Latest Offenders

Description

A pensioner who was a respected member of the local community sexually abused a young girl and downloaded vile images, a court has heard.

Paul Davis groomed his victim with gifts of sweets and subjected her to sexual assaults. The 74-year-old also masturbated in front of a child at Swansea's main leisure centre.

When the offending was reported to police and officers checked his phone and other devices they found more than 1,200 child abuse images - some featuring girls as young as four - along with a haul of photographs showing bestiality.

Sending Davis to prison, a judge told him while he was a man of "standing and status" in the local community, his family, friends and colleagues could not possibly of conceived of what he was really like.

Nicola Powell, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the offending came to light when the primary school-aged girl made disclosures to her parents about "embarrassing" things Davis had done to her. She said Davis touched her under and over her underwear, often giving her sweets as he did so. Police were contacted and an investigation launched, and officers then learned of an incident in Swansea 's LC leisure centre where the defendant had masturbated in the presence of a child while "smiling" at her.

The court heard that as part of their investigation officers seized and examined Davis' electronic devices and found more than 1,250 indecent images including 208 films and photographs classed as Category A showing the most extreme kinds of sexual abuse of children as young as four. Police also found 56 prohibited images - typically cartoon-type images showing sexual abuse - and 173 extreme pornographic images including photos of women having sex with horses and dogs.

The mother of the girl the pensioner sexually assaulted read a statement to the court in which she described the impact the abuse had on her daughter. She said she questioned her ability as a mother as she had not spotted what was happening to her child but said she was "in awe of my little daughter" for having the strength to report it.

Judge Paul Thomas QC told the woman that paedophiles such as Davis were devious individuals and she not should reproach herself for a moment, adding: "Tell your daughter I think she is very brave."

Davis, formerly of Upper Killay in Swansea but now of Heatherslade Road, Southgate, Gower, had previously pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child under 13, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, possession of indecent images of Categories A, B and C, possession of prohibited images, and possession of extreme pornographic images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

Jon Anders, for Davis, said that before the offending the defendant had led an "industrious, hard-working, and decent life". He said since his arrest Davis has referred himself to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity which works to prevent child sexual abuse.

Judge Thomas said Davis had groomed his young victim with gifts of sweets, something he described as "classic paedophile behaviour".

He told the defendant he was a "committed paedophile" adding: "In the community you are a man of standing and status but you were living a lie. Your family, friends and work colleagues could not possibly have conceived of the man you really were."

The judge said he had read the letter which Davis had written to him, and it showed the defendant does not properly understand or accept the harm he has caused, and "is a man who is self-pitying rather than remorseful".

With discounts for his guilty pleas Davis was sentenced to a total of four years and nine months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to control his access to young girls for the same length of time.

Description

Darren Friday bought a phone from Cash Converters to speak to who he believed was a 13-year-old girl A convicted paedophile was jailed once again after being caught chatting up and arranging to meet with a 13-year-old girl. Darren Friday, 53, received 14 months in prison in August 2018 and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed on him for ten years. But despite this the a dad-of-two began chatting with who he believed was a child, but was in fact an undercover police officer. A judge in Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, December 13, jailed Friday for three years and told him the case was aggravated by his previous conviction. The judge said he had breached the SHPO by having two mobile phones, and another aggravating fact was that he had used one of them to commit sexual offences. The judge ordered Friday to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life. Steven Ball, prosecuting, told the court that Friday, using the handle Darren68, began communicating with the girl via the online Kik Messenger chatroom on September 17 last year. He established straight away that she was 13 and he claimed to be 35. He started asking her to send him photographs of her in her underwear and naked and went on to ask for videos of her naked. Mr Ball said he wanted to have sexual intercourse with her and in other conversations directed how he wanted her to pose for photographs. He also asked if she was a virgin and said he wanted to be her first. Friday progressed to referring to them meeting up and asked the girl, who purported to live in Somerset, for the name of some local hotels and he again asked for more photographs of her. In their last online chat his tone changed and he began asking why she had not been available to chat to him and on November 28 he sent her a 10 telephone credit and "told her he loved her". Mr Ball told the court: "He telephoned her and that was the first time they had directly spoken. The defendant told her she had a sexy voice and there was a discussion about the possibility of meeting up sooner rather than later." His sex offender manager went to visit him on November 25 and asked if he had any electronic devices which he denied but when police went to his home to arrest him they found he had two mobile phones. One of them, a Samsung, was unregistered and he had bought it from Cash Converters the previous month. When interviewed he made no comment. Friday, of Webb Street, Wavertree, pleaded guilty to six offences including attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity; attempted sexual communication with a child; attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Kate Morley, defending, said: "He is a man of few words, he offers no excuses. "There is clearly a fundamental issue, a disturbing interest in young females." He only has the convictions for which he was jailed in 2018 and during that period in prison he did not participate in a rehabilitation course because "he was embarrassed and it was a very short course". Miss Morley said that he lived alone and was somewhat isolated. He suffers from arthritis and curvature of the spine and walks with a cane as he has mobility issues. She added: "He knows he has done wrong and is going to be punished. He has difficulty explaining his behaviour but for what it is worth he is sorry." The offences for which he was jailed previously involved him chatting online with two girls aged 13 and 14, who actually did not exist and were fake profiles set up by a paedophile hunting group. During those chats he made similar comments and requests as in the new offences.

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19-YEAR-OLD IS CHARGED FOLLOWING SEXUAL ASSAULT OF SCHOOL GIRL AND SECOND OFFENCE IN SOUTHAMPTON

Hampshire and IoW News

Officers have charged a man after a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on Wimpson Lane in Southampton at 7.30am on Tuesday 14th December.

Jack Stott, 19, of Orion Close, Southampton, has been charged with two counts sexual assault.

The second count relates to an incident in Shirley Road, Southampton, on December 1, 2021.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Southampton Magistrates' Court this morning (December 18).

The victims both continue to be supported by specialist officers.

Police arrested the man on suspicion of sexual assault after a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on Wimpson Lane at 7.30am on Tuesday 14 December.

It was reported a man unknown to her approached her and her friend and sexually assaulted her.

Police appealed for information, witnesses and dash cam footage and for anyone who can assist to get in touch with detectives.

Hampshire police previously said;

"We urge anyone who was in the area of Wimpson Lane or Romsey Road between 7.20am and 7.40am on Tuesday morning to get in touch with us.

Today, as part of our enquiries, we have arrested a 19-year-old man from Southampton on suspicion of sexual assault.

He remains in police custody at this time.

The girl continues to be supported by specialist officers."

As we previously reported Hampshire police released further details in the Manhunt for a pervert who sexually assaulted a 12-Year-Old girl whilst she was walking along Whimpson Lane in Millbrook with her 13-Year-Old friend on Tuesday morning.

The attack on the girl has left parents horrified and many are ensuring their children currently do not walk to school on their own. Additional safety measures have been put in place today by both the local schools and police.

Police have told us the suspect has been described as white with a stocky build and below average height, wearing an orange hi-vis jacket, dark blue working men's trousers and working boots.

Detectives said that that the man was on foot, walking from Romsey Road into Wimpson Lane and he walked back from Wimpson Lane into Romsey Road. This was between 7.20am and 7.40am.

The girl who was assaulted, who is 12-years-old, is being supported by specialist officers.

Her friend, a 13-year-old girl who was with her at the time, acted quickly and called the police.

Officers then deployed to the area immediately and carried out thorough area search to try and locate the offender.

Police then sent out teams to carry out house to house enquiries in the area and scope CCTV opportunities.

Officers have also alerted schools in the area about the incident.

Detective Sergeant Jamie Wiseman said: "This is very worrying incident and our absolutely priority is to identify this man.

"Whilst we have increased patrols in the area and are carrying out enquiries, we want to ask anyone who was in Wimpson Lane yesterday morning around this time who saw a man matching this description, to get in contact with us.

"We know that the man was on foot, walking from Romsey Road into Wimpson Lane and he walked back from Wimpson Lane into Romsey Road. This was between 7.20am and 7.40am.

"We are specifically keen to hear from anyone who was driving along Wimpson Lane at this time with dash cam footage to come forward, you may have captured valuable footage that will help us identify this man.

"Anyone with information must contact us as soon as possible. This is a priority for us"

Description

Monkey dust user Steven Dunn bit and spat at a police officer - before smearing poo in his cell.

The 45-year-old was arrested for breaching the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders' Register.

But he then pulled out a collapsible walking stick and when an officer restrained him he bit his hand and spat at him. He then urinated and defecated in his police cell before smearing the poo on the walls.

Now Dunn has been jailed for 65 weeks at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

The defendant has been on the Sex Offenders' Register ever since being jailed for sexual assault in 2019 and is supposed to tell the police of any change of address.

But he became homeless and was eventually found in Hanley at 1pm on October 8.

Prosecutor Ian Ball said: "He ran, turned and brandished a collapsible walking stick. He raised it over his head and lunged forward to threaten the officer.

"The officer restrained him. He was tearful. The officer sought to reassure him. He put his hand on his shoulder to help him get in the vehicle. He bit the officer on the hand. The officer pulled back. The defendant spat at the uniform and the ground.

"The officer was using a thick glove so his skin was not broken."

The court heard the defendant then banged his head on the side of the car and spat at the officer. The vehicle cost £100 to clean. The clean-up bill for the police cell incident was £65.

The defendant - who has 27 previous convictions for 68 offences - had taken monkey dust earlier in the day.

Description

A paedophile who asked an undercover police officer if her children were "available" for sexual abuse has been jailed.

Benjamin Knight, of Wisp Hill Croft in Grassington, North asked an undercover police officer if her children were "available" for sexual abuse has been jailed., quizzed the officer who pretended to have three children during an online sting.

Bradford Crown Court heard the forklift driver hoped to have his own family to "train" and suggested meeting up.

He was jailed for six-and-a-half years after admitting a series of offences.

Knight, who was jailed for 18 months in 2018 for making indecent images of children, was arrested at his home in August after police found two phones hidden under his bed.

The devices were later found to contain more than 3,000 indecent images and more than 300 extreme pornographic images.

The 41-year-old pleaded guilty to possession and distribution charges in relation to the images and will now have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

Barrister Rahdia Karaa, for Knight, said he had never intended to meet up with the fictitious family.

Judge Neil Davey QC said Knight's sexual interest in children had escalated since his jail sentence and he had spoken in detail about what he wanted to do to the children.

He said the phones hidden under Knight's bed were kept secret from the police in flagrant breach of a previously imposed Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Knight also pleaded guilty to three charges of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.

Description

A man from London has been convicted of possessing over 800 indecent images of children, after he admitted owning stun guns and pepper spray.

A former BBC producer has been found guilty of possessing indecent images of children following a National Crime Agency investigation.

Victor Melleney, 76, who previously worked on programmes such as Panorama and Question time, also pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to four counts of possessing a prohibited weapon.

He was arrested by NCA officers at his Kensington flat in October 2018. The weapons – three tasers and a pepper spray – were recovered following a search of the flat and his Porsche.

Officers also seized Melleney's laptop and iPad from this address.

An external hard drive, which he initially attempted to hide in his pocket, was recovered at his house close by in Holland Park.

His devices contained over 800 images and videos of child sexual abuse (categories A-C) and he had downloaded four different Peer 2 Peer file sharing applications onto them.

Analysis showed that the keywords he used to search for the material included "PTHC" (Pre Teen Hard Core), "Preteen" and "11 yo".

In March 2019, NCA officers executed a warrant at another of Melleney's properties in West Wittering, Chichester, as intelligence showed that he had also accessed child abuse material from the address in the month prior to his arrest.

Today at Kingston Crown Court, Melleney was found guilty of possessing indecent images of children.

He will be sentenced for this, along with the prohibited weapons offences, on 14 January 2022 at the same court.

Martin Ludlow, Operations Manager at the National Crime Agency, said: "Melleney had a significant collection of child abuse material, which he had sought out from with other like-minded individuals using the internet.

"It's really important not to forget that behind every sexual abuse image is a child whose life has been cruelly torn apart by an abuser, with men like Melleney fuelling the demand for such material.

"Protecting children and targeting those who pose a sexual threat to them remains our top priority."

Description

A man from Southport has been jailed for 17 years for raping a toddler and sexually assaulting another child.

Ryan Hawkins, 29, was identified by NCA investigators as username 'bigladuk6' who had been discussing the sexual abuse of children with other paedophiles online.

In September 2021 he shared a graphic sexual image of a baby and told another user about his plans to abuse a young girl the following week.

Hawkins was arrested by NCA officers eight days later and his phone was seized.

Two identical videos of Hawkins raping a female toddler were recovered from the device, along with four graphic sexual images of baby.

When interviewed, he admitted to sexually abusing the toddler on two separate occasions and to sexually assaulting a young boy.

He was charged with the rape and assault of a girl under 13, sexual assault of a male under 13, two counts of making indecent images of a child (IIOC) and one of distributing IIOC.

Hawkins pleaded guilty to all the charges on 16 November 2021 at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was sentenced today [17/12/2021] at the same court to 17 years in prison.

NCA operations manager Phil Eccles said: "Ryan Hawkins' crimes are absolutely horrific.

"The fact he openly discussed the abuse with strangers on the internet shows his callous nature and the fact he had no regard for the profound impact this would have on his victims.

"He is an example of the highest risk and most dangerous sexual offenders targeted by the NCA and it is only right he is behind bars where no longer poses a threat to children."

Description

A sex offender who attacked six lone women has been given a life sentence. Joshua Victorin, 25, who approached his victims from behind, carried out four of the attacks within four hours. The offences between 23 December and 4 January happened days after his release from prison, where he had been serving a sentence for three sex attacks and other crimes. At Inner London Crown Court, he was told he must spend at least eight years and eight months in jail. Victorin pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted rape and four charges of sexual assault.

'Most people's nightmare'

Victorin, who was living in a probation hostel in Walworth, disguised himself in dark clothing, a hooded top and a face mask to carry out the attacks across south London. At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Claire Harden-Frost said: "These offences can be seen as part of a campaign to rape and sexually assault women walking alone in the streets of London. "This, frankly is most people's nightmare in this situation." Victorin first struck on the evening of 23 December, when he followed a woman as she got off a bus in Peckham. He pulled down her jogging bottoms, causing her to fall to the floor, before fleeing when the woman's screams alerted a passer-by.

'Hyperventilating'

On New Year's Eve, he tried to rape a second woman in Elephant and Castle, pulling down her trousers and dragging her by her ankles to the doorway of a London South Bank University building, but was disturbed by a security guard who heard her "hysterical" screams. On 4 January, Victorin carried out four similar sexual assaults on separate women, between 11:00 and 14:15 GMT. One victim described how he was "panting" as he grabbed her hips, while another was said to be so distressed she was "hyperventilating" when he groped her thighs. Victorin was identified after detectives theorised the attacker might be on some kind of curfew because of the timing of the offences and tracked him down to his hostel. He has seven previous convictions for 14 offences dating back to 2014. While serving a sentence for unlawful wounding and possession of an offensive weapon, he sexually assaulted two prison guards and was jailed for a year, having also sexually assaulted a female police officer in March last year. He was released halfway through his sentence in August, but recalled to prison after being charged with possession of cannabis and outraging public decency - by having consensual sex in a park in front of people, including children - and was then freed under licence in December. Stephen Akinsanya, defending, said his client's "indication of remorse is genuine". Describing Victorin as a "prolific offender", Metropolitan Police Det Sgt Chloe Angris said: "It is possible that there might be other women who were assaulted by him, and I would urge them to contact us."

Description

A 'violent bully' forced his victims to eat their own faeces in a horrific campaign of abuse. David Fury-Walsh, who also falsely claimed he was related to pro-boxer Tyson Fury, raped, assaulted and coerced three women.

The case began building against the 31-year-old, also known as David Overton, in September 2021, when police received reports he had raped and assaulted a woman.

He was arrested within hours of the report but during his time in custody, two other women also came forward and reported they had also been victims of his abusive behaviour.

The victims all told police how when they initially met Fury-Walsh he was a 'caring and generous man', who told his victims that he was a relative of the boxing champion Tyson Fury. However, police said his behaviour quickly changed and he began abusing the women.

Fury-Walsh, formally of Brook Street, Macclesfield, forced his victims to have sex on demand, violently assaulting them if they didn’t comply with his wishes. On two occasions he even made victims eat their own faeces.

He also controlled the women’s finances, taking out loans in their names and manipulating them into handing over their savings on the promise that there would be a big return, which never emerged.

Following the reports, officers from Cheshire Constabulary built up a case file of evidence against Fury-Walsh and charged him with a total of 25 offences. He was found guilty of all charges following a three-week trial at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday (December 14).

The offences included 13 counts of rape, four counts of sexual assault, three counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, three counts of actual bodily harm, one count of sexual touching and possession of a knife. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Chester Crown Court on February 6 2023 for sentencing.

Following the verdict, Detective Constable Jade Bannerman, who led the investigation said: “Firstly I would like to thank the victims for the courage and bravery that they have shown throughout this investigation. Fury-Walsh is a violent and manipulative bully, and even when faced with all the evidence against him, he refused to plead guilty to any of the charges.

“Instead, he forced his victims to relive their experiences in court, which could not have been easy for them. Thankfully, as a result of the statements provided by the victims, and the evidence we gathered the jury have seen through his lies and he is now being held accountable for his actions.”

Description

Jamie Teasdale, of Gateshead, wanted to meet a child for sexual activity and had downloaded indecent images online A self-confessed paedophile who tried to groom a 13-year-old girl for sexual activity and was twice caught with indecent images of children has been locked up. Pervert Jamie Teasdale made persistent attempts to groom and meet a child called Chloe - not realising it was a decoy profile online being run by vigilantes. He admitted he would have engaged in sexual activity with the youngster if she had been real. Police also found child abuse images on his phone and then later found he had downloaded more after his initial arrest. Now the 28-year-old, of Sheriffs Highway, Gateshead, has been jailed for three years at Newcastle Crown Court. Recorder Keir Monteith QC told him: "You have shown you are capable of harming a child, sexually and psychologically." Paedophile hunters Guardians of the North had set up the Chloe profile online and when Teasdale began communicating with her, he was told she was 13. He went on to groom her for sex, telling her she was attractive and asking for images of her. The communication went on for weeks, with Teasdale telling her he wanted to meet her to have sexual activity. He asked her about whether she had any sexual experience and when told no, he suggested it would be fun to start off with "little things". Recorder Monteith said: "You later said it was an added bonus she was a child who was willing to discuss sex." He tried to entice her to go to his home and made an arrangement to meet her but was detained by the vigilantes and arrested. His laptop was seized and more than 200 indecent images were found, some of the most serious type, including a girl aged between eight and ten being raped. Teasdale was subsequently arrested again around two years later and had a further 12 indecent images. And in September 2018 he had distributed one category B indecent image to a woman he was talking to on Kik. He pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, six counts of making indecent images and one of distributing an indecent image. As well as the prison sentence, he will have to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years. Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: "He has not shied away from the fact he has a sexual interest in young children." Miss Coxon said Teasdale's first job was as a bartender and he ended up having a "difficult relationship with alcohol" and had "dabbled with cannabis". She added that he had engaged in casual relationships with adults, one of whom he was in bed with watching TV when he first communicated with Chloe. The court heard he struggled with caring for his mum and his death and has been depressed recently.

Description

A SLOUGH man has been jailed for three years and two months following child sex offences online.

Ross Thompson-Cooley, 62, of Lowestoft Drive, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Monday, December 13.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of, engaging in sexual communication with a child, adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and adult attempting to meet a girl under 16 of age following grooming.

The offences occurred online in August and September this year.

Thompson-Cooley used Rando and Whatsapp to send explicit messages to two girls under 16, calling himself Romeo.

He also attempted to arrange an in-person meet.

Thompson-Cooley was later arrested on September 4.

A section 18 house search was carried out and multiple electronic items were seized.

After further investigation by Thames Valley Police, Thompson-Cooley was charged on September 5.

And later convicted following a hearing at Reading Magistrates Court on September 7.

He pleaded guilty to all three charges.

Thompson-Cooley was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

Police Staff Investigator Rina Sahota, of CID, said: "Thames Valley Police is committed to investigating and bringing before the courts people like Thompson-Cooley who clearly poses a threat to young girls.

"If you think someone is committing such offences, or you feel you have been a victim of such an offence we would advise you to contact Thames Valley Police on 101 or online or on 999 if is an emergency.

"There is further information on how to keep you and your family safe online on our website."

Description

A teaching assistant from Runcorn who sexually abused a vulnerable pupil from the school where he worked has been jailed.

Alexander Palin appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 15 December where he was sentenced to 36 months in prison.

The 30-year-old from Runcorn, had earlier been found guilty of five counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17, being an adult abusing a position of trust.

Palin was employed as a teaching assistant at a school in Runcorn for a number of years.

The allegations against him came to light in November 2019 when the victim, a 16-year-old pupil, confided in her mum about what had taken place.

She revealed that she had met Palin outside school multiple times and that the pair had engaged in sexually activity on a number of occasions.

The offences occurred within Palin's car, whilst parked in a secluded area of Wigg Island between the winter of 2018 and summer of 2019.

Palin was arrested in relation to the allegations in November 2019 and, despite denying any involvement, he was subsequently charged with five counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 17 and one count of abusing a position of trust.

Following the sentencing Detective Constable Ed Flaherty, who has led the investigation, said: "I'd like to praise the victim in this case for the bravery and courage she has shown, both throughout this investigation and subsequent trial.

"Palin held a position of trust, and while the victim was not in any of his classes, he was well aware that she was a pupil and he knew that she was vulnerable.

"In spite of this, he purposefully chose to take advantage of her for his own sexual gratification.

"Despite all of the evidence gathered against him, Palin continued to deny all of the allegations made against him and has shown no remorse for the pain that he has caused, which will impact the victim for the rest of her life.

"Thankfully the jury were able to see through his lies and he is now facing the consequences of his actions.

"I hope the sentence handed to Palin provides reassurance for the victim and allows her to move forward with her life."

On top of his custodial sentence Palin was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register (until further order) and added to the barring list.

He was also issued with a banning notice preventing him from working with children.

Description

A paedophile has been jailed for deliberately deleting the internet search history on his laptop.

Justin Sanders, 26, who is also known as Justin Washington, installed an app on the machine designed to clean it of evidence, Exeter Crown Court heard.

Sanders is a convicted sex offender who was subject to a court order banning him from deleting his internet search history.

But when police checked up on him last year they found child abuse images on his phone.

They also discovered he had installed CCleaner software on his laptop and used it to delete evidence of what he had been looking at during lockdown.

He told a judge that he had only deleted cookies, temporary files and caches to make his computer work better but the judge said the evidence pointed to him deleting indecent images of children.

Recorder Don Tait said: "He was deliberately and knowingly deleting incriminating and significant evidence from his laptop."

Sanders was jailed for two years.

The defendant, of Howell Road, Exeter, admitted two offences of having indecent images of children on his phone. He also admitted breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed in 2016.

Mr Brian Fitzherbert, prosecuting, said police could not find evidence of exactly what images Sanders had deleted from this laptop. But they found a conversation Sanders had on Facebook with another sex offender in which they shared enthusiastic paedophilic opinions on a child anime character.

The defendant has previous convictions for possessing indecent images of children and for sexual offences against boys.

Ms Emily Pitts, defending, said Sanders knew he had breached the terms of his SHPO by deleting cookies with CCleaner but said his police offender manager had told him he had permission to do so.

He was someone who needed help for his behaviour and would not get that in prison, she said.

"Custody is a damaging environment for him," she added. "It is not going to address his longer term issues. Custody is not going to help him and not going to help the public or protect the public.

"What is needed is structure and tailored intervention."

Description

An Essex pensioner has been jailed after he secretly filmed himself giving sports massages to young girls and possessing indecent images of children.

Hugh Hunter's vile videos were found on USB sticks after police raided his home in Irvon Hill Road, Wickford, last year.

The 74-year-old's home came to police's attention after officers discovered an IP address had been used to access indecent images of children.

After raiding the home while Hunter and his partner were present, police seized numerous devices, on which dozens of images were found, plus the voyeuristic videos on the USB sticks.

The videos were made when Hunter was working as a sports massage therapist to at least two young girls over a five year period.

Hunter attempted to claim he did not have a sexual interest in children, and that he recorded the videos due to fears the girls would accuse him of inappropriately touching them.

But this was rejected by Judge Shane Collery at Hunter's sentencing at Southend Crown Court on Wednesday (December 8), saying Hunter did it for his own gratification.

The court heard that Hunter had 62 category A images of child abuse - the most serious kind - along with 36 category B and 365 category C.

Prosecuting, James Lofthouse said: "Various recordings were made by Mr Hunter himself and on USB sticks, made certainly without the girls or parents knowing they were being recorded. These occurred over a number of years.

"They were able to be identified in their house."

Mr Lofthouse said that one of the girls had been made to feel "uncomfortable" when Hunter asked her to remove items of clothing.

In a victim impact statement, one of Hunter's victims, now an adult, said she had been left "angry and upset" by his actions.

She said: "Finding out as a result of a police investigation has had an impact on me.

"I had to go to counselling as a result and the stress and anxiety had me off work.

"I kept playing the events over and over in my head. I feel guilty that I never spoke out about it."

Mitigating, Daniel Setter said that Hunter recognises that his actions were "unacceptable", but had admitted his guilt as early as possible, and that the offences cast "a long shadow" over him.

Mr Setter also cited Hunter's various health problems and old age.

Judge Shane Collery said: "He said it was done to protect himself from later accusations of wrongdoing.

"It was done because he had a sexual interest in children.

"The videos are recorded and he planned what was going to happen.

"No one knows what the motive was."

Judge Collery jailed Hunter for 33 months for two counts of voyeurism and three counts of possession of indecent images of children.

Description

Aiden Nicholson, of Gateshead, claimed he possessed the indecent images accidentally and denied having a sexual attraction to children

A computer specialist caught with indecent images of children as young as three has walked free from court.

Software engineer Aiden Nicholson had downloaded hundreds of indecent images, some depicting youngsters who were in pain and distress.

A court heard he claimed to have possessed them accidentally while downloading legal pornography but he pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images. He also admitted having an extreme pornography image depicting someone having sex with a dog.

Now Nicholson, 25, of Hamsterley Crescent, Wrekenton, Gateshead, whose partner and family are standing by him, has been given a suspended prison sentence at Newcastle Crown Court.

Police went to his home with a warrant in July last year and found the illegal material on a memory card.

There were 193 pictures and videos of the most serious type, category A, 93 category B and 801 category C.

When he was arrested he said he downloaded a large amount of adult pornography which he then found contained indecent images of children.

Nicholson, also known as Mynard, denied having a sexual attraction to children.

The children featured in the videos were aged between three and 17.

Penny Hall, prosecuting, said:

"There was pain and distress suffered by children in some of the images."

Recorder Keir Monteith QC sentenced Nicholson to 16 months, suspended for two years, with 300 hours unpaid work, a 500 fine. He must also do a sex offenders treatment programme and sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Joe Culley, defending, said Nicholson had written a letter expressing remorse and demonstrating insight into the impact of his offending.

He added that he has taken steps to ensure there is no repeat.

Mr Culley said:

"He has a good job which provides him with a reasonably good level of income, he works as an IT specialist.

"He's in a long term relationship and plans to move in with his long-term girlfriend. She knows of what he has pleaded guilty to.

"There are character references from people who say they find this type of offending to be out of his character. There are two sides to his character.

"He is a blood donor and gives blood as often as he can."

Mr Culley said Nicholson's employer was not aware of the nature of the proceedings but that he expected to be able to keep his job.