Latest Offenders

Description

A violent teenage rapist who "hunted" his victim in a park and hit her over the head with a paving slab on his 17th birthday has been jailed for life.

Charlie Pearce researched rape online before carrying out his attack "of animalistic savagery", in July last year, in Leicester's Victoria Park.

He denied intending to kill the woman, who is in her 20s, but admitted two counts of rape, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and stealing her handbag.

However, jurors found the "exceptionally dangerous" defendant guilty of attempted murder after he left the victim "hanging by a thread".

Pearce, of Clarendon Park, Leicester, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 11 years at the Old Bailey in London.

He was handed seven-and-a-half years' custody for the rapes to run concurrently alongside his life sentence, with no separate penalty for the remaining charges.

Sentencing the teenager, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the defendant had carried out an attack of a sexual or sadistic nature and that he "intended to silence the victim forever".

"The defendant set out that evening to mark his 17th birthday to find a woman to attack and violently rape," he said.

"He can be seen on CCTV circling the park and hunting (the victim) down as she walked through the park. The attack itself was of animistic savagery. The offending was exceptionally serious."

Pearce dragged the victim into undergrowth before hitting her over the head, the court heard.

Police had been alerted after the start of his attack was witnessed by others in the park.

However, the court was told officers were unable to find anything because of a lack of a precise location being reported.

A passing cyclist spotted a pool of blood and a hair clip on the ground about an hour later and went into bushes and comforted the victim until paramedics arrived.

The follow day, police issued a CCTV image of Pearce running towards the victim holding the slab. His family recognised him and informed officers.

The victim awoke from a coma in the following weeks with no recollection of what had happened.

"I do not remember screaming when I was assaulted, though I am aware that screams were reported to the police by various people that night," she said in an emotional statement.

"My screams did not stop my attacker from causing me further harm and nor did they help me be found so I could receive medical care I needed.

"Knowing that my screams did not change anything for me that night continues to trouble me."

Phillip Bradley QC, defending, said Pearce accepted he was "entirely responsible" for the violence.

Description

A county cricket captain and school worker has been jailed for having sex with a teenage pupil.

Lee Francis Dixon, 31, was sentenced to two years in jail after admitting three breaches of trust and perverting the course of justice.

Dixon, who captained Chester County Cricket Club for two years before stepping down in the winter, sighed and became agitated when the sentence was announced at Chester Crown Court.

Dixon, of Greasby, Wirral, was described in court as a 'teacher' with pastoral responsibilities for troubled children, although his defence barrister said his role was not actually that of a teacher.

He was employed at a school which cannot be identified, and neither can the victim who was aged 17 at the time of the offences.

The pupil was not under his direct care when they bumped into each other at a nightclub while both were under the influence of alcohol in April 2017.

Prosecutor Kevin Jones said she recalled how they talked about their school, the canteen and she even called him 'sir'. But the conversation then became 'flirty' and they began to kiss.

After splitting up for a short time on the night, they saw each other again and moved to a secluded area, the Chester Chronicle reported.

The victim said 'proper kissing' took place and Dixon performed a sex act.

Text messages were exchanged that night about 'trying to meet up again' and outside Dixon tried to persuade her to go back to his flat but she didn't go.

Mr Jones said the next morning the teenager received Snapchat messages from Dixon including a picture of him exposing his bare chest, as well as sexual references.

About a week later they met up again after he picked her up in his car and they went back to his shared house.

The prosecutor said Dixon told her to say to his friends that they 'met on Tinder'.

At first housemates were going in and out of Dixon's room as he had won a cricket competition that day but after they disappeared sex took place.

After about two hours he took her home.

Contact ceased for a while and she deleted him on Snapchat. But communications resumed when she grew concerned about rumours going around school about their relationship.

Dixon told her not to worry as the speculation suggested she was having a relationship with an English teacher. They met up again when she rang him for a lift during a downpour.

Nothing happened but he sent her a text message after that meeting and the pair then met up at his brother's empty house, where sex took place.

Another charge admitted by Dixon was perverting the course of justice concerning his actions after the school, and later police, became involved from September 2017.

He contacted the victim telling her to downplay the incident if asked about what happened and to describe it as nothing more than 'heavy petting'.

Mr Jones said: 'During that early contact, he specifically says to her, if you're asked about it by the school or the police, that she is not to tell them they had full sexual intercourse.'

In October he rang her from a payphone asking what information had been shared with the school and police so he could be ready for any questions at a police interview the next day.

On November 15 he contacted her asking for an update and again on Sunday, December 3, just prior to his second police interview.

"Parents must be able to trust those responsible for the care of their children"

The court heard Dixon, former captain of Chester Boughton Hall Cricket club and the Cheshire county cricket team, had spent a lot of time coaching youngsters and helped establish a women's team but there was no suggestion he had abused that position.

Gareth Roberts, defending, argued in favour of rehabilitation and a suspended jail term.

He said: 'He's clearly highly thought of in the field in which he excelled but he stands before this court today thoroughly ashamed, embarrassed and remorseful for the way he acted.

'He realises that by virtue of his own catastrophic folly he's changed his own life forever and he cannot blame anyone else for that.'

The court heard Dixon was sacked from his job and has since lost his home.

Judge Patrick Thompson, who gave Dixon credit for his guilty pleas and took account of 11 positive character references, said the victim had been 'emotionally and psychologically' affected by the episode.

He told Dixon: 'Not only did you have the responsibility that comes from being a teacher at the school, your particular responsibility was being responsible for the care of the children, dealing with children who had concerns or worries and ensuring their welfare and helping them.

'It's an important responsibility. Parents must be able to trust those responsible for the care of their children. To parents, there's nothing more special than their children. Nothing they care about more. And the public have to have confidence in those involved in the teaching profession.'

He sentenced Dixon to 18 months for each of the three breaches of trust, to be served concurrently, and an additional six months for perverting the course of justice. 

On release, Dixon must sign the sex offenders' register for a period of 10 years.

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Rahul Odedra, 46, found a sick sexual thrill in watching women 'in the act of wiping' and was caught when he tried to film up the skirt of a victim A teacher who hid cameras in the female toilets of three schools where he worked has been jailed for more than four years. Rahul Odedra, 46, Quedgeley, Gloucester, would position the cameras in toilet roll holders and focus them on the genital areas of female school staff using the loo. He pleaded guilty at Gloucester Crown Court to one offence of attempting to possession an indecent image, two offences of possession of indecent images and twenty offences of voyeurism. The offences took place between 2009 to 2017. Prosecutor Anjali Gohil told Judge Ian Lawrie QC the bulk of the images were of adult women but there were also images of children. Odedra committed the offences in various locations including in three schools in Gloucestershire, she said, and hid cameras in staff toilets. "He would set it up in the lunch period and then take it down later," she said. Odedra seemed to focus on filming people wiping their genitalia, she added. "No one goes to a toilet, locks the door and expects to be filmed for third parties to see," the prosecutor continued. "Great care was taken by him positioning the cameras. He would hide the camera in toilet roll holders." When he was arrested and his home was searched police found 200 images on his computer equipment, Ms Gohil told the judge. The police analysed the images and found that he had cropped and clipped the films he captured in the toilet so that he could watch back to back images of females "in the act of wiping." Ms Gohil told the judge that Odedra was detected when he attempted to film up the skirt of one of his victims and she spotted him. The judge noted that this was "an escalation" from his remote filming in the toilet, as he was present and using the camera of his phone, which he had attached to a ruler with blue tack. "It's a step up from covert," the judge said. "It's becoming brazen." Ms Gohil said "the collateral damage to entirely innocent parties has been significant. People feel violated and betrayed" The judge agreed saying "it's a gross breach of trust." Ms Gohil added "He abused trust to gain sexual gratification." She told the judge that Odedra had no previous convictions. Whilst he remained silent in his first police interview, he made full admissions in the second but "was reluctant to admit sexual interest." The judge noted that by the time of Odedra's interview with a probation officer he had started to "come to terms with his sexual interest." Odedra's lawyer, Joseph Keating, said his client knew "that that these are very serious offences that cross the custody threshold." "At the time of doing this, he had little comprehension of the impact on the victims as they were not physically harmed, but he now fully understands the lasting impact that will be hard to bear," Mr Keating said. "He would like to apologise. He is deeply sorry for what he did. "This was born out of an interest in voyeurism. He reiterates that his primary interest was in adults. "He says there was never a chance this would escalate beyond voyeurism." The judge indicated that he was prepared to accept that, as "over the length of time he did this, there was no physical contact." Mr Keating told the judge that Odedra "had lost everything good in his life" as his career was at an end and it had "torn his family apart." "His remorse is genuine, and he is struggling in prison. He is a broken man, terrified of the people around him and the circumstances of his detention" Mr Keating concluded. The judge said: "If you hold a secret about your sexual view of the world it can be toxic, and he is paying the price." Sentencing Odedra the judge told him "You are facing the consequences of what is long held voyeuristic compulsion to look at females. "A toxic secret with the consequence you are going to prison. "These offences cover a deliberate and persistent course of conduct. Explicit moving images of them using the toilet. "Most of the victims were young, some are children. "You took great care fixing camera angles in all the venues you chose. "This was a gross breach of trust. Your offending for the later offences show you going beyond furtive recording. "People's dignity should be respected. This was a carefully calculated intrusion into people's privacy. "This is some of the worst examples of this type of offending. You caused immeasurable emotional harm to your victims. "There is mitigation, not least your guilty plea, and you are not wholly bad, and not wholly good. "You were a good teacher, and it must have come as a massive collective shock to your family and friends. "Custody will have a significant impact on you. I must impose a prison term of note. "This is not a harmless activity if done on the quiet as some might think. "I know you appreciate the harm and hurt you have caused. That lies at your door and your door alone." Alongside the four year three month jail term, Odedra was given a sexual harm prevention order and has to sign the sex offender register, both for the rest of his life.

Description

A Devon man has been jailed for arranging to meet a 13-year-old girl at the train station but instead being confronted by a group of vigilante paedophile hunters.

Gary Parker, 43, was snared by UK Database who filmed his citizen’s arrest at St David’s Station in Exeter.

They told him the person he thought was a 13-year-old girl was really a fictitious online creation.

Parker, of Brays Close, Crediton, immediately admitted what he had done. In court he pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl under 16 for sexual activity; attempting to engage a child in sexual communication via Facebook Messenger; and attempting to arrange or facilitate a sexual offence with a girl.

He was jailed for 15 months.

It is the latest in an increasing number of cases involving paedophile hunters to come before the courts.The offences took place between December 4 and December 9.

Judge Graham Cottle said: “These offences arise out of short series of events involving a fictitious girl called Sammy.

“The prevalence of, and increase in, this type of offending is of great concern and sentencing must reflect the extent of that concern. The message has to be sent out and received that men like you, with or without previous convictions, who may engage in this sort of activity are committing a serious offence, which unless there are wholly exceptional circumstances, they will receive an immediate custodial sentence.

“However difficult you find it to accept what you’ve done it’s quite clear the plans you had for this fictitious girl involved sexual activity.”

The court was told that within minutes of befriending the ‘girl’ online he had initiated sexualised chat. UK Database published details of the conversations and the arrest of Parker on its Facebook site.

It was clear to Parker from the outset that the person he believed he was talking to was just 13, the court was told. But this did not stop him arranging to meet her for sex in Exeter.

Peter Seigne, mitigating, said Parker knew now he had been spending ‘way too much time’ on the internet.

He would spend up to six hours a day playing games and started to accepted friend requests in order to gain online coins to carry on playing.

He said the defendant found the citizen’s arrest ‘very frightening’ and wanted to get help from probation for his behaviour.

Following his release from prison Parker will be subject to licence and supervision conditions. He was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and must sign the Sex Offender Register.

After the sentencing, an NSPCC spokesperson for South West England said: “Parker’s shocking behaviour highlights the dangers posed to youngsters by offenders online. He fully believed he was speaking to a 13-year-old girl via social media, but continued to groom her before attempting to meet her.

“This kind of predatory activity can ruin childhoods, with the devastating effects lasting into adulthood. While the victim in this case was fictitious, we know that ‘real’ children are being targeted by groomers every day in the UK.

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Officers traced Aron Marczylo, who worked for the club until July 2017, to his home address in Shirley where he lives with his parents and found him in possession of the offensive material.

Among his collection included more than 6,000 category A indecent images of children as well as videos in which children were abused by adults.

In some of the videos, the young victims were seen crying as they were abused.

Southampton Crown Court heard that Marczylo used a peer to peer search system in order to obtain and download the images.

Timothy Akers, prosecuting, told Southampton Crown Court that police tracked the 30-year-old and paid him a visit on October 25, 2016.

He said: "Police seized his computer, laptop, mobile phone and tower unit for his pc.

"The defendant had 78 category A, 12 category B and seven category C movies.

"He was also found to have thousands of still images, of which the majority of them were the highest category, on his hard drive...some of the children involved are aged as young as four-years-old."

"In one video there is reference to a child, thought to be 11-years-old, who is in discernible pain during the events taking place in it.

"There is another video in which a child is crying in pain."

Mr Akers added: "In his interview he said he would watch the videos with his girlfriend."

He identifies as pan sexual and describes as having fantasies involving child abuse although he has never committed the fantasy."

Mitigating, Berenice Mulvanny told the court that Marczylo has struggled with depression, anxiety and suffered bullying as a child.

In one instance, she said, Marczylo had his hair set alight as a child.

Marczylo, of Janson Road, Southampton, was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which will run for five years and will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

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Pervert Christopher Powell was caught with thousands of child abuse images and extreme pornography.

The 31-year-old, who is a carer for his mum and dad, was arrested after the photos and videos were found on a laptop when the police raided his home.

The defendant initially denied any wrongdoing but went on to plead guilty to possessing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography shortly before he was due to stand trial.

Now Powell, of King Street, Fenton, has been handed a suspended prison sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Nicholas Tatlow said: Police searched this defendants home address and took a laptop and two hard drives which were found to contain indecent images of children.

The police found both still and moving indecent images of children in categories A, B and C.

There is at least one image of a child suffering a considerable amount of pain and distress.

There are moving images, a high volume of images and large number of different victims.

In total, police found 383 images at category A, the most serious; 249 at category B; and 2,745 Category C. A total of 96 extreme porn pictures were also recovered.

Jason Holt, mitigating, said: It has taken time to accept what he has done but there is a degree to which he has changed his attitude which is shown in his guilty pleas.

He had a difficult upbringing from the age of six and the irony is he now cares for his mother who had had a stroke and for his father who has also had a stroke. He cares for them both but in particular his mother.

He accepts the issues that he has and has shown remorse and concern.

Powell was sentenced to a two-year community order with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 40 hours of unpaid work.

He was also made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

Recorder John Butterfield told him: There was a high number of unique and accessible images, they were both still and moving.

There were images of children and of bestiality.

These were real children in the process of being sexually abused and possibly these children would not have suffered if it wasnt for people like you perusing an interest in them.

The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop and two hard drives.

Description

A paedophile claimed he tried to meet a '14-year-old boy' for sex when he was grieving for his Chelsea football star stepdad.

Lee Stride, whose stepfather was Blues defender David Stride, has been spared jail after he arranged to meet who he thought was a teenage boy he had been chatting to on Grindr.

When he arrived to meet the youngster he was confronted by paedophile hunters from the group TRAP.

Southampton Crown Court heard supermarket worker Stride had struck up a conversation on Grindr.

Prosecutor James Kellam said that after the 'boy' said he was 14, Stride continued to talk to him and sent intimate pictures of himself.

Mr Kellam said: "You will be familiar with cases where self-appointed guardians of society - as they see it - set up profiles on dating websites.

"The defendant fell into conversation with a man with an individual profile on Grindr and who told him he was 14.

"Despite having heard that, the defendant continued to talk to him and to send him pictures, which he himself admits [are his genitalia]."

Mr Kellam added it was "quite clear" the exchange concluded with the pair arranging to meet to have sex.

The court heard when Stride arrived at the arranged meeting point, he was challenged by two men who told him police were on their way.

A video of the confrontation was also posted online, which was viewed more than 800,000 times.

Stride, of no fixed abode, admitted one count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Defending, Mark Florida-James told the court this was an 'unusual' and 'sad' case.

Mr Florida-James said Stride was grieving for his stepfather, who had recently died of a heart attack.

David Stride played 35 times for Chelsea before going on to play for a number of teams in the North American Soccer League.

He added: "[Stride] has gone from a respectable member of the community to someone who will hang his head in shame for a long time to come."

Sentencing him to 12-months behind bars, suspended for two years, Judge Gary Burrell QC told Stride that his wife standing by him was one of the factors that had spared him an immediate jail term.

The judge said: "You have the support of your family.

"In particular, your wife who states, 'I still love my husband and want to support him through the difficult time he is going through, including working on our marriage'.

"In this case there were no real victims. Nevertheless you did not know that and you thought you were in contact with a 14-year-old boy.

"You sent photos which was a particularly stupid thing to do.

"You are very lucky to have that support from your wife. She has stood by you in these most difficult of circumstances."

Stride was placed on the sex offenders' register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

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A BISHOPS Itchington man has been jailed for raping three women.

Nicholas James Holland, age 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of non-recent rape offences at Birmingham Crown Court on February 6.

He was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

The first victim came to police in 2016 and reported that Holland had raped her. She named the two other victims who were contacted by police.

The other two women were reluctant to speak to police but after being reassured they also disclosed offences committed by Holland.

Det Sgt Gareth Unett, said: Holland preyed on young women and the impact on their lives has been devastating. They bravely came forward to report the crimes to police despite the time that had passed. They should be commended for their actions which have helped protect the wider public.

This case highlights that no matter what length of time has passed, the public should feel reassured that Warwickshire Police will thoroughly investigate non-recent offences, supporting victims throughout.

While two of the victims were initially reluctant to talk to police, specially trained officers worked closely with them to provide reassurances and the bravery of all the women ensured Holland faced justice.

Description

A teenager claimed he had been bullied in school to look at indecent images of children.

But an investigation showed he continued to search for such images after he left school. It was said in court to have become an addiction.

Morgan Andrew Abbott, 18, of Lower Dee View Road in Greenfield, Holywell, was given a chance of a suspended sentence.

At Mold Crown Court, Judge Niclas Parry gave him a 16 month youth custody sentence but suspended it for two years.

He was ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work and he was placed on 60 days rehabilitation.

Abbott was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender for 10 years and a 10 year sexual harm prevention order was also made.

He admitted he made by downloading 115 indecent images and movies of children at the most serious category A; 99 images at category B, and 288 images and movies of children at category C.

Abbott admitted that in November last year he distributed indecent images/movies of children in all three categories using Skype.

He admitted possessing 244 prohibited images of children and possessing six extreme images, which portrayed, in an explicit and realistic way, a person performing an oral sex act on a dog.

Judge Parry told him it took a police investigation and his arrest for him to realise the seriousness of what he had been involved with.

He had searched for material which depicted the abuse of very young children.

It has taken this prosecution for you to understand that children who are abused suffer trauma which is immeasurable, he said.

His case was seriously aggravated by the fact some of the images had been shared, he said.

Judge Parry warned the distribution offences could attract sentences of up to five years.

But he was only 18, he committed the offences when he was immature, inquisitive and nave, and experimenting sexually.

He had no previous convictions and he had pleaded guilty.

If he received an immediate sentence then he would be released relatively early without any of the issues and problems he had being addressed, the judge told him. He had therefore decided to suspend the sentence.

Robin Boag, defending, said his client was a young man of good character with no convictions who had pleaded guilty at an early stage.

The distribution was limited to two individuals in November of last year.

He had initially been bullied into doing it but he accepted it had carried on from there.

There had been some encouragement and then he accepts it became an addiction, he said.

Description

A young man who dreamed of becoming a police officer has been jailed for child sex offences - including a sickening attempt to "blackmail" a 12-year-old schoolgirl into sending him indecent images of herself.

Cameron Longstaff, 20, went online to target the two schoolgirls, telling one he would circulate an intimate image of her that he had acquired if she did not send him more explicit pictures.

The youngsters said the experience left her feeling vulnerable, scared, and angry.

The other girl was so afraid she stayed indoors with the curtains closed, and asked her parents to always lock the doors.

As he imposed a year-long jail term on the defendant, of Hurley Road, Little Corby, Judge James Adkin told him that despite positive character references, the "overwhelming" evidence of his guilt from the trial revealed a darker side Longstaff's character, including his interest in child pornography.

"There is a predatory aspect to this," said the judge. "You felt it necessary to humiliate a young girl because she would not comply with your demands."

Longstaff denied two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; three of downloading indecent child images; one of possessing such images; and two counts of distributing it.

A jury convicted him of all the offences.

The court heard how Longstaff had amassed a large collection of sickening child pornography images, both still images and videos.

Of these, 33 were classed as the most serious kind. The trial was told how Longstaff - 16 when he committed most of the offences - used a social media site under a false name, targeting the two 12-year-olds, urging them to share indecent images of themselves.

When one refused he threatened to distribute an intimate image of her that he had acquired, later sending it to a Russian website used by child porn perverts.

Victim impact statements revealed how the girls were affected. The first girl was left suffering from sleep problems, and her school-work suffered.

The second girl - in court with her mother for the hearing - said: "I was hiding in the house with all the curtains drawn because the [the defendant] said he would come to my house."

Her mother said: "My daughter was only 12 years old and she was very scared by what happened. ..We had been an open house until then, but after the incident, my daughter insisted on locking all the doors all the time.

"She still feels uncomfortable now being at home alone."

Kim Whittlestone, for Longstaff, said her mitigation was limited because the defendant continued to protest his innocence. Character references showed he was a hard-working young man, supported by his family.

"He worked at the family cafe but had aspirations to join the police force," said the barrister.

"He was undertaking a college course which would have enabled him to enter the police force once that was passed."

Miss Whittlestone said most of Longstaff's offending happened when he was 16 and that there was a suggestion he had not acted alone.

At the time, she said, he was struggling to fit in with his peer group. Longstaff wept as he was led away to start his sentence.

His name will be on the Sex Offender's Register for a decade, and he will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A PAEDOPHILE who repeatedly raped a girl when she was a young child has had his prison sentence extended by two years.

Christopher Hendy, 52, formerly of Devereux Road, Amesbury, abused this victim in the 1980s, forcing her to perform sexual acts on him.

He told her not to tell anyone about what had happened.

Hendy also abused another young girl by touching her sexually on a single occasion.

The two victims came forward after reading press coverage of Hendys previous convictions in 2015, when he was jailed for 22 years for 21 offences, including 12 counts of raping children.

He initially denied abusing the two girls, but changed his plea on the eve of his trial, admitting rape, gross indecency with a child and indecent assault.

Winchester Crown Court heard on Friday that Hendy was a teenager when the abuse took place.

Andy Houston, prosecuting, said Hendy would look at dirty magazines before abusing his victim.

The victim remembers being told by the defendant she was a special girl and this was their little secret that no one should ever know anything about, Mr Houston said.

In a statement, one of Hendys victims said to him: I am not scared of you and what you did.

Mr Houston said that both victims had undergone counselling and suffered from stress, depression and anxiety as a results of their ordeals.

The court heard that Hendy, who showed no emotion during the sentencing hearing, would be starting a course in prison to help with victim empathy.

In mitigation, Ms Sourtsz said: These proceedings have brought him stress and considerable anxiety.

She said a long sentence would utterly crush Hendy, adding: It is very difficult for him to look beyond today and deal with what lies ahead of him.

In his dream he wants to come out of prison and re-establish his life to the best of his ability but he appreciates that is some way in the distance.

Sentencing, Judge Susan Evans said: No child should feel ashamed at being abused.

She added that if the offences had been dealt with in 2015, Hendy would have been jailed for eight-and-a-half years, but she was restrained by her sentencing powers.

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A Margate man who raped a woman on a Ramsgate beach has been jailed for eight years following an investigation by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Oliver Cooper, 20 and of St Michaels Avenue, committed the offence in August 2016 and was found guilty following a trial in December 2017.

He was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court today (February 2) and, further to his custodial sentence, will appear on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

The court had previously heard that Cooper was known to his victim and they had agreed to meet.

During this meeting however, in the early hours of 7 August, he grabbed hold of her throat and raped her on the beach.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Tania Pickering of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: Cooper is a predatory sex offender who has failed to acknowledge the impact his behaviour has had on his victim.

After first putting her through a harrowing and demeaning ordeal, he then made her face the anguish of going through a criminal trial.

Her courage and bravery has been exemplary and, while the sentence cannot undo the damage Cooper has done, I hope the victim can take comfort from the fact justice has been served.

Description

A VILE paedophile who threatened a teenager into sending sexual videos of her and her brother has been jailed for 12 years.

Daniel Norton, 26, told the Hampshire girl that his father was a police officer and if she did not send pictures and videos of herself he would "take her away from her family".

Southampton Crown Court heard that he also made threats to distribute pictures and videos of the victim on the internet if she did not send more.

Eventually when the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she did not want to send them, the images were put on the internet and went viral.

It forced Hampshire Constabulary to issue a warning to parents, urging them to tell their children not to pass on the disturbing video.

Norton, of Cheadle, Stockport, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, with three years on extended licence.

Norton admitted three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity between October 1 and December 1, 2017.

He also pleaded guilty to making dozens of indecent moving images of children - across all three categories of severity - and possessing extreme pornographic images - which depicted children involved in sexual activity with animals.

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More than 500,000 images showing children of a variety of ages were recovered from David Allison's computer equipment A man who hoarded more than half a million indecent images of children, including some photos taken at a school and showing girls' underwear, has been jailed for three years. David Allison, of Moat Court, Shaw Close, Ottershaw, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court last Friday (January 26), after previously pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent photos of a child, one count of taking images of a child and two counts of voyeurism by installing equipment or constructing or adapting a structure. The 48-year-old was arrested on November 29 last year in an intelligence-led search warrant at his home. Police recovered more than 500,000 indecent images showing children of a variety of ages from Allison's computer equipment. They included 5,038 category A images - the worst level - 8,693 category B images and 84,300 category C images. The court heard there were so many photos that police have not yet had time to look through them all since Allison's arrest. He took photos on his camera, but also with a camera pen and on his iPad. On one occasion Allison left the camera on his iPad poking out of the top of a bag while recording, the court was told. Lee Harris, prosecuting, said: "He would put it in a camera bag with the camera poking out the top and leave it in a place where it could film in the school. "It was premeditated and the stills were opportunist. There was one picture in particular of a person getting changed in a school classroom," Mr Harris added. Allison appeared for sentencing via video link from HMP High Down and sat with his head bowed throughout most of the hearing. Mr Harris continued: "He accepted he was responsible for downloading the images and also admitted he recently accessed a live streaming website but felt he was crossing a line. "He kept the images and movies on a single hard drive and one day said he would draw a line in it and put the disc through the shredder." Summing up, Judge Robert Fraser said: "It is very clear no-one knew what you were doing. This was by a very clear description very concerning." 'Ashamed and disgusted' Sarah Read, defending, said Allison, an ex-teacher, fully understood he needed to be punished. "He is deeply ashamed and disgusted in himself and is aware fully of the far-reaching impact on those that are affected," she told the court. "There will have been plenty of people who would have been impacted positively by him and he knows fully well those people will be shocked to see where he is now." Allison was also handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

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A former steward at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth has been jailed after he was caught in sting by paedophile hunters.

Michael Watton, 56, thought he was meeting a 14-year-old girl for sex at Paignton train station, but was instead confronted by a group of men with a video camera.

They asked him about messages he had exchanged with several children – who were in fact fake profiles – and he admitted arranging to take the girl for a Chinese meal and booking them into a bed and breakfast for sex.

The defendant, who lives in Dartmouth, admitted three offences relating to his online activities and was jailed for 16 months by the judge at Exeter Crown Court.

The defence barrister, Ms Mary McCarthy, argued that in the real world no teenage girl would have found the bearded and balding Watton attractive enough to have sex with. She said the punishment should be a community order.

She also questioned the role of online vigilante groups who ‘encourage’ lonely men like Watton to commit offences. The defence barrister, Ms Mary McCarthy, argued that in the real world no teenage girl would have found Watton attractive enough to have sex with. She said the punishment should be a community order.

She also questioned the role of online vigilante groups who ‘encourage’ lonely men like Watton to commit offences.

But Judge Erik Salomonsen said the number of fake children he contacted meant he should be sent straight to jail.

The offences took place in October last year.

Prosecutor Julia Cox said the three charges related to chats the defendant had with ‘Katy’ ‘Jess’ and ‘Ellie-May’.

Katy had been set up as a decoy by the group Dark Justice.

Watton soon struck up a conversation on the dating site Qeep asking if she was single and how old she was, said the prosecutor.

He told the 14-year-old that he would love to have sex with her and get her pregnant. He then talked about meeting her in Newcastle but did not attend.

Jess, 10, was also a decoy. Watton again asked how old the girl was and whether she’d ever had sex.

Ellie-May, 14, was a decoy set up by Internet Interceptors.

Ms Cox told the court that Watton quickly moved the conversation on to sex, asking if she was a virgin and arranging to meet at Paignton Railway Station on October 21.

“He was met by individuals from paedophile hunter groups,” she said. “They spoke to him and recorded what was going on.”

Watton accepted he was there to meet a 14-year-old. He said he planned to take her to the cinema, buy her a Chinese then use a B&B for sex.

The court was told the defendant had no relevant previous convictions.

Ms McCarthy, mitigating, said: “He was on an adult dating site and out of loneliness wanting to meet adult women. The concern expressed by other judges is the concern of decoys appearing on this adult site as actively encouraging people who wouldn’t otherwise talk to young people down the lane of these offences.”

She said Watton was a bearded 50-year-old man and his profile picture made this clear.

“Without being rude to Mr Watton in the real world no young child would engage with him,” she said. “He didn’t pose as a young attractive person.”

She said he found ‘to his astonishment there were apparently young girls out there wanting to engage with him’.

“In the real world matters wouldn’t have progressed as they did. He is a lonely man living with his mother.”

Judge Salomonsen said he appreciated the point made by Ms McCarthy but the number of girls Watton tried to speak to made the offences more serious.

“You embarked on these exchanges with not one but 10 in all. Given that fact it seems to me this sentence must be served in prison.”

The defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child and one of attempting to meet a child for sex following online grooming.

He asked for seven further offences to be taken into consideration.

Watton, of Church Road, Dartmouth, was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.