Latest Offenders

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A vile sex offender who forced his way into a woman's house in Kettering and assaulted her has been sent to jail for six years.

Luke Easton, aged 28, of Westfields Road, Corby, pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and was sentenced today (Friday, November 16) at Leicester Crown Court.

Easton forced his way into the home of a woman in Kettering on July 8, 2018, and sexually assaulted her.

He will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

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A pervert who thought he was meeting a 15-year-old girl was snared by so-called paedophile hunters after residents of a housing estate helped chase him down.

Mark Turnbull, 51, had been engaging in explicit chat with who he thought was a schoolgirl on the social media app Scout but was actually talking to vigilante group who call themselves Dark Justice.

Members of the group confronted him when he turned up meet the 'girl' at St Anthony's Park in Walker, Newcastle. He sped away in his car to the nearby Daisy Hill housing estate where he left his vehicle but with the help of locals he was captured.

A Dark Justice spokesperson said: 'We followed him at a safe distance until he abandoned his car and we continued on foot.

'We told locals what we were doing and they helped us find him. He had been hiding in an alleyway.

'There were about 20 people helping. He'd also hidden a mobile phone and one of the residents found that for us under a bin close to the alley.

'Without that we wouldn't have been able to secure a conviction. We can't thank them enough. We phoned the police and he was arrested.'

On the video Turnbull is seen hiding his face beneath a coat while he cowers in the back alley. A Dark Justice member tells him: 'You knew exactly how old the girl was.

'You are lucky you did not destroy some girl's life. You would have if you had got your hands on the girl.'

At Newcastle Crown Court this week Turnbull, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a girl under 16 following grooming.

He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, made the subject of a rehabilitation activity requirement for two years and slapped with a 140 victim surcharge.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten tears and attend a sexual offenders programme for a minimum of 54 days.

The Dark Justice spokesperson said: 'The sentences that judges pass these days are never harsh enough. Next time this man might target a real child. There is no deterrent and no real punishment.'

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A serial sex attacker has been jailed for seven years for raping three sleeping victims over a five-year period.

Matthew Ferguson carried out sex attacks on teenagers at houses in Galashiels and his home town of Dundee, beginning when he was aged only 16.

The 24-year-old had earlier denied a series of charges but was found guilty after a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh of an indecent assault and three rapes committed between March 2011 and April 2016.

In all four cases, his victims were said to have been asleep and incapable of giving or withholding consent.

Ferguson, of Wellgrove Street, Dundee, was put on the sex offenders’ register for an indefinite period.

His youngest victim was only 13 when he first sexually assaulted her, and months later he raped her after she’d turned 14.

The woman, now 21, told the court that she first fell victim to Ferguson when she was staying overnight at a house in Galashiels as a guest at a party.

She later told police that Ferguson had entered the room where she was sleeping and molested her.

She said that on a second occasion when she was 14 he targeted her again. “I am a very heavy sleeper and groggy when I come to. It took me a minute or so to realise someone was lying on top of me,” she said.

She told officers that she felt discomfort and a burning sensation and found it slightly difficult to breathe because of the weight on her.

The victim said she was crying when she later told her father what Ferguson did to her. She said a woman then gave her a morning-after pill.

A second victim, also now 21, told the court that in spring 2016 she was staying with her then boyfriend at a bedsit in Dundee when Ferguson visited.

She said he and her boyfriend were talking and she fell asleep after midnight.

She said Ferguson went to sleep on the floor, but she told advocate depute Richard Goddard that the next thing she remembered after nodding off was “someone on top of me”.

The woman told the court: “I was lying on my back, and I never lie on my back.”

She said she did not want to open her eyes, saying: “I was too scared.” She woke up to hear her boyfriend shouting: “Get off her,” and Ferguson was still on top of her when she heard those words, she recalled.

She said she was scared of Ferguson “in case anything else happened”, adding: “I thought I had been raped.”

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson told today’s hearing: “He intends to take every opportunity afforded to him in the prison system to reduce his risk of reoffending in the future.”

“Young individuals do change and do mature, and as he grows older he will mature and clearly make better decisions in his life.”

Judge Lady Ailsa Carmichael told Ferguson: “I take into account that you intend to use your time in prison to address your offending.”

She said she took particular account of his age when the crimes were committed and acknowledged that he was “still a child” at the time of the earliest offences.

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The 56-year-old raped his victim despite her repeatedly pleading for him to stop, the court heard A former Kent Police sergeant has been stripped of his title after he was found guilty of rape and stalking offences. Clive Garton, 56, from Sittingbourne, had been with the force as a sergeant for 23 years. But in June he was given a sentence of 16 years behind bars after being found guilty of the offences back in June. He was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice. Lewes Crown Court heard in May that the serving police officer approached his victim as she sat on the stairs and raped her. She had repeatedly asked him to stop through the ordeal. When questioned by officers the victim spoke of how she had endured years of stalking and controlling behaviour from Garton. He also tracked her mobile phone so he could find out where she was at all times. During the trial the jury was told that Garton had attempted to track the victims mobile phone while he was on bail for the offences against her. Garton claimed the victim had consented to sex with him, but admitted placing the listening devices in her home. In interview he told officers he could dial into the devices and listen to the victim. 'We represent a force the public should have confidence in' After a special case hearing at the Kent Police HQ in Sutton Road, Maidstone, today (November 12) Ch Cons Alan Pugshley took away Garton's title. The panel heard how an allegation was made back in October 2016 that Garton had raped a woman and attempted to deter her from involving the police. They also heard how he had previously harassed his victim and placed listening devices in her home. After the hearing Supt Nick Gossett said: "The vast majority of Kent Police officers act with utmost integrity and represent a force that the public should have confidence in. "In this rare instance an officer has been found guilty of committing serious offences and the force did not hesitate in instantly making an arrest and building a case against him. "When wrongdoing is reported against officers, there is no leeway given. Our Professional Standards Department will conduct a full investigation and present their findings in an open and transparent process to ensure that the public can rightfully have faith in their police service."

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This is the face of the sick perverted man who pretended he was a specialist doctor to sexually assault a "vulnerable" pregnant woman in hospital and he has just lost an appeal to cut his jail sentence.

Gregory Boyle, from Mount Close, in Pound Hill, tricked his victim into believing he was a cardiologist while she was in a bed in hospital and he touched her intimately and inserted a "probe" into intimate parts of her body, before a nurse walked in and raised concerns about who he was.

Boyle, 59, was jailed for six years and four months at Croydon Crown Court in May, having previously pleaded guilty to to assault by penetration and sexual assault.

On Thursday (November 9) he appealed the length prison term, but three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in London ruled he deserved every day of his sentence for the "serious" crimes.

Boyle visited his pregnant victim when she was being treated at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH), in Farnborough, Kent.

Prior to the horrific sex attack, the victim's partner had undertaken building work at Boyle's Crawley home and confided in him that she was pregnant and had a heart condition.

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WORRIED parents have spoken of their fury after finding out a convicted paedophile is living near a school and kids' park. Gareth Roberts, 36, was caught with indecent images of children as young as four. The images found by police at his Brough, Yorkshire home included those of children in "discernible pain or distress", Hull Daily Mail reported. He was given a ten month suspended sentence on Monday after 58 images at category A - the most serious - 228 at category B, and 133 category C images were found. But parents have revealed their horror after finding out he received a suspended sentence, and that his home was just two streets away from a popular children's park and close to Welton Primary School. Images of the married 36-year-old have since been shared by concerned members of the community. The IT consultant's sentence was based on the number of images police were able to recover during their search of his home in March 2017. He had reportedly installed a file-shredding application which meant the total number of images downloaded could not be established. Parents took to social media to raise their concerns, with one writing: "How has he got away with this? Feel sick that he lives on the next street!" Another added: "From brough aswell another one getting nearer." Roberts admitted to three offences of making indecent photographs of children between 2011 and 2017. He had no previous convictions. Roberts was ordered to have up to 50 days rehabilitation, and pay 500 costs within 28 days.

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A former Ipswich man accused of sexually assaulting two schoolgirls two decades ago has been jailed for 11 years.

Sentencing Mark Waterer, Judge Rupert Overbury described his actions as “pre-meditated and calculated” and said he had treated one of his victims as “an object rather than a person.”

“They were young teenage girls and there were elements of grooming in both cases,” said the judge.

He said the verdicts in respect of one of the victims showed the jury believed she was under 16 at the time of the offences, and had rejected Waterer’s claim that she was over 16 and had consented to what took place.

He said Waterer had sexually assaulted her: “Your ultimate goal was to have full sexual intercourse with her.”

Judge Overbury said Waterer had sexually assaulted the other at a flat where he was living alone.

He said both victims had been “substantially” affected by the abuse they had suffered and the trial had opened up old wounds.

“These events will stay with them and their families for the rest of their lives,” said the judge.

Waterer, 57, of Church Lane, Little Stonham, near Stowmarket, denied ten offences of indecent assault and three offences of indecency with a child.

Following his arrest in April 2015, Waterer said he was “gobsmacked” when he heard the allegations – which date back to the 1990s – against him.

But a jury at Ipswich Crown Court found him guilty of ten offences of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child. He was cleared of the other two offences.

Waterer was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life and Judge Overbury gave the prosecution 56 days to consider applying for a sexual harm prevention order.

Waterer denied having any sexual contact with one of the schoolgirls while she was under 16 but admitted he had consensual sexual contact with her after her 16th birthday.

The court heard he denied having any sexual contact with the other girl, Ipswich Crown Court hear.

Jude Durr, for Waterer, said his client had a “continuing and loving” relationship with his partner who was in poor health and he had been her carer before being remanded in custody.

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Callum Smith, 22, of Ash Lea Grove, Stalmine, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a male and two counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child at Preston Crown Court last month.

He was sentenced yesterday to a total of 15 months in prison.

He was also subjected to a sexual harm prevention order, and must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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A CONVICTED paedophile was caught failing to register his devices to be monitored by police, a court heard.

Aaron Hutter was initially caught using internet chat rooms to contact young children by specialists using a fake profile.

Their investigations in 2015 uncovered evidence that he had also built up a collection of more than 1,000 indecent images of children as young as five – and some clips involving animals.

But three years on and despite being ordered to comply with a sexual harm prevention order, the 24-year-old admitted twice not registering his console and deleting his internet history on his iPhone.

Southampton Magistrates' Court heard that in May, Hutter failed to make the mobile phone available upon request to police and that he restored the factory settings on the phone.

He also didn't register the name he was using on his Xbox.

Previously, Hutter was handed an eight month suspended prison sentence for numerous charges of possessing indecent images.

At the time, Southampton Crown Court was told officials from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) used a fake profile of a ten-year-old to snare him.

He was traced talking to a ten-year-old girl on social media and email.

Police raided his home and seized computer equipment containing 1,103 images – including 158 of the worst category, it was heard.

When sentencing Hutter, Judge Peter Henry said the images were "disturbing" and added: "No-one said you were directly involved in the abuse of these children but people are involved and they are in it to make money and in it to share these revolting images with people like you.

"The real victims are these young children."

Hutter, of Spring Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty to the charges and was made the subject of a community order, which includes the requirement to complete 100 hours unpaid work within the next year.

He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge.

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A detective who worked in a child abuse investigation unit has been jailed for abusing a young girl and making "gruesome" indecent images.

Det Con Chris Maitland, of Widey View, Plymouth, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually touching a child under the age of 13.

He also admitted 12 charges of taking and making indecent images of a child.

The 40-year-old was jailed for five years and four months at Southwark Crown Court.

He is employed in the Met's sexual offences, exploitation and child abuse command.

Maitland was originally arrested on 22 November last year on suspicion of possession and distribution of indecent images of children.

He was re-arrested on 15 March on suspicion of sexual touching, and later charged.

Scotland Yard said he was off duty at the time of the offences and is currently suspended.

When he pleaded guilty, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith referred to the material on his computer as "pretty gruesome".

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A 20-year-old man from Staines has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual abusing a five-year-old girl.

Tyler Eastley, of Lowlands Drive, was convicted of assaulting a girl under 13 by penetration after a four-day trial at Guildford Crown Court in July 2018.

Passing sentence on Friday (November 2), Judge Alexia Durran described Eastley as "an immature young man" with a history of substance abuse who had engaged in "a degree of grooming" before assaulting his victim.

Reading a statement from the victim's mother, prosecuting barrister Allister Walker said of the victim: "She has become a different child since the incident."

The statement went on to describe the victim's changed behaviour, saying she had become afraid of men in hats and police cars, as she thought Eastley might be in the back of one.

"She felt guilty and that she was to blame," Mr Walker read.

Speaking after the trial, but before sentencing, the mother had already described how the family had struggled to come to terms with Eastley's actions.

She said: "We are devastated by what has happened.

"We feel it is very important for people to be made aware of what he has done to such a young child and we sincerely hope that this will never happen again.

Speaking in mitigation, defence barrister Rupert Hallowes said: "The fact of the matter is this defendant has had a wretched upbringing characterised by violent relationships and perpetual instability.

"He is a defendant who has never managed to form a stable relationship with anyone."

Mr Hallowes went on to say Eastley was "not a hopeless case by any stretch of the imagination" and that "he knows he must take his medicine now".

However, he added that Eastley could well serve his full sentence behind bars "if he doesn't take steps to address his offending".

Judge Durran said Eastley would spend a maximum of nine years in prison and a further period on licence, during which time he could be recalled to prison for any further offences, and that he would serve a minimum of four-and-a-half years before being considered for parole.

She also imposed a sexual harm prevention order, banning him from staying in the same house as or having unsupervised contact with girls under 16, unless their parents had been informed of his offending and consented, and said his name would be placed on the sex offenders register.

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A teenager from Blackpool, who sexually abused a number of young girls, has been jailed for over 12 years.

Ryan Garside, 18, of Orme Street, groomed his young victims on social media, before meeting up with them to carry out the horrific assaults.

He was sentenced at Preston Crown Court for 20 offences relating to four child victims between 2016 and 2017.

His abuse included the rape of a 13 year old girl in which he covered her face and used a school tie as a ligature.

He was between 16 and 17 when he committed the offences.

At an earlier hearing Garside pleaded guilty to one count of rape, ten counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of possession of indecent images, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and five breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order – issued in May 2017.

Garside was given two sentences - nine years and seven months and an additional 32 months for breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order on numerous occasions.

He has also been placed on the Dangerous Offenders Register.

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A SOUTHAMPTON man has been jailed for asking a 12 year old girl for sex.

Reice John Wills was described as an "isolated young man" in a "sad place" - and convicted at Southampton Crown Court after he was caught messaging the girl on Facebook.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Wills contacted the girl on messenger in July this year - making obscene suggestions of how they could celebrate the girl's thirteenth birthday.

But it also heard how Wills spent time in the attic of his mother's house alone - and had a history of being bullied.

The court was told how the 24 year old suffers from a limp, a speech impediment, cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

Richard Tutt, mitigating, said Wills knew he had been "extraordinarily foolish" but that he was "remorseful" and had acted out of "desperation."

He added that Wills is "quite an isolated young man" with "only one loyal friend" and said: "He has been bullied throughout his life. It has made him socially isolated and tends to spend a lot of time inside.

"His self-confidence is quite low, his self esteem is quite low. He has access to the internet. It's easy for him to get gratification from younger girls.

"The reason he has done that is because of the way he has been feeling about himself."

Mr Tutt went on to say Wills had "no intention of doing anything" with the girl he messaged - and that he has "struggled to form age appropriate relationships."

But he also said that Wills "fears for the future" and is keen to find "purpose in life," - concluding his mitigation by saying Wills "is in a sad place and it's from that position that he comes from."

But handing the two year eight month sentence to Wills, Judge Parker said Wills had "specifically targeted a 12 or 13 year-old girl as she was a relatively easy target."

He added: "You are either in denial of the fact that you have an unsavoury interest in teenage girls or you have no understanding or insight into that concern of yours in children.

"It is obvious that you are sexually active. You pose a significant risk of serious harm to these girls and it's very difficult to see how long that will last.

"Either you recognise or not what you have done causes very serious harm to young girls."

In the summer of 2016 Wills, of Blackthorn Road Southampton, pleaded guilty to causing a child of under 16 to watch a sexual activity and asking her to undress.

He was handed a 12 month suspended sentence.

On October 19 this year Wills was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, breaching a sexual harm prevention order by deleting internet history, having unsupervised contact with an under 16-year-old, and failing to comply with notification requirements.

On his release he will also have to serve an extended licence period of six years' supervision from the authorities.

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EVIL killer John Taylor has been given a WHOLE life prison sentence after admitting a string of violent sex crimes against a seven-year-old child and a four women.

Judge Robin Mairs told Taylor he will now spend the rest of his life behind bars over "harrowing" offences which spanned four decades.

The judge told the 62-year it was necessary to impose the "rare" sentence because of the severity of his crimes.

He said: "I am in no doubt that you must be kept in prison for the rest of your life.

"In your case, John Taylor, life imprisonment means exactly that."

Judge Mairs said the offences Taylor committed were of "exceptional gravity".

He said: "I have read with care each and every victim personal statement and they make harrowing reading.

"Even that harrowing reading could not describe the suffering that you inflicting on these women.

"They needed courage and needed resilience because of the life long effects of your actions."

He added: "Your threats to kill those in the attacks has shown by the offence against Leanne Tiernan that they are not hollow ones."

Detective Superintendent Jim Dunkerley said: Todays sentencing is the culmination of a long and detailed investigation into Taylor and his offending and I want to pay tribute to my team for their work in bringing Taylor to justice.

Hopefully todays sentences bring a degree of comfort to his victims who have been through a horrific ordeal.

"Thankfully Taylor didnt subject them to a trial so they didnt have to give evidence.

I do though want to pay tribute to them for bravely coming forward and telling police what happened to them.

"Without them coming forward we wouldnt have been able to bring Taylor to justice for these offences.

I also want to make a promise to victims that the commitment of my team is to them and to achieving justice on their behalf.

"Even if you were the victim of a serious crime decades ago we will do all we can to bring the offender or offenders to justice.

Taylor pleaded guilty on October 8 this year to two counts of rape, two other serious sex offence, two of possessing an offensive weapon, four of indecent assault, kidnapping, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and unlawful wounding

The court heard Taylor entered guilty pleas to a further count of rape and having an offensive weapon at a hearing on June 6.

The offences relate to attacks on five female victims between December 1977 and August 1996.

They include the rape of a woman in the Armley area of Leeds in 1977.

Taylor also admitted indecently assaulting a woman in Bramley Fall woods and putting a knife to her throat.

He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and indecent assault offences against a seven-year-old girl in Armley in 1984.

Taylor entered guilty pleas to a sexual offence and two offences of violence against a woman in Gildersome in 1987.

He further admitted to two rape offences and an indecent assault offence against a victim in 1996.

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A man who created a ‘step-by-step paedophile manual’ tried to blame ‘family and work’ pressures for his paedophile behaviour as he was jailed for just 16 months.

Nicholas Simon Smith’s 171-page document was called How to Practise Child Love – A Paedo’s Guide which he wrote was a ‘guide in how to engage in safe and harmless love with a child’.

Investigators discovered more than 10,000 indecent images at his home in Bollington, Cheshire, along with video clips showing child abuse.

The father-of-one’s house was raided in February 2017 and police retrieved his computer and USB sticks.

Judge David Hale, who viewed some of the document, described it as ‘absolutely repulsive’ at Chester Crown Court.

Among the 10,837 images, 133 were classified as ‘category A’ – involving the worst kinds of child abuse images.

Prosecutor Jayne Morris said the images had been collected over a period of more than 10 years.

Smith, 41, started in his mid to late 20s but then the offending became more frequent and compulsive over the years.

He told police that he started looking for material of girls aged 10 or 11 because of ‘family and work pressures’.

He admitted seven counts of possession of indecent images of children, possession of the manual, possession of indecent computer generated images depicting children and possession of extreme pornography.

Defending, Mark Connor said that the manual had been downloaded by Smith along ‘with a lot of other stuff’ and there was never any suggestion that there had been any contact offences.

He said: ‘His arrest has had a devastating effect on his family, he has lost a lot.’

He added that he had shown ‘shame and remorse’ about his actions.

His client had sought out treatment for his addiction to such material and was receiving weekly sessions of therapy.

Jailing Smith, Judge Hale said that the possession of the manual, the number of images and the length of time of the offending left him with no other option than immediate custody.

Smith was also made the subject of a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.