Latest Offenders

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A former teacher and rugby coach at a Somerset school has been jailed for 10 years for child abuse.

Keith Ruby, 36, of Biddisham Lane, Axbridge, was convicted at Taunton Crown Court of 16 counts of serious sexual offences against a teenage boy.

During sentencing, Judge Graham Hume Jones, said: "You abused the trust of a young boy and the trust of his parents, and you brought shame on them."

The school has said all the necessary safeguarding checks were made on Ruby.

The judge said Ruby was regarded as an "ardent and enthusiastic" sports coach who encouraged the boy in his favourite sport.

He said: "But you did this to indulge your sexual interests with this boy. In his evidence, the boy used the phrase "hero worship" to describe his relationship with you.

"Having gained his trust you then gained the trust of his parents."

The court heard the boy's family was "duped" by Ruby who entrusted their son into his care outside school for rugby matches and an overseas trip.

'Completely distraught'

He said: "It is not hard to imagine how this boy's family feel after being duped by you.

"He worshipped and trusted you, and lied to the police to save your skin.

"Even then you met him again and abused him."

A spokesman from the school has said: "Our safeguarding procedures, both now and at the time of these incidents, are completely compliant and all necessary checks on the suitability of Keith Ruby to work with children were carried out by the school.

"However, unfortunately no vetting system can guarantee that every paedophile is identified."

Ruby will be placed on the sex offender's register for life and will never work with children again.

Det Ch Insp Richard Kelvey, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Keith Ruby is a manipulative man who insinuated himself into the lives of this victim and his family.

"He regularly sat at their dinner table and was welcomed into their lives as a trusted friend, teacher and coach to their son.

"His betrayal and abuse has left them completely distraught."

Mr Kelvey added that it took several years before the victim felt able to disclose the abuse he had suffered.

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THE most evil of offenders thats how a detective described Basingstoke paedophile Paul Thomas, who was this week convicted of 25 counts of various sexual offences against four young girls committed over several years.

Sick Thomas crimes included rape and indecent assault, and one of his victims was just eight when she was first abused.

A jury found 50-year-old Thomas, of Western Way, South Ham, guilty of 25 of the 31 charges he faced during a two-month trial at Winchester Crown Court.

A second man, Jerry Lee Howe, 40, of Dunnyshop Avenue, Accrington, Lancashire, was found guilty of three charges, including rape, invoving one girl. Both men had denied all charges.

The trial heard the crimes spanned some 15 years, from the mid-1990s to 2010, when the first victim came forward to Hampshire Constabulary. The victims were abused separately at different times and locations.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, said: The victims were, the Crown say, sexually abused. They were children and some of them very young.

A victim told the court how Thomas gave her cash and cigarettes after sexually abusing her at the age of 14.

The woman appeared in court behind a screen in the witness box, although her evidence was taken from a series of filmed police interviews.

She said she only realised that she was being abused when she started to have a relationship with someone her own age, and told him about what happened.

A jury of seven men and four women found Thomas, pictured, guilty of two multiple counts of rape against one girl that took place when she was aged 13 and 14.

He was also convicted of two other counts of rape, 11 indecent assaults, seven counts of sexual activity with a child and three counts of inde-cency with a child.

Judge Andrew Barnett, adjourning the sentencing hearing until January 29, told Thomas: Be under no illusion when the matter comes back, you must prepare yourself for a prison sentence of some considerable length.

Detective Inspector Scott Clarke, from Hampshire Constabularys Major Investigation Team, led the two-year investigation which brought Thomas and Howe to justice and he praised the courage of the victims.

Speaking after the convictions, Det Insp Clarke said: These men systematically abused and degraded children to the point where their victims felt their ordeal was just a part of growing up.

It is down to the courage of the victims that these most evil of offenders have been brought to justice.

I only hope that with the ordeal that ruined their childhoods finally over, these people can start to rebuild their lives and enjoy their first Christmas free from fear.

He added the offending has now been referred to the Hampshire Safeguarding Children Board.

Clare Chamberlain, independent chair of the board, said: Even though the majority of these crimes appear to have taken place many years ago, we are keen to establish the facts about this case and ensure that frontline practice and management across all agencies is able to learn from and deal effectively with these complex abuse cases.

Thomas, who has been remanded in custody, was found not guilty of six further counts, including an indecent assault on a boy, and Howe was found not guilty of three offences involving two girls.

Two other men, Timothy Pittway, 49, and Paul Flynn, 30, both of Bath Road, Reading, were found not guilty of all child abuse charges that they faced.

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A WOMAN who was sexually abused more than two decades ago has described how the ordeal left her ashamed and traumatised.

Craig Tongs victim spoke out after justice finally caught up with the sex attacker who has been jailed for nearly five years for the catalogue of crimes he committed when she was a child.

His victim is now hoping that by revealing the pain she went through others who have been sexually abused will find the courage to report the crimes.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Epworth Bells: For more than 20 years I have been too terrified, ashamed and traumatised to tell the truth about my years as an enforced sex toy for Craig Tong.

His selfish and abusive actions ruined my childhood and have seriously impacted on my life.

I will never be able to forget his appalling actions and the fear in which I have lived. I hope now he will feel just a fraction of the disgust and pain I have suffered.

Tong, 43, of Potts Lane, Crowle, was jailed for four years and eight months at Grimsby Crown Court after admitting five counts of abuse including two offences of having sex with a girl under the age of 13.

The offences were carried out in the late 1980s, but it was only when his victim plucked up the courage to tell police of her ordeal that an investigation began and Tongs crimes were revealed.

The court was told his victim had originally thought people would not believe her when she told them about the abuse she had suffered.

At the sentencing hearing on Monday Tong wore a dark suit and spoke only to confirm his name and address.

Tong was given two 16-month prison sentences for two counts of having sex with a girl under the age of 13. He was given an additional three custodial sentences of eight months for three offences of indecent assault. All five sentences will run consecutively.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and banned from working with children.

Speaking after the sentencing, Tongs victim said: I should like to offer my heartfelt thanks to the health and support workers, police and crown prosecution staff who have given me the strength, confidence and assurance to reveal the torment I was subjected to as a child.

It is through their support that finally Craig Tong has been brought to court and imprisoned for his abhorrent actions.

I hope that this case will be an example to other women, who in their own lives may have been in a similar situation, and encourage them to tell the truth of their ordeals.

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A drug-fuelled rapist who tricked his way into a vulnerable 63-year-old womans home and subjected her to a degrading attack has been jailed for five years and four months.

Thomas Ullah, 22, sat hunched in the dock at Bradford Crown Court with his head in his hands as his barrister described the assault as awful, degrading and distressing.

Ullah, of Fairhaven Green, Idle, Bradford, pleaded guilty to raping the woman on August 8, a fortnight after his release from a 15-month prison sentence for supplying class A drugs.

Prosecutor Richard Smith said Ullahs victim, who was not known to him, was preyed on by local youths who used her Bradford home to smoke cannabis. They ate her food, took money and dossed down uninvited.

Mr Smith said Ullah was not among that group but he had friends who were.

The woman lived alone and suffered from depression, the court was told yesterday. She had fallen asleep after watching TV when Ullah knocked on the door at 1.15am.

He had earlier exposed himself in front of CCTV cameras while out in Bradford, Mr Smith said.

Ullah told his victim he was called Joe and tricked his way in by claiming that a man she knew was on his way over.

He told her he had taken cocaine and M-cat and had just come out of prison.

Mr Smith said Ullah dragged the woman into the hall, kicked open her bedroom door and threw her into the room.

He stripped her naked and raped her on the bed, threatening: Scream bitch and youre dead.

Afterwards, the woman was shaking with fear. She told the police she felt like a piece of scum.

The woman had bruised arms and legs and Ullah was linked to her by DNA evidence.

His barrister, Jayne Beckett, said he had taken a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. He was sickened to the core by what he had done and struggling to come to terms with it.

Judge David Hatton QC said Ullahs victim was devastated and her life would never be the same.

After the case, Detective Inspector Ian Lawrance, of Operation Topaz, West Yorkshire Polices rape investigation unit, said: Ullah took advantage of a vulnerable member of the community in the worst possible way.

He reached the depth of depravity in his actions and I am extremely pleased to see he will now spend some considerable time behind bars.

Ullahs victim, who was in court, said she was upset and devastated that the sentence was not longer.

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Former builder Paul Taylor, 60, was convicted yesterday of the murder of Sally McGrath, from Peterborough, after escaping justice for more than 30 years.

Miss McGrath, 22, was found naked except for a pair of boots and partially buried in woodland at Castor Hanglands, to the west of Peterborough, on March 1, 1980.

Taylor, of Valentine Close, Fareham, was also found guilty of three rapes, an attempted rape and a serious sexual offence.

Detectives from Cambridgeshire Police have now said they are looking into the possibility that he attacked more women during his time at large.

Today, at Chelmsford Crown Court, Judge Mr Justice Owen said: ''I think it is clear there was a sexual element to the murder of Sally McGrath.

''The evidence revealed a pattern of behaviour in which you lured your victims in under the pretence of giving them a lift home.

''You then drove them to a rural or isolated area and forced yourself upon them.

''Your predatory sexual attacks took place over 30 years ago but your victims have been left scarred for life.

''I have no doubt the brutal murder of Sally McGrath followed the same pattern and resulted from her resistance to your sexual demands.''

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A TAXI driver who raped a teenage passenger in his car has been jailed for seven years.

Married Liaqat Ali, 42, was also banned from ever driving a taxi again for the sex attack on the lone girl.

He took advantage of the 16-year-old girl who got in his cab after celebrating at a birthday party with friends in Middlesbrough.

The teenager was picked up by Ali in his hackney carriage on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough on March 2 this year.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the girl assumed she would be in safe hands getting into the licensed taxi.

She was clearly drunk and had been “half asleep”, with her head against the seatbelt during the journey.

But her trust was betrayed after Ali drove her to a secluded spot in Acklam instead of taking her to her home.

She had to get out to go to the toilet but when she got back in the vehicle he forced her to perform a sex act on him.

When she eventually got home she was screaming and pulling her hair as she told her mum about her ordeal.

Interviewed by police after his arrest, Ali accepted he had picked up the teenager but denied anything had happened.

He only later admitted there had been a sexual encounter after DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Even then, he claimed there had been consensual sex.

He repeated the claim during his trial at Teesside Crown Court last month.

Giving evidence through an interpreter, Ali claimed she had started touching him.

But the jury didn’t believe his version of events and accepted that the teenager, who is now 17, had been raped. Ali denied a charge of rape but was convicted by a majority verdict.

Judge George Moorhouse jailed Ali, of Abingdon Road, Middlesbrough, for seven years at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

Prosecutor Christine Egerton also applied for an indefinite sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).

She said there was an element of breach of trust as the girl had felt she would be safe with the taxi driver.

The SOPO was granted, with a condition that Ali must not work as a taxi driver.

Judge Moorhouse told Ali: “You must never drive a taxi again. That will remain in force for the rest of your life.”

The judge said it was a very serious offence, telling the defendant: “You were in a position of trust and owed her a duty of care.

“You knew she was drunk at the time and to some extent you abducted her.”

Paul Abrahams, mitigating, said Ali was a family man of good character who had worked all his life.

His incarceration would have a massive impact on Ali’s wife and children, said Mr Abrahams.

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A BULGARIAN man who dragged a young woman down an alleyway and raped her in a late-night sex attack in Bridport has been jailed.

Mustafa Mustafa, 24, was labelled wicked and disgraceful by Judge Roger Jarvis as he sentenced him to 56 months in prison at Dorchester Crown Court.

Prosecutor Megan Topliss told the court that Mustafas victim, who was in her early 20s and suffered from a mild form of Aspergers, had gone out for a walk at around 11pm on August 13 when she walked past the defendant, who was sitting outside Bridport Kebab House in East Street.

Miss Topliss said the young woman had seen Mustafa before but did not know him and when she walked past he said hi.

She then became aware of him following her as she walked towards Symondsbury.

He came alongside her as they walked out past the Bridport Medical Centre before she told him she wanted to go home and started heading back towards town.

Miss Topliss said: They started to walk back until they reached an alleyway.

The defendant stood quite close to her and went to kiss her, she pulled back and tried to walk past him but he grabbed her arm.

Miss Topliss said Mustafa was gesturing towards himself and then her and said sex but she repeatedly replied no.

She said he then dragged her down the alleyway and pulled down both their trousers before raping her.

After around a minute she was able to push him away. Miss Topliss said Mustafa then tried to force her to perform a sexual act upon him but she resisted and he also put his hands down her trousers before forcing her to touch him.

She added: She said he was pretty aggressive throughout the incident.

After the attack Miss Topliss said the defendant went back to town while his victim went home and contacted the police the next day.

Mustafa was arrested on August 15.

Tim Shorter, mitigating, said Mustafa, of East Road, Bridport, had only entered the country around two months before the rape as he sought to work to earn money for his family back in Bulgaria.

He said his client had entered a guilty plea to the offence at the earliest opportunity at court and had shown genuine remorse since the incident.

Mr Shorter said: He has not sought in any way to deny his guilt.

As he passed sentence Judge Jarvis told the defendant: You behaved in a wicked and disgraceful way.

Court told of impact on life of young girl

THE COURT was told of the devastating impact of the sex attack upon Mustafas victim.

Miss Topliss said in a victim impact statement the young woman described how she no longer felt safe at night and suffered from anxiety and panic attacks to the extent that she has to take medication.

She added that the woman, who had never had sex before the rape, had been having trouble sleeping and experienced flash backs on a daily basis, while the ordeal had impacted on her education as she was studying in the hope of going to university but now found it difficult to concentrate.

Judge Jarvis said to Mustafa: There has been a profound impact upon your victim, the full extent of which we can only imagine.

There will be a lifelong impact upon her from what it is that you have done.

And Bridport police Inspector Mike Darby said: I am very pleased with the sentence of Mustafa for this offence which was serious and incredibly impactive on the victim.

Mustafa took advantage of a person who was vulnerable and the judge has imposed a significant sentence in light of this.

He added that offences of this nature are rare in West Dorset.

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A pervert who repeatedly raped a young girl more than 20 years ago has been jailed for a decade.

William Rowe, 60, of Queens Road, Dartford, denied three charges of rape, four of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child - but was convicted by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court of all offences except one of indecent assault.

It was the third time Rowe had stood trial for the same offences, which came to light only after his victim was contacted on Facebook by Rowe's brother, Lewis.

During the first trial, a jury failed to reach a verdict and a second trial was aborted due to legal reasons.

Each time, his victim has had to endure giving evidence to the court.

Also in the dock with Rowe, who has a previous conviction for indecent assault in 1984, was his brother.

Lewis Rowe, 49, of Bryant Road, Strood, denied one offence of indecent assault against the same victim and was found not guilty by the same jury.

Jailing William Rowe, Judge Martin Joy said the offences were "brutal" and "a classic example" of the damage caused to child sexual abuse victims.

"What the court could see was a woman who has lived for over 20 years with the fact of having been sexually abused in a very serious way by you.

"it caused her mental health problems, depression, huge distress, loneliness... and an inability to function as a normal and healthy young woman should be able to... judge martin joy"

"It caused her mental health problems, depression, huge distress, loneliness... and an inability to function as a normal and healthy young woman should be able to."

Rowe will serve half his sentence, less a total of 64 days spent on remand, and be subject to a tagged curfew.

Upon his release, he will have to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

During Rowe's trial, the court heard his victim reported the abuse to the police after Lewis Rowe contacted her on Facebook.

She told how she was horrified at receiving a message from Lewis Rowe, telling her: "You are all grown up now. You have turned into a beautiful young lady."

Michael Riley, prosecuting, said the woman told her boyfriend: "They have found me. One of my abusers has found me."

Mr Riley told a jury of 11 men and one woman: "It was that message that acted as a trigger for her. It brought things back for her. Once she read it she became very upset and distressed."

She then claimed William Rowe had raped her and committed other assaults and Lewis Rowe had behaved indecently with her on one occasion.

Mr Riley told a jury of 11 men and one woman: "It was that message that acted as a trigger for her. It brought things back for her. Once she read it she became very upset and distressed."

She then claimed William Rowe had raped her and committed other assaults and Lewis Rowe had behaved indecently with her on one occasion.

Mr Riley said William Rowe started the abuse after his wife Elaine and their two daughters, Sarah and Vicky, were tragically killed in a fire on a houseboat in Hoo Marina on Boxing Day in 1988.

The first offence was committed, he said, when Rowe told the girl to lie on top of him and made her touch his genitals. He then went further and had intercourse with her, it was alleged.

On another occasion, Rowe took the girl into a cellar, laid her on a workbench and had intercourse with her, said the prosecutor.

Rowe raped her on a third occasion and made the girl perform sex acts on him. After one incident in his car, he told her to keep it secret.

"He said no one would believe her and she would get into trouble and so would he," said Mr Riley.

When arrested, both brothers denied the allegations.

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A DISTRAUGHT childs revelation to school staff triggered a major police investigation that has led to a jobless Chandlers Ford man being jailed for ten years.

The girl, who became so upset during a lesson she had to be taken out of class by a teaching assistant, disclosed how she had been repeatedly sexually abused.

Southampton Crown Court heard that, suspecting his abuse had been discovered, Stuart Bowman took an overdose of tablets and was treated in hospital.

Bowman, 38, of Oakmount Road, Chandlers Ford, was convicted of rape and false imprisonment of a woman, which he had denied. He admitted two charges of causing actual bodily harm and committing three sex offences against the girl.

The youngster told police his abuse had also led her to self harming and thinking of killing herself. She added: I am happy now he cant harm me anymore.

Judge Gary Burrell QC told Bowman he considered him a dangerous offender and a high risk of causing harm to children. He was placed on the sex offenders register for life and under the terms of a sexual offences prevention order, is banned from having unsupervised access to girls under 16. He was also given a three-year extended sentence.

The judge said his offending had been committed against a rising use of amphetamine.

In mitigation, James Newton-Price said Bowman recognised his abuse of the girl was immoral and repugnant, and he had shown an insight into the impact of his behaviour.

Wiping tears from his eyes, Bowman heard the barrister add he had destroyed his relationship with his children.

After the case one of his victims described Bowman as an evil monster.

Speaking to the Daily Echo said she was pleased to see him jailed as it marked the closure of an horrific episode in her life.

I feel I can move on now knowing he is behind bars and get on with my life with my family, said the woman.

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A man who raped a 12-year-old girl from Hampshire after posing online as a teenage girl, has been jailed for 14 years and four months.

Gary Cooper, 47, pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court to the sexual grooming and rape of the girl.

Cooper, of Windsor Drive, Hertford, fabricated a profile in a social network site in which he purported to be a 15-year-old girl called Chantelle.

Passing sentence, the judge called Cooper "highly manipulative".

The court heard how Cooper had used the online site to meet his victim in July 2011 and then took her to Hertfordshire, via Essex, where he raped her.

After being reported missing, the girl was found by Hertfordshire Police the following morning.

A police investigation uncovered a series of offences against the 12-year-old and another girl to which Cooper pleaded guilty.

Det Insp Dave Storey, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "This incident highlights the ease with which online paedophiles can use social networking sites to communicate with children and parents should be mindful of who their children are communicating with and any arrangements that are made following contact."

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A TEACHER who performed a sex act in front of a schoolboy on the internet has been spared jail.

Christopher Daniels was sentenced to a two-year community payback order for the offence and for having indecent images of children.

The 29-year-old was working as an IT tutor at Lossiemouth High School in Moray when he exposed himself to the 15-year-old over a webcam.

Last month, Daniels admitted intentionally causing the boy to look at a sexual image by performing a sex act during a video call at his house in Lossiemouth on July 2, last year.

He further admitted having indecent images of children between December 31, 2011, and January 10 this year.

Sentence was deferred until yesterday so that a string of reports, including a psychiatric assessment, could be prepared and he was put on the sex offenders register.

The court previously heard how the young victims mum contacted police after finding a string of messages between her son and Daniels on the familys computer.

The teachers home was searched by Grampian Police officers in January this year.

Solicitor Stephen Carty said Daniels had already been punished by the fact that his career as a teacher had ended.

He said: This has had quite an impact on him.

Sheriff Susan Raeburn said Daniels would be supervised for two years as part of the order and would have to attend a sex offenders programme.

Daniels will remain on the sex offenders register for two years.

A Moray Council spokesman said Daniels left his job at the school before the case had concluded.

He added: He is no longer employed by the council.

He could now face education chiefs at the General Teaching Council.

A spokesman said Daniels was currently banned from working at any school.

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A senior Hertfordshire politician, who held a role overseeing children's services, has been jailed after being found in possession of more than 400,000 indecent images of children.

Stephen Holmes, 61, was sentenced to 10 months in custody at St Albans Crown Court today after admitting 23 counts of possessing indecent images and videos including thousands at level five, the most serious abuse.

The massive cache of images was accumulated over a period of 12 years by Holmes, who resigned as deputy portfolio holder for childrens services at Hertfordshire county council and as a Dacorum borough councillor following his arrest.

Harry Bentley, for Holmes, told the court his client had never sought to abuse his position or gain access to children.

He said: "This is a man with a problem, not a persistent sex offender.

"A somewhat pathetic individual locking himself in a room on his own."

The images were discovered on computer equipment in his Woodhall Farm home in May by police investigating online activity.

The politician, who was also a Dacorum Borough Councillor in Hemel Hempstead and the former mayor of the borough.

Holmes, of Dickens Court, Hemel Hempstead was also handed an indefinite sex offenders prevention order limiting his internet access by Judge John Plumstead.

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Mark Bridger was told he would die behind bars after being jailed for life for the murder of April Jones.

Bridger was given the sentence in May, 2013, after a jury at Mold Crown Court found him guilty of abducting and murdering five-year-old April before disposing of her remains.

Handing Bridger a whole life tariff, Mr Justice Griffith Williams branded him a "pathological liar" and a "paedophile".

The judge said: There is no doubt in my mind that you are a paedophile, who has for some time harboured sexual and morbid fantasies about young girls.

He added that Bridger had stored on his laptop "not only images of pre-pubescent and pubescent girls but foul pornography of the gross sexual abuse of young children.

Bridger became just the 32nd person in UK history to be handed a whole life tariff after being found guilty of murder.

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A school teaching assistant who had sex with teenage pupils after grooming them on Facebook and sending them indecent text messages has been jailed.

Emma Webb, 42, also performed sex acts on four boys, sometimes in a room at the Berkshire school where she worked.

She admitted 30 offences between 2009 to 2012 involving five boys who were aged between 15 and 17 at the time.

The married mother of two, from Kingfisher Drive, Woodley, was jailed for two years and eight months.

Reading Crown Court heard that Webb worked as a study supervisor at the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons.

On one occasion she performed a sex act on a boy in a room at the school, stopping only when the school bell sounded.

'Befriended victims'

She also invited one of the boys to her home to walk her dog but instead had sex with him on the stairs of her family home.

The court heard that Webb befriended her victims before sending them suggestive texts and indecent mobile phone photos of herself using sex toys.

She had been warned to stop contacting the boys via Facebook by a friend who discovered it but continued, the court was told.

Her conduct was also the subject of jokes by some of her victims to their friends with several of the boys knowing about each other's relationships with her.

Judge John Reddihough said she had risked leaving the boys with a "distorted attitude to females and sex".

"It is also likely to have had an adverse effect on them with feelings of guilt, shame and embarrassment on their part," he said.

He added: "You put your thrill-seeking before their interests."

Webb admitted 16 counts of sexual activity with a child whilst being in a position of trust, six counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity whilst being in a position of trust and four counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

She also pleaded guilty to three charges of causing a child to watch sexual activity whilst being in a position of trust and one count of sexual activity with a child.

She was banned for life from working with children and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register.

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Darren Mackrell was caught when one of the mothers called police.

A man who drugged and raped three schoolchildren after meeting them at a Hampshire park playground has been given an indeterminate jail sentence.

Darren Mackrell, 45, raped two boys aged eight and 10 and a girl, nine, at his Southampton flat on 21 April.

He had admitted 18 charges of rape, sexual assault, forcing the viewing and engagement in sexual acts and drugging.

The court heard he forced the children to sexually abuse each other while he watched during the six-hour ordeal.

Winchester Crown Court was told that the unemployed drug addict, of Wilton Avenue, gave the children cannabis, amphetamines and Viagra.

He also threatened to hurt them if they tried to leave - showing one boy a large hunting knife.

Judge Gary Burrell QC told Mackrell he would spend at least 10 years in jail and may never be released if he continued to pose a danger to children.

'Depths of depravity'

Sentencing Mackrell, he said: "As a parent, when a child goes missing, you fear the worst, you fear something bad has happened to them.

"Something bad did happen to these three young children on that day.

"Your behaviour towards them plumbed the depths of human depravity.

"There is no room for mercy, Darren Mackrell, in a case as horrific as this. What you did to these children was truly dreadful."

The court heard Mackrell's victims had been traumatised by their ordeal with one boy harming himself and writing suicide notes and the girl unable to speak about it.

Mackrell was caught after one of the children's mothers became concerned about their whereabouts and went to the park to look for them.

She found out that the children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were at Mackrell's home and called the police when nobody answered.

An officer tried to break the door down after looking through the letterbox and seeing a pornographic video playing on the television.

Mackrell, who pleaded guilty to all the charges on the eve of his trial, was placed on the sex offenders register for life.