Latest Offenders

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A convicted paedophile who was allowed to work with children on a Thomas The Tank Engine theme day on a Hampshire railway and then attacked a six-year-old girl was today found guilty of sexual assault.

Volunteer George Sully, 73, known as Ray Sully, put his hand up the skirt of the youngster and touched her bottom on James the red engine at the heritage steam Watercress Line in August last year.

The girl from Surrey was with her mother, father and younger sister when some of the family went up on the engine supervised by Sully playing the part of a 1950s engine driver.

He then assaulted the girl but was seen by another woman and the girl's mother.

The retired businessman from Four Marks, had denied the charge and said he could not remember touching the girl.

It emerged during the four-day trial at Winchester Crown Court that Sully had not had a Criminal Records Bureau check made on him despite having convictions for almost identical attacks stretching back 38 years.

He had touched the bottom of an 11-year-old girl in Woolworths in Guildford, Surrey, in 1968. He pleaded guilty to indecent assault and was fined £10.

In 1974 he followed two seven-year-old girls in Woking, Surrey, and put his hand up their skirts and squeezed their bottoms. He again pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault and was given 12 months' probation.

During his own evidence he said he was in close contact with hundreds of children a day during the eight day long Thomas attraction on the railway which occurred twice a year.

He had volunteered on the popular railway in 2002 and started on the Thomas days in 2003 but he did not fill out any forms and he never told the charity about his past, the court heard.

The decision not to check his past was criticised by the police and the girl's parents.

A jury returned a majority verdict after nine hours of deliberations.

The Recorder of Winchester Michael Brodrick said that Sully could be imprisoned under public protection legislation - meaning a indeterminate sentence if he continued to pose a risk to children.

He also ordered him to sign the sex offenders register and was disqualified from working with children.

Granting Sully bail and adjourning the case for sentence on June 18, the judge said: ''You are in a very serious position indeed.''

Description

A SOUTHAMPTON police sergeant has been jailed for 15 years after being convicted of raping a schoolgirl.

Gary Clark, 48, was found guilty of a total of 17 offences - including ten counts of indecent assault on a female under 16, six counts of indecency with a child and one count of rape.

Clark, who was suspended from duty last August while investigations were carried out, was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court this morning.

Detective Inspector Victoria Dennis, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "I welcome these convictions which follow a lengthy investigation by Hampshire Constabulary.

"Our thoughts are with the victim and her family at this time.

"I hope today's result will bring some level of closure to the victim and her family and that she can now start to rebuild her life."

He will now be subject to an internal police misconduct investigation.

Det Insp Dennis added: "Hampshire Constabulary takes any allegations of this kind extremely seriously and will investigate them thoroughly.

"It is extremely rare for a Hampshire constabulary officer to be charged and convicted of such serious sexual offences.

"At Kingston Crown Court today, Mr Clark was sentenced with a total of 12 years imprisonment and three years extended sentence for rape, the other 16 counts will run concurrently.

"The constabulary would like to reassure residents that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight remains a safe place to live, work and grow old."

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A Shetland teenager has been found guilty of a catalogue of sexual abuse against children as young as seven.

The guilty verdict against 17-year-old Jamie Leask followed a week-long trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.

Leask, who cried as the verdict was read out, was remanded in custody and placed on the sex offenders' register.

The teenager, who committed the offences in Lerwick over an 18-month period, will be sentenced in Edinburgh next month.

His victims were forced to give evidence against him, some via video link, after he denied the charges.

The court heard how he had sex with two different nine-year-old boys on separate occasions and forced them to perform sex acts on him.

He also forced two young boys, aged seven and nine, to have sex and perform lewd acts on each other.

The abuse took place at Seafield Park in Lerwick between 5 July and 23 August last year - while he was bailed for earlier alleged sex attacks on young girls.

However, the charges of rape against the two girls, aged 13 and 14, near a bomb shelter at "The Knab", a coastal walk area in Lerwick, were dropped.

Leask was instead found guilty of having underage sex with the schoolgirls.

The jury heard how the teenager had sex with the 13-year-old girl on Valentine's Day then taunted her that she was carrying his baby.

Baby taunts

He later ordered the other girl, aged 14 - his friend's girlfriend - to strip before having sex with her in September that year, while his friend watched.

The court heard how Leask, a former supermarket check-out operator, committed the first two attacks while he was still at school.

Leask, who has been held in custody since November, had sentence deferred to Edinburgh High Court for background reports until 23 May.

Lord Turnbull told the jury: "The nature of this case, involving evidence from children, has made it a demanding and unpleasant one."

Description

A LABOURER was jailed for a month and put on the sex offenders register for seven years after he slapped the bottom of an off-duty policewoman.

Anthony O'Neill, 22, was stunned when he was given the sentence. His relatives are furious and say the punishment is over-the-top for, what they say, was a silly joke. They say he has lost his job and been branded "a pervert".

O'Neill, pictured, ended up in trouble while he was drinking in a city centre street at 11am one day in November.

He told a court he thought it would be funny to smack the woman's behind when she bent down near him. Instead, the woman officer produced a police warrant card and arrested him.

O'Neill, of Goredale Avenue, Gorton, admitted sexual assault at Manchester Magistrates' Court. District Judge Paul Richardson told him: "What you did was insulting and demeaning - it was anything but funny."

Jailed

As well as being put on the register, he was jailed for a month but immediately released because he had already spent five weeks in custody.

After he was arrested, O'Neill admitted: "I have done it before. Some women like it, others don't." Outside court, O'Neill claimed he only admitted the sex assault charge because he wanted to be released after being held for 16 hours. He is considering an appeal.

He said: "I should have been sent away because it's taught me a lesson not to smack a woman's bum. But to be put on the sex offenders register is just daft."

'Drink'

O'Neill's mother, Karen, said: "I think it is terrible. People will see that and wonder what on earth has he done, and think it must be very serious. Rapists and serious sex abusers get put on for that long.

"He wouldn't harm anyone. Everyone can get a bit out of hand when they've had a drink."

The sex offenders register was set up in 1997 and holds details of about 29,000 people convicted, cautioned or released from prison for a sexual offence against children or adults.

Convicted sex offenders must register with the police within three days of their conviction or release from prison and failure to do so can result in prison. They must also inform police if they change their name or address.

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A FLASHER with a history of violent sex offences was jailed indefinitely at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday.

Sentencing Gareth Newman, 26, to a minimum of 18 months imprisonment, Judge James Meston QC described him as "a significant risk" to women.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard that Newman, of Recreation Road, Poole, exposed himself to various females over two days last June. The youngest was 11.

He was found guilty of three charges of indecent exposure and one of carrying out a sex act in the presence of a child after a trial in December.

Newman had earlier pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the terms of the Sex Offenders Register by failing to notify police of his address.

The court heard Newman was convicted of three indecent assaults back in 1998 in which violence was used.

Judge Meston also ordered Newman to go on the Sex Offenders Register for life and disqualified him from working with children.

DC Andrew Kennard said Newman typically targeted young girls on their own.

He told the Echo: "I'd like to thank the victims for coming forward and providing the evidence that secured this conviction and the support given to them by their families.

"Gareth Newman committed offences at various times of the day in the Rossmore area of Poole and singled out young girls in their teens, usually on their own.

"No-one - whatever their age - deserves to be a victim of crime that involves someone making inappropriate remarks, intentionally exposing themselves or touching another person in an improper way.

"This case sends out a clear message that all crimes of a sexual nature are taken seriously by Dorset Police."

Speaking afterwards, the mother of a 13-year-old victim said: "This incident has had a major impact on my daughter and my family.

"My daughter was 13 when it happened and was a normal outgoing girl who enjoyed going out to meet her friends.

"Since the incident she has become much more aware of what is going on around her and really doesn't like to walk alone, even in daylight.

"Every time she goes out she is reminded of what happened - especially as it happened so close to where we live.

"In the weeks before the court case she suffered from panic attacks and it has really affected her everyday life.

"I hope that the sentence given to the offender reflects what he has done to these young girls. I am delighted with what the police have done - we couldn't have asked for anything more."

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Gary Richards introduces Uiscedwr at the City Hall as part of the Salisbury Folk Festival. Richards co-hosted the event earlier this year only weeks after appearing in court on sex charges. DB1029PO9.

FORMER Salisbury College student support and welfare officer Gary Richards has been jailed for two years by a judge at Salisbury Crown Court for sexually abusing two 14-year-old girls.

Richards, 48, a high-ranking official with the Wiltshire Football Association and involved in running soccer tournaments for boys and girls, had admitted seven counts of sexual activity with the two teenage girls, including intercourse with one on one occasion.

Richards, of Bingham Road, Salisbury, also admitted possessing indecent images of children.

The court heard how Richards' daughter had discovered an image of one of the 14-year-old girls, who she knew, on her father's mobile phone, and had alerted her mother.

When confronted, Richards admitted what he had done and made "frank and full confessions" to the police when he was arrested in May of this year.

Prosecutor, James Newton-Price, said neither of the two girls attended Salisbury College, where Richards had been working teaching employment skills and as a student support and welfare officer. He added Richards knew one of the girls' mother, who also worked at the college and, on one occasion, he had e-mailed the woman on a work-related issue and the e-mail had been picked up by her daughter.

From this initial contact, Richards and the teenage girl began e-mailing each other, moving on to chat room messages and then Richards asking the girl for photographs of herself, including naked images.

Mr Newton-Price said: "She sent him ten images on her mobile phone and after telling her she was beautiful and sexy, he started sending her messages asking for them to meet up." The court heard after meeting and engaging in some sexual activity, Richards asked her about her friends and was later introduced to the second 14-year-old girl.

There were several meetings between the three of them at various locations and, on one occasion, Richards had sex with one of the girls while the other watched.

Mr Newton-Price said when Richards was arrested, police found indecent images of young girls - level one images - on Richards' computer. Peter Henry, defending, told the court Richards had made a full confession to police even before they had interviewed both girls.

Mr Henry added: "He has shown remorse and talks of his relief at confessing to these matters. He says he wants professional help.

"There was consent in these cases despite the ages of the two girls, neither of whom were sexually nave. The chat room talk was two-way traffic."

But Deputy Circuit Judge Pryor QC told Richards he had a duty to impose a custodial sentence.

The judge added: "These were young girls and, whatever is said about the part they played, they are of an age when they require protection, not the opposite.

"You were not in a position of trust towards them but the sexual activities involved, and length of the period they took place, requires a custodial sentence."

The judge sentenced Richards to two years in prison concurrent on all seven charges of sexual abuse, but no further penalty on the charge of possessing indecent images. He also disqualified Richards for an indefinite period from working with children, and placed him on the sex offenders register for ten years.

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A convicted sex offender who raped a teenage girl while on probation was today jailed for life. Richard Ewing dragged the 17-year-old girl into a remote storehouse as she walked across a field near a school in Weymouth, Dorset, on July 22 and raped her.

Ewing, whose previous attacks earned him the nickname the Spider, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping, attempted rape and sexual assault on the schoolgirl when he appeared under heavy guard at Dorchester Crown Court, Dorset today.

The 41-year-old was living in Weston Bail Hostel in the seaside town at the time, having been released early from an 18-year jail sentence for a string of rape sex attacks on women in Exeter between 1989 and 1993.

He was electronically tagged and under special arrangement, known as Mappa, which are aimed at offenders likely to pose a serious risk to the public.

Judge John Beashel imposed a life sentence on Ewing and told him he would serve nine years before being considered for parole.

The judge added: "This is not a nine-year prison sentence. It is a life sentence. It potentially is a sentence that could lead to you remaining in prison for the rest of your life."

He said if he was ever released he would be subject to a licence for the rest of his life.

He added: "You were complying with the terms of your licence but at the same time it seems to me you were cynically planning your next offence. You found some farm buildings and in particular a storehouse and that is where you committed these dreadful offences on July 22 of this year.

"Your victim was a virgin aged 17 years. She is of slight build. You are a powerful and fit man. Once more you exercised control over your victim.

"It was a truly terrifying ordeal for this young woman. You dragged her to the place where you committed these offences.

"You tied her wrists and subjected her to sexual indignities before raping her. You threatened to assault her again if she told anyone as to what had happened.

"You have demonstrated all too clearly that no matter the restrictions placed on you outside of prison you will find a way to obtain sexual gratification by attacking women.

"You are a very dangerous sexual predator."

The judge also jailed Ewing for five years for sexual assault to run concurrently.

He said Ewing had been recalled to prison to serve the remainder of his 1995 sentence which expires in December 2011. He also ordered him to register once again as a sex offender.

Despite having to check in at the hostel every two hours, and abide by a nightly curfew, Ewing found time to plan the attack, said Martin Meeke QC, prosecuting.

Mr Meeke said the evidence of this was that Ewing had planted some rope in the storehouse.

The victim had been shopping with her boyfriend in Weymouth and went back to his house, before walking home across the field.

She had seen Ewing before and he told police in interview that he often ran and trained in a nearby barn where he kept his weights.

Mr Meeke said Ewing put his hand around her mouth, another round her waist and dragged her up a bank saying: "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to mug you."

He took her into the storehouse, tied her hands behind her back and told her not to look at him, said Mr Meeke.

He then undressed her and the victim said in a statement to police: "He stopped, he started to examine me, looking at me."

He sexually assaulted her, tried to rape her and then told her to lay down before sexually assaulting her and raping her for the first time without using a condom.

"Until that moment this 17-year-old girl was a virgin," added Mr Meeke.

Ewing redressed the girl before raping her a second time.

"When he'd finished with her she asked him to untie her wrists, he did so," said Mr Meeke.

The victim said Ewing was "thinking whether he should let her go or not."

Mr Meeke said: "He said don't tell anyone or I will come and get you again. I will come and find you.

"She promised not to tell. He picked up her handbag and took 4 from her purse."

She ran home and told her stepmother.

Fingerprints at the scene and DNA evidence linked Ewing to the attack. He fled after the rape and Dorset Police launched a massive manhunt involving more than 100 officers.

The attack on the teenage girl bore all the hallmarks of his previous assaults and Dorset Police feared he may strike again.

An off-duty chief superintendent of Dorset Police recognised Ewing from a wanted poster as he was walking along the promenade on the Bournemouth Poole border on July 25.

He called the police and Ewing, who has distinctive tattoos, including an anchor on his left thumb, a cross on his left forearm and dots on the knuckles of his left hand, was arrested in Bournemouth and subsequently charged.

He told police during the interview about the "demon inside" him.

Ewing told police: "Even though I knew it was wrong, I'm wasting the rest of my life, but I still couldn't do anything about it. I just couldn't logically put it into sense."

Ewing added during interview: "Whoever it was has had his wicked way and left me to deal with it."

Ewing had served 12 years of his 18-year sentence.

After his arrest his licence was revoked and he was returned to jail to serve the remainder. Mr Meeke said he was released as a statutory right under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and added: "The Probation Service could not have done any more in terms of supervising this man than was done.

"There was no discretion in the Home Office or the Parole Board as to his release. He was entitled to be released."

Ewing's previous attacks earned him the nickname the Spider because of the way he stalked lone women, hiding in isolated areas before pouncing on them from behind.

He was born Richard Carpenter but changed his name by deed pole to Ewing because he was a fan of the TV show Dallas.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Redstone, of Dorset Police, said outside court the victim had shown "courage" during the investigation.

"From the time that she was brutally attacked by Richard Ewing, during the time he was at large, and leading up to this court case, the victim has always acted with great dignity," added Mr Redstone.

"It is very difficult at times to remember that she was only 17 at the time of this horrific attack.

"I cannot stress enough the seriousness and brutality of this attack. A young woman walking home during the late afternoon was grabbed from behind, dragged to a place away from public view where she has been tied up and savagely raped."

Mr Redstone said the "sheer weight" of evidence against Ewing led to his guilty pleas. "This dreadful offence has been committed by a man who had committed identical offences against women in the past," said Mr Redstone.

"I only hope that he is never given an opportunity to do so again."

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A paedophile who used young girls and women as his playthings over more than a quarter of a century has been jailed for ten years.

James Wilkinson corrupted and abused the victims, and then accused them all of lying when they testified against him at Chelmsford Crown Court.

He even assaulted one victim on the day of his third wedding.

As the 56-year-old, of Alefounder Close, Greenstead, Colchester, was led out of the dock yesterday, his victims called out "thank you" to the jurors who convicted him.

They found him guilty on all 16 counts he was accused of, including rape and indecency with a child, after a ten-day trial.

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A BRAVE 12-year-old who became Britain's youngest mum after a horrifying rape ordeal told The People: "I love my baby to bits - what happened to me is not his fault."

The schoolgirl was just 11 when she was brutally attacked by family friend Russell Tovey, 31, in her own home.

At first the young victim - we'll call her Stacey to protect her identity - was even too frightened to tell her own mum she had been raped.

But speaking for the first time about her torment, she vowed: "This won't stop me having the normal feelings of a mum.

"I hate Tovey for what he did to me and I feel like ripping him apart.

"My baby will have to know what happened one day - but he will NEVER call him Dad."

Cuddling baby Max, blonde Stacey revealed how she:

HAD no idea she was pregnant until only two weeks before she gave birth'

INVENTED a rape story to cover up for Tovey who had threatened revenge if she shopped him' and

GAVE up her baby for adoption - but begged to take him back after only one night apart.

Father-of-two Tovey, 31 - who is now behind bars and facing life in jail for the savage crime - was a close friend of Stacey's family.

He regularly took the youngster and her brothers for bike rides, swimming lessons and theme park outings.

But one night last summer he raped Stacey while her divorced mum was out at work then brutally terrified the 11-year-old into silence.

Stacey said: "He told me that if I said anything he would drive me into the middle of nowhere and dump me there. He said no one would ever find me.

"He was so trusted by the family that I didn't think Mum would believe me if I told her what he'd done. I just kept it to myself.

"I didn't like sleeping in my house any more if Mum was at work so I'd go and stay with my dad. I felt safer."

But Stacey's weight soon rocketed -and the truth began to dawn.

She said: "I started to wonder if I was pregnant but didn't want to believe it.

"I felt awful all the time and looked fat and horrible. But I had never felt the baby moving inside me, so I just tried to forget about it."

A GP eventually confirmed that Stacey was expecting.

But the stunned youngster recalled Tovey's threats - and made up a story about being raped when two men dragged her into a graveyard.

Two weeks later she had baby Max at her local hospital. Stacey recalled: "I talked it over with Mum and we decided it would be for the best if the baby was adopted.

"Bringing it up myself was always going to be a reminder of what had happened.

"And I didn't want to relive it every time I changed a nappy."

But Stacey changed her mind hours after Max was taken away from her.

She begged social services chiefs to return him - and has never regretted the decision.

Showing a courage and maturity way beyong her years, she said: "It has been really hard but all my friends at school have been great.

"Everyone is so interested in the baby and how we're doing - and no one has made fun of me at all.

"In a way, having Max has helped me get over what happened because he makes me laugh and smile."

She added: "I know I've got to be more responsible than other girls.

"Sometimes after I've done my homework I have to push my baby around the village to get him to sleep.

"It's not a game, not like playing with dolls - especially when he cries."

Stacey's 36-year-old mum - who we are calling Jane - said she had first suspected problems after her daughter missed one of her periods.

She recalled: "They had been as regular as clockwork and when they stopped I mentioned it to the GP.

"He said don't worry, she was young and her body would sort itself out.

"Then last Christmas we started to notice Stacey was putting on weight.

"I suggested she should stop eating so much and her gran even offered to pay her #1 for every pound she lost.

"Kids at school began teasing her, calling her Porker and joking she was pregnant. I even said myself that if she wasn't so young I'd have thought she was expecting."

Jane went on: "One day Stacey's gran said she was sure Stacey was pregnant.

"She'd felt her tummy - but it wasn't soft and wobbly with fat, it was hard.

"It didn't make sense because apart from a few little crushes Stacey had never shown any interest in lads.

"And I run a tight ship - she was always in bed at 9pm on the dot."

Jane went back to the GP, who suggested a pregnancy test.

The worried mum told Stacey she needed a urine sample, claiming it would help the doctor find out why she was putting on weight.

To Jane's amazement, the DIY pregnancy test was positive.

She said: "I was gobsmacked but I didn't tell Stacey because I wanted to get it confirmed by a doctor. I bundled her into the car and took her to the local surgery.

"The doctor ushered us in and I said, 'I think my daughter is pregnant'. Stacey became hysterical, crying and screaming, but the doctor calmed her down and led her away to do a test.

"Within minutes they were back and again the result was positive.

"Stacey was crying and wailing, saying she couldn't be pregnant because she hadn't done anything."

The next day Stacey told her mum the graveyard rape story.

Jane recalled: "I was sickened but of course I believed every word she said.

"Stacey didn't want me to go to the police but I said we had to - these men had to be caught."

Stacey was interviewed and told that DNA tests on her baby after it was born might identify her attacker.

Hospital scans revealed she was already 35 weeks pregnant. Jane added: "She was still a child herself, too young to be a mum.

"Watching my daughter go through that at such a young age was horrible but she hardly made any fuss. She had a little boy - but neither of us was prepared for how gorgeous he was.

"My heart went out to him. He'd had a rotten start in life but we were going to make sure he was loved."

Stacey spent two days with Max in hospital before a foster mum took him away.

Jane said: "The house felt so empty the night we came home and we cried and cried. In only a couple of days we had fallen in love with him.

"The next morning I took one look at Stacey and knew we had made the wrong decision. We phoned social services and said we wanted him back.

"I hadn't seen Stacey smile so much in months."

The family then waited for the results of the DNA swab taken from Max.

Meanwhile, Tovey had been involved in a car accident which left him fighting for his life in hospital.

Jane said: "I visited him a few times and told him what was going on.

"He never batted an eyelid when I said I was concerned the DNA test was taking a long time.

"I even took the baby in. y held his hand and coo-cooed over him."

A week after Tovey was sent home, detectives knocked at Jane's door to tell her he was the rapist.

The stunned mum said: "I was devastated that a man I had trusted with my kids could do this. Stacey kept saying it wasn't him. But later she opened up to a close friend.

"She said he had raped her twice while I was at work and that he had frightened her into keeping quiet."

This week Tovey, from Cinderford, Glos, was given a tough new "indeterminate" sentence after admitting two counts of rape at Gloucester Crown Court. He can only be freed if a parole panel deem he is no longer a danger to the public. Judge Jamie Tabor QC branded the crime "undiluted wickedness".

Jane said: "The only good thing to come out of this is the baby.

"I'm responsible for a lot of his day-to-day care because I feel it's important that Stacey is still allowed her childhood.

"As she gets older, she will have to take on more and more responsibility.

"But she knows that whatever happens, I will always be here for her."

And Stacey added: "I know it's going to be hard work - I'm still at school and I want to do well.

"But I also want to give my baby all the love and attention he needs."

[email protected]

Description

A DEPRAVED couple who filmed themselves raping a nine-year-old girl were jailed for a total of 11-and-a-half years yesterday.

William Duncan and Lisa Stuart, also known as Lisa Duncan both 23, groomed their victim for sex and used a camcorder to record her horrific ordeal. They also forced her to tape them as they repeatedly had sex.

Father-of-two Duncan was jailed for eight and half years for abusing the girl over a two-year period. He admitted two rape charges and subjecting her to sickening sex acts in Elgin and Keith, Moray, between July 2003 and March 2005.

Mum-of-two Lisa Stuart, who filmed the attacks, was jailed for three years for rape.

Judge Lord Hodge told her: In a minor way you assisted your partner to have sex with a nine-year-old girl.

Your actions appear to have been influenced by sexual and physical abuse of you by Mr Duncan.

Her partner had originally claimed he was not guilty but he changed his plea after the harrowing footage was played to jurors.

At one point the tape shows Duncan asking Stuart: Want to join in? He is also seen bathing naked with the girl.

The jury of 11 women and four men were excused duty for 10 years because of the evidence had to endure.

Duncan, of Rothiemay, Banffshire, and Stuart, of Elgin, Moray, are at risk of reoffending, the High Court in Glasgow heard. Both were put on the Sex Offenders Register and banned from working with children. Duncan was ordered to be supervised in the community for five years after his release.

Lawyers for the couple said both had learning difficulties and regretted what they had done.

Det Insp Ewan Strachan, of Grampian Police, said outside court: I must stress the successful conclusion of this case could not have been achieved without this young victim taking her courage in both hands and coming forward to tell her story.

Description

A church minister who pleaded guilty to 35 counts of child abuse, including two charges of raping an 11-year-old boy, has been sentenced to life in prison.

The Reverend Simon Thomas, 44, of Hythe, Hampshire, admitted the charges at Southampton Crown Court.

The court heard he had used internet chatrooms to groom his victims.

A judge said Thomas, a former minister at Hythe United Reformed Church, must serve a minimum of eight years before he is eligible for parole.

Thomas, who had worked in Hythe for 10 years and was married, was suspended by the United Reformed Church pending disciplinary proceedings.

The charges against him included inciting children to engage in sexual activity, meeting children following sexual grooming, indecency with a child, sexual activity with an 11-year-old and making indecent photographs of children.

"The same good social skills that made you a successful priest were used to harm those young boys and breach their trust" Judge Jeremy Burford QC.

Judge Jeremy Burford QC said that only a life sentence was appropriate for the serious offences of rape because it was not clear when Thomas would be "safe to be released back into society".

He said: "You used the internet through those years to contact and groom boys using a mixture of flattery and obscenity.

"The same good social skills that made you a successful priest were used to harm those young boys and breach their trust."

When police examined computers seized from Thomas' home they discovered a schedule of 1,200 names of people he had met on the internet, 97 of whom were boys aged under 16.

'Double life'

The material included details of the boys as well as comments about them.

Thomas also arranged to meet four of the boys in town centres and then drove them to secluded spots where he abused them.

The court was told that the 35 offences, which included 19 indecent images and video footage on his computer, were committed during a four-and-half-year period.

Judge Burford said that Thomas had led a "double life", which had deceived not only his family but his employers and congregation at his church.

"You have been convicted of serious specified sexual offences, there's no doubt there's a significant risk to young boys of serious psychological harm by you committing further offences," he added.

"You cannot blame the internet, these people will always find a way but you have to make sure to do everything possible to protect your children" Father of a victim.

On Friday, the mother of one of the victims urged families to make sure they supervise their children's use of the web at all times.

"I urge parents to take every care with their children's use of the internet and make sure they know what their children are doing at all times," she said.

"Children should never meet anyone they meet on the internet."

And the father of a 14-year-old victim said: "You cannot blame the internet, these people will always find a way but you have to make sure to do everything possible to protect your children."

Det Insp Adrian Prangnell, of Hampshire Police, said: "This has been a terrible but perhaps timely reminder to us all of the need to ensure our children can use the wonderful opportunities the internet offers in a safe and secure way.

"It is highly possible that there are other victims who are yet to be identified."

Description

A young Shetland man who downloaded child pornography has been banned from using the internet.

Dean Hughson, 20, was involved in either taking or making 237 indecent photographs and 27 moving pictures.

He also admitted possessing 72 indecent images of children, and nine indecent moving pictures with a view to them being distributed or shown to others.

He was placed on probation for three years at Inverness Sheriff Court, and cannot go online during that time.

The offences happened between March 2003 and May 2005.

Fiscal Stella Swan said the offences came to light following a joint operation by European law enforcement agencies.

Police raided Hughson's home in Sandwick and confiscated computer equipment from his bedroom.

Ms Swan said: "The images were a mixture of pre-pubescent and post-pubescent children. The majority were involved in grossly indecent sexual acts."

Defence lawyer Tommy Allan told the court that computers were "another pitfall" for youngsters in modern society, along with drugs, cars and unwanted pregnancies.

Mr Allan s 'Disgusting trade' aid: "He is not in denial. He is not trying to make excuses. He has been very immature and hopes to make a contribution to society."

'Disgusting trade'

Sheriff Derek Pyle told Hughson: "You have to understand that the court takes a very serious view of these matters.

"When one sees images of this kind in the cold light of day they are horrible.

"They involve the persecution of young kids and it really is a disgusting trade in which you are part of by getting involved in it on your computer.

"But taking into account of your individual circumstances I will make a probation order for three years."

The order included several conditions, including a community service order of 200 hours.

He was ordered to refrain from using the internet during the period of his probation.

Hughson was ordered to take part in a sex offenders' programme and not to have contact with children aged under 16 without prior approval from his supervising officer.

He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for three years.

Description

ONE hundred and sixteen indecent images of children were found by police on computer equipment owned by a Roman Catholic parish priest.

Father Barnaby Dowling (46) was said at a Salisbury magistrates' court last week to have viewed various forms of pornography on the internet and to have used chat rooms and viewed indecent images of young girls.

Magistrates told the priest that what made his case more serious was that he had distributed some of the images to other users and, adjourning sentence for reports to be compiled, warned him that all sentencing options remained open including a prison sentence.

Father Dowling, from St Osmund's Church in Exeter Street, pleaded guilty to three charges of distributing indecent photographs of children, four charges of making indecent photographs of children and admitted one charge of possessing 14 indecent photographs of children.

Prosecutor Becky Abbott told the court that in October 2004, Devon and Cornwall police were carrying out an investigation and various individuals were identified on computer equipment they had seized.

Father Dowling's name was among them and Salisbury police executed a warrant at his address in Exeter Street.

Police took away a computer, a laptop and other computer equipment.

She said 73 pictures were found on the laptop, and in all 116 images were found, although only 40 of them were still accessible as Father Dowling had deleted the others.

The images were mainly of young girls, although one was of a boy.

Father Dowling admitted he used a screen name to receive images and had forwarded some on to other users, but only by prior arrangement.

Paul Jones, defending, said Father Dowling was extremely remorseful and embarrassed at being before the court.

Mr Jones said the offences were "low level" for that type of offence and involved a small number of images compared to many other cases.

He said the priest had deleted many images and had not received any financial gain from what he had done.

Mr Jones said: "He has been a parish priest for 22 years, the last three in Salisbury.

"He has now been told by the Church that he will be restricted to what he may do within the ministry and will not have anything to do with children.

"This will have an impact on the community which has been his life.

"Father Dowling has received considerable support from that community and from his parish. These offences took place during a difficult time for him.

"He had been diagnosed with cancer and there followed a period of depression. He, himself, needed support and fortunately he now is receiving that support."

Mr Jones handed to the magistrates a number of references and said: "This had had a devastating effect on him.

"Because of the media interest he will be in the public eye. He is going to be restricted in his duties and all this is greater punishment for him than anything the court can do."

Adjourning sentence until July 10, presiding magistrate Dr Pauline Tremlett told him he had been in a position of trust.

She said it involved a small number of images but the fact that he had distributed some of them made it a more serious matter.

She said: "We are aware of your genuine remorse and that it happened during a period of ill health, but we wish to protect the public and we wish to rehabilitate and reform you."

Father Dowling was granted bail until his next appearance on July 10.

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A DUMFRIES sex monster was found guilty of subjecting two women to heinous ordeals.

Paul Adair, 29, was found guilty after a five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow of sexually assaulting an Airdrie mother, 36.

She testified in court that Adair committed various sex acts on her in her Airdrie home between 1996 and 2003.

In addition, a Dumfries woman testified that Adair sexually assaulted her in his home on Young Avenue, Lincluden, on several occasions between Christmas Eve, 2004 and April 11, last year.

A charge that he repeatedly raped the 25-year-old woman was dropped by the jury.

Adair was also acquitted of raping the woman's friend in her Dumfries home earlier in August and October 2004 with a not proven verdict.

According to the court, Adair met the woman on a phone chat line and she slept with him after inviting him to her home.

She introduced Adair to her 25-year-old friend during their first romance.

The woman went on to accuse Adair of rape, but she denied an allegation made by Frances McMenamin, Adair's de fence QC, that she made up the rape story to spite him after discovering he had been sleeping with her best friend behind her back.

Adair did not appear in court.

Adair, a supermarket employee, was placed on the sex offenders register following the verdicts.

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A sadistic prison officer who raped four women and kidnapped a series of teenage girls while posing as a policeman was jailed for life yesterday.

John David Hall, 35, attacked some of his victims when they agreed to go out with him, and assaulted others after luring them into his car on the pretext of asking directions.

He indecently assaulted girls aged 12 and 13 and tried to attack three others aged 13, 14 and 15 over a period of eight years.

One of Hall's rape victims suffered a double fracture of the jaw when he punched her to keep her quiet.

Hall, who is twice married, carried out some of his attacks while running a wing at Wakefield Prison. He carried out some of the kidnappings while driving home in his uniform. He told victims he was a policeman and briefly showed them an identity card that seemed to confirm it.

He was convicted of five counts of rape at an earlier trial. However, they could not be reported at the time because he was awaiting a court appearance on the -kidnappings.

Passing sentence at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Justice Goldring told Hall that the appropriate determinative sentence for his crimes was 25 years, and that he must serve at least half that before being considered for parole. But he went on: "I want to make this absolutely clear. The sentence I pass is one of life imprisonment. It is not a sentence of twelve-and-a-half years.''

The judge said that although Hall now appeared to accept his guilt on the rape charges, he had put all four victims through the ordeal of giving evidence in the witness box.

At his trial in March the jury heard that the prison officer derived pleasure from forcing women to have sex with him.

He raped four women and tried to rape a fifth. One victim was a prostitute and another was a 17-year-old he picked up while driving.

The others included a 19-year-old he met after a football match and a young doctor who had stayed at his flat after a night out. Julian Goose, QC, prosecuting, told the jury that Hall had been a prison officer from the age of 20, serving at Wakefield, Full Sutton, near York, and at Wetherby.

"To many who knew him the defendant appeared to lead a normal life with secure employment in the prison service," he said. "The reality, however, is that over a period of years from 1997 to 2001 the defendant raped women and with some of them he also used violence, fracturing the jaw of one of them in the course of the rape."

Mr Goose said that Hall admitted having sex with all of the women but claimed it was always consensual. The court was told that in March 1997 he drove a 19-year-old back to her flat in Leeds, picking her up outside a sports stadium where he had been playing football. He got into her house by claiming that he needed to use the lavatory. Once inside he launched his attack.

In November 1997, Hall was driving along Harehills Lane in Leeds when he saw a 17-year-old girl he recognised from a nightclub. She got into his car after he invited her out for a drink. Instead he took her to his home in Rothwell where he raped her.

Hall's next victim, a 21-year-old prostitute, was attacked in March 1998. She had agreed to perform a sex act for cash but he later forced himself on her. He punched her so hard she was left semi-conscious on the floor. She needed an emergency operation to repair the double fracture to her jaw.

By late 2001 Hall had moved to a flat in St John's Square, Wakefield, where he tried to rape a newly qualified GP.

Hall was first arrested after the attack on the 17-year-old, but police let him go because there was insufficient evidence to detain him. He was arrested again last year in respect of all the offences.

He married his first wife in May 1996. She left him in 1997 when he was in police custody on suspicion of rape.

He met his current wife in Wakefield in 2001 and they married two years later. He was arrested hours after she gave birth to their first child.