Latest Offenders

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A PAEDOPHILE who thought his poor health allowed him not to comply with a court order has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Colin Boon, of Ashmore Close in Whiteparish, failed to register as a sex offender last year without reasonable excuse.

The 65-year-old was stung by online paedophile hunters at his previous home in Salisbury in 2018.

During his sentencing at Swindon Crown Court in 2021, it transpired that Boon had collected hundreds of child sex abuse images since 2006 and stored them on 26 devices.

The vile collection featured children estimated to be as young as 12 months.

As part of Boon's sentence, he was ordered to register as a sex offender and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

But Boon did not comply with this order and failed to complete his annual registration.

Boon pleaded not guilty to the offence but the court said he had tried to avoid the requirements and "suggested his health allowed him not to comply with a court order".

The blind paedophile sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Salisbury Crown Court on Thursday, June 20.

Boon must also pay £350 court costs and a £154 surcharge.

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A paedophile teacher jailed last week for years of sexual abuse was still running art classes for a local charity when police began investigating his perverted crimes.

Stephen Beck, 73, of Anerley Road, was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court to 12 years in prison after being convicted of 15 historic sexual offences against former male student.

“That was my biggest concern,” said the mother of the former student he abused. “He was still holding art lessons.”

By the time Beck was arrested in 2019, he had been running art classes at Anerley Town Hall for 20 years.

In 2009, the News Shopper reported that he had received a Jack Petchey Leader Award for his art classes for Bromley children. At that time, they had already been running for 11 years.

The Crystal Palace Community Trust (CPCT), which now runs the Town Hall, said in a statement: “We can confirm that Mr Beck was suspended with immediate effect as soon as the matter came to light, at which time we understood the matter was now a police investigation.

“The trust cooperated fully with the authorities and provided them with all relevant information during their investigation.”

The charity's development manager Elaine Harrison said in an interview that the trust did not even come into existence until 2001.

Mr Beck was already running his classes by then and had begun abusing his victim – a teenage boy -  in 2000.

Judge Deborah Charles said in court last week that Beck had been working as a caretaker at the Town Hall at that time. One of the attacks even occurred inside the Town Hall.

Bromley Council did not comment on these claims.

Mrs Harrison said that by the time CPCT took over the building on a 40-year lease in 2017, Beck’s classes had already been running for years for Bromley Council.

“All of us, when we heard the news of Mr Beck’s suspension, were very shocked and distressed. It’s an awful, awful thing,” she said.

“We suspended him immediately but we were actually told not to conduct our own investigation because it can hinder or influence the police investigation.”

“The room in which we held the art class is right in the front of the building,” she said. “A large room with several doors. The doors were never closed.

“All our staff who work with children have a DBS check. Staff are never left alone with children. We just don’t do that.”

Beck would have passed any DBS check as his offending was not uncovered until his victim, then in his 30s, finally came forward in 2018.

Mrs Harrison said she was unaware, until she was informed by the News Shopper, that one of his offences had happened inside the Town Hall.

We asked Bromley Council whether it had conducted any investigation of its own into Beck’s time working at Anerley Town Hall.

It said the building had not been council-run for more than 20 years.

It was converted into offices in 2003 and became known as the Anerley Town Hall and Business Centre.

Bromley did admit that it had employed Beck at Bromley Adult Education College, which it runs.

“We were obviously saddened to learn about these historic offences and are pleased that justice has now been served,” a spokesperson said.

“Whilst the investigation did not involve the council, it is a matter of public record that the offender was employed by Bromley Adult Community College, teaching only adults, for a period of time over a decade ago, including on a sessional basis.

“We remain fully supportive of any police investigation and are sure that the police would make contact if they needed to do so.”

Beck, who claimed at trial to have been a friend of David Bowie, had his own failed pop career, having released a single called For The Love Of You in 1975, under the name Steve Beck.

He was well-known in Anerley for painting shop signs and restaurant menus.

The court heard he began “grooming” his victim at age six or seven but did not start abusing him until he was a teenager.

He abused the boy every two or three weeks for years.

He will serve up to eight years in prison and the rest of his sentence on licence. He will be required to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

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A MAN has been jailed after sexually assaulting two young women at a train station.

Lutfullah Elham, 42, carried out the attacks at Pontypool Railway Station after "preying on his victims".

He sexually assaulted a 19-year-old after asking her for directions. 

She tried to get away from him and Elham panicked and he left when a passing vehicle slowed down.

Just days later at around 10am in the morning a woman in her twenties was walking away from the station when Elham approached her on his bike.

He grabbed her and attempted to kiss her before she managed to get away, Newport Magistrates’ Court heard.

The offences took place on Thursday June 9, 2022 and Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

Investigating officer DC Chris Bolton said: “These two incidents show an alarming pattern of behaviour from Elham, preying on lone young women going about their business.

 “Elham will have the chance to consider his actions while serving time in prison.

 “We take all reports of sexual assault seriously and with the full support of victims in these cases we can rest assured that Elham will not be able to harm anyone else.”

Elham, of Llandegfredd Way, New Inn, Pontypool was jailed for 12 months.

He will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

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A volunteer photographer for a childrens amateur dramatics group took pictures of them and then zoomed in on their groins and chests for his own sexual gratification. Nottingham Crown Court heard how Barrie White-Miller also posted entries on his own blog in which fantasised about watching young children on the beach.

The married 61-year-old, of Nottingham, was reported to the police by his own step-daughter who found vile abuse images on his computer. And when officers examined his electronic devices they found more than 3,500 similar such images.

Jailing him for 10 months, Judge Steven Coupland said: The police were called because you had been seen watching pornography on your computer by someone standing outside your house and the fact that you did that indicates to me that you saw nothing wrong with that or behaving in that way. I have no hesitation in describing you as someone that has got a sexual interest in children and it was not just the images that were found on your computer that leads me to conclude that.

There were search terms for young children but worse than that was what you wrote on your own blog indicating you had been watching children walk past your address and having sexual fantasies about them. You also wrote on your blog about being on holiday and watching children on the beach.

And worse than that was your role as a volunteer for a childrens group who you photographed. It is of a particular concern to me that you cropped certain images (you took) and concentrated on the crotch or chest area for your own sexual gratification.

Samuel Lowne, prosecuting, said White-Miller was arrested at his home address in Burnside Drive, Bramcote, on September 17, 2022, a week before his 60th birthday. He said officers had been alerted to attend the address by the defendants step-daughter who had discovered the abuse images on one of his electronic devices.

The prosecutor said a number of items were seized and examined and in total there were 186 of the most serious category A images, 407 category B, 2,905 category C and two prohibited images of children. Mr Lowne said: There were also search terms including nymphette and Lolita and the children in the images were aged as young as three or four.

He also volunteers as a photographer for a childrens amateur dramatics group and one file was headed 'summer school and had cropped images where he had zoomed in. There were also entries on his own blog where he talked of being on the beach looking at young girls and another about people passing by the house..

White-Miller pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children and one of possessing prohibited images of children. He has no previous convictions of any kind.

Kevin Waddingham, mitigating, said his client stopped looking at the images before his arrest and has taken steps since to address his offending, including completing 10 treatment modules with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which works at rehabilitation sex offenders.

He said: Mr White-Miller is a man approaching his 62nd birthday and finds himself before the court for the first time for behaviour he is thoroughly ashamed of and so he should be.

In terms of his arrest, his daughter-in-law and her family were living next door and that situation has now been resolved through their property being sold. He is currently not working but had been a delivery driver but that came to an end for something completely unrelated to that prosecution.

As well as the jail sentence, Judge Coupland also handed White-Miller a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered him to sign the sex offender register, also for 10 years.

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George Johnson and Vincenzo Montessori have been jailed after they were caught on video sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman at a house party in December 2020

Two vile teenagers who took advantage of a drunk woman at a house party were captured on video "taking it in turns" to sexually assault her.

George Johnson and Vincenzo Montessori, who were both aged 17 at the time of the gruesome crime, sexually assaulted the 20-year-old victim while at a house party on December 27, 2020. The victim could not remember the evening but was told by a friend afterwards that she had been sexually assaulted, and she subsequently reported it to police.

On video footage captured on the phone of one of the partygoers, two people can be seen sexually assaulting the woman. Johnson, of Dunkirk Lane, Whitby, Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and Montessori, of Polden Close, Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port in Cheshire were identified from the footage, Liverpool Echo reports.

Johnson and Montessori, both now aged 20, are seen to take it in turns to sexually assault the victim. The footage shows the victim in an intoxicated state and it was said in court that she was unable to consent or prevent what was happening to her. During the footage, Johnson attempted to rape her.

They were both arrested and later charged in relation to the incident. Johnson was found guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault following a week-long trial at Chester Crown Court and was sentenced to 10 years in a young offender institution.

Montessori was sentenced to five years in a young offender institution after pleading guilty to sexual assault prior to a trial. In addition to their sentences, both will be subject to a restraining order and must sign the sex offender register.

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A paedophile who had a mobile phone containing 140 indecent images of children has begun a 16-month jail term.

Police said Lee Courtney, 33, of North Brink, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, had thought he could "hide" the phone from them.

Courtney was jailed by a judge at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday after admitting a number of offences, a court official said.

He will remain on the sex offenders register until January 2031, police say.

Cambridgeshire Police said Courtney had been given a suspended prison sentence in January 2021, and placed on the sex offenders register, after being convicted of "making indecent images" of children.

They said officers suspected Courtney had not notified them of two email accounts and was in breach of sex offender register notification requirements.

Officers had travelled to arrest him in on 18 March - and found the mobile.

'Lesson'

Courtney had been sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on 20 June after admitting breaching a sexual harm prevention order, failing to comply with sex offender register notification requirements, and making indecent photographs of a child, the court officials said.

He would stay on the sex offenders register until January 2031 and be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until January 2036, the official added.

“Despite having a suspended sentence and being aware of his sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements, Courtney reoffended and tried to lie about a mobile phone he thought he could hide from us," said PC Natasha Alwin.

“He clearly has not learnt his lesson."

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A Calderdale man has been jailed for 14 years for drugs and child sex offences after he plied his teenage victim with prescription medication.

Michael Murray, 39, of Prescott Street, Halifax, was found guilty of two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of sexual assault after a trial which concluded at Bradford Crown Court last Thursday (June 20).

He had also admitted 32 drugs offences, which included possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs.

The court heard that officers found a large supply of prescription drugs at his home after he was initially arrested in connection with the sex offences.

Further searches resulted in substantial quantities of cocaine and amphetamines, being found in quantities that were consistent with being involved in the supply of drugs. He was also found in possession of cannabis.

Appearing before the court for sentencing on Friday (June 21), Murray was jailed for a total of 14 years – this includes 11 years for the sexual offences and three years to run consecutively for the drug offences.

West Yorkshire Police’s Detective Constable Riah Nicholson of the Calderdale District Safeguarding Team said: “Firstly, I want to acknowledge and thank the victim for her bravery and courage in coming forward to report the abhorrent offences that she was subjected to and for then having to navigate the criminal justice process.

“I’m pleased that the court has been able to hand down a sentence that reflects the true severity of Murray’s crimes.

“Murray is a dangerous and calculated predator.

“We would urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual offending or abuse whether it is recent or not to come forward and report it to police.

“You will be listened to and taken seriously, and we will do all we can to bring perpetrators to justice.”

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A convicted sex offender who had been evicted from his home turned up at his ex's parents house while she put her kids to bed.

Bairon Cross, 34, called the woman several times, but as she settled her children she noticed him in the garden of the house in Preston. He knocked on the door, and when the woman answered she told him to leave, Preston Crown Court heard.

However Cross called the woman a 'tramp' and snatched a laptop, belonging to her parents. He refused to give it back, Alison Mather, prosecuting, said.

Cross was arrested in Kent Street, Preston, on September 17. When approached by officers, he was resistant and aggressive but was overpowered and taken to the police station.

The court heard he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia but in February 2024 he was assessed as being fit to enter guilty pleas to theft and failure to comply with notification requirements. He has previous convictions for including theft and sexual activity with a child in 2010.

Sentencing, Judge Ian Unsworth, said due to Cross's medical condition he would make a hospital order for him to be detained at Guild Lodge until he was considered well enough to return to the community.

The judge said: "The author of your presentence report makes the conclusion that at Guild Lodge you have been making very good progress. You have been receptive to your treatment and co-operating with staff. Everything you are doing is of positive note. I would urge you to continue to make the progress you are."

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An evil paedophile threatened his young victim into remaining silent, saying she would be taken into care if she ever told anyone.

Andrew Meehan was jailed for 14 years at Leeds Crown Court this week after he was found guilty by a jury of multiple offences against an 11-year-old, and a further offence against a 15-year-old.

The court heard that Meehan initially “tested the water” with the girl and would show her sex toys and made her watch him masturbate.

He then began a campaign of abuse, sexually touching her and making her perform sex acts, telling her to “just do it”. The girl later said she cried herself to sleep.

But in a move that the judge described as being “mean, nasty and manipulative”, Meehan then targeted the girl over social media, pretending to be a 13-year-old boy and befriended her. He then then convinced her to send him explicit images, which he later shared to humiliate her.

The girl later tried to confide in others, but retracted her claims when Meehan said she would be taken into care and her family would disown her.

He later sexually assaulted the older victim by touching her bottom after making sexual comments.

Meehan, now of Orchard View Road, Chesterfield, was found guilty of assault of a girl under 13 by penetration, rape a girl under 13, cause or incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault and possessing an indecent image.

Little mitigation was offered due his denials of the offences, but it was heard he had never been in trouble before.

He was told he must serve the-thirds of his sentence, rather than the usual half, before being considered for parole, and was put on the sex offender register for life.

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A Perthshire paedophile shared photos of schoolchildren as he attempted to meet-up with a man online to sexually abuse his 10-year-old daughter, not knowing he was speaking to undercover police.

The 47-year-old sent a group member called Matt a series of graphic fantasies, explaining the depraved things he wanted to do to his child.

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A sex attacker is finally paying for a series of offences committed more than two decades ago, after his victim gained the courage to report his abuse.

Scott Sly raped and sexually assaulted the school-aged girl a number of times while living in the Sunderland area more than 20 years ago, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

Years after the crimes took place, the brave survivor came forward and reported the abuse to the police.

The now 32-year-old defendant denied the allegations when interviewed but was charged in January, last year.

Sly, of Dent Street, Hartlepool, maintained his denials when he appeared before the court for trial in March this year.

But he was found guilty by the jury of all ten offences, including rape, indecent assault, and sexual assault.

He was back before the court on Friday for sentence and received a ten-year term of imprisonment.

Sly will also be subject to notification as a sex offender for the rest of his life, while his victim will be protected by an indefinite restraining order, which prohibits the defendant from contacting or approaching her.

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Patryk Kantor drove 120 miles to meet the girl in a park close to her home and drove her to an Air BnB.

During his online conversations. he had pretended to be 17 years old but was in fact 25.

The alarm was raised by the girl’s mother, who became concerned about some comments that she made.

Kantor was arrested on March 28, 2024, two days after the initial call to police.

He was identified and arrested thanks to CCTV enquiries and automatic number-plate recognition checks on his vehicle.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child, causing and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and meeting a child after grooming.

On Friday, June 14, he was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to five years imprisonment. He is also subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign as a Registered Sex Offender for life.

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A serial rapist is facing a possible life sentence after a terrifying attack on a vulnerable woman he lured to his hotel room just months after being freed from prison.

Peter Ramsey, 38, was locked up in 2012 for 12 years after viciously beating and raping a legal secretary he had met on an online dating website.

Set free from prison, Ramsey struck again on May 15 this year when he was staying at a Best Western hotel in Wembley.

The predator offered the vulnerable woman help when she was in distress in the street, and invited her to his hotel room.

There, he overpowered the woman and strangled her while forcing her into sex.

At Harrow crown court on Monday, Ramsey appeared via videolink from HMP Wormwood Scrubs to plead guilty to rape and intentional strangulation.

This is a rape where there is non-fatal strangulation embedded in it, said prosecutor Usha Shergill.

It facilitated Mr Ramseys actions, by him being able to overpower the complainant and temporarily strangle her.

Judge Noel Lucas KC ordered a dangerousness report for Ramsey ahead of sentencing in September, and told him: You are likely to receive a very significant sentence for this repeat offence of rape.

Ramsey was convicted in 2012 for raping a woman he met the previous August on dating website plentyoffish.com.

The former personal trainer, then 26, knocked the womans front teeth out when she refused to give him a goodnight kiss, and left her with shocking facial wounds among 21 separate injuries.

Giving evidence at his trial, the woman said they had enjoyed a good date in Brixton but Ramsey switched as they got to her doorstep.

I thought I was going to die, she told Inner London crown court.

Ramsey was snared by DNA evidence and his use of the womans stolen Oyster card.

He was found guilty of rape, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and theft, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

At Mondays hearing, Ramseys barrister David Smith requested the courts intervention to secure him extra protection in prison.

It has now become known he is in prison for rape, and he is very concerned about his safety, he said.

Things are starting to be said to him, and we hope the governor will take notice and reconsider his status on the general wing.

Judge Lucas asked for a message to be sent to the prison governor that Ramsey must have adequate safety while behind bars.

The court also heard of Ramseys partner who is planning to collect his car once it is released by police.

Ramsey has been remanded in custody until sentencing for the latest attack on September 4.

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A pervert took advantage of a teenage girl and bribed her into carrying out degrading sexual acts in return for money and cigarettes.

Philip Greenhalgh, 61, was jailed at Leeds Crown Court this week having admitted a catalogue of offences against the girl dating back several years. He forced her to pose for sexual photographs and would regularly tell her she owed him for the cigarettes he gave her.

The girl, who was 15 at the time, wanted to raise money for a Mother’s Day gift and she came into contact with Greenhalgh who offered her money.

The judge, Recorder David Kelly, told him: “She wanted pocket money for a Mother’s Day present, together with the fact she had a smoking habit you encouraged by giving her cigarettes and asking for sexual favour in return.

“She was unable to tell her mother at the time because she would have had to tell her mother she was smoking cigarettes.”

Prosecutor Eleanor Fry said that he offered to buy cigarettes for her, and when he did, he asked her: “How are you going to pay me for them?”

He suggested she show him her breasts, so reluctantly, she did and Greenhalgh touched her. She went home and cried, Miss Fry said. But matters then began to escalate when he continue to touch her and ask her to masturbate him.

He would also ask her to take her clothes off and he would ask her to pose, telling her what positions to hold. He took the photos and filmed her on his phone. He would even ask he to smile while posing.

Eventually, he tried to persuade her to have sex with him but she refused. He said he was saving a condom for the time they would have sex. The girl then confessed to a friend who encouraged her to contact the police.

Greenhalgh, who was living in Leeds but now lives on Ingram Crescent in Knottingley, near Wakefield, was interviewed by police and told them he thought she was 14 at the time. His phone was checked and it was found he had performed a factory reset, but videos of the girl, along with photographs, were recovered. One video included Greenhalgh’s telling her how to pose.

On the day his trial was due to begin, he admitted 16 offences, including five counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two of taking indecent photographs and three of making indecent photographs.

The court heard that he had five previous convictions, including a rape dating back to 1992 for which he received a two-year sentence.

Mitigating, Richard Canning said Greenhalgh had been on bail “for a number of years” and there had been no issues or further offending. He conceded: “He knows he is going to receive a lengthy sentence. He is thoroughly ashamed of what he has done, he wishes it had never happened.

“His main wish is that the complainant will get past this when she gets older.”

Recorder Kelly gave Greenhalgh an eight-year jail sentence, for which he will have to serve two-thirds, rather than the usual half, before being eligible for parole. He was also put on the sex offender register and given a life-long sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

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A former teaching assistant from Swindon has been sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court today - 21 June - after being found guilty of the rape of a minor.

Sam Powers, 28, had earlier pleaded guilty to an additional 44 counts of sexual offences against children.

He was given a 20-year custodial sentence, four years of which will be served on licence.

In addition, Powers was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for a minimum of 25 years.