Latest Offenders

Description

A man from Somerset has been jailed after three sexual assaults across the county.

Mark John Butcher, 36, attacked the women within the space of three months.

The man from Evercreech will face four years and seven months after committing the assaults on women in Street and Shepton Mallet.

He previously admitted three counts of sexual assault and was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court today (Friday, March 12).

After he is released from prison, hell be on licence for a further three years and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

One of the victims was grabbed by Butcher while out jogging. She was pulled to the ground but managed to fight him off and hide in a field.

At todays hearing, Judge Cook said Butcher committed serious offences which showed an escalation in violence. He said the offending was planned as Butcher lay in wait for his victims.

In the first incident on Tuesday 5 June, Butcher attacked a 24-year-old woman in Street. He pushed her against a wall and sexually assaulted her but ran off after she shouted out for him to stop.

The victim was able to give officers a detailed description including the fact the offender was wearing brightly coloured construction trousers.

From CCTV footage officers identified a man matching this description close to the scene of the incident and an image was circulated as part of a public appeal.

The second incident happened just over a month later on Thursday 19 July.

An 18-year-old woman was attacked shortly after leaving a supermarket. During the attack, Butcher grabbed the victim around the throat and pulled her backwards. She managed to force him off and run home where her mother contacted the police.

The third incident happened in Shepton Mallet, at about 7pm on Friday 31 August.

A 20-year-old woman was out jogging when she was grabbed around the throat and pulled to the ground. She fought back and managed to release Butchers grip.

As she tried to run off, he attempted to rugby-tackle her to the ground but she kicked him again and escaped.

At the end of the lane, she spotted a Peugeot car with an S prefix on the registration details of which she gave the police when she reported the incident.

In a statement given to the court, the victim described how the incident had left her paranoid and had affected her emotionally.

It read: I have started to go running again but I have changed my route and how far I run. I am very paranoid about seeing anyone, especially a man. The few days after the incident, I couldnt sleep as it was troubling me and I couldnt process what happened.

I have not wanted people to know it was me who had been assaulted. I have heard people talk about it but I cant say it was me. Ive only been able to tell my close family and friends.

How was Mark Butcher caught?

Investigating officer DC Catherine King said: As part of our enquiries we attended several local businesses to show people the public appeal and CCTV image from the first incident.

At one of the businesses a local quarry two members of staff identified the man in the image as an employee. Mark Butcher, who worked as an HGV driver, was arrested the same day.

A the time of his arrest he was wearing a black polo shirt identical to one in the CCTV image, so this was seized along with other clothing, including pairs of high vis trousers and a baseball cap. We also noticed a blue Peugeot on the driveway matching the description given by one of the victims.

A DNA sample was taken from Butcher and tests found he was a potential contributor of DNA found on the clothing of two of the victims. He was identified by the third victim in an ID procedure.

All this helped to build a compelling case against him and resulted in him admitting the offences at court.

This was a very frightening series of crimes on women in public places. Stranger attacks like this are rare but when they do happen, it understandably causes great concern.

Im pleased Butcher has now been brought to justice and will no longer be able to carry out indiscriminate attacks on innocent people.

Id also like to recognise the immense courage shown by all three of the victims. Theyve all been through a terrifying ordeal and I hope they can move forward with their lives in the knowledge their attacker is now behind bars.

Description

A St George man has been jailed for a sexual assault in the city centre after his DNA was found on the victim.

Yousef Al-Alawi, 21, of Roseberry Park appeared at Bristol Crown Court on April 10. He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault by touching.

He also admitted another count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.

Al-Alawi was jailed for 12 months.

The incident happened on a set of steps which run between Bristol Cathedral and the Marriott Hotel during the early hours of July 15, 2018.

The court heard his DNA was found on his victim.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Joscella Thomason said: This was an extremely distressing ordeal for the victim and Id like praise the bravery she showed following the incident and thank her for supporting our subsequent investigation.

Al-Alawi had no choice but to admit he was responsible for the attack due to the weight of evidence against him.

I welcome the custodial sentence given to him and I hope it shows the public how seriously we treat sexual assaults of all kinds.

Anyone who doesn't want to report a rape or sexual assault to the police can call The Bridge - a Sexual Assault Referral Centre available 24/7, 365 days a year, on 0117 342 6999

The Bridge provides medical care and emotional and practical support to anyone affected by rape and sexual assault.

Description

A former youth club director who repeatedly raped a teenage girl during a "campaign of sexual abuse" has been jailed for 20 years.

Christopher Rixon, from Blackpool, was convicted of eight counts of rape and six counts of sexual assault.

Rixon, 42, denied the offences, claiming he began a relationship with the victim when she was 16 and it was consensual.

Lancashire Police said it was "lies" and he was a "dangerous predator".

'No remorse'

The offences took place at Monty's Youth Club in the town in 2010.

Rixon, of Holmfield Road, was also found guilty of two counts of inciting a girl aged between 13-15 to engage in sexual activity after a trial at Preston Crown Court.

Simon Morris, of Lancashire Police, said: "I am glad the jury saw through Christopher Rixon's lies, and saw him for the dangerous sexual predator he is.

"I can't overstate the impact that his actions had on the victim, and she must be commended for showing immense bravery in reporting Rixon to us.

"He has shown no remorse by denying the offences, forcing her to go through the ordeal of a trial."

He added: "I am pleased he is now behind bars where he belongs."

Rixon was cleared of two counts of rape of a girl over 16 and two counts of sexual touching of a child relating to a separate girl.

Description

THE National Crime Agency have released the image of this paedophile from Sussex who used a sickening “dark web” child abuse site.

Police around the world took down a global child abuse ring where users gained “loyalty points” for uploading videos of abuse to the site.

It was uncovered by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) while investigating one of the nation’s most prolific paedophiles.

The NCA have released the image of Worthing man Daniel Farrar to The Argus, who was one of the website’s 300 users across 38 countries.

The 21-year-old, of Compton Avenue, was found in possession of the indecent category A images in April.

He was handed a six-month suspended prison term.

He was also ordered to complete 31 days at a rehabilitation group.

The NCA confirmed Farrar is one of seven men from the UK who, so far, have been found to have used the site.

More than 250,000 horrific videos of sexual abuse of children were available through the website called “Welcome To Video”.

Paedophiles from around the world, who did not upload their own abuse videos, paid in bitcoin to download the videos.

Chilling images released by the NCA, which show what the website looked like, reveal users were told not to upload porn over the age of 15.

To download videos, users either had to spend points – obtained when they uploaded their own videos of abuse, or purchased with near-untraceable currency, Bitcoin.

NCA uncovered the “horrific” website during an investigation into British paedophile Dr Matthew Falder.

Cambridge graduate Falder admitted 137 offences which included encouraging child rape, and sharing images of the abuse of a newborn baby.

He has been jailed for 25 years.

Another man sentenced for his involvement was Kyle Fox, 26.

Fox, from Surrey, admitted 14 charges against a five-year-old boy including seven rapes and and five charges of sexual assault against a three-year-old girl.

Footage of him abusing the girl was uploaded to the Welcome To Video site.

The US Department of Justice have charged South Korean suspect Jong Woo Son, 23, with running the website which was available on the “dark web”.

There have been 337 suspected arrested globally, in countries including America, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Germany and Spain.

Nikki Holland, NCA Director of Investigations, said: “Dark web child sex offenders – some of whom are the very worst offenders – cannot hide from law enforcement.

“They’re not as cloaked as they think they are.

“They’re not as safe as they think they are.

“I’m immensely proud of the role we played in catching some very depraved and dangerous global offenders and for beginning the work that eventually caught Jong Woo Son.”

Description

A pensioner has been jailed for 10 years for the historic sexual abuse of a young girl and boy during visits to a Devon farm.

Arthur Bawden took every opportunity to get the girl alone with him in the farmhouse, in barns, and the milking parlour and carried on abusing her for years during the 1970s.

She was so young when the assaults started that she did not realise that what he was doing was wrong, and was too frightened and ashamed to tell anyone when she grew older and started learning about sex.

He claimed he had only touched her once when she was 16 and was sleeping in the kitchen during a farm visit in her school holidays.

He also abused a young boy who was visiting his farm at around the same time. He also isolated him by taking him away from the farmhouse before touching him sexually.

Bawden was originally jailed for 15 years at Exeter Crown Court in 2017 for the abuse of the girl but the jury's verdicts were overturned by the Court of Appeal, which ordered a retrial. He was released last year but found guilty of many of the allegations for a second time by a new jury last month.

He was acquitted of two counts of rape and two of indecent assault against the girl at the first trial and found not guilty of eight more counts of indecency at the new trial last month.

Bawden, aged 74, of Joey’s Field, Bishops Nympton, was found guilty of 11 counts of indecent assault or indecency against the girl and one of indecently assaulting the boy.

He admitted indecently assaulting the girl on one occasion, which he said happened after she turned 16.

He was jailed for 10 years and four months and put on the sex offenders register for life by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

The judge told him: “The indecent assaults started with touching the girl when she was seven or eight and continued to when she was 13 to 15.

“By that time you had to be more forcible to commit the offence because she had grown older and became more resistant. You took the boy to a location away from your home where you said you had work to do.

“There has been an ongoing effect an both victims throughout their childhood and into adulthood and up to the present day.

“The profound way abuse affects people personally and psychologically was clear from the evidence at the trial and from the victim personal statements.

“You tried to blacken and undermine the female victim’s character. That demonstrates that you have very little true remorse and you fail to understand the true extent of the harm you caused.

“You made reference during your evidence of the girl ‘making a meal of it’ in relation to the one offence you admitted.”

During the two trials, the girl, now an adult, told the jury how Bawden started to abuse her during farm visits. He bribed her with money and sweets and sexually assaulted her in various farm buildings.

The boy told the jury he had loved visiting the farm but had been sexually assaulted when Bawden took him to work with him away from the main buildings.

In his evidence, Bawden claimed he was too busy running a 90 acre farm with his father Reg to have time to abuse the girl. He said he had never been left alone with her when she was young.

Miss Phillipa McAtasney, defending, said Bawden is in poor health and suffering from arthritis and had been assaulted and threatened during the ten months he spent in jail after his first conviction.

He had lived a blameless life before and after committing these offences and had helped the community by giving land for a new village hall.

Description

A pervert who was already on the sexual offenders list lurked in a public toilet before attacking a teenage boy.

Aylin Hadarov, 33, of Beverley, was fuelled with cocaine when he approached a 14-year-old boy and sexually assaulted him in the towns train station toilets.

He said to the terrified youngster: Let me suck your dick twice before pulling on the boys belt and stroking his left thigh.

The boy then shouted what the fuck, no in a loud voice with the hope of being heard, only for Hadarov to make a shushing gesture towards him.

The boy felt trapped and Hadarov left soon after, with the boy then fleeing the toilets and collecting his bike from the racks.

He said he could feel his attacker staring at him from the platform.

Scared, the young boy called his girlfriend in tears and told her he had been sexually assaulted by a stranger.

The court also heard that this was not Hadarovs first sexual offence against teenage boys.

Back in his hometown in Bulgaria, on April 9, 2014,

Hadarov received a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence after he sexually abused a 14-year-old boy, threatened him with a knife and forced himself upon him.

Hadarov was also put on the sexual offenders list and banned him from being around boys under the age of 16, except with permission, for 10 years.

Prosecuting at Hull Crown Court, Claire Holmes told the court the attack had deeply affected the victim, who is receiving counselling for the trauma Hadarov put him through.

She said: The incident has affected the victims travel routine and he now immediately leaves the station and is worried about being there and is also scared to use the public toilets.

In McDonalds he used the toilet but had to get a friend to watch the door for him.

Hes also been having mood swings, a short temper and says he is difficult to deal with for his family and loved ones.

Hes finding it difficult at school and struggling with his work so much that his mum had to go into the school and explain what happened. As soon as he found out that the defendant had been arrested, he felt relieved.

His confidence is coming back, and now he just wants to put it all behind him.

After being comforted by his girlfriend, the boy then contacted his dad who was driving home from Doncaster and told him what had happened.

The court was told the boys father felt helpless as he was miles away and unable to comfort him face to face. Soon after, he called his mum and she took him to Beverley Police Station.

She said her son was agitated and upset and she was also upset thinking what might have happened.

Police released CCTV footage of the suspect at the train station and Hadarov was later identified by a member of the public at the bookies. He was arrested on October 14.

Description

A paedophile who filmed himself raping a two-year-old girl and shared it online has been jailed for life. Terry Coneyworth, 31, abused the child a number of times in 2018 and took photos and videos. He pleaded guilty to 19 child sex offences at a previous Hull Crown Court hearing. Sentencing him to a minimum of eight years, Judge Mark Bury said: "Your offending plumbed the depths of depravity." Coneyworth, of Derwent Avenue, Hull, attacked the child in October and November, sharing the images on a messenger service. On one occasion, the toddler was unwell when he "inflicted the abhorrent" attack. The court heard 965 indecent images were found at his home. Of the 22 images he had distributed, nine of those were of the child he abused. 'Boasted about abuse' Judge Bury said: "These crimes are of the utmost severity. You sexually abused her even when she was ill. "You boasted about the abuse. "You have, by your own admission, a sexual interest in young children. "These images will be available to like-minded people all over the world." The court heard he had been making indecent photos of young children since he was a teenager. Prosecutor Geraldine Kelly said during a police raid in November, officers seized letters in which he wrote of "being in a dark place, full of hate and ashamed of himself". Defending, Richard Thompson said Coneyworth had "problems in his childhood and had not dealt with them how he should have done". Coneyworth was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

Description

A man who was told to stay away from a teenage girl by police has been jailed after ignoring their warning.

Oliver Garrity, 22, admitted having sexual activity with a child on the first day of his trial at Hull Crown Court.

The victim, described as vulnerable, was not yet 16 and at risk of neglect and sexual exploitation at the time the offences took place.

She described Garrity, of Round Street, Bradford, as "toxic" and said he would message her calling her a "s***", "fat" and a "wh***."

Prosecuting, Kitty Colley said: She was identified as a vulnerable child by social services and the police. She was reported by social workers to have low self-esteem and at risk of being exploited and they were involved providing support.

She had low body confidence and had self-harmed and she had searched for affection online, and had gone missing before."

It is unclear whether Garrity knew the victims age before being arrested by police, but despite officers telling him she was underage and warning him to stay away, he continued to have sex with her.

After his arrest, Garrity then sent the girl abusive text messages.

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, the girl said she realised there had been a "decline of her own self-worth".

She said: "I was desperate for approval and love and I thought I knew what that was but I can clearly see now I had no idea. I'm in a much better place now."

Mitigating, Mr Ward said the defendant had realised he had made a "reckless mistake".

He said: "The pre-sentence report establishes there are no paedophilia interests, or interests in children and he has had other relationships with girls his own age.

"He knows this was a reckless mistake and something that he knows he brought on himself but that doesn't exclude the enormous impact it has had on him."

Sentencing Garrity to 21 months in jail, Judge Mark Bury told Garrity: She was a particularly vulnerable young girl and was identified as a vulnerable child at high risk of sexual exploitation with no self-esteem and a history of self-harm and had searched before coming across you anyone for affection.

In her eyes, she was desperate for affection at the time and she was used for sexual gratification by you, which has affected her already low self-esteem.

"Your personal attitude isn't one that suggests remorse and on your part, you are still in denial and it is still more about the outcome for you than her.

"I have been urged to suspend your sentence but have come to the decision that this society has a duty to protect vulnerable young girls from themselves sometimes and that is the position here."

Garrity must sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Description

A Somerset man has been jailed for 23 months after pleading guilty to making indecent photographs of a child.

Edward Brooks, 52, from Minehead, appeared at Taunton Crown Court on Monday (April 1).

He was sentenced to just under two years in prison after admitting to two counts of making indecent photographs of a child - four months for each count to run consecutively and concurrently, and a further 19 months for breaching a suspended sentence order.

He was also told he would be added to the sex offenders register for a minimum of 10 years, handed a victim surcharge of 140 and told that all the images in his possession would be destroyed.

He was found not guilty of possessing indecent or pseudo-photographs of a child.

Commenting on the verdict, children's charity NSPCC said more needed to be done to tackle the sharing of child abuse images.

A spokesman said: Behind Edward Brookss sickening collection of images and videos are countless children that will have suffered harrowing, traumatic and life changing abuse.

"He has rightly been sent to prison from where he must be made to undertake an intensive programme of rehabilitation.

The scale of Brooks offending also highlights how big this twisted industry has become and the necessity for the authorities and the tech companies to work in unison to disrupt and ultimately destroy the networks that make and share this terrible content.

Description

A sex offender, who previously abused a young girl, has been jailed for six-and-a-half years after failing to surrender electronic devices containing over 22,000 indecent images of children to Police.

Martin Frederic Daly (47) this morning appeared for sentencing before the Superior Number - a panel that only assembles for the most serious cases.

He was charged with four counts of breaching restraining orders, which were imposed after he sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl, and four counts of downloading indecent images of children.

Under the Royal Court-imposed orders, Daly had to give the police any computer or device in his possession "which may access the internet" or any device which can store images electronically" so they could be examined. He was also banned from using any device which didn't have the capacity to retain internet browsing history.

The Court heard that, between January and September 2018, police officers visited Daly's home on four occasions and each time, Daly failed to produce some of the devices he owned and only presented his mobile phones.

On the last visit, police officers saw Daly use a laptop but, when asked if he had any device other than his mobile phone, Daly said 'no'. He eventually gave the laptop to the officers who then found adult pornography and a sexualised story relating to pre-teen female children on it.

Daly explained his failure to give the laptop to officers had been "inadvertent" the first time, and caused by heavy drinking the second time. He said he had panicked because the thought he would be in trouble for not handing the laptop over the first time around.

Members of the High-Tech Crime Unit carried out a forensic examination of the laptop and discovered there might be outstanding devices that had been connected to it but not seized by officers. In total, 13 other devices were found in Daly's possession, including seven storage devices or memory cards.

Daly said he had not provided those because he either thought they were not covered by the wording of his restraining order or had forgotten about them. He admitted that some of the storage devices might contain illegal material or child pornography.

A total of 22,042 indecent images and movies were recovered, which Crown Advocate Richard Pedley described as "a high volume". "Any number at three figures is considered a large amount," he commented.

The majority of the images were at the lowest level of the 'Copine Scale' - a rating system created to categorise the severity of images of child sex abuse - but 1,032 were at the most serious level.

The Crown Advocate said that Daly had collected images over an 11-month period, meaning that he would have downloaded an average of 50 images or movies each day.

He also quoted a number of reports which described Daly as a "clever man, capable of deception", with one noting he was at a high risk of committing further sexual offences.

He moved for a total sentence of six-and-a-half years - two years for the breach of the restraining orders and four-and-a-half years for downloading indecent images, and asked the Court to order the destruction of the devices.

Daly's lawyer, Advocate Lee Ingram, explained that Daly had initially reserved his plea as he wanted to make sure "duplicates" had been removed from the total count of images. He said that Daly should still be allowed a full discount for his guilty plea, as is customary in Court.

Advocate Ingram said that Daly had described a "downward spiral" following the breakdown of his marriage and that he had been drinking more and more alcohol as a coping mechanism.

He said Daly accepted his punishment and did not view it as unjust, adding that his client knew he needed "to undertake some work during his sentence to address the issues surrounding his offending".

Concluding his address to the Court, the advocate said that Daly fully accepted "his wrongdoing and the inevitable custodial sentence that would follow" and deeply regret his offending.

"He apologises for his failure to surrender the devices at the first opportunity," Advocate Ingram said. "He also apologises to his family for the obvious disappointment and anguish his offending has caused."

Returning the Court's sentence, Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith, who was sitting with Jurats Kim Avery, Elizabeth Dulake, Collette Crill, Anthony Olsen and Jerry Ramsden, said the Crown's conclusions were correct and sentenced Daly to six-and-a-half years in prison.

He also imposed new restraining orders for a period of 10 years. Daly will appear on the Sex Offenders' Register until at least 2027.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE from Worcester who sexually abused a boy and had hundreds of indecent images of children is now behind bars.

Michael Beckley of Warndon, Worcester, carried out sexual assaults against the boy, aged just six, in a bedroom and then told him 'it's our secret'.

The 35-year-old admitted two counts of assaulting the same boy under the age of 13 years by touching, two counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing prohibited images of children.

One of the assaults happened between December 24, 2017 and January 7 last year and the second on January 22 last year. Because of the assaults officers seized Beckley's phone and laptop which revealed he had been viewing illegal images of children for four years.

On those devices, which the court ordered to be destroyed, police found indecent images of children - 18 at category B, 181 at category C and 352 prohibited images of children.

Beckley made these indecent images between July 1, 2014 and November 27, 2017.

Beckley was jailed for 16 months at Worcester Crown Court.

Mr Beckley will be on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years which will involve him being closely monitored upon his release from prison.

Description

A prolific sex offender who tried to rape an 11-year-old girl was only prosecuted because he reported himself to police. Matthew Aldurs, 30, walked into a police station on September 13, 2017, and confessed to a series of child sex offences through "feelings of guilt and shame", Hull Crown Court heard. When the four victims were informed, a woman who was aged ten at the time, was "upset" but could not remember the incident; a male victim did not want to co-operate with police; while the girl he tried to rape said she felt "s***" but was "relieved he'd admitted what he'd done". Richard Thompson, prosecuting, said in 2006 - after those offences, and before his police station confessions - Aldurs admitted three rapes and assault occasioning actual bodily harm against another victim, a teenage girl. The assault included him trying to strangle her and causing a chipped tooth. Aldurs was sentenced to five years detention in a young offenders institution for those offences at the same court in 2006. His criminal record began in 2003 and features offences of dishonesty, vehicle crime, and breaching court orders - including multiple breaches of his notification requirements as a sex offender. Aldurs had also been jailed in October last year for a "dissimilar matter", and had been removed from a sex offender treatment programme for "inappropriate behaviour". Aldurs, of Anlaby Road, west Hull, pleaded guilty to attempted rape, three sexual offences, and indecent assault. Defence barrister Dale Brook said Aldurs had lived a "vagrant lifestyle" and did not appear to have worked. Mr Brook told Judge Mark Bury: "These are unusual circumstances by any reading or definition. "Serious offences, no doubt. I'm not instructed to put forward personal mitigation, and your honour will perhaps not be surprised by that given the approach taken with the author of the pre-sentence report." 'Erratic' Judge Bury said the pre-sentence report made "depressing reading". It found Aldurs suffers from anxiety and depression, was "highly emotional", and described his behaviour and thinking as "erratic". Jailing Aldurs for three years and four months, the judge told him: "It would never have been brought to court but for your admissions, and you have pleaded guilty at an early stage. Since these offences have been committed you have been sentenced for another sexual offence and given a significant sentence. "You wouldn't be before the court but for your feelings of guilt and shame." The judge warned Aldurs if he committed any further sexual offences he would be classed as a dangerous offender.

Description

A SHOP worker attempted to groom 'girls' as young as 13 on a controversial teen dating website, once dubbed a "playground for paedophiles".

Simon Barker used MyLOL.com, said to be the number one teen dating site in the UK, to send explicit messages and pictures to what he thought were underage girls.

The 18-year-old was actually speaking to police officers, who had set up fake profiles in order to snare lurking sex offenders.

Barker was eventually arrested by police after engaging in sexual conversations with three fake profiles, all of which depicted 13-year-old girls.

But Barker continued his sordid actions once released under investigation by officers.

Last week, Baker was sentenced to 20 months in a young offenders institute, following an appearance at Southampton Crown Court.

The court heard how police came across Barker on MyLOL.com, a dating website aimed at youngsters between 13 and 18.

The website is is said to be visited by more than 300,000 users a month.

It has faced criticism in the past, including by children's charity the NSPCC, which has previously dubbed it a "playground for paedophiles".

Prosecutor Dawn Hyland said police used their fake profiles to connect with Barker.

In each of the conversations, he turned the conversation to sex, sent one profile an explicit image of himself and attempted to make arrangements to meet all three.

Speaking about one of the conversations, Ms Hyland said: "He asked her to come round to his flat.

"He said that when she came to pretend that she was his cousin to his flat mates, because he said it was 'illegal and weird'."

Police later arrested Barker and searched his computer, but found no indecent images.

After he was released under investigation, Barker began messaging a real 15-year-old, who he first contacted through Facebook.

Barker later began bombarding the girl with a mixture of friendly and explicit messages.

The pair then met at Barker's flat after he agreed to lend her £20.

Ms Hyland said at the end of the hour-long exchange, Barker unexpectedly lunged at her and kissed her.

In mitigation, John Dyer said Barker had trouble communicating with people in a social situation and had been assessed by doctors as likely to have an autistic spectrum condition.

He said Barker, a former Eastleigh College student who previously worked in a retail job at Westquay, had trouble empathising with people.

Mr Dyer said: "His use of vulgar language in the messages at times was child-like.

He added: "He didn't understand the seriousness of what he was doing.

"He wants to apologise to his victim for what he did."

Barker, of Millbrook Road West, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempting to engage in sexual conversation with a child, one of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one of meeting a child after grooming.

Sentencing Barker to 20 months in a young offenders institute, Judge Peter Henry said: "I hope while you are in custody you take advantage of the courses there and you come out understanding the affect these sort of offences can have."

Barker was also made the subject of a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A serial sex offender has been jailed after he spoke to an 11-year-old boy in a caf and attempted to video call him on Facebook.

Christopher Jones, 46, of William Booth House, Hull city centre, breached a sexual harm prevention order when he spoke to the young boy at a caf in Hulls city centre on numerous occasions.

The boy was enjoying a day with his mum at the caf in November 2018 and took a seat next to Jones and a woman where several conversations took place.

A hearing at Hull Crown Court heard after attending a Christmas party at the centre in December, the boys mum realised a Facebook account under Jones name had requested her son to join an online game of Cluedo, waved at him, and attempted to video call him.

Jones Sexual Harm Prevention Order was issued in 2009 and extended in August 2012 indefinitely after he was caught waiting in a public toilet for young boys.

The order prevents him from having any contact in the community by any means what so ever with any person, a child under the age of 16 except in exceptional circumstances.

Following the Facebook activity, the mum of the young boy grew concerned and at another trip to the caf, noticed that from another table Jones was looking at her son almost constantly.

Her friend also noted the man staring at the young boy and reported it to a member of staff, who told her Jones was a resident at William Booth House.

The mother then informed police, who were able to see where Jones was at the dates and times of their meetings through a buddy tag he had to wear as part of his probation.

After being questioned following his arrest in February this year, Jones said he had been in contact with the 11-year-old six times and said that the pair had chatted about things including Star Wars, Hull KR, and what the boy was getting for Christmas.

Prosecuting, Stephen Welch said: He claimed he hadnt breached the order as he thought he was able to contact a child as long as the child was supervised but he was told he was not allowed to do that.

During the interview he denied being the person behind the Facebook account but the prosecution dont accept that as it seems too much of a coincidence. The police say they havent been able to track the account.

Mr Welch said Jones had a substantial history of committing sexual offences.

He said: These started in 1999, when he was 26 years old, for two counts of indecent assault on two young males, one under 16 and one under 14. All offences on his record are related to sexual offences.

The last conviction on his record is from October 2009, which he was sentenced for five years and three months imprisonment. It was made up of two offences of inciting a male child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Mitigating, Miss Charlotte Baines said Jones acknowledged he had a problem and an interest in young boys, but would benefit from an assessment and rehabilitation and appealed for a suspended sentence with an assessment and rehabilitation.

She said: He admits he is still struggling and battling with these thoughts and feelings and has spent time in prison and has accessed programmes to assist with this type of offender.

"He has had a buddy tag and there have been no sexual offences of this type on his record since his release.

Recorder Taryn Hunter described Jones history and current breach of the Sexual Harm Prevention Order as more than troubling as she sentenced him to two years in jail.

A pre-sentence report written by the probation service said Jones was at very high risk of reoffending.

It also stated at a risk management system assessment in July last year Jones had never had a relationship with an adult and could not see himself having one as he still had a sexual interest in children.

Recorder Hunter said: There was a number of contact with this young boy from November of last year. You have a very long history of sexual offending involving young boys and this case is a great concern.

"Your order prevents you having any contact with children under 16, except in special circumstances, which did not apply to the contact you had with this young boy in December, January and February.

There was a persistent breach. There are alarming comments on the pre-sentence report which cause extreme disquiet.

She said she hoped he would be able to start work on rehabilitation and added: Such that when you are released you can hopefully move forward and not present the risk you currently possess to young boys or anyone in your sexual prohibits.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE raped a vulnerable 12-year-old boy in Rugby after grooming him over a period of months.

Adam Craig Pike, 30, of Jersey Way, Barwell, Leicestershire, was sentenced to nine years in prison at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday (March 28), after being found guilty of raping a child under 13 and causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard how Pike befriended his victim in Rugby in 2015 when the boy was just 12.

Pike developed the relationship over a number of months before he started to abuse the boy, promising him gifts in return for performing sexual acts.

The offences occurred some time between 2015 and 2016.

Pike was arrested in July 2016 after the victim’s mother reported the offences to police in Coventry.

Det Con Scott Loughran from Rugby CID said: “Pike specifically targeted a vulnerable boy and exploited him for his own sexual gratification.

“He is clearly a danger to children having gained his victim’s trust, promising him gifts, in order to satisfy his disturbing impulses. This is a type of behaviour typically associate with people who exploit children.

“The victim and his family have shown immense courage in supporting this investigation and trial. I hope this sentencing gives them some form of closure as they attempt to move on with their lives.

“Warwickshire Police is committed to investigating all reports of sexual abuse against children and I hope this outcome gives others the confidence to come forward.”

Pike was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

He was found not guilty of two counts of rape and one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.