Latest Offenders

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A PERVERTED foster carer was allowed to systematically sexually abuse young girls in his care even after the alarm was raised by a five-year old who had been raped.

Despite the desperate cry for help paedophile Rex Case went on to sexually assault other young girls who lived with him.

Today the 68-year-old, who carried out his depraved abuse over 30 years, is facing spending the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of a catalogue of sickening crimes.

Judge Peter Henry told Case he was devious, manipulative and controlling and his sentence would be a very long one.

Jurors at Southampton Crown Court took just over four hours to return unanimous guilty verdicts on 18 counts of abuse, including indecent assaults and rape.

The case had taken almost two years to come to court but spanned back to the 1980s when Case preyed on his first victim, who was a girl aged 15.

The Daily Echo has sought the consent of each of the five victims and had to make a special application to the judge in order to reveal the full and sickening behaviour of Case.

Today the girls and their families are demanding answers as to why Case was allowed to continue to foster and why social services chiefs in Hampshire and Southampton or police failed to step in to stop him.

During the past two and a half weeks jurors have heard how Case:

• Raped a girl under the age of five.
• Sexually assaulted girls daily, sometimes in their bedrooms or in the bathroom.
• Would sneak into rooms while they were sleeping to touch them.
• Would bathe and dry girls as old as 13, rubbing baby oil and cream on them.
• Would carry out some of his vile acts while his wife Carol watched.
• The sex abuse was carried out mostly in Cases large family home in Holly Hill, Bassett, Southampton, where the couple lived with their son Dean.

Giving evidence in his own defence Case told how he had fostered some 24 boys and girls since qualifying as a foster carer.

But he went on to say he had many more young girls staying in his home 34 in total who included foreign children who had come to Southampton to study.

Bravery of victims

THE depraved actions of Rex Case towards the children he was supposed to be caring for would never have been told in full if it wasnt for the bravery of his victims.

The Daily Echo faced legal constraints which meant we would be unable to identify Case and what he did to the girls he was fostering unless they agreed to partially waive their anonymity. Each of the victims, who are now all over the age of 18, however, agreed to our request in order to ensure that justice was done in the public eye.

The Daily Echo also received the backing of Judge Peter Henry, who listened to an application made by this newspaper in court, to relax the law surrounding anonymity for victims of sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992.

The judge ruled that the case was so serious that it was in the public interest that the identity of Case and what he had done to those children should be revealed in full.

Victim One

The court was told how his first victim, who we are referring to as M, was aged 15 and lived with Case between August 1982 and August 1983.

She had already suffered a childhood of sexual abuse but Case took advantage of her while she was drunk sitting on her bed, stroking her and kissing her open mouthed.

Victim Two

His second victim was much younger aged just 20 months when she first lived with Case in June 1995, because he was fostering her mother.

The court was told how the little girl, known as J, grew up being told to call Case grandad.

She would have to watch him having sex with her mother before he began to turn his attention to her.

Jurors were told how Cases wife would sometimes watch as J was abused in her bedroom, where she would be locked in behind a stair gate, and in the bath.

It was so sustained she would be left crying out in pain, being sick and bleeding.

When it was over he would tell her she was dirty and disgusting and when she complained it hurt he would laugh.

Victim Three

Cases third victim, A, was aged four to five when she spent six months living with Case from July 1998, when her mum was too unwell to look after her.

She was scared and felt unsafe living with him and he would tell her she had sexy legs and looked good.

He would make her kiss him on the lips and he would kiss her neck, face and touch her bottom.

In her bedroom he would tickle her and then sexually assault her on her bed and he would dry her and abuse her when she took a shower.

Victim Four

In June 2000 Cases fourth victim, referred to as R, went to stay with him at the age of six. He was her mothers foster carer but was minding her daughter.

She woke on two occasions to find Case who she was made to call grandad sexually assaulting her under the blanket, having pulled her pyjamas down below her knees.

It was only just before R was about to sit her GCSEs in May 2010 that she finally plucked up the courage to tell her mother what had happened.

Victim Five

His final victim, M, was aged 13 and was not being fostered by Case when she first stayed with him in June 2003.

During a holiday in Florida he would sneak into her bedroom and sniff her hair and he sexually assaulted her on the couch.

Back home in Southampton a year later the girl was sexually assaulted by Case every other night and he would tell her it was their special time.

The girl told how she let it continue for five years because she had a younger sister and didnt want it to happen to her.

Case showed no emotion yesterday as he was told he would be remanded in custody until he is sentenced for his crimes.

Judge Henry told him he could not exclude an indeterminate sentence because he had concerns over him posing a danger, particularly to young girls, in the future.

Rex Case the man the jury didnt believe

REX Case began fostering vulnerable children 30 years ago after replying to an advert from Hampshire Social Services who were appealing for more carers.

He and his wife Carol, who met as childhood sweethearts and married in the 1960s, underwent training to deal with children with extreme problem backgrounds.

Despite their 49-year marriage, the court heard that in 1988 Case was having an affair.

They had a child of their own, a son named Dean, who provided them with a grandson. They all lived together at the family home in Holly Hill, Bassett.

Case, who was born on October 30, 1943, has always maintained that the fostering of children was his wifes job he was working in a One Stop warehouse in the security department until he retired at the age of 57.

It was in the early 1980s when the Cases took in their first child, but he went on to foster a total of 24 boys and girls in the years that followed.

A self confessed homophobe of 40 years, Case and his wife also took in respite placements and he told the court that, including foreign students who came to stay with him, a total of 34 girls lived in his home in 35 years.

He told jurors: There were 34 and we are proud of it. They made me feel young.

I enjoyed the children. We had a big house, a big garden, it was fun.

Case has always maintained his innocence and denied ever bathing or helping children with the toilet due to his aversion to bodily fluids.

The court was told Case had numerous previous convictions relating to his younger years, beginning with theft when he was just nine years old when he stole sweets from Woolworths.

He also had convictions for causing criminal damage, burglary with intent to steal, theft of a gun and possession of a weapon in a public place.

Description

Aaron Cool was 18 when he formed a relationship with the girl through a social network site. When he met her mother she became worried about the difference in age and laid down ground rules banning them from being alone in the girl’s room.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said the relationship lasted three months then the girl “made disclosures to her mother about the defendant”.

A friend had also been concerned and had already contacted police. On arrest, Cool admitted they had sexual intercourse five times at the girl’s parents’ home.

The court heard Cool, when 17, had been involved in a relationship with a 13-year-old but she did not make a complaint.

Now 19, Cool, of Oakwood Drive, Lordshill, Southampton, had sentence adjourned until February 24 for reports.

Description

The pair met through a social network site and went to his uncle’s home, where they stayed for the night and had sex.

Prosecutor Andy Houston told Southampton Crown Court Scott Chapman then took her by taxi to her foster mother’s home.

The girl, who had been reported as missing, told police she needed the morning-after pill.

The girl posted herself on the network site as being 17 but when she met Chapman, told him she was 15. She was really only 12.

Chapman, 18, of Manor Farm Road, Bitterne Park, Southampton, admitted two counts of rape of a girl under 13 and one count of assault by penetration.

Judge Derwin Hope also placed Chapman, who had five previous convictions, on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Description

A COMMUNITY psychiatric nurse, who had sex with a woman suffering from a mental disorder, was jailed for two years at Southampton Crown Court.

John Bennett, who was employed by Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust, was arrested after the woman in her late 40s made a disclosure to her doctor that they had sex in her home.

Judge Derwin Hope told the 44-year-old, who had been a qualified care worker from 2001 until June 2010 when the allegations came to light, it represented a breach of trust.

The judge said he accepted that at heart he was a caring person and had suffered difficulties of his own.

He added: But you took advantage of her difficulties for your own benefit in a serious way.

You are someone with a low risk of committing further offences and you have been relieved of your professional duties but I have no doubt, taking everything into consideration, this matter is so serious that only an immediate period of custody can be justified.

Defending, Christopher Baur said there had been no wickedness in Bennetts intentions and he was still receiving treatment for his own mental health problems.

Bennett had been off work for depression and went back too early because he feared for his job.

He and the woman had considerable feelings for each other and if he had been in a better frame of mind he would not have slipped into this situation.

Bennett, of Wood Road, Ashurst, was convicted of having sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder as a care worker.

Description

A Southampton staff nurse who sparked an international search over fears that he had contracted malaria during a drugs trial was detained under the Mental Health Act today for sexually assaulting a waitress.

Matthew Lloyd, 36, sparked the appeal in October 2010 when he failed to keep an appointment in Oxford for the trial. There were fears he would die unless he received medical care.

Last September, a jury at Southampton Crown Court took just 50 minutes to find him guilty of the assault on the woman, then aged 20, on August 21 2010 as she walked home in Southampton.

He was also found guilty of common assault on the same woman.

At the time of his disappearance, Lloyd had been arrested over the incident but not charged. He was found in Holland, came back to the UK and he did not contract the disease.

Southampton Crown Court heard today that Lloyd was suffering from schizophrenia and would require long-term care.

Judge Susan Evans QC sentenced Lloyd to a hospital order and also an unlimited restriction order over concerns that he was a danger to the public.

He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

''Your victim was clearly vulnerable... She thought she was going to be raped by you,'' the judge told Lloyd.

''You are in a state of complete denial about what you have done and that is of concern to this court.

''Because of the nature of the offence and the risk of you committing further offences when set at large, I take the view that it's necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm to make a restriction order.''

During the three-day trial, the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said a smiling stranger grabbed her bottom hard as she walked in Southampton city centre.

The woman told the jury she pressed her fingers into his windpipe to try to fight him off as he continued to assault her sexually.

She said the only thing he said was: ''How are you doing?''

Later she ran into Lloyd, who tried to attack her again but she fended him off and got home.

''Both times he was smiling,'' she said. ''He enjoyed me being in fear.''

The court heard she called the police the same day and picked Lloyd out of identification photographs but Lloyd, who is from Southampton, denied to police he was the attacker.

Lloyd was working at Southampton General Hospital in the infectious disease ward at the time of the attack.

Description

A CHILDRENS outdoor activities centre manager who pretended to be a woman to gain acceptance into an international paedophile ring has been jailed for four years.

Jonathan Garner-Harris, a former deputy director of the Marrick Priory centre, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, claimed to be a woman with two daughters aged 12 and 14 in order to be accepted as a member of a nudist website which encouraged child abuse.

Garner-Harris, 37, was investigated by Durham Police and pleaded guilty at Durham Crown Court to 20 offences.

His case was transferred to Portsmouth Crown Court where he was sentenced by Judge Roger Hetherington who heard a trial involving other members of the ring which abused two young children.

Garner-Harris was yesterday jailed for four years for three charges of inciting a child sex offence and four months for each of 17 counts relating to indecent photographs of children. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The court was told that Garner- Harris, who appeared by videolink, was involved in internet chat with ringleader Robert Hathaway during which he encouraged the Portsmouth-based offender to abuse the two young children.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, told the court that Garner-Harris used computers at his parents home in Chester-le-Street, and also at Marrick Priory, to carry out the explicit chat and to look at indecent images.

She said: Like others involved, he used the guise of being interested in nudism to keep in contact with people who had similar sexual interest in children. This quickly turned to sexually explicit conversations about children.

Garner-Harris told police he had been acting out a fantasy and had not intended to hurt anyone, added Ms Maylin.

Amanda Rippon, defending, said: He is a man who has devastated his good character.

He was extremely well thought of, not only in his community but in his church.

His family has been absolutely devastated by this and he is acutely aware of the misery he has heaped on their heads.

Sentencing Garner-Harris, Judge Hetherington said: I accept that Robert Hathaway needed no specific encouragement from you to commit these sort of offences, but your part in fuelling his offending in these chats was, along with others, an important contribution towards the abuse of these two young children.

The managment board at Marrick Priory said the manager was suspended as soon as they became aware of the allegations. He later resigned.

A spokesman added: We would like to assure schools and youth groups that Marrick continues to operate as normal with our large and dedicated staff teams which conform with best practice and national safeguarding guidelines.

Description

The 43-year-old officer was sacked from Thames Valley Police after being disciplined for repeatedly threatening witnesses who had lodged complaints against him.

He had also phoned a 14-year-old girl witness in a case he was dealing with and asking her to go on a date him.

Judge Francis Sheriden jailed paedophile policeman Mohammed Younas after hearing how he raped a girl who was just seven years old and continued to abuse her for eight years.

Hussey as they attend church

He had also turned up to work drunk after consuming a bottle of vodka and was found wandering the streets randomly stopping traffic whilst on duty.

Despite his dismissal from the force, the judge heard that the sexual abuse of the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, increased,

Younas attacked the young girl, the court was told, because his wife refused to have sex with him. He also forced another child to touch his genitals.

‘This was the most despicable offence. It's hard to imagine a worse case,’ Judge Sheridan told the disgraced constable as he stood in the dock at Aylesbury Crown Court.

Younas had denied the 15 counts of rape and sexual assault against him but was found guilty by a jury and on Friday was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

At the height of the abuse Younas would rape her every other day and the court heard he would make her touch him whilst they both played a board game.

You walked around the street drunk, stopping traffic. You threatened witnesses who made complaints against you and you rang a 14-year-old girl to ask her to go out with you.

As well as being jailed for 18 years, Younas was handed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from unsupervised contact or communication with a person under 16.

He was put on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period and given a restraining order banning him from contacting the victims.

Description

Goes by the name Reece Mason.

A teenager has been jailed for the rape of a 51-year-old woman in Ipswich.

Reece Davies, 19, of Star Lane in Ipswich, pleaded guilty to rape at the town's Crown Court.

The attack happened in Wroxham Road early on 17 July after the victim shared a taxi with Davies and he assaulted her in the street.

He was jailed for five-and-a-half years for rape and 12 months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, to run concurrently.

Det Ch Insp Stuart McCallum said: "This was an extremely traumatic ordeal for the victim who was subjected to a callous attack.

"The viewing of CCTV to help secure this outcome was vital in our investigation, and this result demonstrates what a useful tool CCTV can be, assisting police to solve this and many other different types of crime."

Davies was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Description

A SEXUAL predator has been caged for six years for grooming two under-age girls.

Brandon Watson, from Blantyre, has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register after pleading guilty to three serious sexual assaults, including the statutory rape of two underage girls, grooming offences and the possession of indecent images of children.

The 20-year-old was arrested by officers from Hamilton Police Office following an extensive and detailed investigation which was initiated by one of the girls involved.

Detective Inspector David Tassie, who was the senior investigating officer, said: Thanks to one brave girl who raised the alarm via a social networking site, this sexual predator has been brought to justice. Her actions alerted the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre, who in turn contacted Strathclyde Police.

A police investigation was immediately launched with a major incident room and specialist inquiry team being established.

This included a team of detectives, officers from the computer crime unit and specially trained sexual offences liaison officers.

It quickly became apparent to the inquiry team that Watson had targeted other girls, aged between the ages of 12 and 15 years.

They were identified as having been groomed by him into committing various sexual acts, both in person and online.

As part of the investigation, officers commissioned the expertise of forensic psychologist Dr Joe Sullivan, who compiled a report explaining the manipulation tactics typically used by offenders such as Watson. This was instrumental in achieving a conviction.

The disturbing aspect of this inquiry is that these girls were groomed online from the safety of their own home.

Unfortunately, there are sexual predators, like Watson, who use the internet to commit crime and I cannot stress enough how important it is for parents and guardians of children to know what it is they are doing online and who they are speaking to. Watson is off our streets and out of harms way for now. However, we cannot, and should not be, complacent about this type of behaviour.

We will continue to work with all organisations sharing intelligence and information in our efforts to stop children becoming online victims of crime.

Jennifer Harrower, District Procurator Fiscal for Hamilton, said: This was a highly complex investigation into a prolific sex offender with a predatory approach to young girls, which involved extremely close working between specialist units of both police and prosecutors.

The scale of the inquiry grew significantly in size as more details about the accused's offending come to light.

Police and prosecutors then worked swiftly to identify the crucial computer evidence, in order not only to bring the accused to court but to identify further crimes and complainers.

Those of us in the justice system are becoming more and more experienced at identifying the perpetrators of such crimes and bringing them to justice, through the use of specialist units and expert advisors.

A spokesperson for CEOP said All too often, children and young people do not understand, or indeed realise, the risks they may face when they are online.

Talking to strangers or uploading photos for others to see can seem like a good idea at the time, but the consequences of these actions can cause long lasting issues.

The sentencing shows that through education and raising awareness of such risks, young people can be empowered to make life changing decisions.

CEOPs Thinkuknow education programme provides advice and guidance on a range of issues to both young people and also their parents and I would encourage people to visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk to find out more.

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A man who went into a womans bedroom and performed a sex act in her bed has been spared a jail term.

Instead Peter Hall, 24, of Ladies Drive in Lerwick, was ordered to wear a tag for 12 months when he appeared for sentence today at Lerwick Sheriff Court.

Hall was also handed a three year community payback order and told to remain on the sex offenders register during that time. He has also been banned from entering Sandveien, where the offence took place, and warned not to commit any new offences.

Sentence had been deferred on Hall after he disturbed a bed and stole clothes and photographs from a house in February.

The woman and her partner were in a neighbours house at the time. They dialled 999 after seeing Hall through a window in their own bedroom.

Inside the house kitchen cupboards and the fridge were left open and items of the womans clothing were left lying on the bedroom floor. It emerged Hall had fled the house wearing one of the womans dresses. Challenged later, he claimed the clothing was actually chefs whites belonging to his mother.

Hall had later landed in trouble again when he failed to keep social work appointments. He was then kept in custody until todays hearing.

Sheriff Graeme Napier said the question of whether Hall could be trusted with his liberty was a balancing act.

He said Hall was a high risk offender who would cost tens of thousands of pounds for the community to monitor if he was spared custody.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Hall would also prove expensive if he was locked up in prison. Hall, he said, was keen to get to the bottom of his behaviour, and was willing to co-operate.

He added Hall had served the equivalent of a two-month sentence since he was taken to Craiginches, where he had been locked up for 23 hours a day for his own protection.

Mr Allan said he had made clear to Hall what would happen if he failed in any of his objectives.

In the end the sheriff was persuaded Hall could be spared a prison term.

He told him: There is no guarantee you would come out of a prison sentence having addressed the issues you face, whereas if you dont address them you will be going to custody.

Description

A MAN from Bishopstone who has his eyes closed to his offending has been jailed for three years for child sex offences.

Alan Roy Morris, 62, was found guilty of three counts of exposure, one of sexual assault and one of causing or inciting a child under the age of 16 to engage in sexual activity.

Salisbury Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the incidents took place between January and June last year.

Marcus Tregilgas-Davey, defending, said: While he has a relevant previous conviction, it happened more than 20 years ago and between then and these offences he has led a law abiding life and, in terms of his employment, a productive one.

I accept he has brought it entirely on himself but he has lost his home and a relationship of 16 years and he has been ostracised by the few members of his family and friends he had.

Mr Tregilgas-Davey told the court Morris, of Whitlock Rise, was not a man in particularly good health and urged Recorder Peter Towler to consider a community order.

He has his eyes closed to his offending, said Mr Tregilgas-Davey. A community order is the one thing that may help this man address what has led him to these offences.

But Recorder Towler said: It seems to me that such a course of treatment would be unlikely to work because of his constant denial of his behaviour that there has been anything wrong.

Sentencing Morris to three years in prison, Recorder Towler said: You dont appear to accept guilt or that there was anything wrong in the way you were behaving.

Morris was also given a lifetime sexual offences prevention order, restricting his access to children, and will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Description

A woman and four men were found guilty on Wednesday of offences relating to an international paedophile ring which used a nudist website as a guise for its offences.

Bell, who had military accommodation but was previously living in Emsworth, Hampshire, was found guilty of two charges of possessing indecent photos of children and one of attempting to distribute an indecent image of children. He was found not guilty of two charges of arranging a child sex offence.

Hampshire police began investigating the ring after being tipped off by Australian authorities who uncovered a "mirror image" ring which also abused a young child. Hathaway was in contact with this ring in Australia and shared images with them. One of the charges faced by Noon concerned her encouragement of an Australian child to engage in sexual activity.

Chat logs totalling 2,000 pages were uncovered by police, as well as 14,000 indecent images of children and 300 videos of children being abused.

Description

A woman and four men were found guilty on Wednesday of offences relating to an international paedophile ring which used a nudist website as a guise for its offences.

John Maddox, 46, of Rainham, Essex, was convicted of a charge of causing a child to engage in sexual activity. He had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing indecent photographs of children.

Hampshire police began investigating the ring after being tipped off by Australian authorities who uncovered a "mirror image" ring which also abused a young child. Hathaway was in contact with this ring in Australia and shared images with them. One of the charges faced by Noon concerned her encouragement of an Australian child to engage in sexual activity.

Chat logs totalling 2,000 pages were uncovered by police, as well as 14,000 indecent images of children and 300 videos of children being abused.

Description

A woman and four men have been jailed for their part in an international paedophile ring that committed "horrific" crimes against two young children in the UK and one in Australia.

The ringleader, Robert Hathaway, 37,from Portsmouth in Hampshire was given an indeterminate sentence of 12 years at Portsmouth crown court while his partner Melissa Noon, 30, received four years.

Judge Roger Hetherington told Hathaway he would not be released from prison for a minimum of six years and not until the parole board deemed him no longer to be a danger to children.

The three other defendants became involved by meeting the couple over the internet to carry out the abuse.

Stephen Fraser, 42,from Cambridge was sentenced to four years with an extended licence period of six years; Simon Hilton, 29, from north London was imprisoned for four years with an extended licence period of six years; and Lee Parson, 38, from Portsmouth was jailed for three years.

A six-week trial heard that the two young children in the UK were repeatedly abused by the group, who used a nudist website as a guise for their perversions.

Hampshire police launched their investigation into the ring after being tipped off by the authorities in Australia, who had uncovered a "mirror image" ring in Brisbane and Sydney, which also abused at least one young child.

Hathaway had been in contact with this ring and shared images with them and one of the charges faced by Noon was for encouraging the Australian child to engage in sexual activity.

A total of 2,000 pages of chat logs were uncovered by police, as well as 14,000 indecent images of children and 300 videos of children being abused.

The abuse included offences of rape and sexual assault as well as forcing the children to engage in naked games of Twister and wrestling.

As Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, described the offences committed by the defendants, sighs of disgust could be heard from the packed public gallery.

She said the victims were "systematically and repeatedly" raped by Hathaway and sexually assaulted on a daily basis.

The abuse was documented with thousands of photographs and videos, some as long as 42 minutes, which were distributed by Hathaway over the internet.

These included the abuse being carried out while the victims watched children's TV programmes and during bedtime stories, when they were seen to be reading books such as In the Night Garden.

Some of the abuse was streamed live over the internet using webcams to broadcast to paedophiles around the world who would reassure the victims that the behaviour was "normal".

Maylin said that among the videos of abuse found on Hathaway's computer was a cartoon in the style of The Simpsons aimed at training children in the ways of sexual abuse.

Describing Noon's role in the crimes, she said that as well as taking photographs of the offences for distribution on the nudist website that she ran, she also became involved, for example by taking part in the naked game of Twister with one of the victims.

Also, in a webcam conversation, Noon told the Australian victim to strip naked before telling the girl that she was her "little sweet princess" and she had an "adorable body".

When the girl asks to leave the conversation, Noon tells her: "Don't you go, I'm just getting hot."

Maylin said Noon was clearly "sexually excited".

In another internet conversation about child abuse with a female paedophile in Australia, Noon tells her that one of the UK victims "does not understand what this type of love is, she's too young, I will keep teaching her".

Speaking after the case, Maylin said: "This was a horrific case of systematic child abuse where the defendants subjected children as young as four to atrocious acts of sexual abuse and encouraged others across the world to commit similar offences."

Paul Walker, defending Noon, said she had learning difficulties and had an IQ of between 61 and 69, putting her in the bottom 1% for her age.

He said: "What that means is she is more vulnerable to manipulation and coercion."

He added that if it had not been for the influence of Hathaway's "manipulations", Noon would not have become involved in child abuse.

Stephen Smyth, defending Hathaway, said his client suffered depression and had been vulnerable to "outside influences" since the death of his mother when he was eight, and his father when he was 10.

"In his grey and miserable life, there was really nothing other than sex," Smyth said.

Jennifer Knight, defending Parson, a father of two, said he had an unhappy upbringing with his father who was an alcoholic, and his wife who was abusive and violent towards him.

Andrew Turton, defending Hilton, said he was suffering depression and had been lonely following a recent relationship breakdown.

He added that the IT consultant had become isolated in his work and social life which revolved around the internet, meaning "he was living a virtual life in a virtual world".

David Reid, defending Fraser, said his client accepted he had a sexual interest in children and was aware of the damage he had caused the children.

He added that he had stopped offending on his own accord as his serious offending had made him realise that what he was doing was wrong.

Reid said: "The most serious offences were, for him, a trigger. He describes it as making him sit up and realise the seriousness and he had no further contact."

Jon Brown, head of strategy and development for sexual abuse at the children's charity NSPCC, said that the case highlighted the depths to which some individuals will sink to produce such "appalling" images.

"The internet has made it much easier for people to access this kind of material so stopping this terrible trade is a huge task," he said.

"Every day babies and children are being assaulted and raped to feed the apparently insatiable demand for indecent photos and videos. And each time they are viewed, more degradation is heaped on the young victims."

About one in three of people convicted of possessing child abuse images has also committed other serious sex offences against children, said Brown, and it was "vital these people are identified and brought to the attention of the authorities".

He added: "Just as importantly, the young victims must get therapeutic treatment to help them overcome their terrible ordeals."

A further four defendants are to be sentenced for their part in the abuse next month.

Description

A woman and four men were found guilty on Wednesday of offences relating to an international paedophile ring which used a nudist website as a guise for its offences.

Melissa Noon, 30, and the four other defendants, including Daniel Bell, 27, a serving soldier, were convicted on a total of 16 charges.

The jury at Portsmouth crown court was still deliberating on one charge against Noon, of arranging a child sex offence.

Noon, Bell, Simon Hilton, 29, Mark Day, 45, and John Maddox, 46, had denied the offences.

Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, told the trial that Noon and her partner, Robert Hathaway, 36, were at the centre of the international paedophile ring, which abused two British children under the age of 13.

Hathaway set up a naturist website as a guise for distributing indecent photographs and videos of children as well as for meeting like-minded perverts around the world, the jury was told.

Using the internet the couple discussed abuse of children with some of the other defendants and arranged to meet some to carry out further sexual assaults on the young victims, the trial heard.

The abuse included rape, attempted rape and the use of sex aids. The police seized more than 20 sex aids from Noon and Hathaway, the trial heard.

The children had been made to engage in naked wrestling and play the game Twister in the nude.

The jury of six women and six men took more than 12 hours to reach the verdicts in the majority of the charges.

Noon was found guilty of three charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, one of causing a child to watch a sexual act, two of sexual assault of a child, two of arranging a child sex offence, one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two of possessing indecent photographs of children. Noon had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of cruelty to a child.

Hathaway, of Portsmouth, Hampshire, was described at an earlier date as the ringleader. He previously pleaded guilty to 45 offences. These included two charges of rape of a child, four of sexual assault of a child, 15 of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, two of distributing indecent images of children, and one of possessing prohibited images of children.

He has also pleaded guilty to one charge of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three of arranging a child sex offence, four of making indecent photographs of children, and 13 of possessing indecent photographs of children.

Bell, who had military accommodation but was previously living in Emsworth, Hampshire, was found guilty of two charges of possessing indecent photos of children and one of attempting to distribute an indecent image of children. He was found not guilty of two charges of arranging a child sex offence.

Simon Hilton, 29, of London, was convicted of one charge of arranging a child sex offence. Hilton had previously pleaded guilty to 13 offences, including sexual assault of a child and extreme pornography possession.

Mark Day, 45, of Whitefriars Meadow, Sandwich, Kent, was found guilty of one charge of arranging a child sex offence. The judge had ordered a not guilty verdict to be ordered on a second similar charge against Day.

John Maddox, 46, of Rainham, Essex, was convicted of a charge of causing a child to engage in sexual activity. He had previously pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing indecent photographs of children.

As well as the defendants convicted on Wednesday, a further three, are among those who have already pleaded guilty to participation in the paedophile ring.

Stephen Fraser, 41, of Cambridge, admitted 27 charges. These included one offence of sexual assault of a child, two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, one of engaging in sexual activity in front of a child, and one charge of arranging a child sex offence. He had also pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing extreme pornography, one of making an indecent image of a child, and 19 of possessing indecent images of children.

Lee Parson, 38, of Portsmouth, pleaded guilty to one charge of arranging a child sex offence, three charges of possessing indecent photos of children and one of taking indecent photos of children.

Jonathan Garner-Harris, 37, a teacher, of Marrick, North Yorkshire, appeared at Durham crown court over 20 offences. These related to three charges of inciting a child sex offence and 17 counts relating to indecent photos of children. He is to be sentenced alongside the other convicted defendants at Portsmouth at a later date.

Hampshire police began investigating the ring after being tipped off by Australian authorities who uncovered a "mirror image" ring which also abused a young child. Hathaway was in contact with this ring in Australia and shared images with them. One of the charges faced by Noon concerned her encouragement of an Australian child to engage in sexual activity.

Chat logs totalling 2,000 pages were uncovered by police, as well as 14,000 indecent images of children and 300 videos of children being abused.