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A Swindon man has been jailed after being found with more than 500 indecent images of children. Alun Eric Topp, 48, will spend just under three years behind bars after pleading guilty to multiple offences.

Topp, of Bexley Walk, Park South, was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on February 3 to 32 months imprisonment. He pleaded guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornographic images.

Wiltshire Police first received information to suggest that a Twitter account associated to a telephone number believed to belong to Topp had uploaded indecent images online. Officers attended Topp’s address shortly after and he was arrested.

Detective Constable Justine Parsons, from Wiltshire Police’s Child Internet Exploitation Team, said: “When Topp was arrested, a search was conducted of his home address and officers located 11 media devices which were seized for further analysis. One of these was found to contain illegal material.

"Following further extensive enquiries, a total of 542 category A images were found – this refers to images depicting the most serious child abuse.

“This case further highlights the ongoing work carried out by our team to identify offenders who not only access these images online, but also distribute them. I am pleased our extensive enquiries have resulted in a prison sentence for this offender.”

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A former soldier from Okehampton has been jailed for 14 and a half years for multiple historic sex offences against children. Stuart Hood, from Okehampton, sexually abused a boy and two teenage girls.

His offending started when he was a teenager himself in the 1970s and continued when he was a young adult. The prosecution in his trial described Hood as a bully capable of 'deviant sexual behaviour' who enjoyed assaulting his physically weaker victims. He chased one with a horse whip and stripped another naked.

Hood, aged 59, was found guilty of 11 offences of indecent assault and indecency with a child during a trial in January. He returned to Exeter Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced.

The trial heard how all three victims had, at one point or another over the years, told different people what had happened to them when children. The offences finally came to light until 2018 when the male victim went to police.

One victim said in a statement that his childhood had been made a misery by Hood's behaviour. "He is a sick, perverse and a sadistic liar,' he said. "I trust the sentence reflects the immeasurable harm he's caused me."

A second victim said she hoped that by coming forward people who have suffered abuse in their own lives will have the courage to go to police and not carry the shame of what happened with them.

The defendant told his trial the victims were lying. A number of character references were read to the court saying he was a hard-working married man.

Joss Ticehurst, defending, said Hood had committed the offences many years ago and since them had become a valued member of the community and devoted family man. He was a teenager himself when committing most of the crimes.

Judge Anna Richardson said: "People are not necessarily one thing or another. I accept you have been a good family man and a valued member of the local community. That does not change the fact to your victims you were a dangerous and violent abuser."

Hood will serve at least two thirds of his sentence in jail before he is considered for release.

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A MAN who committed a “significant” number of child sexual offences against a girl has been jailed for nine years.

Robert Taylor, aged 61, groomed and manipulated the 15-year-old and carried out the criminal behaviour over a three-month period.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard when the girl disclosed what had taken place to police, officers found more than 2,600 indecent images of her on the defendant’s phone.

Taylor, of Surrey Road, Poole, was found guilty of three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child and one count of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child aged 13 to 15 following a trial last month.

He admitted one count of causing or inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15, seven counts of taking an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

The 61-year-old defendant was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by Judge William Mousley KC at a Bournemouth Crown Court hearing on Thursday, February 2.

Judge Mousley KC said Taylor had kept “souvenirs” of his sexual abuse as well as a raft of other indecent images of the girl.

“I’m sure you groomed her to comply with your demands,” Judge Mousley KC said.

He added: “You manipulated her emotionally.”

The judge said the defendant, who had no previous convictions, made the girl frightened of him.

Prosecutor Tim Moores read a statement from the child which detailed the significant psychological impact the abuse had on her.

She described having “horrific memories” more than a year after the offending.

The court heard Taylor refused to answer questions when confronted with the allegations. He later denied the penetration offence and the allegation he fondled himself in front of the child.

Mitigating, Nick Robinson said the defendant had written a letter to the court in which he said he was “deeply sorry for all he has done”.

Mr Robinson described the offending as an “aberration”.

Judge Mousley KC said the defendant tried to cast blame on the complainant, but he told Taylor: “There is only one person to blame and it is you.”

It was accepted by the judge that the crimes were out of character and took place during a difficult period in the offender’s life.

“You were convicted of the most serious offences because of the great courage and sustained determination of the complainant,” Judge Mousley KC said.

The defendant was handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

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A retired bus driver convicted of sexually abusing four teenage boys over a period of nearly 30 years, including arranging for them to have sex with his wife while he watched, faces a long prison sentence.

John Foster, 78, asked some of the young boys to have sex with his wife on numerous occasions while he encouraged them to do so and eagerly looked on. He was lying next to them in the same bed at the time.

Foster got to know the boys while he was working as a bus driver. He repeatedly abused them in his car, including on football or train spotting trips, and while one of them was on holiday in London and the Isle of Wight with him, Hull Crown Court heard.

Foster, of Main Street, Wawne, near Beverley, denied 28 sex offences, involving four boys, but he was convicted by a jury of 27 of them after a trial. The charges included indecent assault, indecency with a child, rape and attempted rape, between July 1973 and February 2002. He was cleared of one charge of indecent assault on the direction of the judge.

Tom Storey, prosecuting, said that the offences happened over a period of nearly 30 years. They took place after Foster got to know them and befriended them while he was working as a bus driver in East Yorkshire. He had previously lived in the Burton Agnes and Harpham areas, near Driffield.

The boys were usually aged 12 or 13 when Foster began talking to them and befriending them before taking them out in his car for trips. He had also given them free bus trips. The abuse began by touching the boys and then progressing to sexual activity.

Some of the boys were taken to watch football matches, including in Manchester and Hull, or to watch trains, something that Foster had an interest in, during trips to Crewe and London. The abuse took place during the journeys or while they were staying overnight away from home. Some of the incidents took place at Foster's home.

He allowed some of the boys to steer the car, either from the passenger seat or while sitting on his lap. "He would buy them cigarettes or give them money to do so," said Mr Storey. Foster would also, in some cases, buy them alcohol.

Foster, in one case, bought the gas aerosol Damp Start, usually used to help start a car engine, for a boy to inhale to "produce a high like glue sniffing". These were all used as rewards or payments in return for the sexual abuse that Foster was "inflicting on these boys", said Mr Storey.

It no doubt "increased their dependency" on Foster and the likelihood that they would spend time with him. "By virtue of their age, these boys were all vulnerable at the time they were abused," said Mr Storey.

As a bus driver, Foster was in a position of trust in relation to the boys. "At the time, they were, in law, incapable of consenting to what took place," said Mr Storey. "In short, they could not do so."

Foster was married at the time to Dorothy Ann Foster, known as Ann, and it was claimed that he persuaded two of the boys to have sex with her. This was allegedly while he, his wife and one of the boys were in bed together and he watched. He tried to persuade the other boys to do the same with her but either they or she declined to do so, claimed Mr Storey.

Foster took one boy to London for his 16th birthday and abused him, said Mr Storey. The boy said that he had suffered "three years of hell" because of sexual abuse. "He described John Foster as having destroyed him," said Mr Storey. "Eventually, he ended up cracking up and then going to the police." The incidents in relation to this boy were "harrowing" because they were "horrible" and had left physical scars.

Foster did not claim that there was any consent from the boys for sexual activity. "He says that the entire thing has been fabricated and this sexual activity never took place with anybody," said Mr Storey.

The matters came to light in 2019 when police went to speak to one of the boys on a completely separate, unrelated allegation and he told them that he had been sexually abused by Foster when he was aged 13.

Checks of records from 2015 revealed that a health worker had contacted police to report that one of her clients had allegedly been abused by Foster. That boy was contacted and he and his brother made allegations. Police also found that, in 2010, a fourth boy had reported to the police that he had been sexually abused by Foster when he was 13 but the police "inexplicably" did nothing about this.

Mr Storey told the jury that Foster had been convicted of similar offences before and after the period of the current charges. Foster had been convicted in 1961 of two offences of indecently assaulting a boy under 16, with seven offences of gross indecency taken into consideration.

In 2007, Foster was convicted of three offences of sexual activity with a boy under 16. The significance of these convictions was that they showed that Foster had a "propensity or tendency" to commit precisely this sort of offence against young teenage boys, said Mr Storey.

Foster was arrested in February 2020 and police found, at his home, an envelope with old photo booth pictures showing him as a much younger man with the two brothers. He denied all the sexual offences during police interviews or that his wife had been involved. He confirmed that he had been a bus driver between 1962 and 2006, had two children and that he used to be known as "Big John". He claimed that, if he took the boys out for free bus trips or car outings, it was because they were "all lonely lads" and he was doing them a favour by taking them out for the day.

He denied buying solvents for one of the boys to sniff and denied using sex toys. "He denied ever having a liking for young boys," said Mr Storey.

Foster had been on bail during the trial but he was remanded in custody after the jury verdicts to await sentence.

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A pensioner caught with an indecent image of a young girl on his laptop has claimed he was downloading old war films when the image appeared on his device.

Ronald Singer didn’t delete the category C image, though, and when police searched his device he was arrested, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

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He had horrific abuse movies and hundreds of disgusting cartoons

A vile pervert kept depraved films of children being abused in a file he simply called 'Keep Out'. The horrific file also had hundreds of cartoon depictions of material that was similarly vile.

Paul Taylor had search terms for underage images and bestiality when police analysed devices that they took from his Swadlincote home, Derby Crown Court heard. The 33-year-old was also found to have images of adults engaged in sexual acts with animals when he was arrested.

When questioned by the police over the sick material, Taylor, of Meynell Street, Church Gresley, said he had "no idea what's going on". Justin Ablott, his barrister, told the hearing: "There is a pre-sentence report that has been prepared." Judge Shaun Smith KC replied: "It's sad, not bad, he clearly needs help and help is available."

Handing him a three-year community order, Judge Smith said: "What you were doing was very wrong. People think that if you are just looking at the pictures then no-one is being hurt, but they are.

"The people in the images are being hurt and that is really serious. People like you look at them and because you do the people taking them carry on taking the pictures.

"When someone looks at them it gets them into trouble and here you are in the crown court. You have held down a good job and here you are looking at a potential prison sentence."

Serena Varatharajah, prosecuting, said police executed a search warrant at Taylor's home on February 17, 2021, and seized a mobile phone and a laptop. She said analysis of both was carried out and the abuse images were found in the 'Keep Out' folder, reports DerbyshireLive.

Miss Varatharajah said in total there were two moving images of the most serious category A which typically show adults engaged in sexual intercourse with underage children. The prosecutor said there was one video of category B, one category C, two extreme pornographic images and 625 prohibited images.

These typically are cartoon recreations or reenactments of real child abuse. Miss Varatharajah said: "The search history was looked at and there were searches for 'bestiality' and for sexual conduct with children.

"He was interviewed and said he had 'no idea what's going on' in terms of the images but confirmed the mobile phone was his and then answered 'no comment' to the questions he was asked."

Taylor pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession of extreme pornography and a further count of possessing prohibited images. He has no previous convictions.

Judge Smith made him the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order under the terms of which he is not allowed to delete his internet history and must let the police know of any social media accounts he has or creates along with their passwords.

He was also placed on the sex offender register for five years and under the terms of the community order must take part in a sex offender awareness course and attend 45 rehabilitation sessions with the probation service.

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Louis Woods, 28, from Wandsworth, touched the complainant intimately in the Birkbeck University bar in Bloomsbury, central London, on March 18, 2019.

The victim had downed Guinness, rum, Jagermeister and vodka and went outside to the bar’s smoking area to get some air when she was assaulted, Wood Green Crown Court heard.

...he was convicted of two counts of penetration by a jury following a trial.

Woods was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for two years. In that time he must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and attend 40 days rehabilitation activity.

He will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

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A MAN has been jailed for raping a woman as she slept leaving her "depressed and anxious".

Southampton Crown Court heard Shane Truckle attacked when she fell asleep on a sofa at a property.

The woman has been left having nightmares after the attack in 2017. She reported it in 2019, with a police investigation ending in December 2020.

Truckle, 41, of New Road, Netley, was on Thursday jailed for six years and nine months.

A jury previously found him guilty of one count of rape at trial in December 2022.

In a statement read out in court, his victim said: “It had been on my mind all the time”.

“I don't like to go out for a meal and if I see people that look like him then I go into a panic.

"Whenever I go out somewhere I feel I am looking for him. I have nightmares, the re-occurring dreams of what happened.”

She added that the incident has left her feeling “depressed and anxious”.

The case was delayed after a technical error when police submitted a case to the CPS. It meant the file had to be resubmitted in January 2021.

Jailing Truckle, judge Nicholas Rowland said the rape has been “hanging over [the victim’s] head for some time”.

Addressing Truckle, the judge added: “This is on the face of it a spontaneous opportunistic offence by you taking advantage of a vulnerable victim."

Truckle's family left in tears as he was led down. The defendant was described by the judge as an “otherwise a hard-working family man”.

Prosecutor Paul Fairley said Truckle has previous convictions for theft, burglary, disqualified driving and drink-driving, but no past sex offences.

Defending, Michael Mason said that he has a full-time job as a site manager overseeing shop fittings.

Following the case, Detective Sergeant Claire Grant said: “This crime has had a lasting impact on the victim, and her life.

“It takes great courage for people to come forward and speak to us about incidents of this nature, and that should never be underestimated.

"I hope this case goes to show that regardless of how long ago a rape happened, we will work tirelessly to target perpetrators and provide specialist support to survivors.

“We want our communities to know that we stand with them, and will do all in our power to bring the offenders of these horrendous crimes to justice.”

A police spokeswoman told the Echo that “due to complexities in this investigation it took time to gather sufficient evidence to charge Shane Truckle”.

She added: “As with any investigation there are multiple moving parts that mean it can take time, each investigation is unique and as such time from reporting to file submission can vary."

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A former trainee police officer has been jailed for grooming as many as one hundred girls, as young as nine, by sending sexual messages and explicit images of himself online.

The disgraced student officer also requested pictures from the girls through TikTok, and was found with more than 1,200 indecent images and videos of children.

Jason Hicks, 31, was sentenced to four years in prison with a three year extended licence, put on the sex offenders' register and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will enable the police to monitor his online activity for ten years.

He was caught after the mother of a nine-year-old girl in Wiltshire found his messages on her daughter's phone and reported them to the police, who eventually realised they had come from Hicks.

The offences were uncovered while Hicks was in training to be a Devon and Cornwall Police officer.

He was immediately arrested and suspended and subsequently dismissed without notice.

Officers found more than 1,200 indecent images and videos of children on his laptop, iPad and other digital devices seized when a warrant was carried out at his home.

Hicks approached approximately one hundred girls all over the world on TikTok while claiming to be a 17 or 18-year-oldsixth former.

Hicks selected his victims from TikTok but then moved their conversations onto Snapchat before he used 'truth or dare' games to encourage them to strip off and touch themselves.

The girls included a 13-year-old from America who he asked to film herself and two eleven-year-olds from Sweden who he asked to send nude or semi-nude images.

He used Snapchat because their postings delete automatically. This meant police only recovered a fraction of the 100 contacts which Hicks admitted after his arrest.

He admitted everything in interview and told colleagues had been sexually attracted to children since he was a teenager but he was disgusted by his own actions.

Hicks, of Bishopsteignton, Devonfully admitted offences dating back to 2012 in his first police interview - telling detectives he felt relieved to have been caught.

He pleaded guilty to a total of 13 charges and was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday.

A psychiatric report concluded that he had a compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and was suffering from depression.

A Judge at Exeter Crown Court ruled that he was a dangerous offender whose release would have to be controlled by the parole board.

Hicks admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child - a nine-year-old girl from the South West - and inciting her to engage in sexual activity between March and April 2021.

He had befriended the girl online by posing as an older teenager on TikTok before moving onto Snapchat and exchanging sexually explicit messages with her.

The child's parents discovered she had been communicating with an adult male and contacted police in their area.

Enquiries later led officers to Hicks who was still in training and had not yet conducted any public-facing, frontline duties.

Devon and Cornwall Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team and Professional Standards Department urgently planned and executed a warrant at Hicks's home on 20 January 2022.

He was dismissed without notice following fast-tracked misconduct proceedings in February 2022 and has been placed on the College of Policing Barred List.

Hicks was convicted of a further four counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with children and another four of attempting to incite them to engage in sexual activity

He exchanged sexual Snapchat messages with four children he believed were aged between 11 and 13 between December 2021 and January 2022.

The victims have never been identified despite the best efforts of investigating officers. Analysis linked their IP addresses to the USA, Sweden and the Yorkshire area.

Hicks also pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of children between September 2012 and January 2022.

The images and videos found on his devices involved children as young as eight and included 127 in the most severe 'Category A'.

Hicks was also issued with a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the judge ordered the destruction of his digital devices.

He will serve three years on licence if he is deemed safe for release from prison at the end of his sentence.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Steve Parker said: 'We note and welcome the sentencing of Jason Hicks today for what are despicable offences.

'I would like to commend the bravery of the young victim in this case and her family in coming forward and reporting these appalling crimes.

'We remain committed to bringing perpetrators of such offences to justice and those responsible will always be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

'All police officers, including those in training, have a privileged role in being part of a Force responsible for the safeguarding of vulnerable people. The actions of Jason Hicks were wholly wrong and illegal and he now faces the consequences of that.

'Our Paedophile Online Investigation Team and Professional Standards Department acted swiftly as soon as these offences were brought to our attention and Hicks was immediately arrested and suspended. Accelerated misconduct proceedings meant he was dismissed soon after.

'Devon and Cornwall Police takes any reports of illegal or inappropriate conduct extremely seriously.

'All officers and staff are expected to abide by the Code of Ethics and ensure the highest standards of behaviour, both on and off duty.

'I can reassure the public that the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff work diligently to help to keep the public safe, uphold our high standards and provide an exceptional service to our communities.

'We will always take the appropriate action when standards fall below those expected and continue to learn from any instances where they do.'

Detective Inspector Simon Foster, who led the investigation, added: 'Devon and Cornwall Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team proactively seeks out offenders, no matter their position in society.

'This result demonstrates the commitment we have to safeguarding children in Devon and Cornwall.

'Our team conducts warrants following investigations into an individual's online activities which lead to arrests, charges, convictions and, most importantly, children being safeguarded and protected from harm.

'Our mission is to protect children from online predators, whether that be convicting offenders for possessing child sexual abuse material or protecting children who are groomed online.'

David Barnes, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS South West, said: 'Hicks used social media to find and contact young girls.

'He pretended to be a teenage boy, sending explicit messages and photographs while encouraging the girls to send him intimate images of themselves. At least one girl, aged just nine years old, sent photographs of herself to Hicks as a result.

'A swift investigation by the Devon and Cornwall Paedophile Online Investigation Team, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, enabled us to build a strong case that resulted in Hicks pleading guilty to a total of 13 charges.

'Women and girls have the right to feel safe everywhere, including online. We will continue to work in partnership with the police and other agencies across the criminal justice system to strengthen and improve our joint approach to tackling these appalling crimes.'

Both TikTok and Snapchat have been approached for comment.

Record details

THE former headteacher of three West Berkshire primary schools has been caught with indecent images of children.

Gerry Heaton was a pillar of the education establishment, serving as an adviser to West Berkshire Council schools' Therapeutic Thinking Support Team (TTST) for vulnerable or troubled youngsters until his arrest.

But the 57-year-old was hiding a dreadful secret – since 2012, he had been hoarding indecent images of children at his home, many of them in the most extreme classification, Category A.

Mr Heaton was headteacher at Hungerford Primary School from January 2014 until taking early retirement in August 2017.

Previously, he was headteacher at Inkpen Primary School for more than eight years, from April 2008.

And before that, from January 2001, Mr Heaton had been deputy headteacher and acting headteacher at Lambourn Primary School.

He was serving as a specialist teacher at Theale Primary School in the months before his arrest and had served as school governor at Kintbury St Mary's Primary School.

Mr Heaton, a former pupil at John O'Gaunt School in Hungerford, was considered an inspirational educator to generations of youngsters.

He was also keen on amateur dramatics and was an enthusiastic member of the Kintbury Players.

But his reputation is now in tatters.

Mr Heaton, of Bradley Close, Kintbury, has admitted possessing hundreds of indecent images of children.

Specifically, he was caught with 124 images classified as Category C; 131 in Category B and 66 in Category A.

All the offences were committed in Kintbury between January 21, 2012 and September 9, 2021.

Mr Heaton, who was charged under his formal first name, Gerard, made the admissions during a brief appearance at Reading Magistrates' Court.

Magistrates ruled that the matters were so serious that they should be sentenced by a judge sitting at Reading Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

Mr Heaton was meanwhile released on unconditional bail.

He is no longer an adviser to the TTST, which aims to help young people who experience social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties.

All the above primary schools are state maintained, apart from Lambourn Primary School, which is managed by the Excalibur Academies Trust.

A spokesman for West Berkshire Council said: "We are aware of the ongoing criminal proceedings, and until they have concluded it would be inappropriate for us to comment."

Record details

A PREDATOR pensioner has been put behind bars after promising to bring a ‘young girl’ a McDonalds meal when they met up for sex.

Frederick Cottam believed he had arranged a sex rendezvous with a 12-year-old girl after days of vile explicit chats and sending illicit photos.

The 75-year-old great-grandad was in fact talking to a covert police officer responsible for snaring perverts demonstrating their sexual interest in children online.

This is a category in which Cottam falls, with a judge telling him he has a ‘deep-seated issue concerning his interest in underage children’.

The defendant was charged with arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity and attempted sexual communications with a child, and he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court, via videolink from HMP Altcourse, to be sentenced on Friday, January 27.

The court heard how the offences occurred between the end of November and start of December last year.

Cottam was speaking to someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl named Izzy, but this decoy profile was in fact being operated by an undercover police officer tasked with identifying offenders online who have a sexual interest in children.

On November 28, at around 11am, ‘Izzy’ received a message from Cottam under the username WarBiker on the social media platform ChatIW.

She said that she was doing schoolwork, to which the defendant replied that he was ‘horny and lonely’.

When the ‘girl’ told him he should speak to an adult, the defendant asked her how good she was at keeping secrets from her parents.

Cottam asked if they could switch to Kik Messenger so they could exchange photos, to which the girl agreed, leading him to send a picture of himself.

After being sent a clothed photo of her, Cottam called the girl ‘lovely’ and commented on the size of her breasts.

He asked if she wanted to see a photo of his penis and then sent her one of him lying in bed naked, later stating he would go to Preston to meet her in person to ‘show her what sex is about’.

They arranged a date to meet up at a specific park next to the duck pond ‘where they would not be seen’, promising to bring her a McDonalds and that they would have sex.

The defendant discussed the things he would do to her and what he wanted her to do to him, but the night before he said he could no longer go due to a family illness, and they did not speak again.

The court heard that Cottam has one previous conviction from May 2018 for a similar offence of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, for which he was jailed for 12 months.

This offence saw him caught up in a ‘paedophile hunter’ sting in which he was snared grooming someone he believed to be 14-year-old girl named Ellie.

He sent explicit pictures to another decoy account and arranged to meet the supposed teenager in Newton-le-Willows.

Messages sent by the great-grandfather included ‘don’t worry about your age’, ‘let’s meet up, kiss and touch each other’s bodies’ and ‘you can’t get pregnant from me’.

He also detailed sexual acts he wanted to perform on the girl, and acts that he wanted her to perform.

When he arrived at the arranged meet-up, he was confronted by the paedophile hunters and arrested by police.

In defence of her client, who has seen all family ties cut through his offending, Bernadette Smith spoke of his expectation of a long prison sentence and how his best mitigation is his guilty plea.

“He wants intervention to try to understand and get to the crux of why it is that he is committing these offences at such a late stage in his adulthood,” she said.

The court also heard how he is assessed as posing a high risk of harm to children, but a low risk of reoffending, which judge David Aubrey commented ‘does not make much sense’

Before sentencing, he said: “These offences are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified for them.

“There is no doubt you have a sexual interest in children, and that appears to be deep-rooted.

“You engaged in conversations with a person who you believed was under the age of 13, and conversations took place over a period of time which illustrates your deep-rooted paedophilia.”

Cottam, of Mason Avenue in Padgate, Warrington, was sentenced to 56 months in prison

The court also ordered that he be the subject of sex offender registration and notification requirements indefinitely, as well as a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

Record details

A prolific sex offender, who has a long history of abusing young boys and girls, is back in prison after giving lifts to a three-year-old girl.

Lee Archer, 59, was living in the community under a sexual harm prevention order, when he befriended a grandmother who visited his sheltered accommodation in Stockton to visit her brother.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Archer and the woman got to know each other further and at one point told her he "hated children". Within months, he was visiting her at her home and did jobs for her.

The court heard that the woman's brother had agreed to give Archer 800 so he could buy a car. The brother would tax and insure it, and Archer would give him lifts to wherever he wanted to go.

But by September 2022, Archer was driving the grandmother, her brother and her three-year-old grandchild to Morrisons on Teesside Park. The court heard that he saw the child on four occasions, and played catch with her.

Police visited the woman in December and told her that Archer is a sex offender. His licence conditions ban him from contacting or communicating with any child under the age of 16.

Ms Haigh said that the woman was "shocked, and angry with herself for putting her granddaughter at risk."

Archer pleaded guilty to breaching his sexual harm prevention order. He started sexually abusing children in 1989. In 2011, he was jailed for sexual activity with a young girl and indecently assaulting a boy.

By 2016, Archer had sexually assaulted another boy, who was under 13. He was jailed for a further two years in 2020, for breaching his sexual harm prevention order. On that occasion he had befriended a family he met at his allotment. He said that their daughter was a "little heartbreaker" and the police found photos of her on his phone, which he had taken from Facebook.

In mitigation, the court heard that Archer had not known initially that the woman would bring her granddaughter with her for a lift. He said that he was never left unsupervised with the child.

Judge Timothy Stead told him: "It's quite clear that you are an incorrigible sex offender towards children. You befriended a woman - if she'd known about your past, I doubt she would have given you the time of day, let alone befriended you. These breaches created a risk of very serious harm."

Archer was jailed for two-years-and-eight-months.

Record details

Trevor Poole of Howard Place, Brighton, is also known as Trevor Madison.

A 60-year-old man has been sentenced after being found guilty of an historical indecent assault on a boy which took place in the Corby area.

Trevor Poole, also known as Trevor Madison, of Howard Place, Brighton, sexually assaulted a boy in Corby.

A 60-year-old man has been sentenced after being found guilty of an historical indecent assault on a boy which took place in the Corby area.

Trevor Poole, also known as Trevor Madison, of Howard Place, Brighton, sexually assaulted a boy in Corby.

Poole was arrested and denied the offence however following a three-day trial at Northampton Crown Court in November of last year, was found guilty by a jury.

Last month (January 20) at the same court, he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Lead investigator – Detective Constable Helen Campbell, said: “This has been a very lengthy process for the survivor in this case and I hope that the conclusion provides him with some much-needed closure and the knowledge that Trevor Poole has been recognised as the sex offender he is.

“I want to thank him for his support, persistence and courage, qualities he has shown throughout this investigation, and I hope he can move forward with his life with less weight on his shoulders.

“Though nothing will never make up for the effect the assault had on him, I hope he is proud of the courage and determination he has shown.

“Northamptonshire Police takes reports of this nature extremely seriously and we will do all we can to bring the offender to justice.

“We will believe you, we will support and we will do all we can to get you the justice you deserve. I hope this case demonstrates that fact and that it doesn’t matter how much time has passed.”

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A SEX offender from Worcester who was on the run after bolting to London will soon be back behind bars after he was caught in the capital.

Sullen-faced Lewis Jones of Worcester was arrested and handcuffed in Commercial Road, Whitechapel in London's East End today after a police appeal.

He will go straight back to prison, West Mercia Police has confirmed.

The 26-year-old fled to London after boarding a train at Worcester's Foregate Street Railway Station but his offender managers monitored his movements closely from Worcester Police Station in Castle Street and were able to gain intelligence about his whereabouts.

Sporting a beard instead of his usual clean-shaven look, as seen in his custody photos, Jones was sleeping rough and known to be frequenting soup kitchens when police swooped and made the arrest. He is pictured here moments after he was caught.

DI Dave Knight of Proactive CID said: "Lewis Jones was arrested for recall to prison in Commercial Road, Whitechapel, London this afternoon.

South Worcestershire Police Offender Management Officers, working with The Metropolitan Police, had responded to intelligence and found him sleeping rough. He will be returned to prison.

"This is a great example of various departments across West Mercia Police and The Met working together for a common purpose, and underlines the value of good old fashioned police work, on foot, putting in the miles. "

Jones of Worcester and who also has links to Malvern was believed at one stage to be in Camden Town after police received new intelligence about his whereabouts in London.

The 26-year-old was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison on August 3 last year and released on January 6 this year to an approved premises in Worcester.

But, due to his behaviour since, he was recalled to serve the remainder of that sentence in prison rather than on licence in the community.

Jones was seen boarding a train at Worcester Foregate Street station and was believed to be heading to London on Thursday, January 12.

We reported in 2019 how Jones appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court for two charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) by altering a Facebook profile by using a false name and by being in possession of an internet-enabled phone.

Record details

A mum has been placed on the sex offender’s register after she encouraged a group of children to carry out sexual dares in her home.

Kirstyann Kavanagh bought cider and wine for the Buckie youngsters and then instructed some of them to kiss and touch each other sexually, Elgin Sheriff Court was told.