Latest Offenders

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A TEENAGER has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for sex offences against children as young as 11. Oliver Sturman, 19, formerly of Knighton Close, Crawley, committed offences including incitement to sexual activity and making and possession of indecent images of children. Sturman pleaded guilty to seven offences of inciting an 11-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity and one offence of causing a child to watch a sexual act on a webcam. He also pleaded guilty to four similar offences in relation to another girl aged 12, both of whom live outside Sussex. A guilty plea was also entered for ten offences of taking and possessing indecent images of other girls using a webcam. He was also sentenced after admitting sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and causing/inciting the same victim to have sexual activity by penetration. Detective Constable Chris Smith, of the paedophile online investigation team (POLIT) of Sussex Police, said: It became clear that he had for some time been systematically approaching teenage girls online and coercing them into performing indecent acts for his enjoyment and sexual gratification, threatening to tell their friends if they refused to co-operate. However this behaviour came to our notice, and we moved swiftly to arrest him and put a stop to his vicious and unpleasant activities. After his arrest and bail in May last year, Sturman moved to Newton Road in Southampton. While living in Hampshire he also incited girls under 16 to engage in sexual activity. He pleaded guilty to the offence in court. His victims were all contacted online and received indecent messages aimed or sent with the intention of facilitating sexual activity. Sturman appeared at Southampton Crown Court on January 9 and was sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment, with a further four and a half years to be served on extended release licence. He was also required to register as a sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Offence Prevention Order (SOPO) for 12 years severely restricting his access to young girls and computers. He also admitted sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, and causing/inciting the same victim to have sexual activity by penetration. Both offences were committed in Nottinghamshire, while he was on bail after he had moved to Southampton. DC Smith added: When we arrested him and seized his computer we found evidence of all the other offending. This case serves as a further reminder to parents and teenage children that great care needs to be taken in making contacts online. For more information on keeping young people safe online, visit sussex.police.uk and search computers and the internet.

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Lewis Daynes, 19, who lured 14-year-old he met online before murdering him, to serve minimum 25-year sentence A teenager who groomed a 14-year-old boy over the internet before slashing his throat in a sexual and sadistic attack has been sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison. Computer engineer Lewis Daynes, 19, admitted murdering Breck Bednar after luring him to his flat in Grays, Essex, on 17 February last year. Breck told his parents he was sleeping at a friends house near their home in Caterham, Surrey, but secretly travelled to see Daynes after months of talking in an online gaming forum. It was there that Daynes used duct tape to bind his young victim by his wrists and ankles before knifing him in the throat, causing him to die within seconds. Prosecutors said there was evidence of sexual activity between the pair shortly before the killing and that afterwards Daynes sent pictures of Brecks bloodied body to two of his online friends. Sentencing Daynes at Chelmsford crown court, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox, ordered him to serve life with a minimum of 25 years in prison, meaning he will be at least 44 by the time he is released. Cox said: Having lured the young victim to your flat, you murdered him. You had befriended Breck and a number of other adolescent friends through an online community. Your contact with Breck increased in a sinister way. The precise details of what happened in your flat are unclear and may never be known. Im sure that this murder was driven by sadistic or sexual motivation. There were serious questions over the police handling of the case as it emerged that Daynes was arrested on suspicion of the rape and sexual assault of a 15-year-old alleged victim three years before he attacked Breck. These offences were reported to Essex police in 2011 but the force decided not to take any action. They were then re-investigated when Daynes was brought in for questioning over Brecks murder. The Guardian revealed in November that Brecks parents, Barry Bednar and Lorin LaFave, have launched a legal action against Essex and Surrey police forces over their handling of the case. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has also launched investigations into the two forces. Daynes, who used the online monicker EagleOneSix, befriended Breck in the internet gaming group TeamSpeak in which the 19-year-old was described as the controlling ringmaster. The pair played war games like Call of Duty and Battlefield for hours, during which Daynes claimed that he worked for the US government and promised Breck great wealth through a fictional computer business. LaFave, 47, a teaching assistant from Michigan, grew increasingly concerned that Daynes was manipulating her son at one stage she confronted him online before contacting Surrey police in December 2013 over strong fears that he was being groomed and manipulated by the older man. Despite this report, the family believe no action was taken to prevent Daynes carrying out the killing two months later. Prosecutor Richard Whittam QC told the court how Daynes bought condoms, duct tape and syringes online in preparation for the attack before giving Breck a false alibi in case his parents asked questions about visiting a friend. After stabbing the 14-year-old in the neck, Daynes posted pictures of the body to at least two people and circulated news of Brecks death online. Daynes then showered and changed his clothes before calling 999, claiming in a calm voice that he had stabbed Breck while trying to stop him from taking his life. During the call, Daynes claimed he and the 14-year-old had got into an altercation, adding: Only one of us came out alive. Outlining his story in a matter-of-fact manner, the controlling killer told the operator: I grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the back of the neck, I believe somewhere near the brain stem. I dont remember exactly what happened but the fight ended with me cutting his throat. Asked by the operator if he was saying he had killed somebody, he replied simply: Yes, I am. When officers arrived at his home, they found Brecks body laying in the bedroom. Daynes had submerged his computer equipment in water to destroy evidence. In mitigation, Dayness counsel Simon Mayo QC said the 19-year-old had experienced deep-rooted feelings of rejection and isolation in his life and that he was taken into local authority care at a young age after his mother moved abroad. He felt more at home in the game world than the real world, Mayo said. Outside court, crown prosecutor Jenny Hopkins said: Our case was that Lewis Daynes, even though he was only 18 when he committed Brecks murder, was a controlling and manipulative individual who carefully planned this crime. He groomed Breck online using their shared interest in computer games and over a period of months he manipulated Breck, turning him against his family. A month before the tragic event of Brecks death, Daynes was clearly organising and planning, buying duct tape and other items online. He gave Breck a mobile phone and also sent instructions by text on the lies Breck should tell his family so he would be able to visit Dayness home in Grays, Essex. We have seen cases where young people have been groomed online but it is rare for it to culminate in such a dreadful and violent murder. The degree of planning and manipulation by Daynes is shocking and when you consider the young ages of perpetrator and victim, it stands out as one of the most cruel, violent and unusual cases we have dealt with.

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A DELIVERY driver has been jailed for 16 years for raping two women.

Andrew Saggers, 41, of East Albany Road, Seaford, raped a woman in her late twenties at an address near Polegate in December 2006, and a woman in her late thirties at an address in Eastbourne in May.

Police arrested Saggers after the victim reported the May 2014 attack, and traced the 2006 victim, who had not reported the attack to police, while Saggers was on remand.

Detective Constable Lisa Wells, of the East Sussex Specialist Investigation Unit, said: With her support we were able to gather evidence that enabled us to charge him with that crime too.

"Both women were very supportive of the prosecution, and gave evidence at the trial. This sentencing sends out the clear message that we will follow up all such allegations and wherever possible bring vicious offenders like this to justice, no matter how long ago their crimes occurred."

Description

A "dangerous and predatory paedophile" has been jailed for 18 years for committing a series of historical sexual offences against children. John Toms, 65, of Oldford, Frome, was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court after admitting 22 charges including rape, gross indecency and indecent assault. He was arrested in July after a member of the public saw him trying to take photos of a girl near him on a bus. The charges relate to incidents against four children in the 1980s and 1990s. During a subsequent search of his house, officers found indecent images of children on his computer. Det Con Jon Hooper said the victims were all from the east Somerset area and were around six-years-old when the abuse started. "John Toms admitted during police interviews that he was sexually attracted to young children and was in possession of indecent images," he added. "Toms is clearly a dangerous and predatory paedophile and we believe there may be more victims who have not yet been located. "The judge said Toms had "an extreme and perverted interest in young girls" and said he had "caused untold damage to his victims".

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A man from Devon has been sentenced to a total of seven years imprisonment for sexual offences relating to child, that took place in Thame and High Wycombe, between 2004 and 2008.

Carl Crook, aged 45, of Pale Gate Close, Honiton, Devon, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (12/12) for a number of sexual offences relating to a single child.

Following a five day trial, a jury found Cook guilty of three sexual assaults of a child under 13, five counts of sexual activity with a child, assault of a child under 13 by penetration, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and two charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Crook had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.

Investigating officer, Det Con Maria Morrisey of the Thames Valley Police Paedophile Online Investigation Team said: I am delighted with the sentence given to Crook, who has proved to be an extremely dangerous and predatory paedophile.

The jury saw through Crooks lies and concluded he groomed his victim before taking advantage of her for his own sexual gratification.

I praise the victim for showing the courage to give her testament first to police and then to the court. I also praise the jury who did their duty with diligence and had to listen in detail about Crooks depraved crimes. Finally, I praise all Thames Valley Police and Devon and Cornwall Police officers and staff who helped in this investigation, without them Crooks conviction would not have been possible.

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A Preston man who is a convicted sex offender is being sought by police.

Lancashire Police have released an appeal to find Biaron Cross, 25, for breaching his notification requirements and failing to notify police of his current address.

Cross has also breached the terms of his electronic tag.

He was understood to be living at an address in Preston but could be in the Blackburn area.

In 2010 he was sentenced to 32 months in prison after he was convicted of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

In September this year he was arrested and charged for breaching his notification requirements.

He is 6’3″, with dark shaven hair and is usually clean shaven with a stud in his left ear.

Detective Chief Inspector Claire McEnery, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Public Protection Unit, said: “We take any breach of notification requirements very seriously and I would urge anyone with information on where he might be to contact us.

“I would also urge Cross himself, if he sees this appeal, to hand himself in to the police rather than evading the police and making the situation worse for himself.”

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 where details can be passed to the DASO (Dangerous and Sexual Offenders’) Unit.

Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

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Updates:

• December 2017: Has now been released
• July 2017: Now using the name ‘Nicola Cherrett’ – Currently held at HMP Foton Hall.

One teenage boy told of his three-year ordeal at the hands of a predator named Nicola Ward.

The lad, now 16, said: “She was funny and intelligent. She used all these posh words and came across as really well spoken.

“But she’d switch after she had a drink or took drugs. She became a different person.”

The school leaver said the abuse began when he was 12. Ward plied him with cocaine and then performed a sex act.

It was the start of a campaign in which she would corner the lad and coerce him into sex acts.

Ward, 34, of Worksop, Notts, was arrested last April after the lad’s father became suspicious.

She was jailed for eight years by Nottingham Crown Court after admitting sexual activity with a child and supplying drugs.

Ward, jailed in January, was sent to Peterborough Prison — making her one of an estimated 100 female child abusers behind bars.

She was moved to a low-security psychiatric unit in July.

Her victim is still having therapy to help him come to terms with the attacks.

He said: “I never thought a woman was capable of something like this.

“It’s ruined my trust in everyone. It’s made me fearful of women.

“But she’s in the gutter where she belongs and I won’t let her ruin my life.”

• Ward has a SOPO indefinitely with two restrictions
• Not to live in a family with a child under 18 No unsupervised contact with a child under 16
• Is banned from Nottinghamshire by way of a court order obtained September 2016
• Banned from Nottinghamshire by way of MAPPA

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Michael Feben, 75, pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault. A retired Roman Catholic priest has been jailed for six years after sexually assaulting two boys in Windsor during the 1960s. Michael Feben, former priest at St Edward's Roman Catholic Church, in Alma Road, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Thursday, December 4 after pleading guilty to six charges of indecent assault. The offences took place when the victims were between 11 and 15 years old and Feben, now 75, was in his twenties. Feben, of Medina Avenue, Newport, Isle of Wight, also pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a third boy, aged 10, when a priest at Annunciation Church in Charminster, Bournemouth, in the Seventies. The allegations first came to light when one of Feben's victims contacted the police in 1993, and wrote to then Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth, Reverend Crispian Hollis, but no action was taken. Feben was arrested last year and denied the offences when interviewed but was charged in March. Speaking at the sentencing, Judge Stephen John said: "Each of these men (the victims) has lived for the rest of their childhood and much of their adult lives with the knowledge of what you did to them. "Everyone knows that such offences have long-lasting effects on the lives of those too young to understand or complain at the time when they were abused. "The fact that you were a priest is a significantly aggravating factor. "For a long time, complaints against priests were routinely dismissed or not investigated and many felt there was no point in complaining. Happily, those days are gone, as this prosecution demonstrates." Feben received a total of six years' imprisonment for six counts of indecent assault. A further two counts of indecent assault, which Feben denied, will be left on file.

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A MANIPULATIVE 19-year-old has been jailed for four and a half years for having sex with two teenage girls in Didcot. Dalton Joyce-Kent, of Elderberry Bank, Lychpit, Basingstoke, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). Stephen Shay, prosecuting, said the defendant had been made subject to a SOPO for five years in January last year, banning him from unsupervised contact with children. He told Judge Patrick Eccles at Oxford Crown Court the order was made after the teenager admitted one count of having sexual activity with a child. The barrister said he was also made subject to a 15-month suspended sentence order in October last year for making threats to kill. Mr Shay said his latest offences, carried out against two 15-year-olds, who cannot be named for legal reasons, put Joyce-Kent in breach of both court orders. He said the serial offender met up with one of the girls 13 or 14 times and they had sex in a wooded area in Didcot. Thomas Evans, defending, said his client was immature and had had a very difficult upbringing, but had accepted his behaviour was wrong. He said: He has talked to me about seeing violence his whole life, particularly towards his mother. Judge Eccles said on Monday the teenager had wilfully and calculatedly breached his SOPO and in his view was a dangerous offender. He sentenced him to 54 months in prison, of which he will spend at least two thirds in custody, with an extra three years on licence. Joyce-Kent will also have to pay a 120 victims surcharge.

Description

A paediatrician who carried out examinations purely for his own sexual gratification and abused boys behind a curtain while their parents were in the room, has been jailed for 22 years.

Myles Bradbury, 41, from Herringswell, Suffolk, who worked as a haematologist at Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge, had pleaded guilty to 25 offences against boys aged 10 to 16, including sexual assault, voyeurism and possessing more than 16,000 indecent images.

Sentencing Bradbury, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth told Cambridge crown court on Monday that the prison tariff was less severe owing to the early guilty pleas, though some might observe the overwhelming evidence against him meant he had little choice but to admit the offences.

For a doctor to attack children in this way is one of the worst forms of sexual abuse imaginable, the judge said. These boys were all vulnerable and gravely ill. In all my years on the bench, I have never come across such a grotesque betrayal of your Hippocratic oath.

The court heard how Bradbury encouraged several young patients to see him alone through the trust he had acquired. It was in these circumstance under the guise of legitimate examinations he went entirely beyond the bounds, said John Farmer, prosecuting. He took the opportunity of fondling the boys genitals and encouraging them to masturbate in his presence and obtain erections for his own personal gratification. On some occasions, when he failed to exclude the parent, he simply carried on behind the curtain behind which the boy had gone to remove his clothes.,.

His 18 victims included children with haemophilia, leukaemia and other serious illnesses. The offences took place over four and a half years, beginning within six months of his appointment in 2008 and continuing to the day he was suspended when concerns were first raised. At some point, he began using a camera pen in an attempt to take pictures of the boys when partially clothed, Farmer said. Police found 170,425 images on this pen but none of these was classed as indecent.

Bradbury was first arrested in December 2013 after police were alerted by Canadian authorities that he had bought a DVD containing indecent images of children as part of Operation Spade, an extensive sting operation. At the time, Cambridgeshire police were investigating Bradbury as concerns were raised about his conduct after a boy spoke to his parents about what had happened. Bradbury was suspended by the NHS a month earlier.

Detective superintendent Gary Ridgway, from Cambridgeshire Police, said his team is working with police forces and several agencies from other parts of the country to see if his abuse dates back further.

He added that since Bradburys crimes were reported a small number of other possible victims had come forward and these files have recently been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Encouraging victims to contact police, Ridgway said: It would be naive to assume that we know the full scale of what he did.

Bradbury, who was also involved in church and Scout groups, was described as a man of great charm and persuasiveness whom everybody trusted. When one victim raised concerns with his mother, she responded: Hes a doctor, it must be necessary.

One victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in a statement read to the court: I am now anxious to go to the doctor because I dont know who I should trust. I have haemophilia and a pain in my side so I know I should go but I feel disgusted and weird. I didnt think it would happen to me and I feel angry every time I think about it but also relieved it wasnt just me but we shouldnt have to go through it.

Dr Keith McNeil, chief executive of Cambridge University hospitals, said: Our thoughts today are with our patients and families who were victims of Bradburys shocking and cynical abuse. Todays sentencing of Bradbury cannot undo the damage he caused but he is finally behind bars and is no longer a risk to vulnerable children. The lengthy sentence shows Bradburys abhorrent betrayal and manipulation of his position as a doctor has been fully recognised.

Michelle Brown, head of the Crown Prosecution Service East of Englands rape and serious sexual offences unit, said: This paedophile doctor took advantage of his young patients battling serious illness by systematically sexually abusing them. Such cruelty is unimaginable to most of us. The extent of that abuse and the number of victims 18 was a gross breach of the trust placed in Myles Bradbury and one of the worst cases of this kind that we have prosecuted.

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A mother has spoken of her anguish after a Jehovah’s Witness elder was jailed for systematically sexually abusing her young daughter.

David Dennis, 60, received a 12-year prison sentence after admitting 23 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault on a girl, committed over an eight-year period when she was aged 5 to 13.

The charges included:

1. Nine counts of indecent assault on a child under 13 years old
2. Twelve counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 years old
3. Four counts of sexual assault by penetration on a child under 13 years old

The mother of the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has now revealed her torment upon discovering the extent of the abuse and confronting Dennis in court.

She first learned of the abuse in June 2013, when her youngest daughter—now 19—confided in her 22-year-old sister that Dennis had touched her and forced her to perform sexual acts. The older sister then informed their mother.

“She looked white as a sheet; she said, ‘I have got something to tell you,’” the mother recalled. “My head just started to spin. I just started saying, ‘Are you sure?’ She said yes. She said, ‘I have been standing outside the door waiting. I just wanted to give you a few more minutes of normality.’ I was just devastated. She (the youngest daughter) came home. I looked at her and I said, ‘I am just so sorry.’”

The mother agonized for more than a year about whether to report the abuse to authorities. “She is a very shy girl. She’s not very confident,” she said. “She wanted me to keep it quiet. She wasn’t ready for people to find out. I had to wait for her to be ready.

“It got to the point where he was living his life like nothing had happened and she was suffering badly from depression. She couldn’t bear the fact that he was walking around and she was living in darkness.

“I tried to take my own life because I too suffered from depression. It just got too much, so she decided she wanted to go to the police. We didn’t tell anybody we were going to the police. We just went and did it.”

That decision initiated the legal process, and last month Dennis appeared at Truro Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to the offenses. As he admitted his crimes, Dennis blew a kiss toward the victim and her mother in the public gallery.

“I cried,” the mother said. “I just looked at him and I said, ‘Don’t do that. Just don’t.’ He is very manipulative. He messes with your head.”

The victim is now trying to recover, but her mother fears she may never lead a normal life. “She is bereft,” the mother said. “She suffers from anxiety and insomnia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Since we found out she has been better. She has got the support of her family, but she is scarred terribly.

“It will haunt me to the grave. She doesn’t want a relationship with anybody. She always wanted to be a midwife. Now she wants to disappear and run off with the Navy.

“She was so scared about coming forward because he was so well respected in the community. She didn’t think anyone would believe her, but I never doubted her for a second. I couldn’t believe it of him but I never doubted her.”

Dennis, of Chawleigh Close, Gunnislake, will be registered as a sex offender for life and banned indefinitely from working with children.

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'Dangerous' fugitive Air Training Corps sergeant jailed for abusing three girl cadets James Reading went on the run two-and-a-half years ago when he was facing serious allegations of sexual assault on three different young members of his troop A fugitive Air Training Corps sergeant is starting a ten year jail sentence for abusing girl cadets after being caught and brought to justice. James Reading went on the run two-and-a-half years ago when he was facing serious allegations of sexual assault on three different young members of his troop. He was found guilty and jailed in his absence for ten years in December 2012. Police alerted Interpol and launched an international manhunt but in the end Reading was arrested in Bicester, Oxfordshire on Tuesday of this week. He was brought to Exeter Crown Court in custody to face a charge of absconding and his case was adjourned until next month to allow him to get legal representation. Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, ordered he appear before Judge Erik Salomonsen, who passed the original sentence, and warned him he could receive up to 12 months extra in jail. Reading was the sergeant in charge of the ATC at Okehampton, North Devon, where he organised parties and sleepovers. He assaulted one young victim after telling her she may be promoted if she went on night exercises with him and another on the eve of a Remembrance Day parade. He plied his victims with alcohol at the unofficial parties at the ATC hut where he hid his activities by putting bin bags over the windows as makeshift curtains. The sergeant invited boys to the parties but sent them on errands or into different rooms while he was carrying out his attacks. He offered one girl 50 to touch her chest and was caught red handed when one female cadet burst into the hut's kitchen to find him with a topless, terrified and hysterical 14-year-old. Reading, aged 37, of Knighton Road, Plymouth, denied eight offences of sexual activity with a child or inciting a child to take part in sexual activity but was found guilty in his absence by a jury at Exeter in December 2012. The offences related to a 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds. At the end of his trial Judge Erik Salomonsen said:"The ATC fulfils and important role in the community and parents must know they can rely on them to look after their children. "It goes without saying this applies to their moral as well as their physical welfare and the highest standards should have been adhered to in relation to alcohol and the separation of the sexes during overnight activities.

Description

Mohamed JUMALE 'Deeq', 24

Guilty of one count of rape (Complainant 2), guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child (Complainant 1), guilty of one count of sexual activity with Complainant 2, guilty of one count of aiding and abetting Omar Jumale in sexual activity with Complainant 1.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers – often for money – and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girl’s 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven – one of whom appeared in both trials – were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed “evil acts” that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: “The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardo’s in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the “tip of the iceberg” and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria – also known by his street name Target – was tasked with the job of finding girls to “party with”. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakaria’s friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year – the month after the Premier Inn attack – a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her “weed” and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in A’s flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make £300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt “part of something”.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. “They made me do stuff,” she said.

Description

Guilty of one count of sexual activity with Complainant 1.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers often for money and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girls 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven one of whom appeared in both trials were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed evil acts that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.

Childrens charity Barnardos continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardos in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the tip of the iceberg and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria also known by his street name Target was tasked with the job of finding girls to party with. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakarias friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year the month after the Premier Inn attack a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her weed and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in As flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make 300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt part of something.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. They made me do stuff, she said.

Description

Abdirashid ABDULAHI 'Abs', 21

Guilty of one count of rape (Complainant 4).

Said Zakaria appeared in both trials.

The jury reached not guilty verdicts for charges involving Complainant 3. Nine victims featured in the charges, with a further victim appearing as a witness.

Full Arcticle

Thirteen men, all of Somali origin, have been convicted of the systematic sexual abuse of vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Bristol and officers are investigating claims against 49 other suspects.

The victims, some of whom were in local authority care, were groomed and passed around by their abusers – often for money – and assaulted in homes, parks and a hotel.

One of the girls was raped at age 13 on the same night by three different men, including a stranger, and thought her life would be in danger if she went to the police.

Another girl was sexually exploited after a local authority outside Bristol set her up alone in a flat at the age of 16 in a deprived inner-city neighbourhood although she had been described as having the emotional development of a three-year-old.

Within hours of arriving, she was spotted by drug dealers who set up a base in her new home and forced her to work as a prostitute. The abuse continued for months even after she told care workers about what was happening; the girl’s 14-year-old sister was subsequently raped during a visit.

A serious case review will look at the case and examine whether more should have been done to protect the girls. Ten girls came forward to make allegations about the 13 men but Avon and Somerset police said they were actively pursuing nine other investigations across the force area, involving suspects from various communities and ethnic backgrounds. The Guardian has learned that 49 suspects and 48 victims are involved in these investigations.

Detectives expressed concerns that hotels were being used for exploitative sex parties and the police have worked with the Premier Inn chain because one of the most savage attacks took place at one of its hotels.

Avon and Somerset police have said the case has similarities with large-scale child exploitation cases in places such as Oxford and Rochdale, where men of Asian heritage have been found guilty of abuse. But this the first time members of the Somali community have been found guilty of such crimes.

Police said they were aware that the case could prompt hate attacks.

Six of the men, most of whom are in their early 20s, have begun jail terms for offences including rape, paying a child for sex and arranging or facilitating payments for the sexual offences of a child. Another seven – one of whom appeared in both trials – were convicted this week of offences including rape, causing or inciting child prostitution, sexual acts with children and trafficking.

Some of the offenders were members of a drugs gang that sold heroin and cocaine in Bristol. Others were well-educated men with good prospects. The lifting of reporting restrictions on Thursday means that the story can be told for the first time.

The case has caused huge concern in Bristol. Teachers have been briefed and some teachers at inner-city schools have claimed it is not uncommon for schoolgirls to boast about being paid for sex.

It has also sent shockwaves through the Somali community in Bristol. Muna Abdi, chair of the Bristol Somali Forum, said the men had committed “evil acts” that the Muslim community utterly condemned.

A joint statement from the Bristol Somali forum and the Somali Resource Centre said: “The Somali community is law-abiding and values law. The shock of this case, like a thunderbolt, has struck at the heart of our proud and law-abiding community in a way that is impossible to describe.”

Children’s charity Barnardo’s continues to care for some of the victims. Hugh Sherriffe, director for Barnardo’s in the south-west and Midlands, said the case was the “tip of the iceberg” and such abuse was going on across the UK and demanded more efforts to stop it.

Detectives began investigating last year after the 13-year-old was raped by three men on the same night just before Christmas 2012.

A group of young men had gathered in a room at a Premier Inn in Bristol. One of them, a 22-year-old drug dealer called Said Zakaria – also known by his street name Target – was tasked with the job of finding girls to “party with”. Zakaria went off to pick up the 13-year-old, who can only be identified as Complainant One (C1).

Rather than bringing her straight to the hotel, Zakaria first dropped her off an inner city flat where she was raped by a stranger. He took her on to the Premier Inn where he raped her twice and another man raped her once.

By the time C1 was picked up by Zakaria, she was accustomed to abuse, having been groomed by one of Zakaria’s friends, Mohamed Jumale, since the age of 11. She lost her virginity with him under a bridge on a cycle way and he coerced her into having sex with other men, telling her this was his culture.

After police began investigating, other teenagers came forward to report that they had been abused by young men of Somali origin in flats, parks, and in the disabled toilets in a shopping centre.

In January last year – the month after the Premier Inn attack – a 16-year-old girl who can only be identified as Victim A was placed by a local authority outside the area alone in a Bristol flat. She was said to be scared of the dark and craved company. However, she was given a little supervision but left to cope alone for 22 hours a day.

One of the first people she met when she ventured out alone was Zakaria. She asked him if he could get her “weed” and they began chatting. Within hours, the drugs gang Zakaria was part of was setting up shop in A’s flat.

Over the next months they used it as a safe house to stash and prepare heroin and cocaine before selling it.

They also began to sexually abuse A. One gang member acted as her pimp. He would stand guard as she had sex with men. Together they could make £300 a day from five or six clients. Victim A grew fond of some of her abusers (her social worker compared it to a kidnap victim falling for her kidnappers). She said she was glad to please the men and felt “part of something”.

In May last year, her 14-year-old sister, who was also in care and had run away, was raped at the flat. Police arrived looking for her and heard a knocking from a cupboard under the sink. The girl was dressed only in her underwear. She was crying and make-up was running down her face. “They made me do stuff,” she said.