Latest Offenders

Description

'Dangerous' fugitive Air Training Corps sergeant jailed for abusing three girl cadets

James Reading went on the run two-and-a-half years ago when he was facing serious allegations of sexual assault on three different young members of his troop

A fugitive Air Training Corps sergeant is starting a ten year jail sentence for abusing girl cadets after being caught and brought to justice.

James Reading went on the run two-and-a-half years ago when he was facing serious allegations of sexual assault on three different young members of his troop.

He was found guilty and jailed in his absence for ten years in December 2012. Police alerted Interpol and launched an international manhunt but in the end Reading was arrested in Bicester, Oxfordshire on Tuesday of this week.

He was brought to Exeter Crown Court in custody to face a charge of absconding and his case was adjourned until next month to allow him to get legal representation.

Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, ordered he appear before Judge Erik Salomonsen, who passed the original sentence, and warned him he could receive up to 12 months extra in jail.

Reading was the sergeant in charge of the ATC at Okehampton, North Devon, where he organised parties and sleepovers.

He assaulted one young victim after telling her she may be promoted if she went on night exercises with him and another on the eve of a Remembrance Day parade.

He plied his victims with alcohol at the unofficial parties at the ATC hut where he hid his activities by putting bin bags over the windows as makeshift curtains.

The sergeant invited boys to the parties but sent them on errands or into different rooms while he was carrying out his attacks.

He offered one girl 50 to touch her chest and was caught red handed when one female cadet burst into the hut's kitchen to find him with a topless, terrified and hysterical 14-year-old.

Reading, aged 37, of Knighton Road, Plymouth, denied eight offences of sexual activity with a child or inciting a child to take part in sexual activity but was found guilty in his absence by a jury at Exeter in December 2012.

The offences related to a 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds.

At the end of his trial Judge Erik Salomonsen said:"The ATC fulfils and important role in the community and parents must know they can rely on them to look after their children.

"It goes without saying this applies to their moral as well as their physical welfare and the highest standards should have been adhered to in relation to alcohol and the separation of the sexes during overnight activities.

Description

Mohamed JUMALE 'Deeq', 24

Guilty of one count of rape (Complainant 2), guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child (Complainant 1), guilty of one count of sexual activity with Complainant 2, guilty of one count of aiding and abetting Omar Jumale in sexual activity with Complainant 1.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers – often for money – and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girl’s 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven – one of whom appeared in both trials – were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed “evil acts” that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: “The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardo’s in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the “tip of the iceberg” and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria – also known by his street name Target – was tasked with the job of finding girls to “party with”. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakaria’s friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year – the month after the Premier Inn attack – a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her “weed” and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in A’s flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make £300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt “part of something”.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. “They made me do stuff,” she said.

Description

Guilty of one count of sexual activity with Complainant 1.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers often for money and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girls 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven one of whom appeared in both trials were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed evil acts that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.

Childrens charity Barnardos continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardos in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the tip of the iceberg and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria also known by his street name Target was tasked with the job of finding girls to party with. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakarias friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year the month after the Premier Inn attack a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her weed and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in As flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make 300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt part of something.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. They made me do stuff, she said.

Description

Abdirashid ABDULAHI 'Abs', 21

Guilty of one count of rape (Complainant 4).

Said Zakaria appeared in both trials.

The jury reached not guilty verdicts for charges involving Complainant 3. Nine victims featured in the charges, with a further victim appearing as a witness.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers – often for money – and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girl’s 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven – one of whom appeared in both trials – were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed “evil acts” that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: “The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardo’s in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the “tip of the iceberg” and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria – also known by his street name Target – was tasked with the job of finding girls to “party with”. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakaria’s friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year – the month after the Premier Inn attack – a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her “weed” and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in A’s flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make £300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt “part of something”.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. “They made me do stuff,” she said.

Description

Idleh OSMAN 'Sniper', 22, of Bishopsworth, Bristol - Arafat Osman's 'chief organiser' in the drug business

Found guilty of facilitating child prostitution (Girl A), admitted supplying heroin and cocaine.

Jailed for a total of 10 years.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers often for money and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girls 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven one of whom appeared in both trials were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed evil acts that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.

Childrens charity Barnardos continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardos in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the tip of the iceberg and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria also known by his street name Target was tasked with the job of finding girls to party with. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakarias friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year the month after the Premier Inn attack a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her weed and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in As flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make 300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt part of something.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. They made me do stuff, she said.

Description

Abdulahi ADEN 'Trigger', 20, of no fixed abode

Convicted of rape (Girl B), admitted possession of indecent pictures of a child (Girl D), admitted supplying heroin and cocaine. 

Jailed for a total of 13 years.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers – often for money – and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girl’s 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven – one of whom appeared in both trials – were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed “evil acts” that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: “The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardo’s in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the “tip of the iceberg” and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria – also known by his street name Target – was tasked with the job of finding girls to “party with”. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakaria’s friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year – the month after the Premier Inn attack – a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her “weed” and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in A’s flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make £300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt “part of something”.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. “They made me do stuff,” she said.

Description

A shop worker has been jailed after finally admitting to owning more than 2000 indecent images of children as young as four on his computer.

Adam Clements, of Butts Road in Southwick, has been sentenced to a total of two years and five months imprisonment after pleading guilty to seven charges of distributing indecent images and videos of children and five offences of making indecent images of children.

The 26-year old also pleaded guilty at the same hearing at Lewes Crown Court on Monday to further offences of making and distributing indecent images of children committed while he was on police bail.

Clements will be subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for the rest of his life which will severely restrict his access to computers and will have to sign the sexual offences register on his release from jail.

Detective Sergeant Martin Harmer said: "Clements had denied his offending throughout, until Monday's hearing, and his eventual guilty pleas and conviction are testament to the extensive enquiries undertaken by our team.

He had over 2000 indecent images of children on his computer, and had distributed over 100 of them. The images depicted children aged as young as four and some were in the most serious category of images. "

Description

AN alcoholic who sexually abused a sleeping teenage boy has been jailed for 16 months.

Steven Bays first groped the youngster before performing a sex act on him.

The 51-year-old was told he must register as a sex offender for 10 years and would face restrictions over contact with children.

Tessa Hingston, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court how the 16-year-old was staying at Bays’s flat in May.

She said he awoke in the early hours to find the man, who was estranged from his wife of 17 years, had undone his trousers and was interfering with him.

The victim did not immediately react, a not uncommon reaction in such cases, said Ms Hingston.

Bays then carried out a sex act on him for a few seconds, before touching him again. The teenager left the room and the defendant pretended to sleep.

From the bathroom he heard Bays castigating himself, calling himself an ‘idiot’.

The youngster then left the flat, going first to the police point in west Swindon, which was unmanned, before walking a couple of miles home in the middle of the night.

A forensic examination found Bays’s DNA and saliva in the boy’s pants.

Bays initially denied any wrongdoing. “He said he was heterosexual and had no interest in males,” Ms Hingston told the court.

She said he also told officers he did not have a drink problem but was getting through “about a third of a bottle of whisky” a day.

The court heard that the boy suffered trauma which left him unable to study and he failed his GCSEs.

Bays, of Longstock Court, Eastleaze, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault.

Rob Ross, defending, said his client was filled with remorse and had since made attempts on his life.

“He is horrified by what he did, he accepts it took place,” Mr Ross told the court.

“Mr Bays accepts this must have had a dreadful affect on the young man.”

He said Bays was now going to narcotics anonymous, and had been off the drink for a month, having drunk to excess every day since he was 19 years old.

Jailing him, Judge Peter Blair QC said “You have heard read to the court the psychological damage you have caused to this young man by what you did. It was a short period of time when you were committing these three offences but it is going to have, as you have heard, long lasting and dramatic effects on the boy.”

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A former RAF intelligence officer has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after being convicted of 23 sexual offences on children.

Eddie Graham, 63, carried out the assaults on boys, many of whom were aged under 13, while serving at the RAF Gatow base in Berlin during the 1980s.

He was also a scout leader on the base and used RAF buildings and surrounding land to carry out his assaults.

He was convicted by a court martial earlier in the month.

'Disgusting predator'

The allegations first came to light in 2003 when one of the former scouts made a complaint to police. The man then approached a different police force with the same complaint in 2012.

The matter was passed to the RAF Police because all of the offences were committed by a serving member of the RAF on an RAF base abroad.

That is why Graham, who has retired from the RAF, was tried in a military court, not a civilian one.

Graham was a senior member of the Scouts and met Prince Charles in 1985. All his victims were boys aged between five and 14 years old, and they were all children of serving military personnel.

He was arrested in January 2013 and admitted assaulting nine of the boys but denied assaulting four others.

Victims' statements

Statements from 13 of the victims were read out in court, in which they told of the effects of Graham's abuse, here is a selection of what was said:

- "I am not able to keep a serious relationship. I constantly felt scared of him, and vulnerable. For years I have had bad dreams, flashbacks."

- "My whole life has been affected, I became a rebellious child, I was in trouble with police. I'm 42; I'm breaking down at night and thinking of all the things I've done wrong because of this."

- "As a child I questioned my sexuality; as a result I tried to prove myself and had as many relationships as possible, to prove I was not gay. I saw professionals and was given many medications, and diagnosed as bipolar. What he did to me will never leave me. I wish to see him punished for what he did to me and others."

- "I struggle daily with the pain of the abuse, the abuse has taken from me the ability to be confident and I cannot bring myself to have my own children as I feel I can not keep them safe. I am not able to keep a serious relationship. I am reminded every day of this disgusting predator."

A number of the scouts, who are now middle-aged men, gave evidence during Graham's court martial at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire.

The assaults would often happen during scouting weekends at the base. Some took place at a large, barrack-like building in an area called Wilson's Retreat, others in tents next to the building.

Graham claimed that, with the passage of time, the victims who gave evidence in court had either mistaken him for someone else, or had made up their stories.

The case has prompted calls for the military to be included in the inquiry into abuse, which has been set up by Home Secretary Theresa May.

Before the judge passed sentence victim impact statements were read out in court. One victim described Graham as a "disgusting predator".

BBC correspondent Duncan Kennedy said Graham's was the biggest historical child sex abuse case to come out of the UK's armed forces.

Graham will remain on the sex offenders' register for life.

After the sentencing the RAF released a statement urging anyone who had been the victim of a sexual offence, or had information about sex crimes, to come forward and contact the RAF Police in confidence by phoning 0239 2285 170.

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A sexual predator who subjected two young girls to a catalogue of sickening abuse was jailed for a total of 17 years.

Bryan Douglas, 31, was arrested when his victims, one of whom was less than ten years old at the time of the offences, reported his horrendous crimes to police.

But Douglas, from Rock Ferry, Wirral, tried to brazen it out and denied multiple charges of rape and sexual assault, forcing his victims to go through the stress of a trial.

The two child victims, one of whom is now an adult, gave evidence at Douglas’ trial last month where, although he admitted having sex with a teenage girl, he denied raping both of them and denied a further count of sexual assault.

On Monday he was jailed for 17 years by a judge who said he was a danger to children.

As well as the lengthy sentence he received an additional five year extended license meaning for the next 22 years, once he gets out of prison, he will be able to be locked up if he breaches any conditions of his release.

He will not be able to apply for parole for at least 12 years and is also subject to a sexual offences prevention order preventing him from associating with children.

He is also on the sex offenders register for life.

The case was investigated by specialist detectives from the Child Protection Unit within Wirral’s Family Crime Investigation Unit, one of whom told the ECHO: “Douglas subjected the victims to unimaginable sexual abuse when he was an adult and when they were children and at their most vulnerable.

“He maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, denying the allegations and again throughout the week-long trial, denying what he had done to the victims.

“The bravery of the victims has been outstanding and their evidence was absolutely crucial to the case. They found the courage to report what had happened to Merseyside Police and they were supported by us, and the Rape Specialist Unit within the CPS, during an extremely challenging time.

“Douglas has a very long time in prison to think about what he has done. We hope this case sends out a strong message to anyone who is, or has suffered sexual abuse, whether it is recent or historic, that we will take this type of crime extremely seriously.

“We hope this will encourage more people to find the courage needed to come forward. Merseyside Police is here for you and will support you through the process and take action against the perpetrators.

“Officers would also like to warn people who think they can get away it, that they can’t and won’t. If people speak out then we will do everything in our power to put the offenders before the courts.”

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A teenage sexual predator has been ordered to be detained indefinitely after carrying out a serious sex assault on a lone jogger at night in Worksop.

The 17-year-old, who can now be named as Jonjo Elswaino, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to a serious sexual assault charge and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

On Wednesday 23rd October, Nottingham Crown Court heard how a woman at a house where Elswaino was staying described him as a sexual predator.

There was stunned silence in the courtroom as it was also said that Elswaino would have killed his victim if he had not been disturbed.

The 52-year-old female, who cannot be named, suffered a broken jaw, which meant she had to have metal plates fitted, a fracture to her right eye socket, a broken nose and excessive bruising to her neck where Elswaino had strangled her and she also lost some teeth.

After the attack, which occurred at around 8.30pm in Eddison Park Avenue on 1st April 2014, she flagged down a passing car and said: Im alive, Im alive, thank god Im alive.

Elswaino, whose mother was in court, sat in the dock with his head bowed for most of the proceedings, wearing a white shirt and black trousers.

Prosecuting, Dawn Pritchard, said: The victim was out jogging that evening, she said that she did feel very well and went out to get some fresh air.

She was wearing her jogging clothes, including jogging bottoms and trainers and she was out just doing her usual circuits.

She heard fast footsteps behind her but didnt look behind her because she just thought it was another jogger.

Two hands came from behind and locked around her and she said she knew something was wrong.

She tried to scream for help but he punched her and dragged her down a grass verge into some trees by her ankles.

She tried to look who it was. He kept punching and kicking her. He started to strangle her and she drifted in and out of consciousness.

When she came back around, she thought it was a nightmare and he said if you start shouting I will kill you and continued to beat her up.

When she regained consciousness again, she said she thought her trouser bottoms had been pulled up and he was gone.

She then managed to scramble back up the grass bank and flag down a motorist who said she was shaking, had suffered serious facial injuries and could hardly speak.

The court heard that the woman used a key to scratch his face during the attack and she spent a number of weeks in three different hospitals.

The attack was so brutal that Elswainos laces and eyelets from his trainers were imprinted on her face.

Judge Michael Pert QC said the blows to the face were like a footballers kick.

The judge was also shown photos of the victim before and after the attack in which he said it was hard to believe it was the same person.

In mitigation, Michael Auty QC, told the court that Elswaino had had a troubled upbringing and had the reading age of a 10-year-old.

He also added it was important to take into account two factors when sentencing Elswaino - his guilty plea and his age.

He is 17. But he is functioning at a level below that, Mr Auty said. It takes a real degree of courage to plead guilty at the first arraignment.

There is nothing like this in his past where he has gone out and vented his frustrations.

He does not have a mental illness but almost certainly has a personality disorder.

On sentencing Elswaino, judge Pert said it was a truly horrific crime and said that it was premeditated and that he believed his version of events to be lies.

Elswaino was given an indeterminate sentence meaning he will only be released when he is considered not to be a threat to the general public. He will not be eligible to be considered for parole until at least 2018. He will also be on the sex offenders register for life.

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A man, who groomed and sexually assaulted two young girls, has been jailed for 12 years, and given a four year extended licence for the protection of the public.

Benjamin Fish, 38, formerly from North Norfolk, was also placed on the sex offender's register for life and banned from ever working with children.

Fish, of no fixed address, admitted rape and sex assaults on one victim, which began when she was seven years old. He also admitted sex assaults on a second girl.

Andrew Shaw, prosecuting at Norwich Crown Court, said Fish told one of the victims he would kill her if she told anyone about the sex assaults. He said Fish groomed the victim by buying her a number of expensive items.

Mr Shaw said it was only when she was older that she found the courage to come forward and make a complaint about Fish.

In an impact statement, one of the victim's said she still has nightmares about what happened.

Judge Stephen Holt imposed a 16 year extended sentence on Fish jailing him for 12 years and ordering that he be on extended licence for four years on his release for the protection of the public.

He said that Fish had committed a number of serious sex assaults on the two girls and said: 'You groomed them by buying expensive presents such as bags and phones.'

Judge Holt said that one of the victim's, who suffered the most serious assaults, had turned the corner after she came forward to make a complaint: 'Once she had the courage to tell people about what had happened that seemed to help her turn the corner.'

Judge Holt gave Fish credit for his guilty pleas for sparing the victims coming to court.

Michael Clare, for Fish, said he never used any violence and deserved credit for his pleas.

'He has an insight into what he has done and the harm he has caused and is showing genuine remorse.'

He said Fish was showing a willingness to address his problems.

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A TAXI driver who raped a 14-year-old girl and sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman has been found guilty of biting another inmates ear in prison.

Terence Collins, 62, was sentenced to 16 years in prison last July after being found guilty of two charges of rape and one of sexual assault at Bournemouth Crown Court.

He has now appeared at Dorchester Crown Court to face charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm over an incident in HMP Dorchester in August last year.

Victim Stephen Jelly was bitten on the ear during an altercation at the county town jail and claimed he felt like he was being eaten alive.

The attack left part of Mr Jellys ear cartilage exposed and it later required sewing up.

Collins was found not guilty of the charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but was convicted by the jury of a lesser alternative charge of unlawful wounding.

However, Recorder Peter Fraser ordered that his sentence be served concurrently to the lengthy sentence he is already serving so Collins will not be spending any additional time in prison as a result of the attack.

Collins, who is currently serving his sentence at HMP Isle of Wight, told jurors in the trial that the alleged victim Mr Jelly was the aggressor in the confrontation.

He said that Mr Jelly had butted him and gone to punch him and when they were grappling together he had gone to butt him again.

Collins said: I pre-empted it coming and I just bit his ear.

I just thought I have got to stop the situation.

When Collins was shown pictures revealing the extent of Mr Jellys injuries in police interview, he said: I didnt bite him to sort of lick his ear.

I wasnt making love to him.

The defendant added: I did what I felt I had to do at the time to protect myself.

The court also heard from another inmate who witnessed the incident and described the defendant as a bully.

Recorder Fraser said he accepted Collins had been subject to provocation but said it was clear his response had been excessive and he could not be said to be acting in lawful self defence.

He said: It was without doubt excessive violence that you used but I accept you were resisting an attack and I accept it was not pre-meditated.

Despite ordering that the sentence be served concurrently, Recorder Fraser warned the defendant: As a prisoner you must not believe that because you are serving such a long period already it gives you impunity to act as you want.

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David Cruickshank admitted one of the rapes.

An Aberdeen man who carried out three rapes and an indecent assault has been jailed for eight years and nine months.

David Cruickshank, 30, admitted one rape and was convicted of the other two.

He also admitted touching an 18-year-old sexually while she was having an epileptic fit.

Cruickshank was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh, where Lord Uist said the seriousness of the crimes was "self-evident".

The crimes involved four different young victims.

The judge said: "You had an unsettled upbringing and suffered from an autistic spectrum disorder, but that did not effect your criminal responsibility for your actions, although it does explain your apparent lack of remorse for what you did."

Unemployed Cruickshank, formerly of Balnagask Wynd, Torry, raped his first victim, a 12-year-old, between 1999 and 2000.

Cruickshank was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely

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A paedophile who filmed himself sexually abusing a one-year-old girl was caught when he left a disc of his child porn at his former home.

Martin Hunt, 24, has been jailed for 12 years after admitting a string of offences including sexually assaulting a child and distributing child porn.

He was caught out when he moved house and the new owners found a disc of his vile crimes hidden under a kitchen unit, a court heard.

They tipped off police who discovered Hunt, of Frinton, Essex, had emailed his disgusting images and videos to another known paedophile.

Hunt pleaded guilty to 19 offences at Chelmsford Crown Court including sexual activity with a child and making indecent images of children.

The offences dated from January 2012 to February 2014, but were said to have occurred over three or four months from December 2012.

Judge Patricia Lynch QC passed an extended sentence for public protection.

She told Hunt he would have to serve two-thirds of the 12 years in custody before he would then be eligible for parole.

He will then be on licence - subject to recall to prison - and under supervision for eight years after he is released.

The judge told him : "From now on every time you look at your reflection in the mirror, every day you will know that you behaved in the most base, despicable and self-serving manner."

She added that Hunt had shown minimal remorse.