Latest Offenders

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“WE just sat there, sitting and cuddling each other because we were really scared”.

That was how children described the horror of hearing their mother being attacked and subsequently raped in the bedroom next to theirs.

Daniel Wardrop subjected the young woman to a harrowing ordeal that lasted more than two hours, threatening to harm the children if she did not do as he asked.

Southampton Crown Court heard how the attack began when Wardrop, who was 19 at the time, came to the Southampton home in the early hours of March 17.

He began making advances and then became violent when his victim did not respond and tried to call police.

It also emerged in court that Hampshire police are now being investigated for how they handled that call.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission – the watchdog for police forces – will look at how the call was dealt with and the decision not to deploy officers.

Prosecutor Robert Pawson said Wardrop snatched the phone from her while he put his other hand around her throat so she could not speak to the operator.

When the police rang back Wardrop told his victim to say everything was fine, or else he would kill her.

The court heard how he followed her around the flat, not letting her out of his sight before eventually raping her, telling her: “I am going to make your kids suffer if you don’t”.

She later told police officers she was physically shaking with fear at what was going to happen to her.

Mr Pawson also read from statements given by her children.

One described seeing parts of the attack while another spoke of being in tears and hearing her mother cry. “She shouted: ‘Don’t,” the youngster said.

Wardrop eventually left after making her promise she would not tell anyone, but the woman broke down and phoned her dad. He described her as “hysterical”.

as she told him what had happened and he called the police.

Wardrop was subsequently arrested and statements taken from friends described how he had bragged about the attack in the hours afterwards.

Wardrop, now aged 20, of no fixed abode, admitted one count of rape.

In a victim impact statement the woman said she had been unable to go upstairs since the attack and had been sleeping with her children in the lounge as a result. She had also taken the handle off the door to the bedroom where she was raped so no one could go in.

In sentencing Wardrop to eight years in prison and classifying him as a dangerous offender with an extended four-year licence, Judge Gary Burrell QC said: “This was a deplorable rape of a young woman in her own home with her children present. There is no room in my judgement for mercy in your case."

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A CATHOLIC priest with “an unhealthy interest in adolescent boys” was locked up for five years.

Father Peter Hooper, the parish priest at St Luke's the Physician, in Bebington, was caught performing a sex act on an underage boy in the diocesan house where he lived.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to 10  counts of sexual activity with a child. At yesterday’s sentencing hearing he was  supported at Liverpool Crown Court by more than a dozen parishioners  and two priests.

Robert Jansen, prosecuting, told the court a social gathering at the diocesan house, in Church Road, Bebington, was winding down when Hooper was caught out.

He said: "There was a gentleman called Matthew Howard, who at the time was living at this defendant's address, and had been for some years.

"As the social gathering was coming to an end...Mr Howard had cause to walk past the kitchen window and look inside.”

The lawyer said Mr Howard saw the boy and the priest perform a sex act on  each other.

He added:  "Whilst looking through the window it seems the defendant saw Mr Howard who simply shook his head in disbelief at what he had seen going on. It seems afterwards Mr Howard asked the defendant what he was playing at.

"The defendant replied to Mr Howard ‘I don't know what to do. I've been seduced by a 15-year-old boy’."

Mr Jansen said Hooper was arrested and admitted carrying out sex acts on the boy though he said they did not have full sex – this was accepted.

He told detectives the boy made sexual advances, wanted to explore sexually from an early age and was 'manipulative'.

He said he felt “mentally raped” by the teenager.

The boy, who cannot be named, was interviewed and said he met Hooper through a band he was in  made up entirely of priests.

The pair grew close after he told Hooper, a trained counsellor, about  problems he was facing  in his life.

He said at one stage he went to hug the priest who then kissed him on the cheek and then moved to kiss him on the mouth.

The sexual contact followed in the boy's family home and then later at the diocese house.

He described Hooper as a “father figure” adding: “I don’t hate Father Hooper. Part of me wants to forgive him.”

Gerald Pachter defending, said his client accepted “100% responsibility” for what happened adding: “He feels great shame at the damage he has caused the church.”

He said: “Through me he wishes to express his full sincere and profound apologies for his criminal behaviour.

“He admits he is homosexual. Since his twenties he has tried to repress it because of his faith but he has failed.”

Mr Pachter added: “He is very well thought of. That is clear from the turn out today and the many references from clergymen, parishioners and friends.”

He said Hooper was now the subject of daily verbal abuse by fellow prisoners and had been attacked in the prison chapel.

But Judge David Aubrey QC said: "You have betrayed your religion, you have betrayed your church, you have betrayed your parishioners.

"More significantly you have betrayed your victim who was just 14 and 15 years of age and vulnerable and in truth he was in your care while in your home and you were in his.

"You have also betrayed his mother. They are both devout Roman Catholics who are now in consequence of that which you have done challenging the church.

"In my judgement you have an unhealthy interest in adolescent boys as this case has demonstrated.

"You have failed in your responsibilities and duties as a Catholic priest. You have abused and failed everybody who has placed their trust in you.

"You knew when you crossed the boundary. You wished to cross the boundary. Your actions were a gross breach of trust.

"You have fallen from grace and lost your ministry. The offences are so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is justified for them."

He jailed Hooper for five years – of which he must serve half less 37 days spent on remand.

Judge Aubrey ordered him to sign on the sex offenders register, made a sexual offences prevention order and banned him from working with children.

Bespectacled Hooper, wearing a red polo shirt and grey jumper, signalled to supporters as he was taken to jail.

After the sentencing The Rt Rev. Mark Davies, Bishop of Shrewsbury, said: “I wish to express today both the sorrow and the horror felt within the Catholic community at these offences and the betrayal of trust involved.

“There can be no place in the priesthood for those who harm the young.”

Hooper was appointed priest at St Luke’s in 2006 after leaving St Werburgh’s, in Chester. 

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A teacher has been jailed for 18 months after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

Nicholas Esteve was a teacher at East Sussex County Council-run Hailsham Community College when he assaulted the girl, who was not a pupil at the school.

The 36-year-old, of Rotunda Road, Eastbourne, was caught after the mother of his victim contacted police because she was concerned about Esteves behaviour.

He was questioned by specialist child protection officers before being charged with sexual assault and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

Esteve appeared at Lewes Crown Court where he was convicted of both charges and jailed.

The crimes happened in Eastbourne in April last year.

Esteve was also ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years on his release and was served with an indefinite Sex Offender Prevention Order (SOPO).

Ban from working with children

The court order bans him from contacting the victim or any person under 16 without the agreement of a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult, who has been informed of his offending history, except for inadvertent unavoidable passing contact in public.

Esteve is also banned from trying to work with any organisation that might have under 16s involved.

Detective Constable Amy Green said:

We always encourage parents, and children, to come to us with concerns about inappropriate behaviour, and we are glad that this mother did so.

Her daughter also showed great courage in facing up to the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said Esteve was suspended when the victim contacted police and was sacked after an investigation.

He said:

As soon as these allegations came to light both the college and the county council acted swiftly.

It should be made clear that the charges he faced were not in any way connected with his work at Hailsham Community College or any pupils from the college.

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'It would be cruel to send you to jail': What lenient judge told sex offender who stalked schoolgirls A JUDGE took pity on a sex offender and decided sending him to prison would be utterly cruel. Andrew Jackson, 48, twice stalked schoolgirls aged 13 and 14 and attacked a disabled woman he claimed was a prostitute. But Judge Jeremy Richardson QC allowed him to walk free, saying it would border on cruelty to jail him because he suffers from Asperger syndrome. He told Jackson: You deserve to be sent to prison. But sending someone like you to prison would be utterly cruel. You are very much to be pitied. You have never had a full sexual relationship. It must be very frustrating. He added: I have a public duty, but it would be quiet wrong to impose a cruel punishment. "Quite frankly you could not cope in prison. I have no doubt your life would be a misery. Hull crown court heard Jackson had already been spoken to twice by police for stalking children in playgrounds and wooded areas in the seaside town of Bridlington, East Yorks. He showed one girl aged 13 a picture of his privates. Police said he sexually questioned two 14-year-old girls before asking: Are you legal? He then molested a 21-year-old woman in a park. The womans friend heard her screams and dragged Jackson off her. Judge Richardson said he had aggravated matters by falsely claiming the woman had prostituted herself to him for 20. Martin Sharpe, prosecuting, said police in Bridlington were so concerned about Jackson they wanted a Sexual Offences Prevention Order imposed on him to keep him out of childrens playgrounds. Patrick Palmer, defending, said Jackson had an IQ of 75, lived at home with his parents, did not work and had suffered all his life from an undiagnosed condition. Jackson, of Bridlington, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault by touching, knowing that the woman did not consent. Judge Richardson sentenced the pest to a two-year community order with a supervision requirement in the hope that it might alter his behaviour. He also imposed a 10-year sexual offences prevention order on him and put him on the sex offenders register for five years. The judge told Jackson: Young girls have to be protected in your area. You have to learn to control yourself. I regard sexual offences as a very serious crime. Usually the men involved deserve to be sent to prison. It would not be right here. It would be bordering on cruelty. However, if you harass any more girls, you will end up in jail.

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A Hampshire paedophile jailed for 25 years for sex offences spanning more than 50 years has died in prison aged 83.

Ronald Dean was convicted of 25 counts including rape, indecent assault and perverting the course of justice.

Dean was pronounced dead at Albany Prison, on the Isle of Wight.

A Prison Service spokesman said Dean was believed to have died from natural causes.

He was pronounced dead in the prison healthcare wing.

The spokesman added that the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will cary out an investigation.

Dean was jailed at Southampton Crown Court for 25 years after being convicted of 24 sex allegations that involved seven youngsters aged three to 16 years old.

Jurors heard how he bribed his victims with gifts, sweets, money and even alcohol to satisfy his insatiable lust and ensure their silence.

One girl was so badly traumatised by her ordeal she took an overdose.

Dean repeatedly abused another girl and a third was told not to tell anyone anything how he had defiled her, not even when he was dead.

However, his sordid past eventually came to light when one victim had the courage to tell a nurse at school who in turn informed the police.

Dean, a great-grand- father, of Fryern Close, Chandlers Ford, was convicted after a three-week trial of all 24 sex charges levelled against him as well as one of attempting to pervert the course of justice by trying to persuade one victim to drop her allegations.

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A Southampton man who regulary sexually abused two girls has been locked up for 20 years.

Simon Haddon was convicted of nine counts of indecent assault, indecency with a child, and three specimen charges of rape against one of them.

This was a dreadful and systematic sexual abuse of a very high order, Judge Derwin Hope told the 51-year-old.

Her impact statement speaks not only of the physical pain you caused her over the years but also the psychological damage you have done to her and how you robbed her of her childhood.

It is said you seemed to be trying to paint yourself as the victim in this case. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Haddon, of Bluebell Road, Bassett, was also convicted of five charges of indecent assault on the other girl.

He was arrested after one victim told her mother.

She in turn informed the girls boyfriend and he spoke to her mother who called in the police.

Haddon, who denied the allegations, was also banned from working with children and under the terms of a sexual offences prevention order cannot be left alone wth a girl, both for indefinite periods.

After the case Detective Constable Wendy Rogers said: I would like to commend the strength of the victims and witnesses in this case, who together have ensured that this individual has been made to answer for his crimes.

I would also like to thank the Independent Sexual Violence Advisers from Southampton Rape Crisis for their assistance and support.

The Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) team spokesperson Tracey Stovold added: It takes an enormous amount of courage for victims to come forward and report these types of offences and they often do so not just to see justice being done but in the interests of protecting others.

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A WOMAN who suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of her older brother over a period of nine years has spoken out after he was jailed for four years.

Nicky Allan, 38, was at Salisbury Crown Court on Tuesday to see Shaun Christopher Allan, 44, admit one count of rape and seven of indecent assault against her, starting when she was just seven or eight years old.

Ms Allan, who waived her right to anonymity to talk to the Journal, said: I just wanted to be heard. I felt nobody had heard my side of the story. It should never have happened and I wanted justice to be done, and finally it has.

The court heard she was adopted by Allans parents when she was five or six and living in her home country of Canada.

The family then moved to Tidworth Road in Ludgershall.

Prosecuting, Rosaleen Collins said Ms Allans first memory of abuse was when she was about seven or eight and her adopted brother was about 14 or 15. He would indecently assault her in her bedroom when their mother was out.

There were years of abuse in that manner and he took the opportunity whenever he had the chance, said Ms Collins.

She was not sleeping at night worrying that he would come in and it was affecting her concen tration at school.

Ms Allan married and left home when she was 18, divorcing two years later and moving back to Canada, where she still lives.

She reported the abuse to police when she heard that Allan had pleaded guilty to a string of sexual assaults against children between 2001 and 2008, for which he was handed a four-year sentence in May 2010.

Sentencing Allan, Recorder Geoffrey Mercer said Ms Allan had suffered continuous humiliation and distress at your hands from this repeated sexual abuse.

Allans sentence will follow on from the four years three months he is already serving and his name will remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Ms Allan said: On Monday, even just hearing his name made me fall apart so Im relieved that he actually admitted it. I am happy with the sentence. I can finally get closure, go back to Canada and live my life again.

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A COUPLE lured vulnerable girls to their home, got them drunk and gave them drugs before sexually abusing them.

At Bolton Crown Court yesterday, a jury unanimously found 28-year-old Kieran Huelin guilty of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and sexual activity with a child.

They also unanimously found Huelins girlfriend, 26-year-old Laura Crank, had engaged in sexual activity in the presence of a child, incited a child to engage in sexual activity and had sexual activity with a child. Crank was in the dock but as she has a learning disability, Judge Timothy Clayson found she was not fit to enter a plea or stand trial.

The court heard the couple, of Longfieldu Road, Daubhill, invited vulnerable children to their home, gave them drugs and alcohol, and sexually abused them.

In 2009, a 13-year-old girl went to Huelins flat, in Brookhouse Avenue, Farnworth, after falling out with her mother.

Crank and Huelin gave her seven or eight cans of lager and amphetamines.

They made the girl sleep on a mattress on the living room floor with them, before forcing her to watch them having sex.

When the teenager tried to turn her head away, Crank took hold of her head so she was still watching.

Huelin had sex with the girl later in the evening when she gave in to their requests. Gary Woodhall, prosecuting, told the court: They encouraged young, probably vulnerable, teenagers to come to their flat. They supplied alcohol and drugs to underage children.

In that unusual and highly inappropriate environment they were able to take sexual advantage of vulnerable young girls.

Huelin denied the charges but was found guilty.

The jury also found Crank committed another offence with a 15-yearold girl, who went round to the flat with a different group of friends on a separate occasion.

The couple will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on May 31. Huelin was remanded in custody and Crank was released on unconditional bail.

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TWO Shetland teenagers were placed on the sex offenders register at Lerwick Sheriff Court over their inappropriate behaviour towards young girls. Sixteen year old James Leaper, of 14 Maidenfield, Mossbank, pled guilty to making verbal and written sexual comments to an 11 year old girl between 1 July and 21 October last year at Lerwicks Harbour Street and elsewhere. He also admitted offering to supply the same girl with cannabis on 1 or 2 September last year. Defence agent Tommy Allan said Leaper was immature and lacked self esteem and had tried to make up for it by trying to impress people with acts of bravado. Mr Allan added that even though he had been encouraged to act this way, it was blindingly obvious his actions were inappropriate. Despite this he posed no underlying risk to young people. His agent said Leaper had been excluded from school as a result of the offences, but had been co-operating with various agencies to help him with his personal issues and continuing his education to find employment. Sheriff Philip Mann told Leaper he was old enough to understand his actions were entirely wrong and inappropriate, and warned that such behaviour could have a long lasting effect on young females. Sentencing him to 240 hours community service and a one year supervised community payback order, the sheriff added: Offering to supply an 11 year old is serious in the extreme. I shudder to think what might have happened if she had accepted that offer. The sheriff also handed a nine month supervised community payback order without unpaid work to 17 year old Declan Harrison-Ames, of New Craigielea, Seafield Road, Lerwick. The teenager pled guilty to sexually assaulting three girls aged 13 and 14 by touching them sexually, and making sexual comments to one of the 14 year olds. The offences took place on Lerwicks Commercial Street and Viking Bus Station between 20 December and 14 January. However the court heard that Harrison-Ames suffered from a condition that substantially mitigated his actions, and that the offences had not been overtly sexual. Both men must remain on the sex offenders register for the length of their community payback orders.

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A man who kidnapped four girls in the 1980s and 1990s was caught by 30-year-old DNA evidence, a court has heard. David Bryant, 65, of Ulverston, had previously denied four charges of kidnap and four of indecent assault, but later changed his pleas. The children, aged between two and five, were taken in Hampshire in 1982 and 1983, and in Newcastle in 1995. Bryant will be sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on 16 March. Mark Giuliani, prosecuting, said: "A familiar feature of this offending is how the defendant targeted young girls out playing near their homes. "Children have been effectively robbed of part of their childhood." Bryant's first victim was a five-year-old girl who was playing outside her home in the street in Hampshire in 1982. The court heard how her mother had gone into the house to get children's drinks when the girl was taken. She was found nearby a short time later. Bryant had committed a sex act, leaving DNA on the child, which was used by detectives decades later, the court heard. The following year, a three-year-old was kidnapped as she played with other children in Southampton. Bryant had offered to show her some puppies, took her to woods and sexually abused her. Speaking as an adult, she said: "When I hear an ice cream van playing its music I am left with chills all over my body. "I am left remembering what happened to me at a very young age." 'Partially clothed' His third victim was taken from outside her home in Newcastle in the 1990s and found wandering, partially clothed, by a taxi driver in Darlington, 36 miles away. Later that year a four-year-old, from Newcastle's west end, was abducted as she walked 30 yards to a friend's house. Bryant admitted he took her to a caravan in Cumbria, abused her then bathed her to get rid of DNA evidence. He abandoned her on her own in Darlington the next day where she knocked on woman's door and said: "I cannot find my daddy." Mr Giuliani said Hampshire Police began a cold case review of the sex attacks and through DNA advances tracked down Bryant, having eliminated three of his male relatives from their inquiries. Bryant, of Rock Cottages, Baycliff, Ulverston, has three previous sex offence convictions on women committed between 1975 and 1984, Mr Giuliani said.

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A babysitter who sexually assaulted a child has been jailed for four years.

Richard John Ashbridge, 36, attacked the girl on four occasions when he babysat for her.

He was found unanimously guilty by a jury at Hull Crown Court of two counts of gross indecency and indecency with a child.

Judge Jeremy Baker QC told Ashbridge, of Clarendon Street, west Hull, it was a breach of trust.

He said: Your victim continues to have flashbacks. There was a significant age gap between you and your victim.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the girl said: I have not been able to trust people because of this.

I keep having flashbacks and Im worried I will keep having them for the rest of my life.

In 1996 Ashbridge was given a community order for indecently assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

In addition to his jail sentence, Ashbridge was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

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A RAPIST has finally been brought to justice after being convicted of a shocking catalogue of sexual offences against a terrified schoolboy.

Kieran Bunday threatened to kill his young victim if he told anyone, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

He also threatened the boy with an air rifle, pinned him against a wall and told him he had a knife. The court was told how Bunday repeatedly punched his victim before launching a frightening campaign of abuse which went on for several years.

Bunday, 24, who now lives in Forester Road, Blackfield, in the New Forest, carried out the offences in the Bournemouth area.

He was found guilty of four charges of rape, two of sexual assault, two charges of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of indecency with a child.

A jury heard how the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had been deeply affected by the prolonged abuse and suffered from depression, nightmares and self-harm.

Prosecuting, Simon Jones told the court that Bunday had been arrested and interviewed by police after his victim had finally cracked and told his mother what had happened to him last year.

Judge Samuel Wiggs jailed Bunday, who is now a registered sex offender, for three years.

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A PERVERTED foster carer was allowed to systematically sexually abuse young girls in his care even after the alarm was raised by a five-year old who had been raped.

Despite the desperate cry for help paedophile Rex Case went on to sexually assault other young girls who lived with him.

Today the 68-year-old, who carried out his depraved abuse over 30 years, is facing spending the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of a catalogue of sickening crimes.

Judge Peter Henry told Case he was devious, manipulative and controlling and his sentence would be a very long one.

Jurors at Southampton Crown Court took just over four hours to return unanimous guilty verdicts on 18 counts of abuse, including indecent assaults and rape.

The case had taken almost two years to come to court but spanned back to the 1980s when Case preyed on his first victim, who was a girl aged 15.

The Daily Echo has sought the consent of each of the five victims and had to make a special application to the judge in order to reveal the full and sickening behaviour of Case.

Today the girls and their families are demanding answers as to why Case was allowed to continue to foster and why social services chiefs in Hampshire and Southampton or police failed to step in to stop him.

During the past two and a half weeks jurors have heard how Case:

• Raped a girl under the age of five.
• Sexually assaulted girls daily, sometimes in their bedrooms or in the bathroom.
• Would sneak into rooms while they were sleeping to touch them.
• Would bathe and dry girls as old as 13, rubbing baby oil and cream on them.
• Would carry out some of his vile acts while his wife Carol watched.
• The sex abuse was carried out mostly in Cases large family home in Holly Hill, Bassett, Southampton, where the couple lived with their son Dean.

Giving evidence in his own defence Case told how he had fostered some 24 boys and girls since qualifying as a foster carer.

But he went on to say he had many more young girls staying in his home 34 in total who included foreign children who had come to Southampton to study.

Bravery of victims

THE depraved actions of Rex Case towards the children he was supposed to be caring for would never have been told in full if it wasnt for the bravery of his victims.

The Daily Echo faced legal constraints which meant we would be unable to identify Case and what he did to the girls he was fostering unless they agreed to partially waive their anonymity. Each of the victims, who are now all over the age of 18, however, agreed to our request in order to ensure that justice was done in the public eye.

The Daily Echo also received the backing of Judge Peter Henry, who listened to an application made by this newspaper in court, to relax the law surrounding anonymity for victims of sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992.

The judge ruled that the case was so serious that it was in the public interest that the identity of Case and what he had done to those children should be revealed in full.

Victim One

The court was told how his first victim, who we are referring to as M, was aged 15 and lived with Case between August 1982 and August 1983.

She had already suffered a childhood of sexual abuse but Case took advantage of her while she was drunk sitting on her bed, stroking her and kissing her open mouthed.

Victim Two

His second victim was much younger aged just 20 months when she first lived with Case in June 1995, because he was fostering her mother.

The court was told how the little girl, known as J, grew up being told to call Case grandad.

She would have to watch him having sex with her mother before he began to turn his attention to her.

Jurors were told how Cases wife would sometimes watch as J was abused in her bedroom, where she would be locked in behind a stair gate, and in the bath.

It was so sustained she would be left crying out in pain, being sick and bleeding.

When it was over he would tell her she was dirty and disgusting and when she complained it hurt he would laugh.

Victim Three

Cases third victim, A, was aged four to five when she spent six months living with Case from July 1998, when her mum was too unwell to look after her.

She was scared and felt unsafe living with him and he would tell her she had sexy legs and looked good.

He would make her kiss him on the lips and he would kiss her neck, face and touch her bottom.

In her bedroom he would tickle her and then sexually assault her on her bed and he would dry her and abuse her when she took a shower.

Victim Four

In June 2000 Cases fourth victim, referred to as R, went to stay with him at the age of six. He was her mothers foster carer but was minding her daughter.

She woke on two occasions to find Case who she was made to call grandad sexually assaulting her under the blanket, having pulled her pyjamas down below her knees.

It was only just before R was about to sit her GCSEs in May 2010 that she finally plucked up the courage to tell her mother what had happened.

Victim Five

His final victim, M, was aged 13 and was not being fostered by Case when she first stayed with him in June 2003.

During a holiday in Florida he would sneak into her bedroom and sniff her hair and he sexually assaulted her on the couch.

Back home in Southampton a year later the girl was sexually assaulted by Case every other night and he would tell her it was their special time.

The girl told how she let it continue for five years because she had a younger sister and didnt want it to happen to her.

Case showed no emotion yesterday as he was told he would be remanded in custody until he is sentenced for his crimes.

Judge Henry told him he could not exclude an indeterminate sentence because he had concerns over him posing a danger, particularly to young girls, in the future.

Rex Case the man the jury didnt believe

REX Case began fostering vulnerable children 30 years ago after replying to an advert from Hampshire Social Services who were appealing for more carers.

He and his wife Carol, who met as childhood sweethearts and married in the 1960s, underwent training to deal with children with extreme problem backgrounds.

Despite their 49-year marriage, the court heard that in 1988 Case was having an affair.

They had a child of their own, a son named Dean, who provided them with a grandson. They all lived together at the family home in Holly Hill, Bassett.

Case, who was born on October 30, 1943, has always maintained that the fostering of children was his wifes job he was working in a One Stop warehouse in the security department until he retired at the age of 57.

It was in the early 1980s when the Cases took in their first child, but he went on to foster a total of 24 boys and girls in the years that followed.

A self confessed homophobe of 40 years, Case and his wife also took in respite placements and he told the court that, including foreign students who came to stay with him, a total of 34 girls lived in his home in 35 years.

He told jurors: There were 34 and we are proud of it. They made me feel young.

I enjoyed the children. We had a big house, a big garden, it was fun.

Case has always maintained his innocence and denied ever bathing or helping children with the toilet due to his aversion to bodily fluids.

The court was told Case had numerous previous convictions relating to his younger years, beginning with theft when he was just nine years old when he stole sweets from Woolworths.

He also had convictions for causing criminal damage, burglary with intent to steal, theft of a gun and possession of a weapon in a public place.

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Former Burnham-On-Sea Scouts leader David Burland was jailed on Friday for 15 years after being convicted of 33 sexual offences against children.

Mr Burland, 54, from Ramsay Way, appeared for sentencing at Taunton Crown Court on Friday morning (February 10th) after carrying out the abuse over a 23-year period.

Judge Graham Hume Jones ordered him to serve 15 years behind bars, of which he is likely to serve half, with an extended licence period to run until he reaches the age of 75.

The offences, which related to three boys and a girl, were committed between 1987 and November 2010 when he worked in the Scout movement in the Burnham and Highbridge area. The offences included 18 counts of indecent assault, nine counts of sexual activity with a child, three sexual assaults and one exposure.

Detective Constable Mark Fudge, from Avon and Somerset Police, said in a statement:

He hid behind his role as a Scout master and hoped people would not report him.

Someone did report his inappropriate behaviour and an investigation was quickly launched. This uncovered other victims and I applaud them all for the strength it must have taken to come forward. This demonstrates that we take all allegations of abuse seriously and will explore them thoroughly.

Prosecutor Ian Fenny told the jury of eight women and four men that Burland was a sexual predator who manipulated his victims. Of course there came the moment when he made one mistake that let the cat out of the bag, he said. It was perhaps careless, perhaps arrogant.

He abused a young girl in a way that worried and disturbed her. She confided in a lady it was on one occasion in the presence of this lady that the defendant actually touched his victim in a wholly inappropriate way. That allowed her to say to this woman, did you see what he did to me?, she said, yes. I did. It was after this that investigations began.

Mr Fenny told the court Burland had used beer and pornography to convince the boys to engage in sexual activity with him. He would pressure them, telling them not to be silly, that it was all normal and a bit of fun, and threatening them by saying he would tell people they were gay if they told anyone about his abuse.

Mr Burland took the witness stand during the trial and strongly denied the allegations, claiming that they were a complete invention. Family members also took to the stand to support his account of events. Defence solicitor Rebecca Bradbury also read several character references for Mr Burland from friends and others outside his family which highlighted Mr Burlands devoted time to the Scout movement.

A spokesman for The Scout Association added:

Burland was suspended from any form of contact with the movement as soon as police began their investigations and he has not been involved with the movement since his arrest. We can confirm that he will never again be allowed to work within the Scout movement. The Scout Association has co-operated fully with the statutory agencies during this case.

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Aaron Cool was 18 when he formed a relationship with the girl through a social network site. When he met her mother she became worried about the difference in age and laid down ground rules banning them from being alone in the girl's room.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said the relationship lasted three months then the girl "made disclosures to her mother about the defendant".

A friend had also been concerned and had already contacted police. On arrest, Cool admitted they had sexual intercourse five times at the girl's parents' home.

The court heard Cool, when 17, had been involved in a relationship with a 13-year-old but she did not make a complaint.

Now 19, Cool, of Oakwood Drive, Lordshill, Southampton, had sentence adjourned until February 24 for reports.