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A convicted murderer and sex predator who was found with nearly 1,600 indecent images and videos of children has been returned to jail.

Michael McGrane, from Southport, was released and deported back to the UK in 2013 from Australia for sexual assault and murder. A court heard how the 60-year-old downloaded the vile content over a one-year period.

Prosecutor Kenneth Grant said the defendant had been linked to the offences after an investigation by the police's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team. They traced an IP address suspected of sharing indecent images of children, to his home address on Victoria Street.

Officers went to McGrane’s home where 15 desktop computers, two mobile phones, a laptop, and 250 hard drive disks were seized. Police found 1,585 category C images of children, including 208 prohibited images of children on the devices, the ECHO reports.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how 600 of those were videos, and one was one hour long. In his first interview on the day his electronics were seized, McGrane said to the best of his knowledge, there would be no indecent photos on the hard drives.

During his second interview on August 27, after all the electronics had been thoroughly examined by authorities, he claimed the devices were second hand.

Judge Brian Cummings KC said: “You, as a possessor of this material, form part of the market without which that material either wouldn’t exist in the first place or certainly would not exist on the industrial scale that we deal with in this court. It would not happen if it wasn’t for people like you, the consumer.”

Simon Christie, defending, told the court that McGrane has not committed any crimes since his arrest. Judge Cummings detailed that in December 2001 while living in Australia, McGrane was convicted of murder, and was given a life sentence.

In July 2003, he was also convicted of 13 offences, six of which involved the use of chloroform or some other stupefying drug to commit an indictable offence, and seven offences of indecent assault against adult females. Following his release in 2013, he was deported back to the UK, where a sexual offences notification order was imposed upon him.

This meant he had to check in quarterly with authorities and inform police of any change of address, places he regularly stays, or plans to travel abroad. On November 21, McGrane pleaded guilty to one count of making (downloading) indecent 1585 category C photographs of children, between June 10 2019 and 12 June 2020, and to possession of 208 prohibited images of children on June 11 2020.

He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment for both counts, and a sexual harm prevention order was also implemented for ten years, alongside the requirement that he be on the sex offenders list. Items related to the offence were also ordered to be destroyed, and a deprivation order prohibiting him from using any device capable of accessing the internet unless he informs the police was also implemented.

Record details

A convicted sex offender staged an £8,000 burglary in a bedsit while the victim was in hospital. Jordan Chalmers, of no fixed address, raided the home in Tyseley in September.

The 26-year-old, who was wanted for recall to prison, pocketed cash and "high-value items" after discovering it was empty. Forensic officers were called after the victim returned from hospital to discover someone had gained entry to his room.

Despite there being no witnesses, forensic officers lifted a fingerprint from a toolbox.

The print was matched to Chalmers, who also took a number of knives from the room. He was detained on October 20 after failing to stop for traffic officers.

Chalmers initially denied the charge. But he pleaded guilty following further evidence in court and was jailed for 20 months.

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "A man has been jailed for stealing around £8,000-worth of items from a property in Tyseley. Jordan Chalmers committed the burglary in September this year and was jailed for 20 months at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday December 16 2022."

Record details

A man from Plumstead has been jailed after he piled a teenager with alcohol and then subjected her to a prolonged sexual assault onboard a train to Rochester.

Police described the incident as a a truly sickening attack against a lone teenage girl by a disgusting predator who sought to violate her for his own sexual gain.

At 7.45pm on March 26, a 15-year-old girl was sat waiting for a train at Dover Priory station when she was approached by Maxim Rowan-Moy, 32, and of Eglinton Hill in Plumstead.

He asked where she was travelling to before they boarded a train and sat next to one another.

On the train, Rowan-Moy offered her a bottle of vodka to drink before moving closer to her and sexually assaulting her.

The victim got up out of her seat and attempted to move away from him, but he pursued her down the carriage and sat next to her again.

He then continued to sexually assault her, violently attempting to pull her closer to him and persistently touching her inappropriately.

A while later, a group of passengers boarded the train and were concerned for her welfare.

Rowan-Moy then got up from where he was sat to look for his belongings.

A train guard entered the carriage and stayed with the girl to Rochester station, where staff alerted police.

When police arrested Rowan-Moy at the station, he pretended that he knew the victim.

Maxim Rowan-Moy appeared at Inner London Crown Court on November 28 where he pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault, one count of assault, and a public order offence for threatening behaviour.

On December 13 he was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and handed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order as well as being ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Detective Constable Terry Botten, investigating officer in the case, said: "This was a truly sickening attack against a lone teenage girl by a disgusting predator who sought to violate her for his own sexual gain.

"She has shown immense bravery in supporting this investigation and Im pleased to see this vile and evidently very dangerous offender behind bars as a result.

"I want to assure women and girls that we are absolutely dedicated to tackling sexual offenders on the railway network and bringing them to justice.

"If you experience or witness a sexual offence on the network, I urge you to report it to 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40. In an emergency, always dial 999."

Record details

The victims of a former councillor and teacher who sexually abused them as children worried they wouldn't be believed because of his influence. A judge told Anthony Hampton the character he portrayed throughout his life was "a façade."

The 75-year-old ex Vale of Glamorgan councillor was convicted of indecently assaulting two boys in the 1990s, following a trial at Newport Crown Court. He repeatedly rubbed his penis on one of the boy's shoulders before masturbating in his presence, forcing the boy to masturbate him and masturbating the victim.

The second victim was repeatedly touched on the leg near his groin by Hampton. The victims reported the abuse to the police when adults and the former teacher was convicted of 12 counts of indecent assault. The defendant, of Watkiss Way, Cardiff Bay, continues to claim his innocence despite the guilty verdicts.

At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, victim personal statements were read out by prosecutor Roger Griffiths on behalf of the victims. The first victim said: "As a child growing up I believe his abuse made me a quiet kid, I was withdrawn. The impact of what I experienced made me question my sexuality due to the nature of the abuse he put me through...

"I struggled with the impact of that and struggled to understand why it was me it was happening to, why I was so different and why he abused me. When I came forward and the matter was reported to the police I was extremely fearful I would not be believed and bringing the matter to the attention of the police was upsetting.

"At the time of the abuse he was a serving teacher and serving as a councillor in the Barry area. I feared because of his position and being an influential person in the Vale of Glamorgan, I worried I wouldn't be believed.... It was the worst experience of my life and I was embarrassed and ashamed about what happened to me."

The second victim said he feared emotional attachment, had low self esteem, depression, body dysmorphia, a distrust of others and suffered from bed wetting as a result of the abuse. He said as a result of the body dysmorphia, he used hormones which damaged his heart and left his body disfigured.

The victim said he tried to take his own life with a drugs overdose and had been abusing drugs and alcohol but had been clean for 18 months. He said: "My mental suffered and I thought I wouldn't be believed...

"I've questioned why he did what he did to me and what right he had to do it. He didn't have any right, I was a child and he was an adult. Hampton said the accusations against him were abhorrent but what he did was abhorrent. I'm pleased the jury have seen him for what he is even though he doesn't have the guts to admit what he has done."

In mitigation, Christopher Rees said his client's reputation was ruined and he had lost his good character. he said the defendant was in ill health and his wife was reliant on him for care.

Sentencing, Judge Richard Williams said: "The character you portrayed to the outside world has been a facade. There is no remorse on your part."

Hampton was sentenced to a total of seven years imprisonment. He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.

Record details

A Summertown pensioner amassed a library of child sex abuse material over a decade – and shared one image with a ‘like-minded’ pervert online.

But the pervert to whom Nicholas Moth sent the category A indecent image was, in fact, an undercover police officer trawling the net for would-be sex offenders.

And last week, the 69-year-old broke down in tears in the dock as he was sent to prison for two years and eight months.

Sending him down, Judge Michael Gledhill KC told Moth: “It is a tragedy that a man of 69, of previous good character, with a good reputation and an impeccable work record should find himself in the dock of this crown court today.

“It is inconceivable to any right-minded person how somebody of your background and intelligence could have this perverted sexual view of children.”

He added: “[Your counsel] eloquently tells me you were living in a fantasy world.

“I don’t accept that you were at all. This is what you wanted to do.

“From August 2010 until May 2021, so over 10 years, you were accumulating a library of child sex images; each of the children depicted being abused sexually by others.

“You knew perfectly well that by being a customer of such photographs you were directly involved in those children being abused and others going to be abused.”

Julian Lynch, prosecuting, told Oxford Crown Court that Moth was arrested after his ‘fantasy’ conversations with others online came to light.

Following his arrest in 2021 Moth’s devices had been analysed. In total, he had almost 900 indecent images and films, including 192 in the worst category.

Moth, of Victoria Road, Oxford, pleaded guilty to making – or possession – of indecent images and extreme pornographic material and distribution of a category A image.

Mitigating, Lucy Tapper said her client had become more and more isolated, entering an ‘emotional spiral’ and had ‘barely left the house in seven years’.

Asking for the judge to suspend any custodial sentence, she said Moth married and his wife was dependent upon him.

The defendant was remorseful and ‘deeply ashamed’, she added. “He knows that what he’s done is fully deserving of punishment and he is at risk of going to prison.”

Since his arrest he had ‘totally ceased’ his former activities, sought support and limited his internet use.

Judge Gledhill said a prison sentence was ‘inevitable’. Although acknowledging the impact on Moth’s wife, he told the defendant: “Every day of your sentence, I hope when you ponder on what you have done you realise the one who say you love is the one who will pay the most penalty.”

Moth must abide by a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will be a registered sex offender for life.

Record details

A paedophile who sexually assaulted three people has been jailed for 14 years, more than 20 years after the offences were committed.

Steven Smith, 48, of Grantham, was found guilty of sexual assault offences on two women and a boy in the 1990s in both Arlesey, Bedfordshire and another part of the country. Smith received a 14-year custodial sentence at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday, December 13 and will be on the sex offender’s register for life.

Bedfordshire Police are encouraging victims of sexual assault to come forward, no matter when the incidents took place.

Detective Constable Hayley Carroll from Bedfordshire Police’s Internet Child Investigation Team said: "We are all incredibly pleased with this outcome. It serves as an empowering reminder to all members of our community – victims and non-victims – that it is never too late to report a crime.

"Our hope is that this result serves as encouragement to everyone, emphasising how powerful the process of reporting can be - for both recent and non-recent offences.

"Sexual assault is an abhorrent crime, and child victims are very often affected into their future, and it can impact their development and growth both mentally and physically.

"All three of the victims are extremely pleased and relieved that they can now move forward with some closure regarding this chapter of their lives."

Record details

A paedophile who was found in possession of vile child abuse images was also sending sexual messages to what he believed was a 10-year-old girl.

Razvan Valeriu Nastase began messaging what he believed was a child on social media and said he "wasn't bothered" when he was told by the girl she was very young. But what the 34-year-old pervert didn't know, was that he was actually speaking to an "undercover operative" who was pretending to be a child.

When police went to Nastase's home to arrest him, his electronic devices were seized and examined and over 880 images and videos of child sexual abuse were discovered. This week, he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court to be sentenced for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and three counts of making indecent images. He had pleaded guilty to the charges, which dated back to October and July 2020.

The court heard that an "undercover operative" called Ken, created a fake account on social media pretending to be a 10-year-old girl and that Nastase, using the name of 'Andre', soon sent the decoy a message. Rachael Glover, prosecuting, said: "The defendant's message read: 'Nice to meet you, you're very cute, I like you.' When the [decoy] said they were 10-years-old, the defendant said he was not bothered. The defendant continued the conversation and sent sexual messages to what he believed was a 10-year-old child."

During the chats, Nastase, of Simonside Terrace, Heaton, claimed to be 16-years-old, and sent three images of himself, two of which he was topless in. In another message he told the decoy they were "so beautiful, I can't get enough of you". He also said it would be "our little secret" as he continued to ask for pictures in return. The court was told that Nastase asked to see the decoy in a onesie and told her not to be shy.

Ms Glover said that when police identified Nastase, they went to his home and arrested him. His room was then searched and devices were seized and examined by experts. The court heard that 159 category A images, 130 of which were videos and depicted children as young as four, were found, alongside 162 category B images and 568 category C images. In interview Nastase, who had no previous convictions, gave no comment.

Sophie Allinson, defending, said: "He is a man who has no previous convictions but has lost his good character in the most shameful and appalling way. He was feeling down and lonely. The offences were committed in 2020 and no further offences of any nature have been committed since. He has and can live a law abiding lifestyle."

Sentencing Nastase, Judge Amanda Rippon said: "You engaged in chat with what you thought was a 10-year-old girl. If it had been a little girl and not a person masquerading as one, the potential offending is difficult to contemplate given your interest in sexual activity with children as young as four. It is depraved and disgusting."

Nastase was given a two year prison sentence, suspended for two years and must undertake 35 rehabilitation days and 150 hours unpaid work. A 10 year sexual harm prevention order was imposed and he will be on the sex offender's register for 10 years.

Record details

Clifford Taylor, 40, of Penarth, also has a previous conviction for blackmailing a man he had sex with by threatening to send compromising images to his wife

A former yacht club manager sent a video of himself masturbating to a nine-year-old boy. He also asked the young boy for naked photographs.

Clifford Taylor, 40, was convicted of two counts of sexually communicating with a child, following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. He denied the offences and continues to maintain his innocence despite the verdicts.

A sentencing hearing on Monday heard the former RNLI volunteer and former general manager at Penarth Yacht Club had a previous conviction for blackmail, after he extorted €12,000 from a man he had sex with by threatening to send intimate photos and videos to his wife.

Sentencing, Recorder Greg Bull KC said: "I am wholly satisfied you knew full well from the moment you began communicating with him he was a child. The photographs that were exchanged to you from him made it perfectly plain, the body of a nine-year-old boy would have wholly different to an adult man.

"You still lied to the jury and yourself about the appreciation of what you've done. You have no empathy with the child.... You show signs of being a sexual predator. You used sex to entrap another man, an adult in a compromising situation you then used to blackmail him."

The court also heard Taylor told the boy not to tell his mother about their conversations in March 2020. The victim now requires counselling as a result of the offences.

In mitigation, the court was told the defendant, of Esplanade, Penarth, is originally from Ireland and was isolated during the Covid pandemic. He acknowledged his alcohol intake during this period was excessive.

Taylor was sentenced to a total of 30 months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.

Record details

An extended sentence has been imposed on a man who carried out sexually-motivated offences in Folkestone and Hythe.

Connor Baker followed an 18-year-old woman along a path near the Royal Military Canal, Hythe on Sunday 11 July 2021, before putting his hands around her waist.

The victim managed to get free of his grip and ran to Rampart Road, where she was seen by a group of her friends as they drove past.

They then drove to join another group of friends at Hythe Green. Baker was seen by the group, who asked him to explain his actions.

He became aggressive and swung an asp-type weapon at the group before leaving the area. Police arrived and Baker was later identified as a suspect.

Further offences

Further to that incident, Baker knocked on the front door of a woman who was not known to him in Folkestone on Friday 12 November 2021.

He managed to get into the property and grabbed the woman, trying to kiss her. She got him out of her home but he climbed upon a conservatory and looked in an upstairs window, damaging the victim's property in the process.

The incident was reported to police and Baker was arrested at the scene, after jumping into a nearby garden. He was later charged with a number of offences.

Court

Following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court, Baker was found guilty of assault with intent to commit a sexual offence and possession of an offensive weapon in relation to the first incident; and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, and damaging property in relation to the second incident.

On Friday 9 December 2022, the 24-year-old, formerly of Appledore Crescent, Folkestone, was given a nine-year sentence and ordered to serve an extra four years on licence.

Record details

Michael Dent and Jack Dent-Bradley left their victim "living a life of hell" and suffering depression as the pair were sentenced for their crimes at Durham Crown Court

A father and son have been jailed for carrying out horrendous sexual abuse of a vulnerable child.

Michael Dent, 37, and Jack Dent-Bradley, 19, have both been put behind bars following their trial at Durham Crown Court.

The relatives separately sexually abused the child and their crimes left the victim battling PTSD and depression in later life.

Sentencing the pair, Judge James Adkin handed Michael Dent an extended prison sentence of 14 years, 13 of which will be custodial.

An indefinite restraining order and indefinite sexual harm prevention order were also imposed and he will be on the sex offender's register indefinitely.

Sentencing Dent-Bradley, who carried out his offences when he was a child himself, Judge Adkin said his offences were "extremely cruel, persistent and damaging", and jailed him for 66 months.

He was also made subject of an indefinite restraining order and indefinite sexual harm prevention order. He will be on the sex offender's register indefinitely.

Dent-Bradley carried out his offences when he was between the ages of 10 and 14-years-old, the court heard.

The court was told the father and son, both of Witton Gilbert, County Durham, carried out sexual offences against the same child, but separately.

Liam O'Brien, prosecuting, said: "Each defendant took advantage by abusing [the child] sexually, albeit separately from one another."

An impact statement was read out to the court by the now-adult victim, and explained how they had "suffered for so long" and will "never forgive you both".

The victim added: "You took advantage of me and made my life hell."

Tony Davis, defending Dent-Bradley, said he suffers from ADHD and was a child himself when he carried out the offences, saying he suffered "significant neglect" as a child himself and had a "lack of care in early development".

He added: "He is still an immature 19-year-old, which must be the result of early abuse he suffered...he has had an exceptional amount of trauma in his own existence."

Lewis Kerr, defending Michael Dent, said he has mental health issues, ADHD and a low IQ. He added: "He doesn't have anything in way of mitigation in the credible sense.

Record details

A top chef shook his head and smirked as he was finally brought to justice for sexually abusing young girls.

Peter Wright, who has worked in some of the city's most highly-regarded restaurants and been hired to cater for private clients abroad, "poisoned" his two victims - leaving them "devastated". Despite this, he has shown an "utter disregard" for his vile crimes and "does not seem to care" for the impact on their lives.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court previously heard that the now 31-year-old, of Old Swan, repeatedly targeted them when they were aged as young as 12 during the noughties. Wright, who was also a juvenile at the time, also tried to rape one of the girls on one occasion.

Natalie Cornwall, prosecuting, on Friday read out statements to the court on behalf of the complainants describing the extent of the effect his actions had upon them. One said she had suffered nightmares and wet the bed as, adding: "I don't feel like I have a normal childhood.

"There is a huge void that can never be filled. It's hard to accept my life is never going to be normal because of what he did to me."

The other victim outlined she had self-harmed and attempted suicide due to Wright's abuse, saying: "I felt like I was overwhelmed with pressure and pain. I withdrew more and more and distanced myself from everybody.

"It feels like the poison he has caused is never ending. He has an utter disregard for the devastation he had caused - he does not seem to care."

Wright appeared to be shaking his head and smiling as the statements were aired and said "I don't think so" at one stage, which saw the dad reprimanded by the judge. Andrew Jebb stated in defence of his 6ft7 client: "He himself was a child at the time of the offences.

"He is a very talented chef. He has worked here in Liverpool for some very esteemed establishments.

"He has travelled on a private client basis to Ireland to provide private dining. There are very positive aspects to this defendant.

"Obviously what he did as a teenager was appalling behaviour and he is about to be punished for it. He is now a positive, hard-working member of society."

Wright was convicted of attempted rape and eight counts of sexual assault by a jury. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "I have to bear in mind you were a child at the time and I take into account your immaturity at the time. In recent times there are positive aspects to your character.

"You have got a good work record and looked after your brother when he was ill. While you deny the offences, they were committed at a time when you were an adolescent, which is a period of rapid change.

"You fail to take responsibility for your actions and there is no remorse. You have been shaking your head during the sentencing process."

Wright was also told to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely. Judge Murray imposed a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victims for life.

Record details

A bus driver repeatedly raped and sexually as well as physically abused five teenage girls - and left them feeling suicidal. The majority of the girls were underage when he preyed on them, a court heard.

Lee Williams, 32, of Cardiff, groomed his victims by buying them jewellery, cuddly toys and food while lying about his age. Once in a relationship with the victims, he raped them and subjected them to further degrading sexual acts which left them injured and crying.

Addressing a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Roger Griffiths said: “We say the defendant sexually abused these children to satisfy his desire for sexual activity with children under the age of consent. He took advantage of their immaturity and in some cases vulnerability in order to carry out these offences.”

Williams began abusing the first victim when she was 15 years old after they had met when he was driving a bus. He told her he “liked younger girls” and raped her a number of times. After being raped, she was physically sick. In a victim personal statement, the first victim said she was bullied at school and suffering from depression, which Williams took advantage of.

She said: “He raped me, plied me with drugs and would make it seem like it was my fault. I wondered if I had done something wrong to make him treat me like this... He was also a feeder and plied me with takeaways. I put on four stone in eight months.” The victim said she tried to take her own life due to the abuse.

The second victim was over the age of consent when Williams raped her. She met him through the first victim and he started buying her gifts. He then raped and strangled her numerous times. On one occasion he strangled her until she lost consciousness while he was raping her. He also raped her while she was asleep and sexually assaulted her, which caused her injuries. Without her consent, he placed her on a dating website and tried to force her into having a threesome.

In her victim personal statement, she said Williams would drive to remote locations and would point a toy BB gun at her.

She added: “He saw I was vulnerable and took advantage of it. He took my bank card and transferred money to himself. He isolated me and I couldn’t do anything without him. That’s when the abuse started. I felt the only way out was to take my own life.”

The victim was frightened when he strangled her and “thought he was going to kill her”. The third victim came into contact with Williams when she was 14 years old. They had sex after her 15th birthday. He went on to rape her and turned his attention to his fourth victim. A court heard he abused the latter two victims in a van.

He told the third victim to delete pictures and to lie about their relationship. She said: “I was unhappy because of what Lee was doing to me.” The court was told that she now suffers flashbacks and nightmares.

The fourth victim was told by Williams to “keep quiet” or they would get into trouble. She later told police :“I don’t like my body because I know he has touched it... I don’t like being around men anymore.”

The fifth victim was 13 years old when the abuse began, after Williams contacted her on Snapchat and told her he was 18. He took her to McDonald’s and pressured her into having sex. They met further times and had sex and he offered her amphetamines and cannabis. The defendant later sexually assaulted her and raped her, despite her telling him to get off, before telling her: “You’ll get used to it in time.”

Williams also told the girl to wear school uniform and that he wanted to have sex with an 11-year-old. As well as being physically abusive - which included punching her in the stomach - he sent her messages saying “I just raped you.”

She said: “I would like to know why he did what he did to me. I will never know.”

Williams, of Brynheulog, Pentwyn, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to 12 counts of rape, 14 counts of sexual activity with a child, and two counts of assault by penetration. He had previously been convicted of benefit fraud and possession of class B drugs.

In mitigation, the court heard the defendant acknowledged his behaviour and was willing to engage in rehabilitative work. Defence barrister Christopher Rees said his client’s best mitigation was his early guilty plea.

Sentencing, the Recorder of Cardiff Judge Tracey Lloyd said: “Your behaviour has caused significant trauma to them all, some of your victims have felt guilty but they have nothing to be guilty about. The guilt and the responsibility all lie with you.”

Williams was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of nine years and four months. He was made subject to sex offender notification requirements, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and restraining order in respect of all his victims indefinitely.

Record details

A Newton Aycliffe vicar and an Alnwick priest have been jailed for their sickening historic abuse of young boys.

George Granville Gibson was the vicar of a Newton Aycliffe church in the late 1970s when he indecently assaulted a teenager. Durham Crown Court heard that Gibson a leader of a church group and committed the offences during rehearsals for a pantomime and then later at a house party following the show's run.

Judge James Adkin said Gibson would "seek out" a young man and indecently assault him "in the company of others" by rubbing against his body and "appeared to enjoy" their presence.

Gibson, who is now 86-year-old, was found guilty of two indecent assaults after being convicted by a jury and jailed for 21 months. He will be on the sex offender's register for 10 years.

Sentencing Gibson in November, Judge Adkin said: "You were the Parish priest, revered and completely trusted to promote Christian values in the community. Sex offenders in positions of authority must know they will be sent to prison if they abuse children in the community."

In December, Chronicle Live reported how another clergyman was locked up for carrying out sex attacks on a young boy.

Perverted priest David Taylor, from Alnwick, ruined the life of a young boy with sickening sex attacks in a church and on Holy Island. The court heard the abuse happened in a church vestry, at a retreat on Holy Island, in an old convent and also during a trip to a football tournament.

Prosecutor Vince Ward said: "These were religious venues where he would have expected to be safeguarded but wasn't."

The victim said the first time it happened was when he was put under Taylor's gown and made to do a sex act.

The victim kept his abuse a secret for four decades, fearing he would never be believed over the trusted churchman. Now he finally has justice after Taylor was convicted of ten offences, of indecency with a child and indecent assault.

The victim said: "I was angry and confused and started to blame myself for what happened. I felt disgusted I had allowed Father Taylor to abuse me in the way he had.

"The abuse has affected my work life and my personal relationships. My anger issues have caused many of my relationships to break down and I believe this is because of my childhood abuse. My mental health has suffered also."

Newcastle Crown Court heard Taylor had been convicted of five offences of indecent assault against boys in the 1980s in 2009 when he was jailed for 30 months. And in 2017 he got a suspended sentence for another count of indecent assault.

Judge Julie Clemitson sentenced Taylor, of Angel Lane, Alnwick, Northumberland, to 13 years in prison for his latest offences and he must sign the sex offenders register for life. The judge told Taylor he'd had a sexual interest in boys from an early stage in his career, having been ordained in 1977.

Judge Clemitson said: "There were so many occasions he can't recall them. It seems to him there were hundreds of them because it happened so often in various places. Throughout this long process you have protested your innocence, saying you had no recollection of him. That clearly can't be true.

"His victim impact statement describes the devastating impact your abuse has had for the last 40 years - that's almost the entirety of his life he has had to live under the shadow of what you did to him as a child.

"He was particularly vulnerable due to his age, where he was - in the vestry on his own and away from home at Holy Island, separated from others in your bedroom."

Lorraine Mustard, defending, said Taylor continues to protest his innocence.

Record details

A twisted Snapchat predator from Lincolnshire has been jailed after grooming, abducting and having sex with a schoolgirl.

Daniel Potterton from Kirton, Boston, targeted the 14-year-old girl in June before luring her into a string of sexual acts which lasted a number of weeks.

The 20-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court and told he must sign the sex offenders register. He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life and subject to an indefinite restraining order.

Potterton randomly added the girl on Snapchat in June and began chatting with her. Her parents ended up confiscating her phone after becoming concerned about the contact and she reacted by causing damage to their home while shouting and swearing and they contacted police, reports Chronicle Live.

Potterton drove to South Tyneside and contacted the girl from near her home and she went out with him in his Vauxhall Corsa, turning off the GPS on her phone. The girl, who was a virgin, had sex with him in the car.

She was reported missing by her parents and when she returned home she had love bites and was described as "obsessed" with him and refused to cooperate with a medical examination, saying she believed she was in a relationship with him.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the girl also texted her parents asking if she could go away with him for 10 days but they refused. She also said she needed her passport to go to France and "didn't appear to think there was anything wrong with her having sex with him.

Glenn Gatland, prosecuting, said: "He said he was going to prison anyway so he might as well do it again." Police saw the defendant's car crossing Wearmouth Bridge on August 2 and the girl was in the car with him and he was arrested.

In a victim impact statement, the girl's mother said: "It has caused me to feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown, I feel weighed down and I feel like a zombie.

"Her behaviour has turned manic since I found out she was speaking to him. She doesn't care about the danger as long as she can be with him.

"We have taken her phone off her and she is always searching for it. She will do anything and everything to get what she wants.

"She has turned the whole family's world upside down. I feel broken and all our hearts are breaking. She thinks she can do what she wants and calls me an idiot when I try to educate her."

Her dad added: "We have had to put locks on every door except the bathroom. Every time we leave the house we have to lock every room and it feels like a prison. If we don't, she would search everywhere to get hold of bank cards or phones."

Potterton, of Dennis Estate, Boston, pleaded guilty to child abduction, two counts of sexual activity with a child, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming.

On a second occasion, Potterton drove back up to the North East and the girl went to meet him again. When her mother discovered she was not in her room in the early hours, police were contacted. She then came home at 5am.

Judge Christopher Prince said: "(The girl) bears a deep resentment (to her parents) notwithstanding their efforts to do everything they can to try to help. The effect on them has been profound and distressing. They are quite simply utterly at their wits end at their inability to do more to help her.

"You were fully aware of what you were doing and fully aware you were breaking the law yet you took the most cynical view that as you were going to prison anyway you would engage in sexual intercourse with her a second time."

Steven Reed, defending, said Potterton was of previous good character and said immaturity contributed to his offending.

After the case, Detective Sergeant Jodie Faulkner, of Northumbria Police, said: "This is a very upsetting case that saw Potterton target his underage victim on social media before sexually exploiting her over a number of weeks. His behaviour has had a shattering impact on both his victim and her family. I sincerely hope his conviction in court offers them some comfort.

"As soon as we were made aware of this case, we were determined to get hold of Potterton who we learnt had been travelling long distances from Lincolnshire over a number of weeks to sexually exploit his victim."

Record details

A man described as a “danger to young women” sexually assaulted a woman on a train and returned to the scene to find her again, a court has heard.

The victim managed to record pervert Nathan Nash, 30, of Ribblesdale Close, Eastham, as he told her he was "horny" and rubbed her thigh on the Merseyrail Service. Nash appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday for sexually assaulting the woman on a train.

David Polglase, prosecuting, explained that she was waiting for her train to work on the morning of April 14 when Nash began talking to her. Mr Polglase, reading the 20-year-old victim’s statement, said: “He started to talk to himself, saying he had nowhere to go, nowhere left, saying hi nan whilst looking at the sky.

“He spoke to her about getting married saying he would rather be in jail.”

The victim said she believed he was talking to a dead relative, and she felt uneasy because he was continually staring at her, so she began to film him. Nash then followed her onto the train when it arrived, and sat opposite her.

He apologised for “being such a weirdo”, and despite the victim loudly asking what he wanted and why he was following her, nobody on the train intervened. Nash asked her if she “fancied” various men as they got off the train, and claimed he would sleep with the men referenced if he were homosexual.

Soon after, he moved to sit next to the woman, and asked to take a picture with her, which she refused. The conversation then became more sexual, he called her beautiful, and got “aggressive” when she received a text message from her boyfriend.

The victim then began filming and captured the assault on camera. Judge Neil Flewitt, KC, described the assault, he said: “You stroked her left leg and then the inside of her right thigh, quite high up and towards the area of her groin.”

Whilst assaulting her, Nash leaned his head on her right shoulder, and told her he was “horny”. The footage taken by the victim and shown in court clearly showed the assault, and she can be seen pushing his hand off her leg.

When she disembarked from the train, he continued to follow her, and tried to give her his jacket which she shrugged off. Nash followed her all the way to her place of work, at some points blocking her path, and upon arrival, asked for her phone number.

He also told her he would be waiting for her at the train station when she finished work at 5pm, which she also captured on film and was shown in court. The victim eventually managed to enter her workplace safely, alert her manager about what had happened, and call the police.

Nash was apprehended by police at the train station at 5.25pm that evening, as he laid in wait for the victim. In a victim impact statement read by the prosecution the court heard how the victim now wears a hoodie on her commute, and “feels awful every day, and tries to sit by the driver's door for safety”.

She also said she gets flashbacks of the assault, is “on edge all the time”, and is anxious towards the end of her work day about having to get the train home. Mr Polglase explained how the victim was screaming and crying after managing to escape Nash at her workplace, and it took over two hours for her to calm down.

Nash claimed in a police interview the day after the attack that he only touched the victim below the knee in a “friendly and not sexual fashion”, which was proven to be a lie by the video footage. Christopher Macmaster, defending said: “He utterly incorrectly somehow managed to take that he was in some way going to come back and meet with her to go on a date or something like that.”

Judge Flewitt replied: “Or have another go at assaulting her”. He added: “I don’t believe he went back there at 5pm in the legitimate expectation of some sort of consensual romantic liaison.

“You were clearly intent on striking up some sort of relationship with her, in circumstances where it must have been obvious to you that she was not the slightest bit interested in you”

Mr Macmaster said Nash knew the behaviour was “wholly wrong” but that he originally “struggled to come to terms” with his behaviour. Judge Flewitt described Nash’s “clear pattern of violent offending” and “of abusive behaviour in relationships”, including revenge porn and assaulting his sister.

He explained that most of Nash’s previous cases of violent offending were against women and that this assault was “another form of violence against women.” The judge concluded that Nash does pose “some danger to young women”.

Nash pleaded guilty to sexual assault on October 21. He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, and a restraining order barring him from contacting the victim or visiting her place of work was imposed for five years.