Latest Offenders

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A serial rapist who terrorised one of his victims in her home while out on bail for attacking her has been jailed for 12 years.

Gary Yuill, 45, was wearing a balaclava when he woke the sleeping woman as she slept on her sofa.

He removed the mask before fleeing the East Lothian house when she called 999.

Just three days before, Yuill had been banned from approaching the woman after he was charged with a series of attacks on her and three other victims.

The woman told the High Court in Edinburgh : "He was obviously watching the house. I was terrified.

"He had his hand on my leg. I didn't know what he was thinking."

The woman said she knew Yuill had previously been arrested and was subject to court conditions not to come near her home. She said: "Clearly he has no regard for the law."

'Long-lasting impact'

The woman and three others were subjected to a series of brutal attacks by Yuill over a 17-year period between 2004 and 2021.

They took place in Dunbar, Haddington and Wallyford, in East Lothian, and in Edinburgh.

Yuill, formerly of Wallyford, was convicted of 21 offences, including nine rapes, an attempted rape and two indecent assaults. He was also found guilty of breaching bail by entering the woman's home in May 2021.

Sentencing him to 12 years in prison, judge Lady Wise described his attacks as "appalling" and added: "All four women were to some extent vulnerable."

Lady Wise said: "I have read a victim impact statement from one of the complainers which illustrates very clearly the long-lasting impact your behaviour has had on her."

The judge ordered that Yuill should be under supervision for a further four-year period after his release and could be returned to jail if he breaches his licence conditions.

Lady Wise made non-harassment orders banning Yuill indefinitely from contacting or attempting to contact the women.

She also placed Yuill on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

Following sentencing, Det Insp Laura White said: "Yuill subjected these women to horrific crimes and I would like to thank them for their co-operation as our investigations were ongoing. Hopefully today's verdict will allow them to move on from this part of their lives.

"I would urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence to come forward and report it to us, regardless of the passage of time. We, alongside partner agencies, will support you through the process, investigate thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice."

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A pervert driving instructor sexually assaulted a pupil and filmed students while they were taking lessons in his car.

Adam Bagshaw, who ran A to B Driving School in Kettering, told one student she should start an Only Fans account and that she should sell her used underwear online.

Moving statements from his two victims read in court said that they had been left traumatised by what had happened to them.

He appeared before Northampton Crown Court on Thursday (February 22), watched by more than a dozen friends and family of the victims, where he was told by a judge that he would be going ‘immediately’ to jail.

The 56-year-old had pleaded guilty to voyeurism, harassment and sexual assault at a previous hearing.

The court heard that Bagshaw, formerly of Milldale Road, Kettering, had previously been a mechanics lecturer at Tresham College and also styled himself as a freelance photographer.

But he was unmasked as a pervert after police received a call from one of his students outlining disgusting sexual comments he had made to her during and after her lessons.

When he was arrested police seized his mobile phone and found videos on it which he had covertly filmed during lessons. He had filmed the legs of young students who were wearing skirts and turned his camera on their behinds as they got out of the car at the end of the lesson.

Officers managed to track down one of his victims who had no idea that he had been filming her.

The public gallery was cleared as four clips found on his phone were shown to the court.

In her police interview one victim described Bagshaw as ‘a bit weird’ and told police that he had suggested she got an Only Fans account. He told her that she would make ‘good money’ if she sold her used underwear online.

He then told her he’d invented a new device to stop bra straps from falling down and felt her back and neck as he described to her how it would work. He had also tried to engage her in a discussion about a video of an underage woman unknown to the victim.

In her victim impact statement read by prosecutor Sally Hobson, the woman said: “It makes me sick. It’s disgusting what he’s done.

“It feels like a pit in my stomach. It’s so creepy. I’m now scared to have more driving lessons with another male instructor.”

Another victim told the court in a statement that when she had first started lessons with Bagshaw he had said to her ‘What’s said in this car stays in this car’.

“I started to dread it,” she said.

“My parents had paid for my lessons and I didn’t want to disappoint them.

“He made comments about my age and what I was wearing.”

Bagshaw had also asked her about sex toys and about her love life and had made comments about her tummy, leaving her paranoid about her weight.

The woman said that she had failed her test twice as she was so worried about what was going on. When she found a new instructor she had to start from scratch.

She said that even now she would rather take the train on long journeys than get in a car and drive.

The woman had managed to get some therapy to help her deal with what had happened to her but she could not go through with it because the therapist was bald and had glasses, like Bagshaw.

She added: “I’m so worried when there’s silence because I think about what he’s done to me.

“No matter what sentence he’s given, no matter how s**t his life becomes, it won’t compare to the impact on me.

“I want him to know he’s a piece of s**t and I hope he’s miserable for the rest of his life.”

In a letter to the court, Bagshaw said he wanted to ‘sincerely apologise’ for his actions and that he had sought counselling to try to tackle his own behaviour.

He also said that he had changed his job and was now an HGV driver trainer.

Mitigating, Siobhan Cawkwell, said: “This is a result of his own stupidity.

“He’s split up with his wife and he’s lost friends. He’s only got himself to blame.

“Most of the people in his life have turned their backs on him.”

She said that Bagshaw had moved away and was now living in temporary accommodation.

Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking KC said to Bagshaw, who wore a blue suit and stared straight ahead during the entire hearing: “You were teaching them in circumstances where they should have learned an important life skill without any concern about your behaviour.

“[One of the victims] had to identify herself from a video she had no idea had been taken. It’s caused her very substantial distress.”

Sentencing him to eight months in prison, of which he will serve half before release, Judge Lucking added that she could not suspend his sentence. She said: “Driving instructors are in a position of trust.

“The public must know that driving instructors who commit sexual offences will go immediately to prison and that’s what will happen today.”

Bagshaw will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and will be supervised by the probation service for one year after his release from HMP Peterborough.

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A man who performed online sex acts in front of children has been jailed.

James Dyson was also found to have downloaded thousands of child sexual abuse images over a seven-and-a-half year period.

The 26-year-old, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, was caught in January 2023 when evidence of his crimes was found on his work mobile phone.

He was jailed for five years and given a sexual harm prevention order at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

During an investigation by Nottinghamshire Police, forensic analysis of several other electronic devices found thousands of indecent images of children - many of which Dyson had tried and failed to delete.

Nearly 6,000 of the images were found to be Category A - depicting the most serious sexual abuse that can be committed against children.

Dyson pleaded guilty at a hearing in December, to four charges of arranging or facilitating a child sex offence and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.

He also admitted three charges of making indecent images of a child and three charges of distributing indecent photographs of a child.

Detectives also uncovered evidence of four occasions in which Dyson used a social media platform to engage children in online sexual activity, the force said.

Work is currently ongoing to identify the four children involved.

Det Con Tom Nuttall said: "The physical and emotional impact of that kind of abuse cannot be understated, and people like Dyson are contributing directly to that harm.

"It is very clear that he knew what he was doing was wrong and also that he went to great lengths to try and delete evidence of his crimes."

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Phillip Grove, aged 70 from Sheffield who lived in Taunton at the time of the incidents, was jailed at Taunton Crown Court on Friday 23 February after being found guilty of 15 charges linked to non-recent sexual offences, including rape.

During a trial at the same court, which is currently residing at North Somerset Courthouse, a jury found Grove guilty of two counts of rape, 10 counts of indecency with a child and three counts of indecent assault.

They heard how, in the 1990s while in the volunteer position of Chief Petty Officer at a Sea Cadet group, he raped one of the victims, sexually assaulted another and was indecent in front of two other victims. The incidents happened over a span of six years.

In September 2020, one of the victims reported what had happened to her and the other children to police and an investigation into Grove was launched.

On Friday, he was jailed for 22 years, one year of which will be spent on extended licence. The judge also granted a life-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order and instructed Grove to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

He was also barred from working with children.

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A convicted sex offender obsessed with "panties and underwear" was caught offending online by police after he was targeted by paedophile hunters.

Morgan Green, 48, thought he had been communicating with teenage girls but had in fact been messaging with two adult decoys from paedophile hunter groups.

Norwich Crown Court heard he had been in conversation with an adult decoy who immediately stated she was 13.

John Morgans, prosecuting, said Green initially stated she was "too young" but he went on to manipulate the conversation around to a sexual context.

Mr Morgans said Green, who has an "obsession with underwear" had been asking her for pictures of her "in her panties".

In online conversations with another 13-year-old, also an adult decoy, Green again requested pictures before encouraging her to commit a sexual act upon herself.

Police were contacted and Green, who has a previous conviction for attempted sexual communication with a child, was arrested.

Green, from New Street, Cromer appeared for sentence on Monday after admitting two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

He also admitted attempting to cause or incite a girl under 16 to engage in sexual activity on November 19 last year.

Judge Andrew Shaw said Green was a "dangerous" offender who posed a "significant risk of serious harm" to children.

He imposed an extended sentence of 10 years and four months, made up of four years and four months custody and six years on licence.

Judge Shaw added: "People like you don't just happen upon these sites, you go looking for them".

Cathy McCulloch, mitigating, said the defendant, a father of three, was a man who had a "bit of a self-destruct button" but was "just so grateful they weren't real children".

She said he wanted her to say he was "very upset" and "very sorry" but accepted what he had done was wrong.

Green was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) as well as being put on the sex offenders register for life.

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A convicted paedophile changed his identity and lied his way to become President of the World Burns Federation where he had direct access to school children.

Marc Sherland organised children’s poetry competitions and boasted he was safe to work with vulnerable children.

But the 67-year-old, who rubbed shoulders with the elite at lavish events, was in fact disgraced community worker Douglas Stuart Hammond who had sexually assaulted two boys after luring hundreds of children to his home.

He’d been able to change his name and go under the radar for several years until his identity was exposed and he’s now been forced to resign. There are calls for an urgent investigation into how Sherland, who was convicted in 1991 and was not on the sex offenders register, went unnoticed.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay MSP who is calling on the government to fast track legislation to stop sex offenders changing their names said: “This chilling case will be of concern to every parent in Scotland.

“Only an investigation can establish the exact circumstances of this deeply concerning case. While this individual was free to change his name, his past crimes should still have shown up in background checks working with children.

“If checks were done, did they reveal his offending history? If they did not, was that because of his name change?

“Sex offenders should not be able to hide their identities by changing their names and I would again urge SNP ministers to reconsider their inexplicable opposition to closing this dangerous loophole.”

Scottish Labour’s Justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: “Concerns will be rightly raised over this situation. Action needs to be taken to close the loophole of offenders who committed their crimes before the register was created going undetected.”

Hammond was convicted of the indecent assault of an eight and 10-year old boy when he was an educational community worker at Strathclyde Regional Council. He assaulted the youngsters during “dummy fighting” at his home and claimed the ‘games’ helped the boys break down emotional barriers, according to court reports at the time.

Paisley Sheriff Court trial heard that as many as 200 children had visited his home and during questioning the sick 35-year-old said: “I took the boys to my flat to talk about their personal and family problems. “These were boys with serious social behavioural problems.”

One child had to punch him to get him to stop the abuse while another confessed to his grandmother what was happening.

In the years since his conviction, Hammond changed his name to Marc Sherland and rose through the ranks of Robert Burns clubs and literary groups throughout Scotland.

An author profile for him on the Scottish Book Trust website stated that he could work with adults and children including care-experienced people, vulnerable adults, people with mental health problems, prisoners and young offenders, despite having been convicted of abusing vulnerable boys.

In 2020, he became the president of the World Burns Federation and has been president of the Lanarkshire Association of Burns clubs, Glasgow Haggis Club and a Vice President of the Glasgow and district Burns association, among others.

Through these roles he worked with children presenting awards and judging competitions with images of his attendance at one Glasgow primary school shared on social media.

He also rubbed shoulders with senior local government figures and attended lavish banquets in the Glasgow City Chambers.

In 2017 the pervert began organising the Aye Can poetry summer school for 11-16-year-olds at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.

But his past caught up with him in December when he was confronted by another member and was forced to resign from all the clubs. His profile as an author with Scottish Book Trust has been removed.

A source at the club said: “A conviction from over 30 years ago came to light, Bridgeton Burns Club President confronted him around Christmas time.

“We did background checks and it showed a name change. Inquiries were made and the president alongside another Trustee met him to confront him about the name change and the convictions.

“As far as I’m aware he admitted it, apologised and resigned in writing.”

The Sex Offenders’ Register was set up in 1997 but it is not retroactive meaning Sherland would never have been placed on it.

Any checks done on him using his new name would not have shown that he had a conviction for child abuse and no safeguards were in place as he wasn’t on the register.

The Sunday Mail confronted Sherland at his home in Erskine where he admitted he shouldn’t have been working with children.

But he claimed he changed his name due to his work as an author.

Sherland said: “I am a writer and the reason I changed my name was because, as a writer I realised that my given name was relatively common and changing it to a name that was not relatively common was a good idea. I’m now suffering because of that I have to say, but that’s the reason.

“It wasn’t because of my convictions.

“I was registered with the Scottish Book Trust but I’ve now removed myself from that as well as I don’t want to bring them into disrepute.”

When asked if he accepted that working with children would be a concern to parents and he should not have been doing it, he said: “Yes I think that probably is the case.

“I thought that the distance in time was so great and the change in my personality was so great that it wasn’t such an issue. On reflection, yes I believe that’s true.

“I’ve never been in a situation where I have been one-to-one with a child, nor would I put myself in that situation in a school.”

Based in Kilmarnock it has over 250 affiliated Burns Clubs around the world - reaching as far afield as New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada and the USA.

A Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) spokeswoman said the Aye Can event was commissioned by the Glasgow and District Burns Society and Sherland didn’t teach children during the summer school.

The spokeswoman said: “The safety and well-being of young people at RCS is and has always been a primary priority with stringent safeguarding policies and processes in place to underpin the work we do.”

Online adverts for the Aye Can event taking place at RCS were posted by the Glasgow Burns and District Association in 2022 and 2023 listing Sherland as the point of contact.

RCS insisted the event only took place in 2017 and 2018.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “For safeguarding reasons, pupils are never left alone with school visitors and remain supervised at all times by staff.

“School staff regularly invite visitors in from partner organisations for learning and teaching purposes.

“Pupil safety is always our priority.

"We have no statutory obligation to request disclosure checks for all visitors entering school premises."

The Scottish Government said the issue was for Disclosure Scotland to address.

A Disclosure Scotland spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases.”

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A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for eight years after threatening to kill himself if a 14-year-old girl did not send him naked photographs.

Ashley Bourton was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday (February 23) for three counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, five counts of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, two counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual communication and one count of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The 25-year-old was caught by four different online child activist groups who pretended to be young girls to catch predators.

They were: Justice For Kids, No More Secrets, Innocence From The Shadows, and Secrets and Lies Confronted.

Bourton was caught messaging the fake accounts videos of him masturbating, believe the accounts to be 13 to 15 year old girls.

Judge Michael Gledhill sentenced Bourton, of Wigod Way, Wallingford, to five years imprisonment plus a three year extended term due to the defendant being classified as a ‘dangerous’ and ‘high risk offender’.

Opening the case, prosecutor Steven Attridge said Bourton had been caught messaging the fake accounts on various platforms, including online chatrooms and WhatsApp in May last year.

He messaged ‘Lucy Jane’, who he thought was a 13-year-old girl, on Facebook using his account ‘Playboy25’, asking her for naked photos.

 Another account, pretending to be a 13-year-old girl named ‘Carrie’, was run by an East Midlands Specialist Unit and Bourton was caught messaging her saying: “If I was you dad and you saw me d*** would you ask to use it?”

An account run by ‘Secrets and Lies Confronted’, pretending to be a 14-year-old girl called Freya, caught Bourton threatening to commit suicide if the teenager did not send naked photographs.

Upon arrest on May 22, officers also found search terms on the defendant’s phone indicating he had been looking for indecent images of children.

Bourton was previously jailed in April 2021 for sexually assaulting a six-year-old old and several other child sex offences.

Defending Bourton, barrister Gordana Austen said the 25-year-old suffered from physical and mental difficulties. 

 She said he is on the autism spectrum and suffers from anxiety and depression.

“He lives a very isolated and lonely life,” she said. “He says he tries to date and communicate with adults but they ignore him which is why he finds it easier to communicate with children.”

Sentencing Bourton, Judge Gledhill said: “You are a very high risk offender according to both the probation officer and your own psychiatrist and I’ve come to the conclusion that you are, what is known in law, as dangerous.”

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David Cook, 22, was placed on the sex offenders register for three years after police uncovered illicit material on his phone.

An Arbroath paedophile will be kept under supervision for years after he was caught with a sick stash of child abuse files on his iPhone.

David Cook appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to admit possession of the obscene material.

The 22-year-old was out when police raided his home in 2022.

He was later picked up by officers at his workplace.

Cook, of Shore in Arbroath, was placed on the sex offenders register for three years, ordered to complete a programme aimed at rehabilitating sex criminals and had his mobile phone forfeited.

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A CONVICTED sex offender has avoided jail for a second time after being caught living with a 17-month-old baby despite a court order.

Aaron Kitney, 34, was first jailed in 2019 for having sex with a 15-year-old which he claimed was a ‘consensual’ relationship at the time.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child and was jailed for eight years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). He was released on licence in March 2022.

Kitney later moved in with a 21-year-old mum who had a 17-month-old boy. Kitney was obliged to tell the mum and the local childcare services about living with a child under 16 but failed to do so.

He was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (February 22) for breaching the order.

Sentencing him to a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, Judge Michael Gledhill said: “No one thinks you have an inappropriate interest in young male children but it was covered in the SHPO.

“If you had just told the mother and the child support services about the SHPO the likelihood is they would have said, ‘He isn’t interested in a young 17-month-old boy, let’s gets in touch with your solicitor and vary the order’.

“But you brought this all on yourself.”

The court heard that Kitney, of Gaveston Road, Didcot, had told the mum-of-one about his previous convictions but had not informed her of the conditions of his SHPO.

After hearing about her new partner, the mum’s own parents became concerned and researched Kitney.

Upon finding out about his previous convictions, her parents called the police and he has been in custody for about six months.

Kitney did have other accommodation at the time, after living homeless in a tent for about four months, but upon arrest, most of his items including clothes were found at her home.

Defending Kitney, barrister Gordana Austen said that Kitney worked as a groundworker six days a week and as a cleaning five days a week in the evenings.

“So he did try to keep himself busy,” she said.

Concluding the case, Judge Gledhill said: “It’s your own stupid fault. Just keep yourself to yourself. Learn a lesson and don’t come back before this court again.”

Judge Gledhill didn’t order ‘trail monitoring’ as it thought it would be ‘over the top’ and there were no orders for unpaid work as the judge wants Kitney to focus on his own work.

He will, however, need to complete 55 rehabilitation activity days.

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A Swindon ‘monster’ who filmed his rape of an unconscious woman has been jailed.

Carl Wallis, without consent, had sexual intercourse with his victim – who had passed out – in 2016.

The 38-year-old, of Brookdene, Haydon Wick, was only caught because he filmed the rape, and that footage was found on an old mobile phone six years later.

The victim contacted the police and following charge, Wallis pleaded not guilty to the offence.

At a three-day trial in December 2023, he was found guilty and returned to Swindon Crown Court for sentencing this morning (Friday).

Wallis was jailed for ten years and six months. He was also ordered to register has a sex offender for life, and a restraining order was made to prevent future contact with his victim.

In a victim personal statement, the victim said: “The day I found the video and pictures on the mobile phone… I was in total shock.

“I did not know what to think or feel, I felt completely numb. I could not believe what I had just seen I felt sick.

“I feel dirty and humiliated… I will never be free from the monster.”

DC Anna McCormack, the investigating officer, said: “Every sexual assault has a huge impact on victims. In this incident the victim discovered the offence had taken place when she was at her most vulnerable; asleep, and by someone she trusted.

“I’d like to thank her for her incredible bravery by reporting the offence and giving evidence during this trial. Without her continued assistance, the outcome would not have been possible.

“I’d encourage anyone who has been the victim of a sexual assault to please report it, do not suffer alone. We understand it can be difficult. You might not be completely sure what happened or how to talk about it.

“Our trained officers and partner organisations are here to listen and work together to support you in any way we can. Importantly, your information could help us bring the offender to justice and make sure you, and other people in a similar situation, are kept safe.”

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A PAEDOPHILE ex-football coach told a 12-year-old boy he was gorgeous and that he would love to have sex with him.

David Robb, 82, from Caerphilly sent his victim ‘Mario’ an indecent picture of another boy who had his buttocks exposed.

He was also having sexualised chats online with a 14-year-old called ‘Luca’.

The pensioner’s offending took place just weeks after he had been handed a suspended sentence after being caught with child rape videos.

A police officer supervising his sex offender order found Robb was using a tablet and mobile phone he had hidden from them when his home was visited.

Robb had also used software to “self-destruct” his browsing history within 24 hours of the search which also breached the terms of the order.

Nil Strobl, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “The defendant was communicating with a boy called Mario.

“He told him, ‘My favourite age is 12 or 13.’

“The defendant said to him, ‘I think you are gorgeous – I’d love to have sex with you.’”

Robb, of Edward Street, Cwmcarn pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, distributing an indecent image of a child, possession of an indecent image of a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

They took place between August and September last year.

He has a history of sex offences committed against children.

In 1976 he received a suspended prison sentence for sexually assaulting a girl.

The defendant was convicted of a sex offence in 1990 when he was the manager of a children’s football team.

Robb had persuaded a boy to sleep in the same bed as him before an attempted sex act took place.

He was sentenced to a community order in 2015 for possession of an indecent image of a child.

Laurence Jones representing Robb said his client knew he was going to receive a long prison sentence and understood he might now die behind bars.

The court heard the defendant’s wife had passed away while he was remanded in custody awaiting sentence.

“It seems to me, having discussed matters with him, that in the past these feelings (of being sexually attracted to young boys) had been repressed by fatherhood, work and caring for his wife,” Mr Jones added.

Robb was jailed for 45 months and made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

The defendant will have to register as a sex offender until 2034.

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A Huddersfield man has been jailed for seven years after being found guilty of sexually abusing a girl more than 20 years ago.

Anthony Sharp, 66, of Raynor Close, Oakes, was locked up at Bradford Crown Court on Thursday for the abuse which a judge said had had a catastrophic effect on his victim. Recorder Anthony Hawks also imposed an indefinite restraining order which bans Sharp from contacting the complainant in the future and the defendant must also register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

The victim, who must not be identified for legal reasons, provided the court with a victim impact statement which Recorder Hawks said painted a very unhappy picture. He said: “The effect on her has been catastrophic as it inevitably is in all these cases were children are abused."

The judge said the consequences could stretch on for years, but hopefully she could now have some closure. Sharp was found guilty by the jury on five charges of indecent assault. The judge told him: “You chose to have a trial. That was your choice. You don’t receive a larger sentence because you have had a trial, but I can’t give you any credit plainly for pleading guilty and exhibiting remorse.”

Barrister Ian Howard, for Sharp, said the offending took place many moons ago and there had been no further offending in the intervening period. Sharp will have to serve at least two-thirds of his seven-year jail term before being released on licence.

Following the sentencing, PC Kate Healey, of the Calderdale District Safeguarding Unit at West Yorkshire Police, said: “Firstly, I would like to thank the victim for her bravery in not only coming forward to report these offences, but in enduring a lengthy investigation process and a trial following Sharp’s not guilty plea. She has demonstrated courage and dignity throughout the entire process, which is undoubtedly a daunting experience.

“I think the sentence reflects the seriousness of Sharp’s offending. He committed his crimes against a vulnerable victim, which was the ultimate betrayal of the trust of the victim and her family. Hopefully this sentence goes some way towards providing the victim with some comfort and closure to what has been the most horrific time of her life.

“I would also like to encourage anyone who has been a victim of any form of abuse, whether recent or non-recent, to come forward and speak with our specially trained officers. We will thoroughly investigate all reports and do all that we can to secure justice.”

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A PAEDOPHILE who told someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl he was the ‘right person’ for her has walked free from court.

Nigel Lambert engaged in depraved sexualised chats with two ‘children’ – but in fact, the counts were being operated by undercover police officers tasked with rooting out online sex offenders.

The 43-year-old sent disgusting photos to the ‘young girls’ and told them he ‘needed kisses’, but he was able to leave court with a suspended sentence.

 
He appeared before Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced on four counts of attempted sexual communications with a child and sole counts each of possessing indecent images of children, making indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornographic images involving animals

The court heard from prosecutor Christopher Taylor how three of the communications offences involve the same police officer.

Between February 10 and 22, 2022, the officer, under the guise of a 13-year-old girl called Zoe, chatted to the defendant, who was using the username Bunnies.

In messages exchanged on Kik Messenger, Lambert claimed to be a 36-year-old man living near Manchester, with ‘Zoe’ telling him she was only 13 after he asked if she would have sex with an older man.

The continued to chat on Kik, where the defendant asked the girl if she had a boyfriend, about her sexual activity and if she was a ‘good kisser’

In one chat, when Zoe said she would have sex with the right person, Lambert replied: “I’m the right person.”

Another saw the defendant ask what she was doing, and when she said schoolwork, he replied that he ‘needed kisses’ and was playing with his penis, which he described as ‘big’. 

 He asked her if she wanted to engage in sexual activity and sent her sexualised photos and a video, before asking if she was ‘turned on’ by them.

The defendant sent a video of a man performing a sex act and claimed it was himself, then asked if she could send him something similar.

The fourth communication offence involved a different undercover police officer posing as Georgia, again a 13-year-old girl, on the platform Chatiw, and later on Snapchat.

Lambert asked the girl if she was ‘horny’ and sent her a photo of an erect penis.

He was arrested at his former home on Longdin Street in Latchford on December 8, 2022, and gave no comment to questions asked of him during his police interview.

His mobile phone was seized and examined, and a Samsung account linked to both the device and Lambert was found to contain two category B indecent images of children, as well as two extreme pornographic images involving animals.

On behalf of his client, Gerald Baxter, defending, spoke of how Lambert pleaded guilty to all offences and is a man of previous ‘good character’, with no prior convictions.

“He has expressed genuine remorse. He is also deeply ashamed and embarrassed about his behaviour. He is relieved no child was harmed,” Mr Baxter said.

The barrister also said that the defendant is in ‘good’ employment, which he may lose should he be sent to prison immediately, with the same going for his privately rented accommodation.

 Before sentencing, judge Brian Cummings said: “These were attempt offences in the sense that the ‘child’ was very fortunately, including for you, not a child, but a police officer posing as a child.

“Fortunately for you, unbeknown to you but very importantly and critically in your case, the people you were communicating with were not actual children.

“If they had been, the outcome in this case would be very different.

“I cannot accept that you have shown remorse, as remorse means being sorry for what you have done, and it is clear from what you said to the Probation Service, you did not accept what you have done, and there seems to be a level of denial on your part.

“You said you do not have a sexual interest in children. That is simply unrealistic. Of course you do. That is why you committed these offences, and you must come to terms with that.”

However, having deemed the defendant to be a ‘realistic prospect of rehabilitation’, Judge Cummings concluded: “In my judgement, I am persuaded it is appropriate to suspend the sentence in your case.

“Intensive work with you, in my judgement, gives the public and children the best protection and the prospect of you being rehabilitated.”

Lambert, now of Wellington Road in Preston, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years, including 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He must also sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order – both for 10 years – with an order approved to deprive him of his mobile phone.

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A man has been sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment after sending graphic sexual images and attempting to meet what he thought to be a teenage girl.

Nathan Graham, 29, of Matson Avenue, Gloucester, appeared at Swindon Crown Court today (22/02) after pleading guilty to:

• Attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child
• Attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity
• Arranging/facilitating the commission of penetrative sexual activity with a child
• Possession of bladed articles in a public place.

The offences took place on December 5 and 6 last year, when Graham engaged with what he thought to be a 13-year-old girl via a social media platform.

The communication was graphic and sexual, with Graham sending graphic images of himself for the girl to view.

He lied about his age, pretending to be 18, and sent maps marking out the bus stops and routes for the child as part of his planning and preparation.

Graham was detained on December 7 in Bloomsbury Park, Freshbrook, Swindon, as he was walking to meet the girl at a bus stop on Gainsborough Way.

He was arrested and subsequently charged for the offences and remanded into custody.

Today, he was jailed for the offences. He will also be on the sex offenders register indefinitely and the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

The sentence follows a joint investigation between Wiltshire Police and the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).

Det Con Sarah Greenman of the Child Internet Exploitation Team (CIET) said: There can be no place for Grahams abhorrent behaviour in Wiltshire, let alone society.

Graham was fully aware that he was talking to a girl purported to be just 13, and yet he sent her incredibly graphic images and videos of himself, before attempting to meet her for his own sexual gratification.

CIET exists within Wiltshire Police to safeguard children, and we will continue to work alongside the SWROCU, where we are totally committed to ensuring dangerous individuals such as Graham are identified and brought to justice in order to protect the public.

DI David Wells from SWROCUs Online Investigations Team, said: Graham is a harmful sexual predator that has rightly today been handed a significant jail sentence for his crimes.

We are committed to supporting UK police forces in protecting children from harm, reducing risk in our communities and ensuring dangerous individuals like Graham are identified and brought to justice.

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A man has been jailed after sexually assaulting a young woman in Wellington last year.

Mirzabek Toshpulatov, 21, attacked and sexually assaulted the woman in the White Hart Lane area of the town during the early hours of Sunday 26 February 2023.

She managed to get free of him and call the police to report to us what happened.

A media appeal seeking witnesses was issued later that day and helped officers identify Toshpulatov as the perpetrator, but he had fled the area. He was subsequently arrested in Essex in October 2023.

Toshpulatov, previously of North Street in Wellington, was sentenced on Friday 16 February at Taunton Crown Court, which is temporarily relocated to North Somerset Courthouse. He received an extended sentence of 11 years and three months, of which the final three years will be served on licence having previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by touching.

Along with his custodial sentence, Toshpulatov has been ordered to register as a sex offender for life, in which he must inform police of where he is living.

In a statement for the court, the woman said the sexual assault had made her feel ‘unsafe when walking anywhere’.

She said: “In the early hours of the morning on Sunday 26 February, I was attacked following a night out. I was sexually assaulted… When I ran off, I was trying to call for help but no one heard me.

“The day after it happened, I felt so overwhelmed in trying to understand what had happened to me. Everything we did for the investigation was a new experience for me and I didn’t know what would happen from it. It was a lot to come to terms with, and I am still trying to process this now.

“Not only has this left life long lasting effects on me, but also my family. They worry about me wherever I go, and fear this could happen again to me, themselves or anyone else.”

DC Natalie Norman, officer in the case, said: “Incidents of sexual assault are incredibly rare in Wellington and for it to have been committed by a stranger is even more unusual.

“We would like to recognise the courage the woman showed in reporting this to police and helping us focus on bringing this dangerous offender to justice. Had she not done so, Toshpulatov would still be on the streets.

“This incident was treated very seriously from the second it was reported to us and the positive response from the public to the witness appeal made a massive difference to helping us identify Toshpulatov and tracking his movements to Essex.

“The impact on the victim has been significant and would remind anyone with concerns around safety to please make us aware via the StreetSafe tool, which sees us work with other agencies to identify areas of concern and assist us with planning when and where to carry out high-visibility patrols.

“We welcome the significant custodial sentence Toshpulatov has received for the horrific crimes he committed last year. We hope this result gives confidence to all victims of sexual abuse that you will be believed and shows we will work tirelessly to get sexual predators into court so they can be dealt with robustly.”