Latest Offenders

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An assistant school principal who filmed himself raping a blindfolded girl has been jailed for 11 years.

Chemistry teacher Jonathan Rowe, 49, abused the girl when she was aged eight to 10.

The former Eggbuckland Community College teacher admitted a series of sexual offences including three rapes.

Sentencing him at Exeter Crown Court on Friday, Judge David Evans said Rowe had lived a "double life" and described his actions as "depraved".

The court heard Rowe raped the girl while she was asleep and transferred footage of his attacks on to his school laptop.

He was caught after the girl told her mother Rowe had blindfolded her while asking her to pose for pictures.

Investigations revealed the mother of a six-year-old girl had previously warned Rowe about his behaviour after finding him playing with her half-naked daughter in a beach rock pool.

Officers also found a video of a 13-year-old girl on a trampoline in which he had focused on her breasts.

'Appalling actions'

Rowe, of Higher Dean, Buckfastleigh, also admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child, five of taking indecent images of his victims, and three of making indecent images by downloading them from the internet.

Judge Evans said: "You clearly have a sexual interest in children. Sadly, you translated that sexual interest into the actual abuse of this girl."

Rowe was given a one-year extended licence, ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and banned from going within 50m of any school or taking photographs or videos of children.

Will Willden, defending, said Rowe regretted what he had done and appreciated the damage caused to others.

A spokeswoman for the NSPCC said Rowe had "preyed knowingly on a vulnerable young girl to fulfil his depraved sexual fantasies".

She added: "His appalling actions have betrayed the trust placed in him and it's vital his victim receives the right support to recover from what has happened."

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A DANGEROUS sex offender is back behind bars after she abused a youngster for the third time.

Jacinta Brooks sent dozens of sexually explicit messages to a 12-year-old girl, telling her to send indecent, nude images of herself for the 41-year-olds sexual gratification.

Brooks, who was formerly called Duncan Smart but now lives as a woman, was described by the victims mother as a pathetic excuse who left her daughter haunted by her disturbing behaviour.

It was the third time Brooks had attacked a child under the age of 16, after having unlawful sex with a girl and indecently assaulting another.

Jailing Brooks for a minimum of 11-years, Judge Nicholas Rowland said Brooks was a danger to children.

Southampton Crown Court heard Brooks was bought to justice after officers investigating a different sexual allegation seized devices from her home.

Berenice Mulvanny, prosecuting, told the court Brooks had deleted messages, but captured screenshots of parts of the conversation.

This led to Hampshire Constabulary unearthing further communications, as well as sexually explicit images of the victim.

Miss Mulvanny said: Brooks knew the girl was underage but sent her sexual messages. The defendant originally pretended to be a 14-year-old boy but soon admitted [her] real age.

When Brooks was interviewed by officers she gave answered no comment except saying she couldnt argue about being attracted to children.

Further searches on her devices also found her to be in possession of hundreds of indecent images of children, ranging between the most and least serious categories.

In a victim impact statement, the victims mother who cannot be identified for legal reasons said: The fact that I cannot protect my daughter from this pathetic excuse of a [person] will haunt me forever.

She added that her daughter had been forced to leave her school and had suffered terrible trauma as a result of the incident.

Brooks was released in 2016 after serving more than 10 years in prison and in an institution after she attacked a child in 2003.

Mitigating, Robert Harding said that because technology had changed so much in the past 15-years, Brooks had struggled to understand social media and online networking.

As part of her sentence, a sexual harm prevention order was made, with the requirement that should Brooks ever make an online social media account or email address all details and passwords must be handed to the police before they are created.

PC Leon Simon, said: Brooks is a dangerous individual and we are pleased this case has now come to a conclusion.

Brooks, of HMP Winchester, pleaded guilty to three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of possessing indecent images. She was jailed for six years, extended by five years.

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A “DISTURBED” former dance teacher and independent-school trainee is behind bars after being convicted of a series of “predatory” child sexual offences against two young girls in Bordon and Frensham, the youngest aged just 11.

Thomas Cox, 25, from Bordon, was jailed for seven years at Guildford Crown Court on September 17 after a jury found him guilty of preying on two girls aged between 11 and 16 between 2009 and 2015.

Cox denied his guilt throughout the police investigation into his crimes, forcing his victims to give evidence in court and be questioned about what had happened to them in front of a jury.

The offences occurred while Cox was working for a dance company run by his mother at an independent school near Farnham, neither of which can be named for legal reasons.

Cox was initially charged with 15 sexual offences against three girls. Three of these charges were later dropped, however, and he was found guilty of 12 counts.

These include nine counts of sexual activity with a child and three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. One of the victims was a student at his mother’s dance school while the other was a pupil at the independent school where Cox was employed as a graduate teacher trainee.

The father of one of Cox’s victims, who also can’t be named for legal reasons, told the Herald that Cox “abused his position” to take advantage of his child, accusing the school in question of being “very weak at safeguarding children”.

Speaking to the Herald, Cox’s mother said the case had “killed” her and her family’s lives, adding that she was forced to close down her successful dance school after more than 25 years in business.

She told the Herald she has lost friends as a result of her son’s crimes, some of whom she has known since she was five years old; has sold her house and intends to move away from the area, fearing the backlash against her family both in person and online.

Investigating officer Detective Constable David Jones said: “Thomas Cox is clearly a disturbed individual who used affection to gain the girls’ trust and then turned to emotional blackmail to try and ensure they didn’t tell anyone what was going on. He also displayed predatory behaviour by becoming upset and withdrawn when he did not get what he wanted.

“As soon as the victims in this case came forward, we took swift action to ensure that Cox didn’t present any further ongoing risks, including seizing his phone. Our priority was to safeguard the victims and to identify anyone else who may have been targeted."

Det Con Jones continued: “Mr Cox denied his guilt throughout the investigation which meant that the victims were made to stand in court and be questioned about what had happened to them in front of a jury and members of the public.

“Young girls in the community are now safer as a direct result of the strength and determination they showed in bringing Cox to justice.”

In addition to his seven-year sentence, Cox was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for an indefinite period and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120.

Det Con Jones saidd: “I want to pay tribute to all the young women whose bravery in coming forward and giving evidence has ensured that Cox is now in prison where he belongs.

“We want to put more offenders like him behind bars - but we need people to come forward. We will always listen and take your allegations seriously.

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A man has been convicted of indecently assaulting children as young as five years old.

Martin Coulson, 70, was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault at Portsmouth Crown Court last week (September 26) for a series of offences which spanned three decades.

Coulson, of Highbury Road, Weston-super-Mare, was found not guilty of one other count.

The offences took place at Gosport, Hampshire, on a number of occasions during the 1970s, 80s and 90s.

The ages of the victims ranged from five to 13 years old.

Coulson had denied all the charges.

He will now serve three years in prison and an extended licence period of one year.

Coulson strong links to the Bath area, previously acting as chairman of the Combe Down Heritage Society and taking part in several public campaigns.

He has since vacated the chairmanship, a spokesman for the society confirmed.

The spokesman said: “We’re looking for another chairman.

“Martin resigned on October 2, with no reason given.

“He was an extremely active and creative chairman.

“We’ll struggle to replace him with someone with the same sort of drive.”

Coulson participated in numerous activities as chairman including local lectures, historical projects and consultation schemes.

Coulson was also an OBE, having received the recognition in 1995 while serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army.

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A 23-year-old man who had a ‘step-by-step guide’ for paedophiles has been jailed for seven years.

Adam Rack, formerly of Heathfield Way, Mansfield, had a guide which gave information on how to engage in sexual relationships with children.

He pleaded guilty to 12 child sex offences when he first appeared at Nottingham Crown Court in May this year.

Rack was arrested after officers intercepted an attempted upload of indecent images and tracked the IP address to his house.

Rack’s laptops and phones were seized and an investigation was launched. Hundreds of indecent images and videos were recovered throughout the investigation and a 12-year-old boy was identified as a victim. Rack had abused him over two years when he was between the ages of eight and ten.

Detectives also recovered a 170-page ‘paedophile manual’ that described itself as a ‘step-by-step guide’ on how to engage in sexual relationships with children.

Rack will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life as well as being the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He was also given a life-long restraining order meaning he will never be allowed to contact the victim or the victim’s family. Police have praised Rack's victim for his bravery.

The 12-year-old victim has showed immense bravery in disclosing this to us, meaning that we were able to offer an overwhelming amount of evidence, leading to a guilty plea with no trial necessary. He is a credit to himself and his family and I hope the sentencing today can act as a positive step in his recovery.

- Detective Constable Andrew Taylor 

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A man from Shetland who possessed indecent pictures and videos of children has been placed under supervision for over two years and ordered to do unpaid work.

Alvar Foster, of Market Street, Lerwick, had admitted taking or permitting to be taken 88 images and 24 videos on a laptop between September 9 and 12, 2016.

Lerwick Sheriff Court previously heard that police uncovered the images while carrying out a drugs search of the 23-year-olds flat.

The computer contained pictures in all three categories of indecent images including some of category A, the most serious classification.

Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said the period of offending was relatively short, adding that a number of the videos and images had been deleted.

He added that the offences happened while Foster went down a path where he quickly realised he did not want to be.

He told the court that while he did not want to be flippant about the case, he said it was perhaps an instance where Foster needs to get out of his bedroom and go out and engage with the rest of the world more.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said that while the offence was abhorrent, sentencing guidelines showed that it was technically a small number of images many of which were of a low category.

The sheriff placed Foster under supervision for two years and six months, during which time he will have to adhere to notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act.

He was also given 200 hours of unpaid work, while his laptop was also forfeited.

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A couple said to be like 'Fred and Rose West' have been found guilty of raping and indecently assaulting three young children.

Peter Griffiths was accused of using his "suggestible" wife Avril, who has a very low IQ, as bait to groom the children with alcohol and cigarettes.

During their trial, Cardiff Crown Court was told the pair "repeatedly sexually abused three young girls" between the 1970s and 1990s.

Jurors heard Peter and Avril Griffiths both raped the three girls.

One of the victims described them as being like "Fred and Rose West", the notorious English serial killers.

She told the court: "I think if you ask most families in Barry, they'd hate them."

A jury at Cardiff Crown Court took less than four hours to return unanimous verdicts finding them guilty of rape, indecent assault and taking indecent photos of a child.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins QC said: "You can both expect a considerable sentence for the offences of which you have been found guilty.

"If I am satisfied either of you is a dangerous offender, an extended sentence or even a life sentence would be appropriate."

Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC told the court the couple took one of the girls "dogging" and would "have sex with her in the back of a van while others looked on".

The court also heard one of the girls was taken on a boat in the Bristol channel where she was raped by Peter Griffiths and that Avril Griffiths also allegedly sexually assaulted the girl on the boat.

The girl later told police she had been "ripped apart physically" after suffering injuries.

The pair denied all the charges.

When he gave evidence in his own defence during the trial Peter Griffiths denied rape and sexual assault but admitted sleeping with one of the girls.

He told the court there was a foursome involving himself, his wife, the complainant and another man.

Asked why the foursome took place, he replied: Tomfoolery. Messing about. One thing led to another.

He thought she was 17 or 18 and when asked if she could have been closer to 10 he responded: "No way."

David Etherington QC asked his client if he ever took the complainant "dogging" in a van and he said that "never" happened.

One complainant alleged she was sexually abused several times on a boat but Peter Griffiths told the court he had a good memory of everything that happened on the boat because that was how he earned his living.

He said his first boat was called Unity and he used to take customers on fishing trips, charging 8 per person.

The court heard he sometimes took police officers on fishing trips, which were arranged through the South Wales Police social club.

He said he provided tea and coffee, not alcohol, and could provide equipment like fishing rods if required.

Addressing the allegation there were "sex parties" on the boat, his barrister Mr Etherington said: Im going to ask you a blunt question. Did you ever provide anything other than fishing rods and drinks, such as girls?

The defendant replied: Never".

Avril Griffiths, 61, did not give evidence in her defence. But a psychological report was presented to Cardiff Crown Court by a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist.

It stated her IQ was "extremely low". In 1972, she was assessed when she was 15 years old and was found to be someone who failed to understand "what was really being said to her" and was "terribly suggestible".

The 1972 assessment "still stands", the court was told.

Peter Griffiths, 65, from Barry Road in Barry, denied eight counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault, and three counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.

He was found guilty on all counts except one charge of taking indecent photographs, which was dropped.

Avril Griffiths, 61, from the same address, denied five counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault, and three counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.

She was also found guilty on all counts except one charge of taking indecent photographs, which was dropped.

The jury took less than four hours to return unanimous verdicts.

They will be sentenced on October 18 and were remanded in custody.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins QC told the couple: You can both expect a considerable sentence for the offences of which you have been found guilty.

If I am satisfied either of you is a dangerous offender, an extended sentence or even a life sentence would be appropriate.

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Police say a convicted sex offender who went missing from Southampton has been found in Poole.

Police launched a hunt for 49-year-old Leonard Ayres, who has schizophrenia.

Officers urged the public not to approach him as they say he has no medication with him, which could "cause him to act in an unreasonable manner".

Police say Leonard has been convicted of sexual offences in the past.

He was last seen at his supervised living accommodation at 9.45pm on Sunday night.

He lives in Lordshill, Hampshire but also has links to Poole.

Leonard is managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements.

He was convicted of sex offences in 2001, and in 2006 was convicted of sexual activity with a child, and has served sentences for the offences.

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Police say that three of the victims were pupils at Windlesham House School in Washington when Michael James Green, 74, from Adrington Close, Hove, taught there as a cricket coach.

Green was convicted at Lewes Crown Court last week of 17 indecent assaults against boys then aged between 12 and 16. He had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Police say nine offences were committed against four of the boys, three of whom were separately assaulted at Greens then address in Hove during the early 1980s. He was convicted of four offences against each of two of those boys, three offences against another one, and one offence against the fourth boy.

Police say the other three boys were separately assaulted while pupils at Windlesham House School. Green was convicted of four offences against one of them, three of which were committed during school trips to the cinema in Brighton and one at the school, and two offences against each of the other two boys, one of which was committed at Greens then address, the other three being committed at the school.

The court also heard that Green had been sentenced to nine years imprisonment at Hove Crown Court in February 2014 for four counts of sexual offences against four young boys.

Those 2014 convictions had resulted from an investigation by Brighton detectives into information received in 2011 that a young boy had been sexually assaulted by Green in the early 1980s.

Three further victims came forward during that first investigation.

Detective Constable Dawn Robertson, who was involved with both investigations, said: Greens 2014 sentence received considerable publicity and as a result these seven further victims came forward to us over the ensuing months.

We have great admiration for their readiness to help see justice done, and for giving evidence at Greens trial where he denied the allegations throughout and continues to do so even after conviction, as he did in 2014.

She added: Reports of this type will always be taken seriously and investigated wherever possible. Anyone who wishes to report such offences can contact the police at any time online or by calling 101, and can arrange to talk in confidence to experienced investigators.

Police emphasise that offences relate to a period starting nearly a quarter of a century ago, and that there are no current safeguarding issues in relation the sports activities involved, or to the school who co-operated fully throughout the investigation.

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A CHILD abuser who carried out multiple attacks on his seven-year-old victim has been jailed after judges at the Court of Appeal overturned his sentence.

Antonio Lawrie, who worked as a sports coach in the city, had initially been handed a suspended sentence for his crimes against the youngster.

Following his trial at Southampton Crown Court, a top judge said the 22-year-old should not be sent to prison as he would be taken advantage of inside.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service launched an appeal, describing the original sentence of two years imprisonment, suspended for two years, as unduly lenient.

He was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation activity, and put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Now Lawrie faces three years behind bars following the hearing yesterday in London.

Lawrie, an ex-apprentice at Hedge End-based firm My Coaching, denied all seven counts of assault by sexual touching, none of which happened in his coaching role.

When My Coaching, which delivers further education programmes for teenagers, learned of the allegations, Lawrie was sacked.

My Coaching were later praised for Hampshire Police for their actions.

During his trial the young victim was forced to give evidence.

Lawrie was reported to the police when a witness saw him with his hand under the victims dress.

The court heard former Cantell School pupil Lawrie attacked the child at least 16 times during six-months of abuse.

After a jury returned a guilty verdict in April, Judge Gary Burrell QC told the court that due to his complex learning difficulties Lawrie would struggle in prison.

He added that it would be unjust to send Lawrie directly to custody because he would be taken advantage of physically and mentally.

At the sentencing hearing in June, Jon Swain, mitigating, said: Certain sections of society will say he must be punished and locked up with the key thrown away. But they are not aware or have the knowledge of what his needs are. They know nothing about his life but make up opinions of what he has done.

The solicitor general, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred his sentence to the court of appeal.

He said: Lawrie carried out a campaign of sexual assault against a young girl, and I hope that she will take some comfort from the increased sentence today. Lawrie continues to pose a threat to other children, and it is therefore important that he serves an immediate custodial sentence.

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Terry Roberts, 58, sent a naked photo to what he believed was a 14-year-old boy, before attempting to meet him at Southampton Sports Centre.

But Roberts was actually talking, through an online dating app, to members of the 'paedophile hunter' group TRAP.

And when he went to the meeting, he was confronted by TRAP 'hunter' Stephen Dure.

At Southampton Crown Court on Monday, Roberts was given a 21-month prison term after evidence was provided by Mr Dure.

The court heard how Roberts, on the dating app, began messaging Dure’s false account, and “within six messages”, Dure had informed Roberts, of Plaitford Walk, that he was under-age.

Within 36 hours, Roberts had sent Dure’s account a naked photo of himself, and asked to meet, adding “we can take it at your pace, maybe we will have a kiss”, prosecuting barrister Giles Bedloe told the court.

He added: “On February 17 at 10am, Mr Roberts sent a message asking if he was still happy to meet at 3pm that day. When Mr Dure arrived, he went into a nearby pub, and identified the defendant. He then sent a message to Mr Roberts informing him he was down by the tennis courts and was confronted by Mr Dure.”

Defending, Timothy Akers told the court that the probation service “hadn’t given up” on Mr Roberts, who has similar convictions from 25 years ago.

He said: “The offences themselves are, of course, attempts. He took an overdose this time of his blood pressure medicine after committing these offences. I would have concerns over his mental health.”

Sentencing Roberts for attempting to meet a child for sexual activity, judge Nicholas Rowland said: “You didn’t know that (it was not a 14-year-old boy) and you turned up at the meeting with the intention of sexual activity.”

Roberts was given a 21-month prison term.

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A Birmingham school has issued a statement after an assistant headteacher who tried to seduce a 13-year-old girl was jailed.

Andrew Shelton, who used to work at Harborne Primary School, was locked up for nearly three years.

He was caught with indecent images of children.

None of the offences related to children at the school.

Harborne Primary issued a statement on its website in a bid to reassure parents.

It said Shelton was suspended last July and sacked in January.

The statement said: "Some of you may have seen media coverage about a former assistant head teacher at this school who earlier this week was jailed in relation to child sex offences.

"I understand this might cause concern but I would like to reassure all parents and carers that police have confirmed that none of the offences relate to his former role at the school, and he was suspended from the school in July 2017 and then dismissed in January 2018.

"The safety and wellbeing of our children is our absolute priority and if any parents have concerns they can contact Mandy Hughes, Head Teacher."

The 52-year-old regularly encouraged the youngster and other children to send him explicit images.

Officers were alerted to his contact with the teenager over Skype across March and April last year.

They then searched his home in Woodman Close, Halesowen .

Shelton was found to have 93 indecent images across his computer and mobile phone; along with evidence that he had messaged other youngsters and searched for indecent images of children.

The 52-year-old admitted eight charges, including attempted sexual communication with a child, trying to incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and possessing indecent images of children.

He was jailed for two years and eight months at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday (18 September).

He no longer works as a teacher and none of the charges related to his role.

Det Sgt Rob Grace , from the forces Public Protection Unit, said: "Shelton was trying to coerce children over the internet and encourage them to send inappropriate images.

He was a role model for young people as a teacher but away from the classroom he preyed on them for his own gratification.

Safeguarding of children will always be a top priority for the force.

"Anyone who encourages child abuse by viewing or sharing paedophilic images or engages in explicit conversations involving children needs to prepare themselves for being caught and hauled before the courts."

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A TEACHER who incited people to abuse their own children for his sexual gratification has been jailed for 12 years.

Richard Clark pleaded guilty to 26 offences and asked for 54 others to be taken into consideration when he appeared at York Crown Court today (Tuesday, September 11).

Using fake digital accounts, he contacted people on Skype in the UK, the United States and Nepal and incited people to take sexual images or abuse their siblings, children or grandchildren and record it for his own gratification.

In one case he contacted a 15-year-old boy and encouraged him to carry out sexual acts on his cousins, aged one and two.

Clark, of Topcliffe Road, Sowerby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to charges including 10 offences of arranging or facilitating child sex offences and 12 counts of inciting or causing indecent images of children.

Clark, 29, also tricked boys at a school into taking indecent images or video of themselves, whilst using fake social media accounts in which he posed as a teenage girl.

The teacher also kept a record of his victims, categorising them based on their appearance, the size of their genitalia and comments about the ways that he had abused them.

The court heard on Monday a witness statement from a parent of one of the boys in which she said he had “robbed them of their youth” and left them unable to trust male teachers.

A witness statement from the headteacher of the school where pupils were targeted said the school had employed school nurses, psychologists and counsellors to deal with the impact of Clark’s actions on students and teachers, but he feared some students would never recover from their ordeal. Others were likely to miss out on opportunities to go to high-ranking universities because of the emotional and mental ordeal they experienced prior to their exams.

Clark also pleaded guilty to three charges of possession of indecent photographs of a child and one of possession of an extreme pornographic image.

This morning, Judge Andrew Stubbs QC told Clark: "These offences reveal you to be manipulating others to abuse children like some kind of malign puppet master.

"You incited offences of familial or incestuous abuse against children. These activities have been traced worldwide."

Judge Stubbs said his crimes revealed him to be a "persistent predator", whose victims felt trapped by fear of exposure. He added: "The victim statements which have been referred to in court show how you have robbed your victims of confidence, character and potential life chances."

He handed him a sentence of 12 years, to spend a further eight years on licence. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which he will remain on for the rest of his life.

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A pervert who made sex abuse of a young girl seem like a secret game has been jailed for three years and four months.

Jack Gillett, 27, was aged 16 or 17 when he molested the victim, Maidstone Crown Court heard. She kept it a secret for many years and only reported it to the police last year.

Gillett, of Northview, Swanley, admitted one offence of oral rape of a girl under the age of 13 and four of sexual activity with a child.

Prosecutor Timothy Forster said the offences happened on four separate occasions.

He made the touching sound like a game and told her to keep it a secret, he said. At her age, she didnt understand and went along with his suggestions.

Mr Forster said when the victim said she did not like a particular act, Gillett told her she did not have to do it. The final assault happened in a closet.

When the girl finally revealed what had happened, Gillett was confronted and admitted everything, said Mr Forster. He denied attempting to stop her reporting the abuse.

A victim impact statement by the girl revealed the severe psychological harm suffered, including suicide attempts, depression and the need for counselling.

"They are abhorrent offences - that goes without saying," - Orla Daly, defending

Orla Daly, defending, said Gillett had been diagnosed with autism.

They are abhorrent offences - that goes without saying, Miss Daly told the court. The offences were committed against a child, but they are committed by a child.

He has done his best to minimise the impact on the complainant. He faces sentence for something that happened a decade ago.

Miss Daly added: It would be a lenient course not to impose an immediate custodial sentence but it is an approach recommended by the probation service and justifiable given the gap since the offending occurred, his age at the time and his autism.

He is devastated and extremely upset about his behaviour.

Judge Julian Smith said Gilletts culpability was reduced because of his age at the time of the offences. Custody would present a great challenge to him.

I accept your remorse expressed is genuine, he said. I must also have regard to the impact of your behaviour on the victim, who has suffered greatly as a result of this.

The judge said he could not accede to the submission that the sentence could be suspended, but added it could be reduced by the maximum available to me.

Gilletts name will appear indefinitely on the sex offenders register and he will be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

NSPCC spokesman Hayley Pierre said: This survivor of child sexual abuse has suffered immeasurably at Gillets hands and it has clearly taken a great deal of courage to come forward and recount her ordeal.

Thanks to her, justice has been served. And its important to stress that victims of this awful crime will always be listened to, no matter how long ago the abuse was carried out.

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A MAN has lost his job and his wife after being caught with more than 30,000 indecent images of children.

Graham Kenrick, 65, had been searching for indecent images of children for 10 years or more although “he knew he was wrong”, Southampton Crown Court heard.

When police officers seized his hard drive and computer towers in June 2017 they found video and images depicting the abuse of children “as young as two months,” the court was told.

Kenrick, of Brookwood Avenue, Eastleigh, was found in possession of 879 Category A still images and 18 films; 692 Category B still images and one video and “somewhere near” 30,000 Category C still images and four videos.

He was also found in possession of 15 further films of women involved in sexual activities with dogs or horses and a film of girls as young as five-year-old being raped.

The court heard how Kenrick used to self-harm himself.

Richard Tutt, defence, said Kenrick “was getting sexual gratification for self-harming himself” and not “for the material itself”.

The court heard how Kenrick, who for the past 15 years worked for a charity where disabled people made furnitures, lost his job and his wife left him after 31 years of marriage.

In mitigation Mr Tutt said Kenrick did not look at all the materials and described him as “a man of previous good character” who is currently under medication, after being diagnosed with an obsessive compulsive disorder and depressive disorder.

“He felt some relief when he was arrested because he had to stop and since that time he has made effort to seek help,” Mr Tutt said.

And added: “He can’t change what he did and he is appalled by it, he has already suffered significant consequences. He has already lost a great deal.”

Mr Tutt said: “He was ashamed of what he had been doing and he would co-operate with the investigation. He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He was downloading this material knowing he was wrong to do so.”

Mr Tutt also said there’s a low risk Kenrick will commit further sexual offences.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Henry said: “The effect of what you have done is not simply looking at appalling images because behind these images there are real children.

“Children who have suffered physically and have suffered or will suffer considerable psychological damages. It’s because people are prepared to look at this type of material that children get abused. The only sentence that can be justified is an immediate custody sentence.”

Kenrick was given a total of 12 months.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Orders has also been made and will be valid for 10 years.

Kenrick had previously pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images, possessing a prohibited image and possessing an extreme pornographic image.