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A church elder has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a train.

Creepy Colin Hope was also found guilty of sexually assaulting three women in a supermarket.

Following a trial at Paisley Sheriff Court, the 81-year-old grandfather was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a rail journey – by putting his hand up her skirt, between Johnstone and Glasgow Central in December 2016.

Hope, of Polson Drive in Johnstone, was also found guilty of sexually assaulting two Renfrewshire supermarket workers and a supermarket customer between June and December 2021.

Yesterday, Sheriff Ian Anderson placed the twisted pensioner on the Sex Offender’s Register for 12 months and made him subject to supervision of the social work department.

CCTV footage from within a Renfrewshire supermarket was shown during the trial which showed the father-of-two pushing a trolley with both hands on the handle.

The footage showed that – on multiple occasions – as Hope approached a woman in the aisles, he dropped a hand from the trolley and sexually assaulted her as he walked past her before putting both hands back on the trolley.

The trial also heard how a young woman was sexually assaulted on a train by an “old man” when she was heading to Glasgow to do her Christmas shopping.

The girl was just 15 at the time when Hope repeatedly touched her leg and put his hand up her skirt.

Giving evidence during the trial, she said she felt the incident was a “severe attack” which left her in “complete hysteria”.

She explained in evidence how she was on a “busy” train herself, from Ardrossan South Beach, North Ayrshire to Glasgow Central, on December 17, 2016, when Hope got on the train at Johnstone station.

She told the court: “There was a stop at Johnstone where a man got on the train and stood to my left and I remember starting to feel slightly uncomfortable.

“I noticed he was getting closer and I tried to reassure myself that the train was busy.

“But his hand was on my leg, my left leg on my upper thigh.

“I was wearing a skirt and his hand was going up my skirt.”

Prosecutor Jason Stark asked how long Hope’s hand was on the teenager’s thigh, and she replied: “A while. It was brushing.

“The whole movement was around 10 to 15 minutes, it was constant, it was a severe attack really.

“As soon as I got off the train I just broke down as soon as there was room for me to do so.

“I was crying, I was in complete hysteria. It was a complete anxiety attack. I headed out of the station.”

Further evidence was heard by a woman who told how Hope sexually assaulted her in a Renfrewshire supermarket on July 24, 2021, causing her to be
physically sick.

The woman explained how she was looking for plastic or paper cups when Hope approached her in the aisle and went on to sexually touch her.

She was so concerned about the attack she followed the creepy pensioner around the store before returning to her car and calling her husband in tears.

She told the court she had to “physically vomit” when she returned home that evening due to the horrific ordeal.

And a supermarket employee explained she was sexually assaulted on December 17, 2021, by the retired procurement engineer.

In evidence, she told how Hope’s hand “brushed across her” and how he touched the “top of my groin area.”

During the trial, Hope denied the claims – telling the court he had an eye condition which affected his sight.

He claims the condition means he can see people but not their “finer details”.

In his own evidence, he told how all incidents were accidental touching as he would often put his hands out “for balance” and to ensure he “didn’t bump into anyone or anything”.

When asked if he repeatedly touched the supermarket workers, he replied, “not to my
knowledge”.

Defence agent, Linzi Galbraith yesterday explained Hope’s position “is the same as it was during the trial.”

Ms Galbraith told how Hope is “residing elsewhere” just now and explained how he is in the “process of being registered as partially sighted.”

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A registered sex offender who ‘stole a huge chunk’ of his victim’s life has been sentenced at Luton Crown Court to more than six years in prison.

Malcom Graham, 75, of Skegness Road, Stevenage, took advantage of his friendship with a woman, sexually assaulting her in her own home while she slept in 2018. The victim disclosed the offence to Bedfordshire Police in 2019, and an investigation was launched.

Graham was already on the Sex Offender’s Register after a sexual assault conviction in the 1980s. He pleaded guilty to sexual assault and was sentenced at Luton Crown Court on Thursday February 9.

He was sentenced to six years and seven months in prison, with an extended three years and six months on license. In an impact statement from the victim shared in court, she said: "The flashbacks I had about the night it happened were unbearable.

"I would regularly have night terrors which would result in me screaming out in my sleep... That man ruined and stole a huge chunk of our lives. Although we can never forget what that monster put us through, we are working on a better life without him in it."

Detective Sergeant Amy Hawkes from Bedfordshire Police said: "This was a predatory attack by a man who posed as a friend to prey on a woman in her own home. During the investigation, Graham denied the incident was non-consensual stating, ‘she did not say no’.

"However, consent means agreeing to what's happening by choice and having the freedom and ability to make or change that choice. During the incident, some people may feel pressured, scared and they may even freeze, which makes them unable to make a free choice, and that is still a crime.

"I want to thank the victim for finding the courage to come forward and for remaining supportive of the investigation over several years. I would also like to extend my thanks to her husband for the unwavering support he has shown her.

"This case demonstrates convictions are possible for sexual assaults, no matter who the offender is, when they took place or when they were reported." Reports of sexual assault, even if non-recent, can be made to the police by calling 101 or online. Always call 999 in an emergency.

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A man has been jailed for producing hundreds of sick photographs of children. Andrew Kelsall, 31, of Boston Road, Sleaford, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday, February 16.

Kelsall made and distributed over 700 child sex abuse material, some of which are described as "extreme pornographic images." He also planned to meet with who he believed was a child under 10-years-old and her mother to commit sexual acts.

It later transpired that Kelsall had unknowingly been talking to a man in Scotland. Kelsall was found to be in possession of 70 Category A images and videos, 15 Category B and 34 Category C images.

He was also found to be in possession of 679 extreme images and one prohibited pornographic image. He was jailed for the following offences:

• Arrange / facilitate the commission of a child sex offence.
• Make indecent photograph of a child – Category A.
• Make indecent photograph of a child – Category B.
• Make indecent photograph of a child – Category C.
• Possess a prohibited image of a child.
• Possess extreme pornographic image/images portraying an act of intercourse /oral sex with a dead / alive.
• Distribute an indecent photograph / pseudo-photograph of a child.

Detective constable Nicola Paradowski from Lincolnshire Police's Paedophile Online Team, said: "After receiving a referral from Police Scotland regarding Andrew Kelsall and the shocking nature of his activities, we immediately launched an investigation to get a dangerous offender off our streets. This case is a great example of cross-border policing and a message to people out there that we will be relentless in our pursuit of those suspected of this type of offence.

"We take all reports of this nature incredibly seriously and Lincolnshire Police is committed to keeping children safe from harm." A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: "Kelsall will be added to the Sex Offenders Register and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

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A 61-year-old Angus man must pay thousands to compensate women he molested on a farm near Dundee when they were girls.

Derek Strachan targeted the two girls, then aged just seven and eight, over a three-month period in 1984.

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Architect David Baines-Davies has been sentenced after taping a secret camera to a sink in his workplace toilets. The 50-year-old married father-of-two admitted to a charge of voyeurism following the incident at Hewitt & Carr in Cheadle.

Baines-Davies's boss discovered the camera after it fell to the floor while he washing his hands, and he reported the matter to the police. Video footage on the camera showed Baines-Davies fixing it under the sink, but nobody else was filmed.

Baines-Davies, of Chesterwood Road, Burslem, was subsequently sacked by Hewitt & Carr. Magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre have now handed him a community sentence following his guilty plea.

Prosecutor Zaine Riaz told the court that employees at the firm had expressed 'concern and disgust' after the camera had been discovered, in October 2020.

Mark Holder, mitigating, said that at the time of the incident, his client had been 'going through a breakdown' due to stress.

Mr Holder said: "He has struggled to find a reason why the offence was committed. It was about as unsophisticated as it gets. The only images on the camera were of the defendant at home and the defendant taping it to the sink. It wasn't pointing in the right direction, and it fell off straight away."

Mr Holder said Baines-Davies's family had suffered after his guilty plea was publicised in January, and he had been dismissed from his new job. Since then Baines-Davies has found alternative employment.

The court heard that the offence was aggravated by the fact that it was a breach of trust. Baines-Davies had no previous convictions.

Magistrates told the defendant that voyeurism was a serious crime. They handed him an 18-month community order with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement, and ordered him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

He will also have to sign the sex offender register, and pay £185 in costs and a £114 surcharge. The court also ordered the destruction of the camera.

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A paedophile was found guilty of faking an inability to speak while appearing in court.

Convicted sex offender Jason McDonagh, 36, appeared before Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday after beaching the terms of his release from prison.

The jury found McDonagh, of no fixed address, guilty of mute of malice rather than by visitation of God under a centuries-old law.

McDonagh made few audible responses during the two-hearing.

He had also refused to speak to officers who were sent to check on him after he was released from jail last year having served a 10-year sentence for molesting two sister, aged eight and five.

McDonagh was supposed to notify police about where he was living.

Sarah Magro, a police officer visited McDonagh between July and August last year.

He had come to police attention in the spring when he was sleeping rough in an alleyway between Bury Knowle Park and the Waitrose supermarket in Headington, Oxford.

Ms Magro said McDonagh, who it was said spoke with an Irish accent, would not give his name and told officers they could refer to him as a******e.

He generally spoke in monosyllables, the court heard.

McDonagh was subsequently taken to the Phoenix psychiatric ward at Littlemore hospital, where staff were able to confirm his identity.

Officers later checked the police national computer system and confirmed McDonagh was a registered sex offender wanted by the Metropolitan Police for allegedly breaching the terms of his release, the Oxford Mail reported.

Jailing him for two-and-a-half years at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, judge Nigel Daly told McDonagh: You disappeared off the radar, sleeping rough and making it extremely difficult for the authorities to track you.

"And, when they caught up with you, you made every effort to avoid identification.

McDonagh made no audible response when judge Daly asked whether he wished to question the witnesses.

Instead, he generally shook his head and pursed his lips.

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A north-east babysitter has been placed on the sex offenders register after showing pornography to children as young as four.

Kirsty Sutherland also used controversial website Omegle to make a sexually explicit video call with an unknown male while in the presence of two other children she was supposed to be looking after.

Record details

They saw him pleasuring himself at his front window.

A pervert deliberately exposed himself to two teenage girls as they walked to school. Derby Crown Court heard how the pupils walked past the Derbyshire home of George Torry to see him stood at his front window pleasuring himself sexually.

One of the shocked teens then called her mother who contacted the police and the 66-year-old was arrested. The defendant appeared via video-link from HMP Nottingham for his sentencing hearing this week which was told how he has previous convictions and that, at the time of this offence, he was the subject to a suspended sentence order, imposed just five months earlier, for breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Jailing him for 10 months, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: "Mr Torry, you were given a chance back in June and to a certain extent you took it. You did most of the unpaid work, did some of the rehabilitation sessions and I appreciate now that things were going on in your life which may have given rise to the way your behaved.

"It was highly likely someone was going to see what you were doing. I don't know if it was a cry for help or not but this was done in front of children on their way to school on a public highway."

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said Torry was initially handed a sexual harm prevention order back in 2006 as part of his punishment for an offence or offences which were not revealed in court. He said in June of last year, the defendant was handed a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, for breaching it.

The prosecutor said at around 8.20am on November 10, two pupils aged 14 and 16 were walking to school and when they walked past Torry's address in Dimple Road, Matlock, they saw him. Mr Jones said: "He was standing in the window and they could clearly see the area between his thighs and chest.

"He was (pleasuring himself sexually) and they were shocked. One of the young girls telephoned her mother who made contact with the police and the matter was reported.

"Both girls were spoken to and were described as 'shocked and fearful' because they walk that way to school every day. This happened just five months after his last offence."

Torry pleaded guilty to indecent exposure and to being in breach of his suspended sentence order. Katie Hodgkinson, his barrister, said her client had lived in Cyprus for eight years where he found a wife and returned to the UK with her and their son, now aged 11, to take advantage of the free health care system here in the UK.

She said: "He went 16 years without breaching or offending and something must have happened to affect his thinking. Three close friends died during the pandemic and he was then no longer able to reside with his young son. He has had to move five times in a short period of time and this was not a specific targeting of his victims."

As well as the jail term, the order will carry on for another seven years.

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A tearful pervert cried and wailed as he was jailed after being caught in three paedophile hunter stings.

Alan Thomley engaged in lewd online chats with three decoy accounts posing as what he believed were teenage girls aged as young as 13. The 51-year-old asked one of the supposed youngsters what colour her underwear was and exposed himself on video while in the bath to the others.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Tuesday, that he began communicating with a '13-year-old' on messaging service SayHi in July 2021 before continuing to talk with her on WhatsApp over the course of the following month. Thomley, of Longfield Road in Bootle, "asked what colour knickers she had on" and told her to "lift her top up so he could see her bra".

Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, described how the paedophile "said she was sexy and had sexy eyes". He then began communicating with a hunter pretending to be a 14-year-old girl on the same platform, requesting naked pictures.

Thomley again instructed her to lift up her top and offered to video chat with her as he performed a sex act while bathing. In August, the defendant began attempting to groom another supposed 14-year-old - again asking for indecent images and filming himself in the bath, as well as "asking her what her bra size was".

He was eventually confronted at his workplace in Manchester by the groups on August 20 and was arrested. Under interview with police, Thomley "denied any sexual motivation".

This is the second time he has been convicted for such offences, previously being caught in such a sting back in 2015 before breaching his sexual harm prevention order during 2017. The court was told he acts a carer to his "vulnerable" partner and gained new employment after losing his job once caught out.

Thomley admitted three counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of attempting to incite a child to watch sexual activity and three counts of attempting sexual communications with a child. He was jailed for 45 months, handed a new lifetime SHPO and told to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Sentencing, Recorder David Knifton KC said: "You engaged in extensive online chats, apparently with three girls aged 13 and 14. In fact, unbeknown to you, the teenage girls were adult members of vigilante groups seeking to catch paedophiles by acting as decoys.

"Even then, you denied any sexual motivation - suggesting you were simply lonely and keen to engage in contact with females you suggested were adults. It appears your sexual offending resumed due to difficulties in your relationship with your partner and what you describe as a lack of sexual activity.

"Had you been in communication with real children, there would undoubtedly have been the potential for a high level of lasting sexual and emotional harm. You are assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to children.

"Your conduct is aggravated by your previous conviction and your failure to respond to previous warnings. We will never know how far your conduct would have gone, but for the involvement of the vigilante group who confronted you."

Thomley was seen shaking in the dock as he was sentenced, then put his head in his hands as he was told he would be imprisoned and appeared to be on the verge of tears. Once taken down to the cells, the sex offender could be heard loudly crying and wailing.

Record details

A man who raped and sexually assaulted a woman as she slept, immediately tried to cover his tracks by washing his clothing on his return home, a court heard.

Stephen Durward committed the offences on a woman in the early hours of a night in 2019, but, following the report of the crime soon afterwards, police traced him to his home address shortly after 3am.

Durham Crown Court was told the defendant was arrested for suspected rape and the officers asked for the clothing he had been wearing for forensic examination.

He told them they were in his bedroom, but those garments that were retrieved were neatly folded and appeared not to have been worn.

The court heard that Durward then conceded the clothes that he had most recently been wearing had just been washed.

He went on to be charged with offences of rape and sexual assault, which he denied, claiming both were consensual acts, but, following a trial at Teesside Crown Court, he was convicted of each of the offences by the jury, on January 12.

The 38-year-old defendant, of Sherwood Road, Thornaby, was remanded in custody to Durham Prison, from where he appeared by video link at todays (Tuesday February 14) sentencing hearing at the nearby crown court.

Defendant Stephen Durward, jailed for 90-months for rape and sexual assault

Rebecca Brown, for the prosecution, read the victims impact statement to the court, in which she said she felt, physically sick and disgusted at Durwards actions.

She said it resulted in her having recurring nightmares and it led her to having to take, significant time away from work, before leaving the job due to a breakdown.

In the statement she outlined: Not a day goes by without thinking about what happened.

She said that her anxiety reached the point where she took an overdose last year as she could not, see a way out, and she feels that the offences, changed my life.

Miss Brown asked the court to consider the imposition of a restraining order for the protection of the victim.

Stephen Littlewood, for Durward, presented a number of character references to the court on his behalf.

He told the hearing: It appears these offences were completely out of character for someone who has led a productive and kind-hearted way of life and who has been an otherwise productive member of society.

I think it can be considered as a one-off for Mr Durward.

He has touched many peoples lives in a positive way and there will be a loss to those in his close family of not having him around.

Mr Littlewood also spoke of the significant delay in the case reaching a conclusion through the courts, given that the offences date from July 2019, which was not the fault of the defendant.

Recorder Paul Reid, who presided over last months trial, agreed and said the delays were, a matter of great regret, affecting both defendants and complainants in such cases.

In the light of his conviction the Recorder said the defendants remarks to police and his actions in immediately washing his clothing were cynical, due to the nature of the investigation.

He said it was clear from the victim statement that Durwards actions on a vulnerable victim, given that she was asleep, have, shattered her life.

Recorder Reid added that despite the many positive sides to the defendants character that the court was told about, only an immediate lengthy sentence can be justified.

Imposing a 90-month (seven-and-a-half years) prison sentence for the principal offence of rape, with 50 months to run concurrently for the sexual assault, the Recorder also made Durward subject to both registration as a sex offender and a restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting or approaching his victim, both to run indefinitely.

Speaking after today's sentencing hearing, Detective Inspector Lou Sproson, from Stockton CID, said: This horrendous incident had a huge impact on the victim, who was raped and sexually assaulted by someone she had trusted.

"Thankfully, he is now behind bars for a significant length of time, where he cannot harm anyone else.

Anyone who reports that they have been a victim of rape or sexual abuse can expect to be treated with sensitivity and by specially trained officers, with support available to those wish to access it.

"We will carry out a thorough investigation and those who carry out appalling offences like these will be brought to justice.

Anyone who has been a victim of rape of sexual abuse is encouraged to report the incident to police, by calling 101.

Alternatively, victims can contact Teesside Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) for help and support, regardless of whether or not the offence has been reported to police.

SARC provides 24-hour crisis intervention and a range of options, working in partnership with local specialist services, such as Barnados, A Way Out and Arch.

It can also access support on behalf of victims.

Record details

A SEXUAL predator followed a pensioner through the streets before brazenly walking into her home and launching a sex attack.

Serial offender Philip Packham followed the woman in her 80s in the Lordshill area of Southampton while she was alone.

Perverted Packham, 69, preyed on his “confused and worried” victim who asked him to leave.

Despite her protestations, he tried to touch her between her legs over her clothing - and tried to kiss and cuddle the terrified woman.

Prosecutor Matthew Lawson told Southampton Crown Court she was “extremely distressed by this” and told a neighbour who contacted police.

In a statement, the victim said she feels “worried and scared to go outside”.

She said: “I can't believe what has happened. I'm worried what happens if he was to get out and potentially do this again.”

Packham, who has 30 convictions for 73 offences, had previously been sentenced for gross indecency with a child, indecent assault of a female under 14, exposure and assault.

His first sex attack was in the 1980s.

He had been subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order - imposed when he was jailed and branded a dangerous offender - when he carried out his latest attack.

Jailing the defendant, Judge Christopher Parker KC said Packham had followed the woman deliberately and went into her house uninvited.

He added that the incident caused “severe psychological harm,” telling Packham: “You can shake your head now but what you say and what you do are very different.

“It seems to me that there is no question that you pose a risk of serious harm.”

Judge Parker imposed a six-year jail term with a four-year extended licence.

Packham, of Exford Avenue, Southampton, admitted sexual assault and breaching the sexual harm prevention order by being in a property alone with a woman.

In police interview he accepted he tried to touch her, but claimed he had been invited in. He stopped answering questions before asking for a solicitor - and then denied being responsible.

Mitigating, Keeley Harvey told the court: “The only real mitigation that I have got is that there was a guilty plea to these matters.”

Record details

This is the face of an historic paedophile who was jailed for assaulting a boy under the age of 14.

Iain Lloyd, 33, of William Burton Place in New Ferry, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, February 10 after pleading not guilty for historic sexual offences with a child. Lloyd was convicted in December following a trial, and has been sentenced to four years in jail after being found guilty for indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14 years.

He will also be on the sex offender register for life. Detectives from Merseyside’s Unity Team who specialise in Rape and Serious Sexual Assault Offences, charged Lloyd for two counts of indecent assault with a minor which took place more than 20 years ago.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Constable Claire McDonald said: "This sentence follows a lengthy investigation to bring Lloyd before the courts so that he pays for his crime. Thanks to the determination and bravery of his victim, Lloyd will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars for his actions.

"Despite the evidence against him, Lloyd chose to plead not guilty and put his victim through the ordeal of a trial. I would like to praise the courage and dignity shown by his victim throughout the investigation.

“Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm. We hope that he will now reflect on the consequences of his utterly depraved actions while serving his jail time.”

DC McDonald added: “I would like to take this opportunity to stress that if you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police. We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”

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A dangerous Derby sex offender asked an underage girl if he could buy her bras and knickers knowing full well he was not allowed unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16. Derby Crown Court head how Colin Garrod also gave her money and found a way of making the messages he sent to her phone disappear so what he was doing would not be discovered.

But one day her mother found him in her daughter's company, unaware of his previous child sex offences, or that there was an order in place forbidding him from any contact with children under 16. And after that, the mum discovered how the defendant would send her daughter messages before she went to school saying he would "do anything for her" if she "gave him a hug".

Jailing Garrod for 20 months, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: "You are 62-years-of-age, you are 63 next month and you were handed a sexual harm prevention order because you pleaded guilty to serious offences and you were sent to prison. You came out of prison and you didn't commit any further offences for quite a while and managed to stay out of trouble.

"But then, in July last year, you breached it in a significant way which involved you gaining the confidence of an underage girl and what is clear is that you made a determined effort to make sure you had some kind of relationship with this girl, unsupervised, knowing full well you should have told someone. You cannot be doing what you were doing with any girl under the age of 16, without telling people about the order."

Kevin Jones, prosecuting, said the defendant was handed a sexual harm prevention order in 2017 when the he was jailed for 14 months for offences of sexual assault, distribution and possession of indecent images of children and voyeurism.

He said the victim's mother was unaware of either the order or his previous convictions and one day in July 2022 found him alone with her underage daughter. The prosecutor said: "She discovered that her daughter had been in contact with the defendant by phone and texts.

"She discovered the defendant would contact her before school saying he would do anything for her if she would give him a hug and saying he loved her. He asked if he could buy her bras and knickers, bought her a phone charger and would give her money.

"He also activated on her phone (an app or method which would lead to) disappearing messages so people could not see the contact they were having. It was discovered that on one occasion he took her to a shop and when she asked if someone else could come with them he said 'no' and that he would only allow her to come with him.

"He was arrested and explained that he was helping the young girl. He said he knew the risk of breaching the order and he said the comments about being in love with her were 'a joke' as was him saying he would do anything for her if she hugged him."

Garrod, of Wilson Street, pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of his sexual harm prevention order and appeared in court via a video-link from HMP Nottingham. Katie Hodgkinson, his barrister, said her client had admitted his breach at the very first opportunity.

She said: "There was contact between them, there was no physical contact and no other allegations were made. He wanted to help somebody, not harm somebody and he knows he did not tell people about his previous convictions out of shame and stigma.

"He had a compulsion and a desire to assist."

As well as the jail sentence, the sexual harm prevention order remains in place.

Record details

A Cambridgeshire paedophile who sexually abused children for more than a decade has been jailed. Robert Codling, 58, of Princes Road, Wisbech, targeted girls, a court was told.

His victims were abused at an address in the town over a 12-year period. During this time, Codling would openly perform sexual acts on himself in front of the children, and would touch them sexually, calling it “playfighting”.

After more than a decade of abuse, one victim confided in someone close to her, who then reported it to the police. Codling denied the allegations.

However, on Thursday, February 9 at Cambridge Crown Court he was found guilty of six counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, engaging in sexual activity in presence of a child, and exposure. He was sentenced to eight years and two months in prison.

DC Melanie Bull said: “No sentence will ever erase what happened to the victims, but I hope they will be able to find some closure from this traumatic period in their young lives. Tackling child abuse is a priority for us and we are working hard every day to bring offenders like Codling to justice.”

People who are concerned someone may have been convicted of a sex offence, and could be posing a risk to someone, can apply for disclosure information through Sarah’s Law. As well as this, anyone who looks out for the welfare of a child can make an enquiry, this can include parents, carers, guardians, extended family, friends and neighbours.

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A convicted sex offender who had a paedophile manual and 23,000 images of children has been jailed.

Lewis Mortimer, of Shortlands Road, Sittingbourne, was sentenced to five years in prison after being found with a stash of child abuse material.

The 42-year-old had multiple previous convictions for child sex offences and at the time of his arrest he was restricted access to the internet by the court.

These restrictions meant he was also meant to notify police of any internet enabled devices he possessed as well as details including online usernames, bank cards and passport information.

In December 2019, police were made aware Mortimer had contacted a woman online claiming to be a photographer who worked with young children.

A similar report was made to police months alter, when after contacting another woman the Sittingbourne man sent images of children being abused.

In April 2020 he was arrested at his home and had a number of his devices, including a tablet hidden in the base of his bed, seized and examined by police.

"People like him must face the consequences..."

Upon searching his phone, officers found a file of indecent images, as well as pages from a so-called paedophile manual which had explicit details of how to groom and abuse victims.

More than 23,000 images were found on his tablet, many of which were in the most extreme category.

Mortimer appeared before Maidstone Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing images, four counts of possessing indecent images and with possessing a paedophile manual.

He also admitted ten counts of breaching notification requirements and seven further counts of breaching a sexual offence prevention order.

On Friday, he was sentenced to five years in prisoner with an extended licence period of a further two years. He will remains on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Sergeant Vicky Whitmill said: "Mortimer was subject to strict measures designed to reduce the risk of him reoffending.

"He has been unable to adhere to these restrictions and has demonstrated a clear determination to access illegal and harmful images, many of which include the horrific abuse of children.

"Make no mistake, the material Mortimer deliberately sought and downloaded will have resulted from real victims suffering appalling abuse.

"He has a significant offending history and appears to have no understanding of the gravity of his actions.

"People like him must face the consequences and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure they are brought before the courts."