Latest Offenders

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Released and is now living in a bail hostel in Camborne. A man who sexually molested an eight-year-old girl while her younger brother lay asleep next to them has been jailed for five years. Paul Curnow, 47, of Penzance appeared at Truro Crown Court for trial on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 facing two charges sexually touching and sexual activity with a child who was under the age of 13. After deliberating for just 37 minutes, a jury of 12 found him guilty of both offences. Opening the trial, prosecutor Nigel Wraith told the jury how the incident happened on a single night in September 2018 in the Penzance area. The court was told that when the boy had fallen asleep, Curnow gave the girl a hug. He kissed [the girl] on the forehead before going across and down to her lips. He then pulled her pants down and touched her vagina, and then licked his fingers and did it again. He took his shorts off and had nothing on underneath. He took her hand and placed it on his penis. Nothing was said between Curnow and the young victim. He then told her not to do it again, which she found confusing as nothing had been instigated by her. He then repeated the actions The events stayed with her and she started telling people in November 2018 The girl told someone she trusted about the incident, who in turn told the girls mother. The girl was interviewed by police in early December 2018, and two weeks later the defendant was interviewed. Curnow had denied the abuse, but the jury saw through his lies and found him guilty on both charges Judge Simon Carr jailed Curnow for five years. He must also sign the sex offenders register for life, and has been made subject to a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.

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A 'manipulative and determined' paedophile who sexually abused girls in the 1990s has been brought to justice after his victims came forward years later to tell police what he had done.

Anthony Bamford, of Sheridan Street, off Leicester's Saffron Lane, appeared at Leicester Crown Court today and pleaded guilty to seven counts of rape, relating to two victims, and one charge of indecently assaulting a third victim.

The 63-year-old, known as Tony, was jailed for 23 years.

He will also will on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

The detective who led the investigation believes there may be other victims who have not made contact with the police.

The first allegation against Bamford was made to Leicestershire Police in 2017, and inquiries identified three victims, the force said.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Jamie Carr, of the force's child abuse investigation unit, said: Each of the women were just children when they were abused by Bamford, who was manipulative in his approach and determined not to be caught.

However, despite it being some years since he committed his horrific crimes, his victims have shown great courage in providing detailed information to police in order to bring him to justice.

I am glad that Bamford has pleaded guilty today so no further distress is caused by having to relive their experiences in court.

But I also believe there may be other victims of Bamford who have not contacted police about the abuse they suffered.

"I would encourage anyone who believes they were a victim to come forward, where they will be supported by specially-trained officers.

Bamford will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order, which can be used to impove legally enforceable restrictions on his movements and behaviour, particularly if and when he is released from prison.

Description

A Judge has accused Instagram of providing a platform for paedophiles by hosting a kinky sex chat site for men who fantasise about dominating young girls.

The judge at Exeter Crown Court criticised the social media company as he jailed a 39-year-old man who used Instagram's Daddy Dom Little Girl community to groom a vulnerable 15-year-old schoolgirl.

Dominic Nielen-Groen sent a stream of messages to the girl before driving 167 miles from his home in Wolverhampton to meet her at a play park in Seaton, East Devon.

He hugged her but she became alarmed when he tried to get her to suck a baby's dummy. She went home but he carried on sending messages trying to set up a second meeting on the beach or at a nearby nature reserve.

Computer engineer Nielen-Groen used the name Papa Bear on the Instagram community, where the girl attracted more than 3,000 followers in the space of a few weeks after registering with the name F****** Little Brat.

She engaged in sexualised chat with scores of older men, sometimes exchanging messages with 500 at a time, and sold images of her naked breasts or bottom to older men who paid her through Paypal.

She developed severe behavioural problems and her mother made a victim impact statement said she now has screaming rages and has attempted to take her own life three times.

The girl remained in Instagram's Daddy Dom Little Girl (DDLG) community for months before the tech giant removed her account. Police traced Nielen-Groen after the girl contacted police early this year. Police who searched his home found another dummy and a collar with the words Little Girl in his bedroom along with a 50 Shades style contract setting out rules and punishments.

The punishments included spanking, self spanking, slaps, cold baths, being tied up, as well as time out and no television or internet.

Some rules and penalties were overtly sexual, including bans on masturbation and taking part in various sex acts at the behest of the 'Daddy'.

Birmingham City University graduate Nielen-Groen, of Annan Road, Wolverhampton, denied meeting a child after grooming with the intention of committing a sexual offence but was convicted.

He was jailed for 18 months by Recorder Mr Jonathan Barnes, who also put him on the sex offenders register and made a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which restrict future contact with children and enables the police to monitor his use of the internet.

The judge criticised Instagram's failure to hand over chat logs of the conversations between Nielen-Groen and the girl.

He said:"Sometimes these social media companies put misplaced loyalty to their customers before the administration of justice."

He said it was clear that the DDLG community was widely used by paedophiles like Nielen-Groen

He said:"You asserted the community had nothing to do with child sex. It may be there are adult members of the community who do not have paedophile tendencies.

"I am quite sure that many of the members, including you, join it because they have a sexual interest in children. You flattered the girl and wanted her to be your 'little'.

"You eventually traveled to meet her in Devon and you intended to commit a sexual offence. You knew full well she was a schoolgirl who was under 16."

During a four day trial Nielen-Groen claimed the girl had never told him her age and he believed her to be an adult who was engaging in age-play and role-play fantasies.

He said he travelled to Devon to meet her but had no intention of taking part in any sexual activity with her. He said he was shocked when she told him her age for the first time in the park in Seaton.

The girl said she joined the DDLG community because she was lonely and wanted to find new friends online. 

At first she found it amazing but soon realised there was a sinister side to some of the other users. Her Instagram account remained online for months before it was removed.

She said:"It grew very quickly and I became part of a community. I knew it was kind of wrong and edgy but I wanted to do it. I wanted to be part of it and for people to talk to me.

"I would take pictures of my body and send them for money. They were pictures of a chest and bum. I had about 500 contacts at a time messaging me."

She said parts of the DDLG site were marked as 18+ but she her account was not and she told him she was 15.

She said:"Some were 18+ but many were under age. I grew to have over 3,000 followers. I did block some men. I did sell some pictures. I did not advertise that but I posted my Paypal on my story once. it was not a recurring theme.

"The majority of men who talked to me did want sexual conversations. I talked to over 20 a day on direct message. There were hundreds in all. I told some I was over age but said I was 15 to the majority.

"Every time I put on my phone I had 20 plus messages. I was having lots of different conversations with lots of different men."

Description

A sexual predator who subjected three young girls to years of abject suffering has been jailed for 30 years after a jury found him guilty of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault.

Graham Howard, 47, claimed the girls were lying but the overwhelming evidence stacked against him led to a jury returning unanimous guilty verdicts on all 18 charges he had denied.
 
They included multiple rapes and indecent assaults on the victims – one of whom was just six years old when the abuse began, York Crown Court heard.

Over a period of about 10 years, the girls were subjected to horrific sexual assaults at properties in Scarborough, York and Selby.

The evidence presented to the court was so horrific that one juror was reduced to tears.

Howard - formerly of Scarborough but now living in Knottingley, West Yorkshire - denied all charges including 11 counts of rape, as well as gross indecency with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and indecent assault.

The victims - none of whom can be named for legal reasons - were systematically abused between the late 1990s and about 2009.

Prosecutor Mike Greenhalgh said that Howard, who at the time worked at the Rowntree factory in York, offered the victims treats such as chocolate, sweets and magazines if they kept quiet about his sickening crimes.

One victim said: “You couldn’t tell anybody because he always told you not to. He said he would just deny (the abuse).”

She said Howard forced her to carry out sex acts on him, adding: “I just froze. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

She didn’t tell anyone initially because she was “in denial, just scared, having (had) it drilled into my head that I couldn’t tell anyone”.

The girl, who began self-harming by her early teens, added: “He’d buy you things: sweets, magazines; give you money. Most of the time it was after… sex. You’d get treats for that.”

One of the victims said Howard “really creeped me out” and would often whistle at her. During one attack she was screaming with fear.

Each of the girls was raped multiple times and made to perform degrading sexual acts on Howard.

One of them said she had turned to drink and drugs in her early teens because she was struggling to cope following years of abuse.

“I had no confidence and became very timid,” she added. “When (Howard) was hurting me and sexually abusing me, I used to be so hurt and confused. I was too scared to tell anyone what was happening to me. It wasn’t until I got older that I realised that what he was doing to me was wrong.”

One by one, the girls came forward to police in about 2017 but even though Howard was finally brought to justice, they said their lives had been ruined.

One of the victims said she had suffered from depression and anxiety and still had nightmares about her childhood, as well as flashbacks to the abuse.

The girl said Howard had “destroyed my life” and even though she had managed to turn it around with the help of counselling, it was “going to take a long time to recover from what he did to me”.

Another victim said: “I was a small child, young and defenceless. At a young age I started to self-harm because I felt it was the only way to release the pain. I had anxiety and depression to the point where I couldn’t sleep at night. As an adult I still get nightmares about what happened.”

At the adjourned sentence hearing on Friday, judge Sean Morris labelled Howard a “vile” sexual “deviant” who had used the girls as his “sexual play-things”.

“You are a very dangerous man to young children and women,” he added.

He said that Howard - who had pleaded guilty to three separate charges related to the abuse of the same children before the trial - had put the girls through “mental torture” and had shown no remorse.

Howard, of Croft Avenue, Knottingley, showed no emotion as the judge handed down the 30-year sentence.

He was told he must serve at least two-thirds of the 25-year custodial element of the sentence, with an extended five-year period on prison licence. It means his very earliest release date will be in 16 years’ time, when he will be 63.

He was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life and made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order which bans him having any unsupervised contact with under-age children.

Detective Constable Rosie Rogers, of Scarborough CID, said after the hearing: “This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I have ever dealt with. No child should have to go through the terror and pain that they suffered at (Howard’s) hands.”

Description

AN EVESHAM man has been jailed after a police investigation into historic sexual abuse which dated back to the 1970s.

Kevin Friend, 60 of Weston Road was sentenced to nine years behind bars when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court on Friday (August 23).

The offences were reported to police when three different victims came forward a decade later.

One of the victims said in her impact statement: This stopped me moving forwards and I have lived in limbo until now.

Im just hoping that after this case is finished I can actually finally put this to bed.

Ive just moved on now I am the age that I am and Ive learnt to live with what happened.

Friend was convicted of two counts of indecent assault against two victims, which occurred when they were under 16, a sexual assault on an adult and a multiple count of indecent assault following an earlier hearing on 26 July. He was found not guilty of a further seven counts of indecent assault.

Friend targeted one of his victims, who was aged 14 at the time, between 1977 and 1979 with indecent assaults taking place in Chertsey. He was convicted of an indecent assault charge and a multiple count of indecent assault in relation to offences against the first victim.

The 60-year-old was convicted of indecently assaulting his second victim, who was aged 10 at the time, in Camberley between 1987 and 1990.

He was further convicted of sexually assaulting his third victim, a 22-year-old woman, in Evesham between 2004 and 2005.

Det Con Sharron Goodchild said: I would like to praise the victims for having the courage to speak out and ensure Friend was brought to justice for these heinous crimes.

We would not be where we are today without the resilience and bravery of the victims during our investigation. I hope that Friend being found guilty, as well as the sentence imposed today, will allow them to put this behind them and finally move on with their lives.

I also hope this will encourage others in a similar position to come forward and report it to us we will always carry out a full investigation, no matter how long ago the offences were committed.

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A SEX offender failed to inform a woman he moved in with of his previous conviction, a court heard.

Stephen John Robbins also failed to notify police that he had left his former accommodation, in a mens hostel, in breach of the notification requirements as a sex offender.

Durham Crown Court heard was told that during the six days he lived with the woman, in the Stockton area, her younger siblings, who lived nearby, would visit, putting Robbins, 21, in breach of the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), imposed following his conviction in 2015.

Phillip Morley, prosecuting, said Robbins was made subject of a five-year SHPO and mandatory notification requirements as to where he is living, upon conviction for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, relating to a young girl.

The terms of that order included a prohibition on him having unsupervised contact with a child.

Mr Morley said Robbins was registered as living at the Changing Lives hostel, at Plawsworth, near Chester-le-Street, but on July 26 it was discovered he had handed in his room key earlier that day.

A Changing Lives worker told police Robbins said he was moving in with a male friend in Stockton and no children would be present at that address.

But, it emerged that he was with a female that he met in an online dating site, on July 25, and they began a relationship thereafter.

He told her he had not been a good person previously as he had been to prison for assault, but he didnt disclose the true nature of his convictions.

Mr Morley said during the following week the womans 12 and six-year-old siblings visited more than once, one staying overnight.

Police became aware of his whereabouts and arrested him at that address on July 31, and when interviewed he gave no reply to questions.

He admitted failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements and the terms of a SHPO.

Mr Morley said Robbins has five previous convictions for breaching notification requirements.

Mark Styles, mitigating, said although only 21 Robbins has struggled with substance and alcohol misuse, and amidst an unstable background has also suffered mental health difficulties.

He still has not stable bases in life, regarding accommodation. Clearly this offending was the culmination of his sense of frustration and hopelessness.

Mr Styles said when Robbins moved in with the woman he met online, he was unaware her other family members lived nearby.

Jailing him for two years, Judge Christopher Prince extended the SHPO by five years and told Robbins he had shown, a contempt of the efforts of the court and statutory services to keep him away from young people.

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A doctor who groped a student nurse has been allowed to return to work even though he is still on the sex offenders register.

Dr Imran Qureshi, 46, a married father of two, had been barred from working after being convicted of sexual assault.

He had groped the 21-year-olds breast while seeking a romantic friendship with her.

But he was given the green light to practise again after complaining he was finding it hard on benefits.

At his 2016 trial, hospital locum Dr Qureshi blamed his actions on cultural norms in his native Pakistan and offered the nurse a deep-hearted apology.

He was given a years community order and told to complete 20 days of rehab.

His name will remain on the sex offenders register for another two years. In 2017, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service barred Dr Qureshi for a year for the assault at Trafford General Hospital in Davyhulme, Gtr Manchester.

They said the locum Senior House Officer had ignored signs the nurse did not welcome his behaviour, adding: Given the length of time youd been in the UK, you should have recognised [her] reluctance in light of your shared cultural understanding.

Dr Qureshi has now re-registered with a locum agency.

After a hearing in November that has only just come to light, the MPTS said: The offence was a single incident some 3 years ago.

There is no evidence to suggest Dr Qureshi offended prior to his conviction, or since.

They said their position was consistent with remarks by the 2016 trial judge that there was no risk for the future.

In its reasons, the MPTS said: The Tribunal consider that the imposition of conditions will allow Dr Qureshi time to further develop his insight into his criminal offence and conviction.

It considered that conditions would permit Dr Qureshi to return to clinical practice and to further remediate while, at the same time, protect patients, and maintain public confidence in the profession.

In the circumstances as they stand today, the Tribunal did not consider that it would be appropriate or proportionate to impose a further period of suspension on Dr Qureshis registration.

MedEcho did not respond to a request for comment.

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After noticing a woman he believed looked 'vulnerable', Matthew Jowitt, 18, began to follow her as she walked through Woodseats at just after 9.15am on May 14 this year.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how when the woman reached Smithy Wood Road - which is located less than 50 metres from Jowitt's home in Cartmell Road - he forced his hands down her trousers and sexually assaulted her.

"You followed her, touched her and sexually assaulted her, laughing at her when she asked you to stop," Judge Rachael Harrison told Jowitt.

Jowitt continued to follow the woman, who is autistic and suffers from learning difficulties, as she attempted to walk away.

Richard Thyne, prosecuting, said: "When she reached Ulverston Road, he pushed her down a bank and dragged her into some woods."

Jowitt subsequently raped the woman twice, before fleeing the scene.

CCTV obtained from the area showed Jowitt following, and sexually assaulting, the woman; but there was no CCTV of the area he raped her in.

Jowitt's DNA was also found on the woman's knickers, the court heard.

He was arrested at Morrisons, his workplace, two days later and responded to the arrest by saying: "I don't f****** need this, I'm on a final warning."

In a gut-wrenching statement, Jowitt's victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the attack had affected 'every aspect' of her life.

"[After this happened] I spent many days in bed. I didn't want to get up or do anything. And now, months later, I'm tearful most days, and my mum has to force me to get up, have a shower, and accompany me out of the house," said the woman, adding that she is now afraid to be outside on her own, even in her own garden.

Jowitt pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration at an earlier hearing.

During an interview for his pre-sentence report, Jowitt said he had also thought about committing sexual offences a week before this incident.

Mr Thyne said Jowitt was hauled before Sheffield Crown Court just five months before carrying out this shocking set of crimes for an incident in which he attacked a lone woman, while exposing himself, and jumped on top of her and attempted to pull her leggings down.

She fought back, at which point Jowitt ran off, but he was stopped by members of the public who witnessed the incident, which was committed on October 22 last year.

Jowitt pleaded guilty to an offence of assault with intent to commit a sexual offence in connection with this incident.

He was 17-years-old at the time of conviction, and was sentenced to a 12-month referral order.

James Gould, defending, said: "He has personal difficulties...that he has had from a very young age...difficulties that include ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder)."

Mr Gould said: "The defendant has expressed in the pre-sentence report, set against his personal and pyschological problems, what I would submit is genuine remorse."

Judge Harrison jailed Jowitt for eight years, and also imposed an extended license period of an additional four years due to the 'significant risk of danger' he poses to members of the public.

She told Jowitt: "You admit that you noticed your victim and thought she was vulnerable. Thinking that, you specifically targetted her."

"You have shown inappropriate sexual behaviour towards others since the age of five. Despite the work that was done with you with the referral order, you threw away that opportunity to address your problems," added Judge Harrison.

The extended license period Jowitt has been sentenced to means he must serve two-thirds of his sentence, instead of the normal one-half, before he can be considered for release by the parole board.

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A paedophile who groomed a 14-year-old girl told police 'I love being a sex offender', a court heard.

Damien Read, 21, from Didsbury, was already known to the courts after being convicted of trying to meet up with a girl after grooming her last year.

Police visited his home to check whether he was complying with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) previously imposed.

Read, who has learning disabilities, denied having a phone when police asked during the visit in January.

But while they were in the house, officers heard a vibrating sound coming from a cupboard, prosecutor Andrea Lock told Manchester Crown Court.

They found a Nokia phone, which was later found not to be able to connect to the internet.

As part of the SHPO, Read was banned from having any device which could access the internet, unless it could retain its browsing history.

Officers also found a small red box which contained a telephone number.

They called it and a 14-year-old girl answered, who said she was Read's girlfriend.

Police found Read had been having sexualised chats with the girl, and that she had performed a sexual act on herself after he had asked her to.

The girl, who was said to be 'vulnerable', had received a friend request from Read on Facebook. She told Read her true age, while he lied and said he was also 14.

She sent him a picture of herself, which he described as 'really hot and sexy'.

The girl told Read that 'she wanted children with him', the court heard.

When he was arrested, Read said 'I love being above the law', 'I love being a sex offender' and 'I love speaking to schoolgirls'.

Officers found that Read had a card for Withington Library.

Read had visited the library almost daily before being arrested in January, and officers investigating CCTV footage found him performing a sex act upon himself while using a computer.

He could have been charged with an offence of indecent exposure, Ms Lock said, but there were no other members of the public in the area of the library at the time.

Read has previous convictions for sexual offences, including in 2015 for sexual activity with a boy, and he also previously breached a court order.

But he was spared jail for his latest offences, after a judge said there was 'exceptional circumstances' and that Read had 'strong personal mitigation'.

Defending, Andrew Evans said that due to his learning disabilities, Read has a habit of saying 'inappropriate' things, as well as having an 'inbuilt propensity to lie'.

'He lies about innocuous things for no good reason,' Mr Evans added.

But while in prison on remand, where he has spent the last seven months, Read made 'full disclosures' to other prisoners about why he was in custody, the court heard.

As a result he was 'repeatedly assaulted', the court heard.

Reports submitted to the court described Read as 'immature bordering on childlike', while another said he 'struggles to learn lessons and apply what he has been told.

Apparently referring to the terms of his SHPO, Read told a probation officer: 'I am sick of being told what I can and can't do.'

Sentencing, Judge David Stockdale QC told Read: 'You were well aware of the terms of the sexual harm prevention order.

Apparently referring to the terms of his sexual harm prevention order, Read told a probation officer: 'I am sick of being told what I can and can't do.'

'You were able to recite the terms of it, so familiar were you with those terms.

'You have demonstrated a defiance for court orders and court process.

'You were to tell the police on your arrest 'I love being a sex offender' and 'I love being above the law'.'

'In other words you think that you are above the law, and when the law steps in to prevent you from committing sexual offences, as soon as you physically can do so, you re-offend.

'You are well aware of the criminal nature of your offences. You know what you are doing is wrong.'

But judge said Read's offences were 'significantly mitigated' by his learning difficulties.

He said there was 'exceptional circumstances' in the case, which would allow him to pass a suspended sentence.

The judge said there was strong personal mitigation and the chance of rehabilitation, after being told that Read would receive one to one support in secure accommodation.

Read admitted offences of communicating with a child under 16 for the purpose of sexual gratification, breaching a sexual harm prevention order and intentionally causing or inciting a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity.

He received a 20 month jail term, suspended for two years.

As part of a new sexual harm prevention order which will run indefinitely, Read cannot enter a public library unless he gives prior notice and the visit is approved by the authorities.

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POLICE hunting a convicted rapist who was on the run after escaping from prison have made an arrest.

Sex offender Daniel Thompson, from Warrington, absconded from an open prison in south Gloucester.

The 34-year-old was last seen at HMP Leyhill at 11.45am yesterday, Friday, where he was serving a sentence for raping a woman in Warrington in 2009.

However police say he was found and arrested near to Leyhill in South Gloucester by Avon and Somerset Police earlier today, Saturday.

Thompson, of Wilderspool Causeway, raped his victim twice after he forced his way into her flat in April 2009 as she returned from volunteering at her church.

He was given an indeterminate sentence by the courts after the hearing - in one of the worst attacks of recent times.

The jury, which consisted of five women and seven men, heard during the six-day trial there was a one in a billion chance that blood found on defendant Daniel Thompsons sweatshirt belonged to anyone other than the victim or one of her relations.

Judge Stephen Clarke said: These were horrific offences. In the scale of rape they were in the most serious bracket.

The evidence was extremely strong, if not overwhelming.

When she (the victim) was giving evidence on a number of occasions she was actually physically sick.

A police statement said: "If you see Daniel Thompson, who may be using the name Gavin Barry, in Warrington or elsewhere in Cheshire do not approach him.

"Instead call us on 999, quoting IML 484890.

"Alternatively you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

We also want to hear from anyone who has any information regarding his whereabouts."

Description

A couple who sexually abused a young child have been jailed for a combined total of 24 years.

James Hedges, 36, and Lauren O'Hanlon, 28, assaulted the boy on a number of occasions at an address in Ash, Surrey, in November 2017.

Their offending came to light when police found images of the abuse on a phone belonging to Hedges.

Detective Constable Dan Lucas, investigating the case, said: "Hedges, who already had a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in place following previous convictions, was arrested on 6 March 2018 for possessing an iPhone. He is prohibited from having a phone with internet access as part of his order.

"On examination of his phone we found evidence of the appalling abuse that both Hedges and O'Hanlon had inflicted on this child.

"The phone also contained more than a thousand other indecent images of children.

"Hedges in particular is a prolific offender, having been convicted four times previously for making and distributing indecent images of children.

"Following the horrific discovery, Hedges was charged with five counts of sexual assault, as well as 10 counts relating to making and distributing indecent images. He was also charged with breaching his SHPO.

"O'Hanlon was charged with 5 counts of sexual assault as well as 6 counts relating to making and distributing indecent images."

Both offenders denied the offences, but were found guilty by a jury following a two week trial at Winchester Crown Court in June this year.

The sentencing hearing took place at the same court on Friday 16 August.

Hedges, of Cumberland Avenue in Basingstoke, was sentenced to 16 years.

O'Hanlon, of no fixed address, was sentenced to eight years.

DC Lucas added: "This was a truly shocking case, and we would encourage anyone who has any information about a child being abused to contact police."

Description

A 69-year-old man who forced his hand down a teenager's trousers and forced her to perform a sex act on him has been jailed, more than a decade after the attack.

Henry Spark was on his way to work as a delivery driver in April 2008 when he spotted a lone female walking in the dark at around 3am.

He pulled over to offer her a lift and within minutes of her entering the car was grabbing her hand and pulling it towards his groin.

After driving for a few minutes Spark pulled over and forced the then 17-year-old to perform a sex act on him.

The teenager reported the incident to police the following day but DNA taken from the victim's clothes did not match any on record.

However when Spark was convicted of another sex offence in 2018, his DNA matched this historic unsolved case.

After initially denying ever having a girl in his car, he accepted that he did pick the teenager up but argued that she consented to the sexual activity.

He was convicted of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, assault by penetration and sexual assault at Durham Crown Court after a two-day trial.

In a statement read out to the court the victim said: "I want to articulate as best as I can how I have felt over the last ten years. Since it happened I know I am not the same person.

"I had a naive and childish belief in people. I thought trustworthy people were outwardly visible, I was not sceptical of everybody as I am now.

"I feel emotionally down, and want to stop thinking about how genuinely terrified I was for my life. I want to go to sleep without reliving that night.

"I have done my very best to spend time alone in public so I can prove to myself that being outside the house is not scary enough to warrant palm sweats and heart palpitations. I have to tell myself that eventually I will get used to being outside how I used to be but I have had no improvements.

"I hope one day I can look back at what happened and not feel so raw about it and move on with my day to day life."

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said Spark was convicted for possessing and making indecent images of children in January last year when he was given an eight month custodial sentence, suspended for two years. He also has a historic conviction of exposing himself in 1973.

HHJ Jonathan Carroll said: "I am satisfied that by the time she [the victim] got into the car you were determined to have a sexual encounter with or without her consent."

Spark, of Victor Street, Chester-Le-Street, was jailed for three years for all counts.

Description

A serial sex attacker who forced himself on a 13-year-old girl 16 years ago has faced justice after she saw his photograph in a news report.

William Pope, 58, punched the girl and indecently assaulted her while she was walking near Truro in 2003.

The victim told Truro Crown Court the attack ruined her life and was "one of the worst things any child can go through".

Pope, who admitted indecent assault, was jailed for six and a half years.

Heather Hope, prosecuting, said Pope came up behind the girl and punched her in the face, knocked her to the ground and pinned her down before sexually assaulting her.

"She was absolutely petrified," Ms Hope said.

'I wished he had killed me'

The court heard the police were called but despite extensive inquiries, no suspect was found.

In 2017 Pope was convicted of a series of sexual offences and his picture was published on local news site, Cornwall Live.

The woman saw the report and recognised the former scaffolder.

In a victim impact statement she said Pope hit her so hard she struggled to eat for a week but the "real damage" was caused to her mind.

"I thought this man was going to kill me and for a long time I wished he had," she said.

Pope has previous convictions for sexual assault on a number of women and children dating back to the 1980s.

Sentencing him, Judge Simon Carr said: "You destroyed the life of a child for your own sexual gratification."

Det Con Joel Brown said the woman had shown "extreme bravery and strength".

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A FORMER Andover athletics coach who manipulated, abused and violated schoolgirls, one as young as 11 years old, has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Philip Banning, 68, pursued a horrific reign of abuse in Andover during the 1970s and 1980s.

Today he mouthed "sorry" to his victims after pleading guilty to 18 counts of indecent assault relating to four girls who were under the age of 16 at the time of the offences.

Prosecutor Tim Moores told Winchester Crown Court that Banning, who now lives in Penhow, Wales, had been an Olympic hopeful in his younger years.

He ran at an international level for Team GB before returning to Andover Athletics Club as a qualified coach where he met the four girls.

It is in this context that he came into contact with the four complainants, and in due course began to sexually abuse them to a greater or lesser degree, Mr Moores said.

Under the guise of acting as coach and mentor, he was pursuing a regime of abuse against certain members of the club.

The court heard that Banning would assault the girls during car rides home after training, as well as during sports massages.

One of the girls was aged just 11 years-old when she was assaulted in Bannings car, before he asked her, is this something youve done before?

Two of the girls were assaulted in a room under Bannings stairs at his home address, during a party where the children were allowed to drink alcohol, the court heard.

One of the girls bumped into Banning in Andover town centre, before he led her to a school field and abused her.

Three of the survivors in this case, now adult women, defiantly hit back at their abuser when reading their victim personal statements to the court.

You were my coach, and you were my teacher, and you held a position of trust, one of the women told the defendant as he sat in the dock.

You were meant to nurture a childs development, you were trained to safeguard children, but instead you chose to slowly manipulate, violate and sexually abuse me. I was left abused, violated and confused, still too young to understand the significance of this. I did not have the understanding of how sinister and insidious your motives were.

You took my childhood, my trust, my voice, my worth, and nearly my life.

The woman told the court that Banning had also given her a Valentines card when she was just 12 years old.

She continued: You said to me that this was your way of showing me your special love. But this was like a septic wound that was never allowed to heal. Even if it did scab over briefly, it was picked open by my own self-hatred.

Another survivor told the court that her first kiss as a child which was brutal and forceful was with Banning, which left her feeling shattered.

Banning mouthed sorry to the women in court as he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for the offences. He must also sign on the sex offenders register for life.

Sentencing Banning, Judge Keith Cutler CBE said: You are responsible for what everyone agrees was a grave abuse of trust.

What you were doing was grooming [the girls], abusing your position, and seeking them as your sexual relief, not caring really how that was to affect them, as clearly you can see it has.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Toby Elcock, said of the case: After initially denying the offences, Banning has now taken responsibility for his horrific reign of abuse, which has spared the victims having to go through a difficult trial process.

For these girls, this should have been an important time in their young lives. They were schoolchildren exploring their passion for sport, and this was ruined by Bannings appalling sexual appetite.

I hope they can now rest assured that justice has been served and Banning will not be able to harm another child.

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A "depraved sexual predator" already serving a life sentence for raping a two-year-old girl has been sentenced to a further life term after he was found guilty of sexually abusing a teenager.

Daniel Kilbee, 38, formerly of Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, was jailed in 2016 for dozens of sexual offences against six victims.

He has now been given another life term, to serve a minimum of five years.

He was convicted in June of four rapes and two assaults against the girl.

He was previously given a life sentence with a minimum of 10 years for 30 offences, including rape and making indecent images of children, between 1997 and 2015.

Judge Peter Ross, at Oxford Crown Court, ordered that the second should run consecutively, while Kilbee will be on licence for the rest of his life.