Latest Offenders

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Jozef Janczura, aged 34 of Laburnum Road, Southampton has been given a 20 year extended sentence today (31 January) for raping and assaulting an 18-year-old woman in Riverside Park in Southampton on December 2, 2018.

More than a year after this terrible crime happened to a young woman, a Jury at Southampton Crown Court delivered a unanimous verdict of guilty on both counts on December 11, 2019.

Appearing at court today to be sentenced, the judge handed Janczura a 20 year extended prison sentence for the brutal attack.

The sentence comes after the woman reported that whilst she was walking along Woodmill Lane in December 2018, a man unknown to her grabbed her neck and raped her in a wooded area in Riverside Park between the skate park and tennis courts.

Officers investigating the case immediately launched an appeal for witnesses including residential CCTV and dash cam footage.

The woman was supported by specialist officers and forensic evidence obtained was sent off for fast track analysis. On Dec 7, officers found out that the DNA found did not match any other DNA on the national police database. Following this news, an extensive CCTV strategy was planned alongside consultation with the National Crime Agency in a bid to identify the man responsible.

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One of the traumatised victims of a paedophile pensioner locked up for 15 years has told how they hope their attacker dies in jail.

Both victims of David Jepson were under the age of 13 when he committed his catalogue of sex crimes.

They were carried out around a decade ago and both victims have been left psychologically scarred.

One of them had turned to drugs and alcohol in an effort to deal with what had happened to them as a child. 

Their victim impact statement said: “Now justice has been done I may be able to rebuild my life. I hope he never sees another day outside. He does not deserve to be in this world.”

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how the 76-year-old made one victim pull their trousers down while he performed a sex act on himself.

And he simulated sex with the second victim on a settee as well as indecently groping them.

Prosecutor Steven Bailey said: "The defendant was in his 60s at the time.

"One of the victims broke down in 2016. The allegation was reported to a social worker.

"The second victim told police the defendant would undress them or tell them to take off whatever they were wearing. He would lie on top of them and simulate sexual activity."

The defendant has always denied the allegations and told police the victims were telling lies.

But Jepson, of Tasman Square, Northwood, was this week convicted of four offences of causing a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity; two offences of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13; and two charges of penetrative sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.

Caroline Harris, mitigating, said Jepson has learning difficulties.

 She said: “He has never been able to read or write. These difficulties have been ongoing for a great number of years.

“He is someone who has tried to work hard where possible and he has lived reasonably independently. He will find incarceration particularly difficult.”

Judge Paul Glenn described the children as 'young' and 'vulnerable' when the offences took place.

He added: "These were planned offences.

“The psychological harm is severe for both victims. One of them sustained physical harm. You knew what you were up to.”

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A MAN who performed a sex act in front of customers and staff in McDonald's in York city centre has been jailed.

Lewis James Barnes, 21, has also been banned from unzipping or removing his trousers or shorts in public for the next 10 years.

York magistrates heard he exposed himself and performed the sex act in the fast food restaurant in Blake Street in York early on October 6.

“It was prolonged and it was in a very busy public place in McDonald's,” the Bench told him.

“It would have offended staff and customers.”

Barnes, of Pavilion Square, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to outraging public decency and failure to attend court at a previous hearing.

He was jailed for 24 weeks and ordered to pay a £122 statutory surcharge.

He was also put on the sex offenders’ register for five years and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order, also for five years.

Under the order he is banned from unzipping or removing his trousers, shorts or any other garment covering his private parts in public and has to use a private cubicle in any public toilets.

He is also barred from McDonald's in Blake Street for five years and forbidden to contact, either directly or indirectly, those who gave evidence against him for the same period.

For him, Craig Robertson said he had issues which he knew he needed to tackle.

He had had a “complete breakdown in his behaviour” last July which had led to him committing offences.

But in January 2020, he was a changed man.

“He is embarrassed, he is ashamed,” said the defence solicitor.

Mr Robertson disputed a probation service assessment that Barnes was such a high risk offender that he was unsuitable for community sentences such as unpaid work or rehabilitation activity days.

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A former Lincolnshire councillor who was jailed for downloading images of child abuse has appeared in court again after breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Ian Dolby, of North Road Sleaford, had been jailed for two years in August 2017 after admitting to downloading images of children.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to 23 charges of making an indecent image of a child on the second day of his trial after police found 700 computer discs at his home in Sleaford.

Dolby was placed on the sex register for 10 years and given a sexual harm prevention order to control his behaviour when released.

Now he has appeared in court again after breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

The former Sleaford Town Councillor refused to hand over a device capable of accessing the internet for inspection when he was asked to by the authorities on August 29, last year.

The former councillor appeared at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on December 12, last year, where he pleaded guilty to the offence.

Dolby was fined 150 and ordered to pay a 32 surcharge to fund victim's services and 85 in costs by magistrates.

At his original trial in 2017, the court was told police found a stash of more than 700 computer disks containing pornography in Dolby's bedroom as part of their inquiries after officers arrested his lodger for an unrelated matter.

Of these, 45 disks contained child pornography, including more than 500 movies lasting 184 hours. These had been downloaded between 2010 and 2013.

Mark Knowles, mitigating for Dolby, said 90 per cent of the material found in his home had been adult pornography and that he had an obsessive personality.

"He understands that he has a problem," he said. "He is desperate to get to the bottom of his difficulties.

"He is very much a loner who spends the majority of his free time in his room on his computer."

Sending Dolby to prison, Judge Simon Hirst had said: "You have done everything you possibly could to avoid facing up to your wrong doing.

"This type of offending is not victimless in any way. Every still photograph and every frame of a film has the face of a child who has been sexually abused in the most cruel way imaginable.

"In behaving as you did, you perpetuated the market and distribution of such images and encouraged the making of more images."

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A sick paedophile has avoided going to prison after being caught with more than a hundred indecent images of children after he sold his laptop to a pawn shop in Hull.

Neil Omer, 57, of Burdale Close, Hull, has taken his white Lenovo laptop to Cash Express in Holderness Road and the company held it for 28 days should Omer have wanted to buy back the item plus interest.

But as Omer had not returned after the set date, the manager at Cash Express accessed the laptop on April 12, 2018 in order to restore it to factory and settings and then sell it on.

Hull Crown Court heard the manager found two files entitled "boys" and the other "girls" and when she opened them she disturbingly discovered indecent images of children and reported this to the police.

A sick paedophile has avoided going to prison after being caught with more than a hundred indecent images of children after he sold his laptop to a pawn shop in Hull.

Neil Omer, 57, of Burdale Close, Hull, has taken his white Lenovo laptop to Cash Express in Holderness Road and the company held it for 28 days should Omer have wanted to buy back the item plus interest.

But as Omer had not returned after the set date, the manager at Cash Express accessed the laptop on April 12, 2018 in order to restore it to factory and settings and then sell it on.

Hull Crown Court heard the manager found two files entitled "boys" and the other "girls" and when she opened them she disturbingly discovered indecent images of children and reported this to the police.

"The category A images included penetrative sex of children between the ages of 10 and 16 years old including penetration of males with sex toys," said Mr Robinson.

"Other prohibited images included cartoon-style illustrated images of children under the age of 12.

"In his police interview the defendant said he had accessed the images using Tumblr and thought that only lawful images could be uploaded to the site and gave a no comment answer to whether he is sexually attracted to children.

"The defendant's past convictions are not similar and were for dishonesty, but he has nothing on his record since 1985.

"The aggravating factors are the videos and the age and vulnerability of the children".

Defending Omer, Kylie Peach said that he was "bitterly ashamed of his actions" and a lonely and vulnerable man with a heroin addiction and "clearly in dire need of assistance".

"Mr Omer is bitterly ashamed of his actions and has been out of trouble for more than 30 years and is a man that can live comfortably within the parameters of the law," she said.

"He says that he has 'learnt his lesson'. He is a vulnerable man and his last relationship ended 10 years ago and since then he has lived a lonely life. He has no friends or family and goes for days without speaking to people.

"He struggles with his mental health and has schizophrenia and depression, but his medication has not been sufficient and his mental health has declined, with Mr Omer being referred to the crisis team before.

"He slipped into using heroin to mask his feelings but has self referred to Renew and wants to go on a drug rehabilitation programme to address his addiction.

"He is at a low risk of re-offending and at a low risk to the public and is clearly in dire need of assistance".

Sentencing him to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, Recorder Tom Little QC gave Omer full credit for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity and also imposed a sexual harm prevention order and a 30 day drug rehabilitation programme.

Addressing Omer, Recorder Little said: "You have not been in front of the criminal courts for many years and you have pleaded guilty for offences relating to indecent images and videos found on your electronic devices.

"On March 10 you took your laptop to Cash Express and they waited 28 days in case you wanted to buy it back with interest. But after this time was up, the manager accessed the laptop in order to sell it and found folders labelled 'boys' and 'girls' and this set about the investigation.

"On all four of your devices images and videos were found, spanning across two years in which you viewed them including internet searches.

"You have become addicted to heroin as well as suffering depression.

"Having considered the guidelines it seems that in conjunction with a sexual harm prevention order and assessment by the probation service for drug rehabilitation, there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation so I am willing to suspend your prison sentence.

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A New Forest paedophile was sent down for more than two decades after being convicted by a jury of 25 "evil" child sex offences.

Dean Randall, 41, previously of Prince of Wales Road but living in Bournemouth before he was jailed, was found guilty in January at Southampton Crown Court.

Randall was convicted of four counts of rape, three counts of buggery, four counts of indecency with a child and 15 counts of indecent assault. The offences which took place between 1993 and 2004.

One offence was against a victim who was 16 or older at the time therefore was not a child sex offence.

Randall inflicted a tirade of abuse against his young victims, two boys and one girl, for nearly a decade.

In 2017, the victims came to Hampshire Constabulary to tell their story and get justice for what had happened to them.

Randall denied systematically raping or indecently assaulting anyone which meant his victims had to have their harrowing experiences retold in court.

He was jailed for 25 years.

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Sergeant Russ Smith from the Western Investigation Team said: "Randall perpetrated repeatedly evil crimes against his victims and now adults, they have broken the silence. The verdict and sentence is testament to their courage and bravery in coming forward.

"I sincerely hope this begins to bring some closure to those he affected, and that it helps others who have suffered similar abuse to find the confidence to come forward and speak to the police knowing their voices will be heard."

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A WINCHESTER man been given a 13-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a vulnerable woman.

Liam Foard, 31, had initially denied rape and assault by penetration but changed his plea last month.

A judge at Winchester Crown Court said Foard, already a convicted rapist, was a danger to the public and an extended sentence was needed.

Foard, of Wales Street, Winnall, was sent to prison for nine years but an extended licence of four years was added.

He cannot apply to the parole board for release until at least six years into his sentence and there will be none of the usual release at the half way point.

The court heard that Foard has pressed a "self-destruct button" by telling probation staff that he was still a danger to the public.

Foard did not appear in court in person but via a video link from Winchester Prison. He wore grey tracksuit bottoms, a grey Adidas sweatshirt with a shaven head and beard. At first he had declined even to appear by video link.

The court heard that on July 23 last year he had enticed a woman with learning difficulties out of her home at night and assaulted her.

He was arrested the next day and lied to the police but DNA analysis proved his guilt.

Mitigating, Adam Norris told the court about the pre-sentence report: "On any view it is a difficult report to deal with. It is a report where Foard has pressed th self-destruct button. He has descended into a realm of despair, where he appears to be operating beyound the normal boundaries and limits expected to be enforced in society. One doesn't know if it is for survival about what lies ahead or whether he seeks notoriety.

"Foard had decided not to appear in court and yet he does. There is something of the bold statement followed by a somewhat meeker acceptance that appears in his behaviour. There may be a change of heart in due course."

Sentencing, Mr Recorder Christopher Quinlan QC said Foard had a terrible record appearing for sentencing 28 times for 55 offences. He had been convicted in 2013 of raping a woman and only released in 2018.

He said a victim impact statement showed the attack had had a strong effect on the victim. The judge said: "The effects on her life have been profound. She remains scared of you and what you did to her."

The judge said Foard, who has shown no remorse, may have said things to the probation service "to bolster your own self-image through bravado," but said he felt Foard is a danger to others. "It is some time since I have read a pre-sentence report devoid of hope but laced with menace."

He ordered three more minor offences that Foard denied to lie on the file. He will be on the sex offenders register for life.

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A pervert who tried to meet up with a parent to abuse his two daughters was caught after it turned out to be an undercover police officer.

William Gerald Lenehan, from Preston, was in secret online contact with the officer for two months and used secure email accounts based in Russia so he couldn't be traced.

The 'determined and premeditated' 65-year-old also installed special software on his mobile phone making it 'difficult or impossible' to check his browsing history and also had access to the 'dark web'.

Preston Crown Court heard how police officers in Kent launched an investigation in early 2017 to 'identify and investigate individuals arranging to meet and facilitate sex offences with children'.

Prosecutor Mercedes Jabbari said Lenehan made contact with the undercover officer in May 2017 and used the email address name 'Exciting Times'.

Lenehan had email accounts with Russian-based Yandex and Protonmail and Ms Jabbari said they are 'known not to share information with local enforcement agencies'.

She told the court: "The defendant had earlier informed the undercover officer that he changes his email addresses frequently for security purposes and in fact advised the undercover officer to do the same."

Four days after making contact with the officer Lenehan told him to first send a picture of a sex act involving his daughter and then they could go on to "trade some heavy stuff".

Lenehan suggested they set up a group in a chat room application and the defendant used the name 'Gary'.

Ms Jabbari said between May and July 2017 Lenehan engaged in "explicit conversations concerning the abuse of children" with the officer.

She told the court: "The defendant was not only telling the undercover officer to perform indecent acts with his children but also expressing a description of what acts he too would wish to perform.

"He said he enjoyed their 'purvy chats' and even expressed disappointment at the situation saying 'pity this is all illegal'.

"He also tried to arrange a meeting with the undercover officer so they both could abuse the officers supposed young daughters who were three and six years of age."

Lenehan sent the officer a number of 'first generation' custom made images of children, including one of an eight-year-old girl holding a placard with the date and the defendant's Kik Messenger username.

Ms Jabbari told the court that it 'indicated the defendant had obtained them from a source not far removed from the original abuser'.

The images were later traced to a man in Torquay who was arrested and convicted, the court heard.

Officers also used Lenehan's internet provider address from Kik Messenger to trace him to an address on Devonshire Place in Preston.

The defendant was away working in France but was arrested at Manchester Airport the next day.

A mobile phone was seized containing 61 indecent images and videos of children, including one category A - the most serious - three category B and 57 category C.

Ms Jabbari said the victims were aged between five and 10 and one of the abuse videos lasted more than five minutes.

Attempts had also been made to delete the images on the phone which had been in the defendant's possession since 2012.

The prosecutor said: "The phone was found to have multiple means of secure communications and means of access to the internet making it difficult or impossible for such communications or browsing to be intercepted or detected.

"There were programmes for the effective permanent deletion of images and software to hide [Virtual Private Network] addresses making it difficult to trace the location of the user.

"There was also software to enable the user to access content on the dark web."

'Period of insanity'

Lenehan pleaded guilty to encouraging a man to take and send him indecent images of children, distributing indecent images and possessing indecent images.

Defence barrister Shirlie Duckworth said: "This was for him a period of insanity where he had no insight into the harmful effects of his behaviour.

"If the court is inclined to look at the longer term protection of the public and rehabilitation of this defendant then supervision in the community would allow rehabilitation and longer term protection."

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Portsmouth Crown Court heard that Mark Blackwell, 69, preyed on the children - aged about 10 - for seven years in the 1990s.

When Blackwell was arrested in mid-January in 2018 police seized his devices and found the videos still in existence.

He was already on the sex offenders' register and under an order restricting his internet access after admitting 24 charges relating to indecent images in 2011.

When officers went back to his home on January 31 - around two weeks after his arrest - they found a perverted search terms and an image of a naked child with cartoon face on a new laptop.

Richard Onslow, mitigating, said Blackwell claimed to have 'strayed off the path'.

But judge Timothy Mousley QC did not brush off the crimes as easily as the defendant had tried to portray them.

Jailing Blackwell for four years and four months, he said: 'You are a man with a number of previous convictions for this kind of behaviour and the images have been retained for a long period.'

Nicola Hadley, prosecuting, said: 'They were asked to go out into the woods, videoed in provocative poses and sometimes with clothes on, sometimes with clothes off.'

The woods were in Hampshire. Some 76 indecent images also featured close ups of a girl's genitalia and body, the court heard.

Blackwell, who uses a wheelchair and is in 'deteriorating health', was cleared of charges accusing him of assaulting the two girls. He denied taking the images.

The prosecutor added Blackwell had been fined in 1972 after being convicted of assaulting a girl under 14.

Mr Onslow said Blackwell insisted he had 'taken the images without any sexual intent'.

Blackwell must sign the sex offenders' register for life. A sexual harm prevention order restricts his internet use for life. He was convicted of six indecent image charges.

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A convicted child rapist caught with a hoard of indecent images said he had them as a "coping mechanism" to stop him abusing more youngsters.

Jordan Chambers was a youth himself when he was jailed for 57 months for raping a younger boy and molesting a girl.

A court heard he received no help or courses while in a young offenders institution to deal with his sexual interest in children, which remained after he was released on licence.

He was caught with hundreds of indecent images of children, some aged under 10, when police examined his phone.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he said looking at the illegal material helped prevent him from carrying out further contact offences.

It was in November that Northumbria Police's paedophile online investigation team went to his house after receiving information about his behaviour.

He initially denied having a phone but when officers found an iPhone charger plugged into the wall, he told them the device was under his bed.

An examination uncovered 157 of the most serious, category A images, 176 category B and 699 category C. There were also two videos, one of category A and one category B.

The court heard he had posted one of the images on Facebook, although he was not charged with distributing images, just three counts of making them between July and November, which he admitted.

He said he had stored the indecent material on a cloud storage app.

Nick Lane, prosecuting, said: "By way of explanation, he said he had a sexual interest in children and he used the images he downloaded via the Tor browser as a coping mechanism to make sure he didn't commit any further contact offences.

"He said following his previous conviction and since his release from custody he had received little or no help with regard to his sexual preference for children and had been unable to prevent himself looking at the images."

Chambers, of Elton Street West, Wallsend, had been jailed at Preston Crown Court in 2016 for raping a boy under the age of 13 and sexually assaulting a girl aged between 13 and 15.

He was 15 or 16 at the time he carried out those attacks, for which he was sent to a young offenders institution for 57 months, placed on the sex offenders register and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

He has been recalled on licence for that sentence, with his release date being October 31 this year.

For the latest, indecent images offences, he was jailed for 12 months, of which he will serve up to half.

Shaun Routledge, defending, said: "While he was serving his last sentence he asked on numerous occasions to go on the Horizon (sex offences) course. He has never been given a single sexual prevention course, despite getting 57 months.

"He said he didn't get on the course and other people did. The course was not available.

"It's the first thing he said to the police when he was arrested. He needs help.

"He is young and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."

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Sentencing 18-year-old Jacob Young, Judge Martyn Levett described him as a "clever manipulator and a good story teller" and a danger to the public.

"The jury saw through your lies," said the judge

He said Young had carried out internet searches for "sexy girls wearing shorts" and "upskirting" images of girls in the months before the rape and this demonstrated he had been "engaging in unhealthy sexual fantasies behind a facade of being an innocent 17-year-old".

The judge said he had read a letter from Young's mother which described the effect on Young of the family appearing in the "Supernanny" TV show with celebrity nanny Jo Frost.

She said it had led to a campaign of bullying and abuse from people including school friends.

The judge said that on the evening of the rape Young, who was described as a committed Christian, had attended a youth meeting at a church in Ipswich.

Young, of Beechcroft Road, Ipswich, was convicted by a jury last month of rape, assault causing actual bodily harm and theft.

He was sentenced to ten years detention in a young offenders' institution with an extended licence period of five years.

Judge Levett banned him from contacting the victim of the rape for 10 years and he was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

The victim, who was drunk, left the Unit 17 nightclub in Cardinal Park with her boyfriend, who had gone to collect her, on October 13 last year.

As they were walking through the town, Young was seen on CCTV walking behind them and following them through an archway in the direction of the woman's Ipswich flat.

The victim's boyfriend had left her handbag by the front door while he helped her into the flat and when he returned shortly afterwards it was missing.

Young stole the handbag and was captured on CCTV with it.

The boyfriend then left to go back to work and Young knocked on the victim's door and raped her in the flat.

The woman, who is in her 20s, previously told a jury at Ipswich Crown Court she had been drunk on the evening of the attack and didn't have a clear recollection of what happened in her flat.

However, she said she did remember being pushed against a wall and being pushed on to her bed with her attacker's hands round her neck and trying to get him off her.

She also remembered telling him she would do whatever he wanted if he let her go to the toilet and then running down the stairs and out of her flat.

Prior to the rape, Young had hidden in bushes near McDonald's in Cardinal Park and had taken photographs of scantily clad women, and was described as a "sexual predator" by prosecutor Jane Oldfield.

He was also captured on CCTV walking round Ipswich town centre and going up and down Silent Street frequently changing direction to follow women

Following the guilty verdicts, the jury heard that Young had a previous conviction as a 14-year-old when he followed a 12-year-old schoolgirl down an alleyway and threatened her with a knife.

Investigating officer Sgt Rory Prior from the Suffolk police safeguarding unit said after sentencing: "I am extremely pleased to see Young behind bars after being handed this sentence.

"However, it will be of little comfort, I am sure, for the victim who showed immense courage in giving evidence in court about the terrible ordeal she experienced. No prison term will ever make up for the trauma she suffered.

"Using a variety of investigative tools available to us, we were able to dismantle his web of lies and deceit and safely remove someone who was a genuine threat to the public."

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Jason Tilbury, 50, of Crowborough Road, Hastings, appeared at Teesside Crown Court on January 14, where he pleaded guilty to arranging and facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, Teesside Crown Court has confirmed.

A spokesman said Tilbury was given a 27-month prison sentence.

He was also given a sexual harm prevention order for ten years, and was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years, the Teesside Crown Court spokesman added.

Durham Police said they were made aware of the incident by Dark Justice – an online child protection organisation based in Newcastle.

A charge of assault by beating remained on file, according to Teesside Crown Court, with no action proceeded with.

A Durham Constabulary spokeswoman said: “We were initially informed of this case by Dark Justice. We have since carried out a full investigation using both the information provided to us by the group, and information gathered through enquiries by detectives, which has resulted in the court hearing.”

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A SOUTHAMPTON teenager was caught with "sickening" images of young girls and asked others to share them.

Ryan Maidment was caught with dozens of indecent images of some young girls – the youngest thought to be aged between four to six years old.

Now aged 20 Maidment, who was aged between 17 and 18 at the time of his offending, also "traded" images with other paedophiles via an online chat site and used a mobile application aimed at hiding private photographs or videos.

At Southampton Crown Court, he was given a suspended sentence.

The court heard how Maidment was arrested in May 2018 after police received information that an internet connection linked to his flat in International Way, was being used to share indecent images.

Police found more than 60 indecent images on his Samsung mobile phone, the majority of which were category C – the least serious category.

Officers also found moving images and that Maidment had shared images in group messaging chats.

This meant he had committed an offence of distributing indecent images – a more serious offence than possession.

Maidment admitted three counts of possession of indecent images, ranging from category A to C, and three counts of distributing indecent images, again ranging from category A to C.

In mitigation, Gemma White said Maidment was an "isolated" teenager at the time of the offences and had spent much of his time gaming.

She said Maidment had since managed to get a job, though did not disclose where, and had formed relationships and had began to socialise with his work colleagues.

She urged Judge Peter Henry to follow a pre-sentence report by the probation service recommending he suspended the sentence and allow Maidment to take on a programme aimed at helping paedophiles ¬– which he would not be able to access in prison.

In sentencing, Judge Peter Henry described the images as "sickening".

He said: "Any right minded person will think someone like you deserves severe punishment.

"But on the other hand you are young, you have no previous convictions and you were, as I find, isolated in some sort of fantasy world.

"It's clear the most serious offences took place when you were 17."

He added: "I have to find the balance between the punishment best for the public interest against the best way to protect society."

Judge Henry imposed an 18 month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He also put an "onerous" order of 160 hours of unpaid work, ordered Maidment to complete the Horizon programme and 20 days or rehabilitation activity requirement.

Maidment was also made the subject of notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to pay costs of £670.

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A TEENAGE girl who was molested by a 31-year-old later found her schoolwork suffering as she struggled to sleep. Alexander Caple told the 14-year-old she should not tell anyone about her ordeal or they would put him in prison, Preston Crown Court was told. But within hours the youngster had informed a schoolfriend and told her mother what had happened. Police were alerted and Caple, of Helston Close, Burnley, was arrested and confessed to some sexual activity with her. Caple later admitted to two offences of sexual activity with a child. An indecent exposure offence, which he denied, was withdrawn after the prosecution offered no evidence. Judge Phillip Parry jailed him for four-and-a-half years and imposed a 12-year sexual harm prevention order. The court heard Caple groped the girl over her clothing before carrying out a more serious sexual attack. In a victim impact statement, she said she had been left struggling to sleep and her mother had reported she could be heard crying through the night. She was studying for her GCSE exams and had been sent from from school after falling asleep in her lessons. Her grades had also suffered.

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A sex offender from Fareham has been jailed for 24 years after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences.

A jury found Steven Ward, 43, of Chartwell Close, Fareham, guilty of 15 counts of rape, five counts of sexual activity with a child and one sexual assault between 2006 and 2017.

Portsmouth Crown Court was told that the offences were committed against three girls.

Ward pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child.

The jury found him not guilty of one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of rape.

Yesterday (January 13) he was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

DC Marie Duffy said: "I would like to thank the victims for their bravery in coming forward and trusting us enough to tell us what had happened to them.

"Without their courage this depraved man would not be behind bars today.

"I hope that today's conviction and jail sentence gives others who have suffered abuse of this nature the confidence to report it to police.

"We will always take these sorts of allegations extremely seriously, and wholeheartedly commend the courage it takes to speak out many years after incidents have happened."