the floor. She was then subjected to a serious sexual assault.

Luczak was later arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault and two counts of digital penetration of a female over 13 and he was found guilty of all counts at a trial in February.

Detective Sergeant Amanda Boswell, from the force’s SIGNAL team, said: “This man subjected both women to degrading and humiliating attacks causing a level of emotional trauma that is unforgivable. He deliberately sought them out and targeted them as lone women, late at night; this is disturbing and worrying behaviour which thankfully the jury recognised in their guilty verdicts against him.”

“Women are entitled to go on a night out and drink alcohol if they so choose. Doing so, should not make them vulnerable to men like Luczak. Women should be able to walk home safely and not be targeted.”

“This investigation has shown how important it is to work as a team with the victims and their wishes at the centre. Victims should feel listened to, supported, respected and understand how important they are to cases like this. We are unable to achieve results like this without them.

“Both victims and witnesses in these cases have demonstrated immense courage and strength throughout the investigation and in providing evidence at the trial. It shows bravery and commitment and I want to thank each of them for the part they played in securing the conviction of a clearly dangerous man.”

DS Boswell added: “Given the obvious repeat offending of Luczak, there could be other women who have been assaulted by him in similar circumstances and didn’t feel that they could report the incident at the time. If you are a victim, I would urge you to come forward and contact my team. We have specialist officers who can support and guide out through that process and we also work closely with a number of other agencies and can refer you for ongoing support.”

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A Paisley creep has been told his behaviour will revolt society after he admitted to having a haul of indecent child images.

Vile Adam Jalowy was caught with a selection of 172 images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children on two iPhones and a laptop.

Some of the images found on the paedophile’s phone included children aged as young as three years old.

And when police raided the 22-year-old’s Blackstoun Oval property in November 2021, he openly told cops: “It’s on my computer.”

Procurator fiscal depute Michael Cunningham told Paisley Sheriff Court police received information that, on June 14, 2020, a device was connected to the internet and uploaded indecent images of children at Jalowy’s home address. A warrant was later granted.

Mr Cunnigham explained: “At 7.45am on November 1, 2021, police attended the accused’s property with a search warrant. A search was caried out and Jalowy asked to speak to police in the hallway where he stated, ‘It’s on my computer'.

“A black iPhone 13 which the accused claimed ownership of was seized alongside another iPhone and a Macbook. The accused was arrested and taken to Helen Street police station.

“Around 4pm, a cybercrime interim report stated there were child sexual exploitation images consisting of Category A to C depicting male and female children aged approximately three to 14 years old. Jalowy was cautioned and charged and made no response.

Mr Cunningham explained both phones and the Macbook were examined. In total there were 100 videos and 72 images found, some were duplications. The court heard on Jalowy’s iPhone 13, there were three Category A images, two Category B images and four Category C images.

Also on the phone were 14 Category A videos and two Category C videos, all featuring the “sexual exploitation of male and female children aged between three and 14”.

On the Macbook, 49 Category C images were found alongside three Category B and two Category A. Also on the Macbook were 12 Category A and B videos and 23 Category C videos.

Cybercrime cops also examined the other iPhone and found nine images showing the sexual exploitation of children alongside, 18 Category A videos, 12 Category B videos and seven Category C videos.

The twisted creep admitted that on various occasions between March 17, 2021 and November 1, 2021 he was in possession of indecent images of children at his home address.

Jalowy also faced a charge that accused him of being in possession of “extreme pornographic images” that depicted bestiality, but his not guilty plea to this charge was accepted by the Crown.

Defence agent Mark Chambers explained reports would be necessary in this case – highlighting Jalowy has no previous convictions.

Sheriff Eoin McGinty said: “Reports are required for a number of reasons, firstly, I am duty bound to call for reports to establish all sentencing options and that includes custody. These are serious offences.

“Society is always revolted by these offences and it doesn’t get any easier hearing the depiction of these images that you had. I also need to know the level of threat you have on the community.”

Sheriff McGinty deferred sentence for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment until April 28.

He warned Jalowy: “If you come back here and the reports aren’t done, and it’s your fault, I’ll remand you in custody and I don’t think that’s where you want to be.”

Jalowy was placed on the sex offenders’ register with the period of time to be decided next month.

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A man was downloading vile child sex abuse images from his 'hidden' bedroom.

Liam Wishart, 35, told police officers who arrested him after a raid on the Bloxham home he shared with his mum that he had no indecent images of children and that he was sexually attracted to those of his own age.

But his lies were exposed when forensics specialists analysed his digital devices, uncovering 266 images in the most serious category – A – 115 in category B and 127 in category C.

Among the material found were images showing very young girls being sexually abused, Oxford Crown Court heard.

There was also evidence he had searched the internet for indecent images of children and chatted with others with a similar interest between 2016 and 2021.

Police officers raided the property in June 2021, after receiving a tip-off that Wishart had been downloading the vile child sex abuse material.

His bedroom – the door to which was hidden behind a bookcase – was searched and his digital devices seized.

The officers also found a can of pepper spray. The spray is classed as a prohibited weapon under firearm laws.

A cache of £28 notes was found and he was initially charged with possession of counterfeit money.

However, the charge was eventually dropped. On Friday (March 31) judge Recorder Paul Reid told prosecutor Robert Lindsey that he was ‘puzzled’ as to why the charges were brought in the first place, characterising the fake notes as ‘Monopoly money’.

When he was interviewed by the police, Wishart submitted a prepared statement denying that he was in possession of indecent images of children or that he had used ‘peer to peer’ websites to obtain them.

He claimed that friends would use his laptop and that the WiFi at his house was not password-protected.

Wishart, of Courtington Lane, Bloxham, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possession of indecent images of children and possession of the prohibited weapon. He had no previous convictions.

Gordana Austin, mitigating, said the Bloxham man was his mother’s carer and worked from home as a graphic designer. He had spent six weeks in prison on remand.

Imposing nine months’ imprisonment suspended for a year-and-a-half, Recorder Reid told Wishart: “The pre-sentence report reveals that you have an understanding now of the particularly vile nature of this practice, because as I have said it is not just being in possession of these disgusting photographs

“They are not just disgusting photographs. They show the commission of disgusting offences against children.

“Each of these hundreds of photographs is a further abuse.”

Wishart was ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work, up to 60 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £425 in costs.

He was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offender register for 10 years.

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A WEST Cumbrian man who secretly downloaded hundreds of child abuse images was told his offending warrants a jail sentence.

But a Carlisle Crown Court judge drew back from that option for 30-year-old Steven Hannay after being told that he was 'brutally frank' about his sexual interests when he was interviewed by a probation officers.

The defendant, now living in Workington but formerly of Cockermouth, admitted downloading more than 300 illegal images: 73 Category A pictures (the most serious kind); 46 Category B images, and 216 Category C images.

Police discovered the offending when, acting on intelligence received, they visited the defendant’s then home in Cockermouth. They found the illegal images on devices owned by Hannay.

A further two Category C images were also found.

Judge Andrew Jefferies said offending such as that committed by the defendant 'screamed out' for a prison sentence.

But his frankness suggested that he could be worked with to 'control his paedophilic interests.'

Though the offences deserved jail, a three year community order would allow the defendant to undergo 'intensive' rehabilitation work which would ultimately better protect the public, said the judge.

Judge Jefferies told the defendant, whose address was given as Devonshire Street, Workington: “Without doubt, your interest in this material means you should be in prison.

“That’s a given. But my duty is not just punishment for offending; it’s protection of the public going forward.

“Though some people may think you have made your position worse by your frankness with the author of the pre-sentence report, I think the opposite.”

A three-year community order focused on rehabilitation would not be a soft sentence, warned the judge.

Judge Jefferies imposed that order, specifying that it will include 15 rehabilitation activity days and 'accredited programme' of work to address the defendant’s interest in children. The sentence will also include a 120 day tagged alcohol monitoring requirement.

Hannay will have to be on the Sex Offender Register for the next five years and a sexual harm prevention order, controlling his use of the internet, will be in place for the same period, said the judge.

Ultimately, said the judge, people who commit such crimes either accept the available professional help that will stop them reoffending, or they have to be locked up.

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A remorseless and 'delusional sadist' subjected a group of women to a 'campaign of rape and violence'. Andrew Ellison, 46, has been locked up for nearly three decades for a string of 28 horrific crimes against five victims..

Ellison, from Rochdale, was found guilty of crimes including rape; assault; and false imprisonment following a five-week trial. The first four victims all suffered a barrage of physical and verbal abuse, leaving them feeling 'worthless', Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

He carried out some attacks wielding a bat with the engraving 'Andy E'. His offending started in the 1990s, prosecutor Amanda Johnson said. He left his first victim bruised and scratched - and once knocked her unconscious.

Ellison called her a 's**g' and a 'w***e', the court heard. He abused his second victim and slapped her across the face.

His threats were so terrifying that she once wet herself. Ellison made her sit in her urine, hissing: "Dirty b****." Ellison smashed the woman's head against a fireplace. Part of her ear was sliced off.

He later raped the woman. She said the attack felt like it lasted 'a lifetime'. "I'll show you what 'no' means," Ellison told her.

Another victim was also verbally abused. Ellison 'rugby tackled' her on the street in one shocking incident. He dragged her down a set of stairs and spat in her face. Ellison once kicked her so hard she couldn't get up. She thought her legs were broken after the thug ditched her in an alley.

The woman had crockery thrown at her after he lost his temper. The violence later 'escalated into rape'. Ellison threated to 'gut' the woman with a knife. He told her he had taken an overdose - and that she 'deserved to watch him die'.

Another of Ellison's victims was raped as he threated to stab her if she moved. He told her he'd kill her on another occasion. Ellison also strangled her.

The woman documented what happened to her so 'people would know' what she had endured if she died. The woman once ran into the street and flagged down a car for help. Ellison dragged her from the back seat, kicking her and knocking her unconscious.

His 'catalogue of offending' was then 'laid bare'.

Ellison's last victim was a woman who he exposed himself to before touching himself inappropriately - and attempting to touch her.

He was arrested last March. He offered no comment when quizzed by cops. Cowardly Ellison, of no fixed address, pleaded not guilty to all charges - four counts of putting a person in fear of violence by harassment; six counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm; six counts of rape; four counts of false imprisonment; one count of damaging property; two counts of making threats to kill; one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm; two counts of assault by penetration; one count of exposure; and one count of attempted sexual assault.

He was found guilty of 28 counts by a jury.

One of the women said in a statement read to the court: "I'm still hyper vigilant just walking down the street. It's that constant fear of not knowing what's coming."

"I still need medication for my mental health," another said. One victim said: "I wake most nights with night terrors and struggle to sleep."

Defending Ellison, Aisha Khan said that he has 'no vengeful wishes towards the complainants and that he wants to go on courses to help him in prison. The court heard he had a history of anxiety and depression.

Sentencing Ellison to 24 years, with a four-year extended licence period, Judge Bernadette Baxter described him as 'selfish, careless bully'.

"You are a delusional sadist who has taken no responsibility for your actions and blames anyone but yourself for the sexual violence you inflicted on others," she added.

"You have not shown a jot of remorse at any time and continue to deny the offences. This is very serious offending. It was a campaign of rape and violence, which had a profound impact on their lives for many years."

'His lack of remorse is despicable'

Greater Manchester Police interviewed more than 60 witnesses and conducted nearly 14 hours of interviews with Ellison's victims.

Following the case, Detective Constable Marshall Trower, of GMP's Rochdale District, said Ellison's victims were 'terrorised tortured, and abused'.

"He would subject them to vile verbal and physical abuse and make these women believe that they were at fault. They felt extremely alone and vulnerable.

"Ellison was quick to... blame these incidents on the victims, calling them 'mad' and 'hysterical'. I commend all the victims for their bravery throughout this investigation and for having the courage to report this information.

"Andrew Ellison's crimes are horrific and his lack of remorse for all five women and their welfare is despicable. He is an extremely dangerous individual who fully deserves the sentence imposed.

"I truly hope that the sentence of this dangerous individual brings some form of peace to all the victims and their loved ones."

Kirsty Walls, senior crown prosecutor for CPS north west's Rape and Serious Sexual Offence Unit, said: "Ellison is a prolific sex offender and a danger to women. He sought sexual gratification from having power and control over his victims and he hasn't displayed any remorse for what he has put them through.

"The Crown Prosecution Service worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case to put before the jury including, eyewitness testimony, video and audio recordings, phone messages, medical evidence from hospital records and images of injuries. The jury found him guilty of 28 out of the 29 counts he faced.

"The women who bravely reported the offences should be commended. I hope they can move forward knowing Ellison has been punished for his actions."

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A paedophile who had sex multiple times with a schoolgirl was told his youth saved him from being locked up.

Creepy Kyle McLean admitted being engaged in sexual activity with his 15-year-old victim at his home in Alyth, while she was drunk and hungover.

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A convicted paedophile, who shared hundreds of illegal images of children being sexually abused, has said he should be able to use online dating sites as he doesn't agree with the internet restrictions placed on him.

Jake Cresswell was branded as "devious and manipulative" by a judge who jailed him again in 2021. The 25-year-old was found to represent a "high risk of harm towards children" after he was found to have had online discussions with other paedophiles - where he discussed his warped fantasies of meeting, abusing and supposedly being “seduced by” children.

Some of the discussions involved several “role-playing scenarios”, including child rape.

But after Cresswell was released from prison last year, he was caught breaking the strict conditions on his phone and internet usage. Teesside Crown Court has heard that Cresswell's offender manager visited him in August 2022, and found that he has been using an alias on an app called Discord.

Cresswell called himself "LotusBear" and had also used an email account with an alias to open his Discord account. But the court heard that Cresswell feels he should be able to use online dating - his barrister said he relies on it to meet people.

"Given his offender status, he struggles to meet people in public," Lewis Kerr, mitigating, said. "He is more inclined to use online dating apps."

He added that his client used alias, when he is prohibited from doing so, "to stop him being identified as a sex offender in what is a public arena." The court heard that Cresswell "doesn't agree" with his online restrictions.

Police also contacted his employer - Peppino's Pizza on Skelton High Street - after receiving intelligence that Cresswell was using a "concealed device." His employer provided police with the phone number they had for Cresswell - who had told police that he didn't have a mobile phone.

His licence conditions state that he has to declare all devices to his offender manager. A forensic examination of the phone found that he had deleted 386 items from his internet history - which is a breach of his internet rules.

When police searched Cresswell's home, on The Hills in Skelton, they found his secret mobile phone on the roof, and some cannabis in his bedroom. Lewis Kerr told the court that Cresswell's job delivery pizza, "is not particularly likely to bring him into contact with young people."

"He hasn't committed any contact offences - this is not an escalation in his offending," Mr Kerr added. Cresswell admitted four breaches of his sexual harm prevention order; and the possession of cannabis.

He was recalled to prison after his latest breach, to complete his last sentence, which ends on October 16. Creswell was jailed for two-years in March 2018 for sending horrific child abuse images to fellow paedophiles online.

The pictures depicted girls, mainly aged four to seven but as young as three months old in one case, with a collection of almost five hours’ worth of videos. He said children characters in anime started his interest when he was 15 to 16.

Cresswell claimed he was “initially repulsed” by the material, “but the more he looked at it, the less guilty he felt”. In 2019 he breached his order after confessing to deleting the Grindr, Tinder and Bumble dating apps.

By March 2020, his offender manager found messages which "indicated" that he had been in an online relationship. Illegal porn and 258 items from his internet history had been deleted from his phone.

On Tuesday, Judge Howard Crowson told him that the internet conditions, "are there to manage the risks you pose to children." The judge told him that his current spell in prison is being extended, as he imposed a three-year jail term, which will run concurrently to the sentence he was recalled to serve.

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TWO men have each been jailed for two and a half years for sexually abusing two vulnerable teenage girls who had gone missing from a Bradford children’s home.

The underage victims were assaulted at a house in Bradford, after meeting Stanislav Himal by chance in the street late at night and giving him directions.

He took them to the address where they thought they would receive money and cigarettes for helping him, prosecutor Abigail Langford told Bradford Crown Court today.

Himal, 35, a father of seven, of Runswick Terrace, Wibsey, Bradford, and co-accused Jozef Fedor, 56, of Frank Street, Great Horton, then sexually molested the girls who were so frightened that they fled the house without their shoes and jackets.

The men denied abusing the girls but were convicted by a jury of sexual assault.

Miss Langford said the girls arrived at the house in the early hours of the morning on a day several years ago.

It was then suggested to them that the men were offering the money and cigarettes in return for sex, saying they ‘would have to work’ for them.

Things then ‘spiralled out of control’ with both girls being molested.

One was pushed upstairs and assaulted on a bed by Himal. She was screaming and kicking out as she tried to fight him off.

She was then forced on the floor and abused again.

Fedor was kissing one girl against her will and trying to take off her leggings, the court was told.

The teenagers fled the house without their shoes and jackets and summoned help from a passer-by. One had a neck injury after struggling with her attacker.

The police were called and the defendants denied the assaults at trial.

Miss Langford said the girls were particularly vulnerable. They were missing from a children’s home and out late at night.

The men were acting together and there was an offer to give the teenagers alcohol.

“One young female saw her friend being assaulted and vice versa,” Miss Langford stated.

Andrea Parnham, for Himal, said he had no previous convictions. The offending was opportunistic, impulsive and out of character.

He had a wife and seven children and was in work at the time.

He and Fedor had been held in Leeds Prison on remand for several months.

Catherine Duffy, Fedor’s barrister, said he too had no previous convictions.

It was one incident more than three years ago.

Fedor had been working as a plumber and now intended to return to Slovakia on his release.

Recorder Patrick Palmer jailed both men for 30 months.

He made Sexual Harm Prevention Orders for ten years and each must sign on the sex offender register, also for ten years.

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A South Yorkshire Police officer who pulled down a teenager's top and photographed her breasts has been jailed for eight months.

Paul Hinchcliffe, 46, sexually assaulted the 18-year-old in a pub in Wath upon Dearne in October 2020.

The victim told Leeds Crown Court the officer's behaviour had destroyed her trust in the police.

The married father-of-four resigned from the force after being convicted by a jury in January.

Hinchcliffe was off-duty and drinking with a group including other officers when he committed the offence in The Church House, a Wetherspoons pub, on 3 October.

'All trust gone'

He first took a photo of the woman and showed it to friends and made a comment about performing a sex act, the court heard.

Hinchliffe then flicked beer foam at the teenager's chest before pulling open her top, photographing her breasts in her bra, and making sex noises before sending the image to a colleague.

Later that night the woman, who lived with her parents, received WhatsApp messages from Hinchcliffe, one of which included a photo of her accompanied by several sexually explicit emojis.

In a victim impact statement, the 18-year-old said: "All my trust for the police just went.

"I used to feel safe when I saw police officers. I never think that now."

Sentencing Hinchcliffe, of Songthrush Way, Wath upon Dearne, Judge Robin Mairs told him his conduct "betrays your fellow officers who do a decent, committed job and makes women mistrustful of the police force".

Katherine Pierpoint, defending, had urged the judge to suspend the prison sentence and pointed to a raft of references from colleagues about his 20-year career.

The barrister said her client's drunkenness at the time of the offence was no excuse but might explain his "completely out-of-character" behaviour.

She said that, unlike other recent high-profile cases, Hinchcliffe had not used his position as a police officer to commit the offence.

'Far beyond banter'

But Mr Mairs rejected her plea and noted Hinchcliffe's role at the time of the offence involved training student police officers, saying he had breached the standards he was tasked with instilling into recruits.

He said the behaviour of Hinchcliffe and other officers in the pub "went far beyond jokes and banter" and had dented the victim's trust in both men and the police.

South Yorkshire Police said an accelerated misconduct hearing on 9 February concluded Hinchcliffe's conviction amounted to gross misconduct and the officer would have been dismissed without notice if he had still been serving.

Hinchcliffe, whose name will be on the sex offenders register for 10 years, has been placed on the police barred list, meaning he will never work in policing again, the force added.

Chief Constable Lauren Poultney said: "Whether our officers and staff are on duty or not, the public rightly expect us to portray the true values of policing at all times and this former officer fell woefully below these expectations."