Latest Offenders

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A SELF-PROCLAIMED playboy who preyed on two vulnerable schoolgirls has been put behind bars for 10 years.

Paedophile Lucas Irons huffed and puffed as Oxford Crown Court heard how he targeted the youngsters to satisfy his 'sexual ends' between July 2014 and January 2015.

Sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Peter Ross branded the 28-year-old dangerous and condemned him for his 'calculated and pre-meditated' offending.

He handed Irons an extended licence period of four years, warning the defendant he may have to serve all of his sentence in jail.

Judge Ross added: "It is clear from the evidence in this case that you were out of control. You were using networks of young girls as a means of targetting them for your sexual ends."

A jury of six men and six women unanimously convicted Irons of two counts of sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual assault.

But jurors were unable to reach a decision on a further count of sexual assault after more than five hours of deliberation following a trial last month.

Defence barrister Peter Du Feu told the court the sex offender, who appeared via video link from Bullingdon Prison, continues to maintain his innocence but 'respects' the decision of the jury.

He went on to claim Irons, who was hunted by police when he failed to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court after being charged, did not deserve to be branded a paedophile.

During the trial, prosecutor Kevin James Barry claimed Irons, of Ock Street, Abingdon, had a 'powerful sexual attraction' towards the schoolgirls.

The court heard he used social media to target one victim, lying about his age and convincing the 'incredibly naive' teenager he wanted a relationship.

Irons, a former manager of Oxford’s All Bar One, invited the schoolgirl to his home, where she felt she had no choice but to 'go along' with having sex with him.

The sex offender, who claimed he had thousands of Facebook friends, preyed on his second victim in Littlemore Park, sexually assaulting her after swaying her away from her group.

She was left 'disturbed' by the assault, fleeing the park to a friend's house, the court heard.

Wearing a blue shirt and trousers, Irons took to the stand during his trial to refute the allegations, swearing on the Bible before claiming he had been 'completely honest'.

Irons, who also claimed he worked at St Clement's bar Joe Perks & Co, was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and must pay a victim surcharge.

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A rapist who filmed himself attacking unconscious women has had his "unduly lenient" prison sentence extended.

Romeo Cummins, 44, of Basingstoke, Hampshire, was originally jailed for 13 and a half years - and would have been eligible for parole after serving half his sentence.

He admitted 16 counts of rape, sexual assault and five drugs offences.

The Court of Appeal increased his term to life with a minimum of nine years - with no automatic right of release.

Police said Cummins had more than 100 videos of him attacking unconscious victims on his phone.

'Pleased with the sentence'

He was arrested in possession of crack cocaine, heroin and sleeping tablets in Aldershot in February.

When officers examined his phone, they found videos which contained footage of the sexual offences. The attacks took place over the last three years.

Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred Cummins' sentence to the Court of Appeal, arguing that it was unduly lenient.

He said: "The original sentence failed to reflect the number of victims; the number of rapes and the period of time over which the offending occurred.

"These were particularly vulnerable women who now have to live with the lasting psychological consequences of his actions."

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "It was clear from the footage that the women might not have known they had been sexually assaulted."

Det Sgt Lisa Cronin said: "We are very pleased with the sentence delivered today.

"It is an accurate reflection of the nature of Cummins' offending and the impact it has had on his victims."

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A MAN has been jailed for 11 years eight months for sex offences which happened between 1998 and 2003. Keith Noble, 53, of Flint Street, Grays, appeared at Basildon Crown Court on Monday, October 24, where he pleaded guilty to three offences of indecent assault. He previously admitted offences of attempted rape and indecent assault back in June. The offences involved two female victims who were juveniles when they were committed. Officers initially arrested Noble in 2002 following an allegation of a sexual offence, however following a full investigation there was insufficient evidence to proceed and no charges were brought. In October 2014 an allegation was made that Noble had accessed indecent images of children. He was arrested and released on bail while investigations continued before being charged with 14 offences which he admitted at his first court appearance in October 2015. These were offences of making indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornographic images, distribution of indecent images and recording a person doing a private act. During the course of the investigation officers discovered evidence of covert filming and distribution of the images. The victim was identified and later disclosed other offences for which Noble was responsible. As a result of this disclosure officers contacted the victim who made the allegations in 2002 who agreed to speak to officers again. On February 5, 2016, Noble was charged with attempted rape, and four counts of indecent assault. At the hearing on Monday, October 24, he was jailed for all 19 offences and given a 12 month licence period to be served upon release. Pc James Smith from Harlow CID said: "I am pleased Noble has admitted he is guilty to all of the charges brought against him and that the victim who contacted us in 2002 has finally been able to see justice done for the offences he committed against her. "This case shows that matters are never closed and where new evidence comes to light officers will seek to ensure wherever possible charges are brought and perpetrators of sex offences are held accountable for the abuse they have carried out. "I would encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sex offence, however long ago it happened, and who has not reported it to police to have the faith and confidence to do so.

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A Formby man who had sex with a 15-year-old girl he met via Facebook was jailed for 32 months.

Scott Ball, who was ten years older than the girl, knew she was under-age and still at school.

But he went on to have sex with her despite her mum discovering his intentions after checking her daughters Facebook account and warning him she would call the police.

His sordid crime came to light because he worked for Merseyrail and had to wear a body camera. When the previous six months audio and visual recordings were taken for routine destruction he was heard discussing what had happened with colleagues.

He also had a graphic conversation with a former partner about the consequences of his actions with the girl and she became so concerned that she recorded it.

Ball, now 27, of Langton Drive, denied two charges of sexual activity with a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming. But after the girls evidence had been played to the jury he admitted the more serious charge of sexual activity and the others were dropped.

Jailing him and ordering him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life, Judge Norman Wright said that at the time of the offence in February last year Ball was 25 and the girl 15.

The judge accepted that having sex may have been at the instigation of the girl, who had become infatuated with Ball and overawed by the attention he had been showing her, but you were the adult and she was a child.

Ben Jones, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the couple met via Facebook, thet they both knew each others age and when they met she was wearing her school uniform.

Her mum discovered the Facebook conversations in which he had been attempting to impress her with offers of meals out at posh restaurants, taking her to a log cabin, calling her sexy and claiming to love her.

There were also more disturbing messages about love that school uniform and looking at her pictures while pleasuring himself.

She banned her daughter from further contact with him and contacted Ball to warn him she would call the police if he did not leave her daughter alone.

However the girl contacted him using a friends phone on February 3 last year and they arranged to meet.

Mr Jones said: She was taken to a relatively secluded area where he said he had bought a flat. They had sexual relations in a car park by those flats.

When she came home her mother realised what was going on and reported it to the police leading to his arrest. He denied any form of sexual contact.

In a defence statement he tried to blacken her character and described her as infatuated with him and seeking to lead him on.

In a victim impact statement the girl told how she had become infatuated with an older handsome man. Now she realises how she had been taken in by him.

Shila Whitehead, defending Ball, who has no previous convictions: He is rather immature and that has affected his thinking skills.

He lost his 28,000 a year job as a result of the offence and has been unemployed since but plans to be a self-employed painter and decorator having now completed a training course.

The judge imposed a five year restraining order to keep away from the girl.

DI Steve Christian said: Ball is a sexual predator and this conviction shows that we will be pursue those preying on the most vulnerable in our community.

I hope that this sentence sends out a clear message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Anyone wishing to report an offence or has information can ring 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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A NORTH Yorkshire man who groomed and had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl after meeting her at a Midland riding school is now behind bars. Stuart Moreland, 37, from Northallerton, has been jailed for nine years after admitting admitted six charges of sexual activity with a child. The court heard that following the offences the young victim had become a shell of her former self. The story came out after the victim revealed to someone at the school what had been happening to her in August this year. Robert Davies, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said Moreland, who was married and a father himself, had initially sent flirtatious texts to the teenager and had challenged her to kiss him the next time they met. He added: What took place between them then developed into a full sexual relationship for many months. Mr Davies said on one occasion a sexual act had taken place in a field and that Moreland had told the victim to delete texts he sent to her, although police were able to retrieve some of them. When quizzed, the teenager said it was her first sexual experience and she had been sworn to keep the relationship a secret. The victims father told the court her ordeal had greatly affected their lives and the family had struggled to cope with the consequences. A loving and carefree teenager has been replaced by an angry and bewildered child, he said. "She is a shell of her former self. Passing sentence, Judge Kirstie Montgomery told Moreland: She was described by her family as being quiet and dedicated to her passion for horses. "You were a married man with a child at the time you began to abuse her. "You were audacious and arrogant in the way you abused her telling her to delete texts that would trace the relationship. "You used a form of emotional blackmail to ensure her silence. You exploited her, groomed her and sexually abused her. "It has had a devastating effect on that family. The judge said it had also been an aggravating feature that Moreland had a previous conviction for having sex with a teenage girl in 2000 at a youth club. Alison Scott Jones, defending, said: He understands the blame rests fully on himself. "He is remorseful for his behaviour.

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A YOUTH worker caught swapping child abuse images with other perverts online and even encouraging one to rape a baby in disturbing Skype conversations today walked free from court after avoiding a jail term.

Matthew Lynch told cops "I've never done anything - I work with children" when they explained why his home was being raided in November last year.

But an investigation into the contents of his smartphone and laptop unmasked horrifying conversations with online perverts.

In one conversation another depraved paedophile told Lynch he could have watched him with a "zero" - a codeword for a young child he was abusing - if he had been online.

Lynch asked the man if he had abused the child to which he replied "I would have been tempted if you would have been watching."

Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed told Dundee Sheriff Court: "The accused then wrote 'looks tasty' - and asked how the man had abused the child.

"His computers were forensically examined and six indecent images were recovered from Skype.

"They depict boys aged between three and six.

"Skype chat conversation logs were also found.

"They discuss sexual abuse of a child by another male.

"There were also chat logs on his iPhone."

Lynch was employed as an assistant youth worker with the Dundee Carers Centre when his sick crime was uncovered.

He is listed on their website as having worked as part of their young carers project.

It is understood he left the charity within days of the police raid last November.

The organisation provides support, advocacy and training for those who provide unpaid care for family or friends - as well as organising short breaks for carers and those they care for.

Lynch, 24, of Calder Grove, Edinburgh, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges of downloading child abuse images between March 17 and November 17 last year and distributing them on March 23 last year at an address in Dundee's Portpatrick Terrace.

Defence solicitor Billy Rennie said: "He lived an isolated lifestyle and developed somewhat secretive relationships.

"Thats how this ultimately led to the offences in questions.

"In these discussions online he was to some extent let into a discussion about these images.

"This was with an individual he'd never met and whose name he didn't even know.

"They were fairly graphic and horrific images."

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said: "These are serious offences but in the circumstances I think I can deal with it by a community payback order."

He imposed a community payback order with 200 hours unpaid work, two-and-a-half years supervision, an order to take part in a sex offenders rehabilitation programme and conduct requirements around his contact with children and internet use.

Lynch will also be on the sex offenders register for 30 months.

A spokesman for NSPCC Scotland said: "These were extremely worrying offences that involved images of children being abused.

"These are real children and behind every single one of these pictures is a young victim who will need considerable support to recover from the crimes inflicted on them.

"Possessing and distributing indecent images of children is an appalling crime. It's vital that police continue to investigate those responsible and bring them to court and people on the sex offenders' register for crimes of this nature must be strictly monitored."

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Police appealing for help to locate a man who is wanted in connection with an indecent exposure have found him in Southampton.

Stephen Gadd, 51 and of no fixed abode, was due to appear before Bournemouth Crown Court on Monday, September 19, charged with an exposure that was alleged to have occurred on Friday, June 17, on Loch Road in Poole.

He was also due to appear at Bournemouth Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, October 12, for breach of post-custodial supervision. Gadd failed to attend both hearings.

He was also wanted for failing to report at a police station as part of his requirements as a registered sex offender.

Gadd was arrested in Southampton on Saturday.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: "We would like to thank members of the public for assisting in this matter."

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Philip Allen, who has since been fired from his job at Shenley Brook End School, is a prominent figure in religious education nationally and has written frequently for the Times Educational Supplement.

48-year-old married man from Potterspury, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court to plead guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children and a charge of possessing prohibited images.

He admitted possessing 172 ‘category A’ indecent images of children, the most extreme kind. He also admitted having 46 category B images and 37 of category C.

Prosecuting, Jerena Tomaszewska said Allen’s crimes were uncovered after police seized his electronic devices in June during a raid on his house.

She said: “Images were found on a laptop and individual images found on an external hard drive.

“The report shows that some of the images were also backed up from the defendant’s iPad.”

Allen had been a member of the TES teacher panel and a national TES advisor for key stage 4 religious studies.

He was bailed under a condition he could not come into unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 18.

Presiding magistrate Diana Whittaker told Allen: “Our powers of sentencing are insufficient for you, these charges are too serious.”

She referred Allen to Crown Court and he faces up to a year in prison.

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A TEACHER who admitted inciting sexual activity with children using fake social media accounts has been jailed.

Cory Baptiste, 24, previously of Fanns Rise in Purfleet, was sentenced to four years imprisonment for sexual offences, but this was reduced to two years eight months due to an early guilty plea.

He admitted five offences of abuse of a position of trust: one of causing or inciting sexual activity with a boy aged 13-17, one of causing or inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13-17, one of causing a child under 13 to watch a sexual act and two of causing a child aged 13-17 to watch a sexual act.

He also admitted failing to appear in court on August 12.

He absconded to Spain but was apprehended in Barcelona on Thursday, October 6 following a Spanish National Police led operation supported by the National Crime Agency and Essex Police.

Baptiste, a former teacher at the Ockendon Academy, in Erriff Drive, South Ockendon, was given a further four months imprisonment for failing to answer his bail, making the total sentence three years.Baptiste was arrested on Tuesday, January 6, this year.

Essex Police’s Online Investigation Team launched an enquiry following a referral from the National Crime Agency.

He used fake social media accounts including Facebook and Snapchat in the names of Daniel Jenkins, Danielle Mason and Dan Bounce Jenny to commit the offences.

Investigating Officer Dc Adam Stallard said: "Baptiste was in a position of trust as a teacher and he abused that.

"He also tried to escape the justice system by not meeting his bail and going on the run to Spain. His victims have demonstrated bravery and dignity - Baptiste demonstrated cowardice in trying to evade facing up to his despicable crimes.

"I would like to thank The Ockendon Academy for their help during this investigation and the NCA and the Spanish authorities for their assistance in bringing this man to justice.”

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A PERVERT music teacher who kept a vast collection of indecent images of children was caught after accidentally posting a picture of naked girls on the social media site Pintres. Kenneth Nelson, 55, was investigated after officers received a tip-off from the national Child Exploitation Online Protection police squad. They had been alerted after Nelson posted the picture of two naked girls on the popular social media platform. Nelson, who worked at a number of different schools, confessed he had done so by accident but pleaded guilty to owning a sickening horde of child porn. The fact is you chose to search out such images and view them, you did it quite deliberately, you did it repeatedly - Richard Wright QC The shamed teacher escaped jail today fleeing court with his face covered by a maroon knapsack, emblazoned with the phrase Youth and Childrens Sing Choirs. York Crown Court heard how officers attended Nelsons home on June 14 and arrested him after unearthing 16,297 vile images over several devices including pen drives, flash drives, a computer tower and a laptop. The majority were rated Category C which included erotic pictures of naked children but he also had images of children being raped and sordidly abused. The father-of-one, from Wistow, North Yorkshire, who split from his wife following his arrest, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of possessing a prohibited image of children. Recorder Richard Wright QC, who described Nelsons stash as an enormous number of images, sentenced him to six months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He told Nelson: You had become quite literally obsessed with viewing images of that type. The fact is you chose to search out such images and view them, you did it quite deliberately, you did it repeatedly. The judge added: The reality is all of these children were being abused and exploited by people like you who view these images for their own perverted, sexual gratification. Joe Culley, prosecuting, said: He admitted searching for pre-teen pornographic images for excitement adding that Nelson felt ashamed and disgusted by his behaviour. The prosecutor told the court aggravating features in the case were the high volume of images and Nelsons deliberate internet searches. Lee-Anne Robins-Hicks, defending, said, at the suggestion of police, Nelson had written to the parents of people he had previously been teaching to explain these proceedings. Nelson was also handed a community order with a 20-day rehabilitation requirement and made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order to prevent him working with children and placed on the sex offenders register.

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Socially isolated Oliver Horwood of Sinclair Way, Darenth, jailed after threatening young girls in perverted chats.

A socially isolated teenager persuaded young girls to send him indecent images of themselves and threatened to post them on the internet, a court heard.

Overweight Oliver Horwood used a false identity while having perverted online chats with 10 victims, aged between 13 and 15.

Then aged 17, he talked about threesomes and encouraged the girls to take intimate photos. He asked one to send him an image of her performing a sex act.

Maidstone Crown Court was told Horwood, now 20, of Sinclair Way, Darenth, threatened to expose two of the girls on the web if they did not do as he asked.

He admitted two offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three of inciting child prostitution or pornography between February and May 2014.

He also admitted making indecent images of children between July 2012 and September 2014. Police found 19 still photographs and two movie clips on his computer after his arrest last year.

Andrew Hope, defending, said none of the images were ever published or distributed and five of the 10 girls refused his demands.

Horwood, who had since lost six stone, had stopped the chats before his arrest.

He went from being an overweight, socially-isolated young boy to someone who had started to turn his life around, said Mr Hope.

He clearly needs to be punished for what are deeply unpleasant offences, but in many senses his life has moved on quite dramatically since then.

He has matured as an individual and is now leading a very productive life.

Sentencing Horwood to 16 months youth custody, Judge Charles Macdonald QC said: The offences arose out of a particular period in your life when you had a poor self image and poor family support, he said.

Things have changed impressively. But Im dealing with an anxious case - a youth of 17 engaging in extremely unpleasant activity using a false identity to trick girls.

The law is there to protect people from this behaviour and it must be discouraged and deterred.

Horwood's and his name will appear on the sex offenders register a sexual harm prevention order was made, both for 10 years.

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A senior engineer who rigged up spy cameras in Bristol to film a teenage girl having sex has been jailed.

Michael Sheffe, a former British Aerospace employee, was found to have captured the lewd footage and stored it in files, labelling one "horny".

The 51-year-old was also found to have downloaded child abuse images from the internet as well as more than 2,000 "extreme pornography" photographs.

Sheffe, of The Worthys in Bradley Stoke, pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent photos of children and a charge of possessing extreme pornography.

He also admitted four charges of taking indecent images and two counts of voyeurism.

Judge Martin Picton jailed him for three years and ten months.

He told Sheffe: "The creation of such images, and their knowledge you did that for your own sexual gratification is, frankly, a crime of breath-taking cruelty.

"The victim impact statements demonstrate the enormous harm that you have done and your actions beggar belief."

The judge ordered that Sheffe's computer equipment be destroyed and imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order restricting his access to children under 18 and to the internet.

Sheffe was barred from working with children and vulnerable adults and told to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Julian Howells, prosecuting, said Sheffe rigged up spy cams to recorded private footage of a teenager, including sexual activity.

Police who had cause to search Sheffe's computer equipment also found voyeuristic material of the girl on his mobile phone and more such material on a video camera, the court heard.

Michael Sheffe

Sheffe initially told police what he had done was not sexually motivated.

It was then confirmed he had searched for child abuse photos on the internet, as well as bestiality images to "see what was out there".

His sordid child abuse collection included 2,263 child abuse stills and 2,441 extreme pornography stills, including some movies.

Mathew Comer, defending, said: "He was a supervising engineer for British Aerospace but was dismissed.

"He will not work in that industry again and he thinks he's unlikely to ever get a responsible job.

"He's lost everything. He is an intelligent man and he feels shame and regret.

"The pre-sentence report concludes he is highly unlikely to ever come before these courts again.

"There is no possibility other than an immediate custodial sentence."

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A YOUNG man is today a convicted rapist starting five years in jail because he didnt listen to a woman saying no. Max Liam Gregory, 21, showed no emotion as the victim told York Crown Court how his actions had left her in a bottomless pit, made her suicidal and given her more than a year of panic attacks, anxiety, depression and other problems. She had told the jury how she had tried to push him off her and repeatedly said no as he raped her. He had responded by saying just two minutes, its fine and just 30 seconds, come on. Gregory had claimed to a jury that he had cared for her by visiting her regularly in the week after the rape in his home in Escrick Court, Escrick, in July 2015. But Recorder David Dixon said his visits were also to try and stop her reporting him to the police. York Crown Court heard she eventually spoke out after he went on holiday with his girlfriend. The judge told Gregory: It was abundantly clear to you she was not consenting. You continued on regardless. You have heard the impact that you caused on her simply by not listening to the word no. In simple words, if you had listened, you wouldnt be here, she wouldnt have had the horrible time she has had, all down to you not listening. He jailed Gregory for five years, put him on the sex offenders register for life and made a restraining order, banning him from having any contact at all with the victim for the rest of his life. Gregory had denied rape but was convicted by a jury unanimously after two hours and 40 minutes in retirement. Reading aloud a victim impact statement in a voice at times choked with tears, she said that after the rape: I then started to go into a bottomless pit. I started to get anxiety attacks. I still do. She was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder, suffering flashbacks, nightmares and waking up in sweats. Her work was affected and her condition progressed until she wanted to isolate myself from the world. She said: It got too much. On December 8, I arranged everything for my suicide. She decided to put her affairs in order, but then saw her doctor who referred her to a home treatment team who helped her and continue to visit her daily. I think about it (the rape) every day. I dont want to think about it any more, she concluded. At the end of the hearing, the judge said she had been very brave to read her statement in court. Gregorys barrister Geraldine Kelly said the womans mental problems may not have been entirely due to Gregory. His girlfriend and family were standing by him and had attended his trial. He had never been in trouble with the police before and had committed no offences since.

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Kevin Duncan sexually assaulted a sleeping woman after climbing into bed with her, and was last year sentenced to 225 hours of unpaid work.

But yesterday the 22-year-old returned to Elgin Sheriff Court, after contacting the two women on Facebook and subjecting them to lewd advances.

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