Latest Offenders Leicester

Description

Key CCTV footage has led to a convicted sex offender being jailed for more than seven years.

Cameras tracked Emil Emilov’s movements through Leicester city centre moments after he sexually assaulted a woman on the morning of Sunday 28 May last year.

The incident happened shortly after 5am as the victim – a 19-year-old woman – made her way home from working in a bar. Twenty-five-year-old Emilov approached her in New Walk and dragged her into a bush, where he gagged and sexually assaulted her.

He ran from the scene when a group of people walked past. The victim reported the incident to police and an investigation, led by the force’s Signal team, began.

CCTV of the area was examined that showed Emilov running from the scene, eventually making his way back to his home in Rosebery Street in North Evington. Footage also showed him discard the cloth he had used to gag the victim.

Further enquiries revealed that Emilov – a Bulgarian national – had left the UK. He returned on 6 November and was immediately arrested on his arrival at Luton Airport. A DNA sample taken from him matched those found on the cloth and the victim’s tights.

In December last year, he pleaded guilty to one count of assault by penetration.

Yesterday (Thursday 18 April), he was sentenced to 88 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court and was also placed on the sex offender register for life.

Description

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."

Description

A 62-year-old man has been jailed for non-recent child sex offences that took place in Daventry.

Kevin Marriott, previously of Coalville, Leicestershire, sexually assaulted a girl under six at an address in Daventry a number of years ago.

Following the offence, he told her not to tell anyone.

However in 2021, the woman in question bravely contacted police to tell them what had happened to her as a child.

An investigation was launched and Marriott was charged with one count of indecent assault on a girl under 16, and one count of assaulting a girl under 16 by penetration.   

After pleading not guilty to the offences and taking the case to a three-day trial at Northampton Crown Court last November, Marriott was found unanimously guilty by the jury.

He returned to the same court last week (January 15) where he was sentenced to seven years - six years to serve in prison and one on licence. He will also be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Description

A former Leicestershire teacher has been jailed for more than six years after admitting committing sex offences against children online.

Officers began an investigation in April 2022 when Leicestershire Police received a report that John Ewan Myles had been engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl he had met online.

At the time Myles was working as a teacher at Ashby School.

Myles was arrested from his home in North West Leicestershire that month and a number of devices were recovered from the address including a phone, which was hidden under his bed.

As the investigation progressed, the girl was identified and later interviewed by officers where she disclosed Myles first contacted her online giving her a fake name and saying he was 18-years-old.

They chatted online for a few months before Myles began sending sexual images of himself.

Examination of the devices found that Myles pursued an online sexual relationship with her and numerous recorded videos calls where sexual activity was carried out between the two.

A video call between the two was also found whereby the girl could he heard saying she is 15-years-old and on some of the videos, she was wearing her school uniform.

The 36-year-old was charged with numerous offences and pleaded guilty however awaiting sentencing, he made a disclosure regarding further offences involving another girl.

These disclosures were investigated and evidence was found that Myles had contacted a further teenage girl online under the same previously used alias name of Jamie Reid, stating on this occasion he was 17-years-old.

As before, during conversations with her in which she disclosed her age, Myles turned the talk sexual and requested sexual images and videos from her and in return, he would send sexual images and videos of himself.

Myles pleaded guilty to the below offences involving the first victim:

• Two counts of engaging in sexual activity in presence of a child aged 13 to 15
• Two counts of causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity
• Two counts of engaging in sexual activity in presence of a child 13 to 15
• One count of engaging in sexual communication with a child
• Three counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child
• Two counts of causing/inciting a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration

He pleaded guilty to the below offences in relation to the further victim:

• Two counts of causing/inciting a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - no penetration
• Two counts of causing/inciting a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - penetration
• Two counts of causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity

He also pleaded guilty to a separate offence of possessing extreme pornographic image/images portraying an act of intercourse/oral sex with a dead/alive animal.

Myles was sentenced to six years and six months in prison at Leicester Crown Court today (Tuesday 12 December).

He has also been places on the sex offender register for life and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years.

Description

A man sexually abused three boys in Leicester between 1990 and 2014 and may have further victims. John Fowler, aged 69, abused each of his victims - who are now adults - at his home or when he had taken them to play sports.

The abuser's first victim came forward to police in 2017 to report what happened, followed by the second in 2019. A third victim was identified through a police investigation and shared his account with detectives in 2020.

Fowler, today of Gainsborough Road, Knighton, was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault on a male person – two relating to one victim and the other relating to a second, at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday, September 26. He was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault relating to a third victim.

Detective Constable Joe Parker, the investigating officer, said: "Fowler’s victims have shown great courage both in recounting what happened to police and then again in court, where he continued to claim he was innocent.

"I hope the fact he’s been convicted of his crimes – and is now serving time in prison – provides them with a degree of closure and allows them to move on with their lives.

"We remain open-minded to the fact there may be other victims who may have been sexually abused by Fowler but have never contacted police. If this is the case, then I hope today’s outcome may also encourage them to come forward. It’s never too late to do so."

Fowler was jailed for a total of eight years at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, September 26. He was also placed on the sex offender register for life and disqualified from working with children.

Description

A man from Coventry has been jailed for 15 years for the rape of a child aged under 13. 

Khumbulani Sibanda was convicted after a trial and was told he must serve at least 10 years in prison before being considered for parole, after being classed as a dangerous offender

He will spend a further three years on extended licence, or eight if released after 10 years in prison He will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The 43-year-old committed the crimes between 2016 and 2018, but the abuse didn’t come to light until January 2021 when his young victim confessed ‘a secret’. The child alleged the rape happened on several occasions when visiting Sibanda’s home in Coventry.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Suzanne Leah said: “The child was so young, they would not necessarily have understood how badly they were being abused. Sibanda completely took advantage of the child’s young age and innocence for his own sexual gratification, and I am pleased the length of the sentence reflects the severity of his crimes.”

Sibanda, now of Fosse Road South in Leicester, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court last Thursday (24 August). He was also sentenced to 12 weeks each for sexual assault and exposure which will run concurrently.

Description

A manipulative abuser who raped a woman and controlled her life has been jailed. Henry Smith, 39, made his victim's life a misery, limiting her contact with friends and family and forcing her to give him money.

His abuse was uncovered after he was arrested for stealing from her. When Smith's victim had left her home in Wigston to meet her family on Saturday, June 11, last year, she returned to find cash had been taken.

A family member suspected Smith was responsible and called him, leading to his later arrest by Leicestershire Police. It was then that the his campaign of abuse came to light.

She told detectives that he became violent and raped her while they were together in East Goscote, near Syston, in October 2021. She also said Smith controlled how she lived her life, by limiting her contact with her friends and family and following her to ATMs to make he withdraw money for him.

Smith, of no fixed address, initially denied the charges but pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial. Detective Constable Rachael Lee, the investigating officer, said: "Smith was a man who wanted ultimate control over his victim.

"He was manipulative and made her life a living nightmare. Until the last minute, he tried to deny what he had done but pleaded guilty when his victim attended court to give her evidence against him.

"She has shown unbelievable strength and courage throughout the investigation and I hope the fact he’s now serving a significant sentence for his crimes brings her a sense that justice has finally been done and allows her to move on with her life."

Smith was jailed for 11 years for rape and given a consecutive three-year sentence for controlling and coercive behaviour.

The offences also put him in breach of a 10-month suspended sentence he had previously received for sexually assaulting another female – resulting in a total of 14 years and 10 months imprisonment. He was handed a three-year sentence for one count of burglary which he also pleaded guilty to when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday, August 15.

He will serve the three-year sentence concurrently. Smith was placed on the sex offender's register for life and is subject to an indefinite restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victim or her family.

Description

A man who subjected a young girl to a three-year "campaign of rape" has been jailed for over 19 years.

Anthony Reynolds, 42, from Melton Mowbray, pleaded guilty to charges of raping a girl aged 13 and two charges of raping a girl under 13.

He was sentenced to 231 months in prison at Gloucester Crown Court.

Judge Ian Lawrie told the girl: "You should be proud of your courage. You didn't budge an inch."

In a victim-impact statement the girl, who is from Gloucester, said: "I was wondering why this was happening to me and what I had done to deserve it?"

Prosecutor Ellen McAnaw told the court that the victim was about 10 years old when the offending started and was 13 when she told a school friend in January of this year.

Ms McAnaw said it was "effectively a campaign of rape".

Police were alerted and the girl told them how Reynolds had been raping her about once a fortnight for three years or more.

She said: "After he did it to me I would just sit there crying and terrified. At school, I couldn't concentrate and it was all I could think about.

'I lost confidence'

"Now I have told someone about it, I know I will never see him again and I feel safe."

"I lost confidence in myself," she said. "I thought I was fat and ugly. I just wanted to be someone else. I didn't like who I was."

The girl's mother said in a statement: "My daughter will, without doubt, carry this with her for the rest of her life.

"What this man has done to my daughter has completely broken me."

Reynolds initially denied the offences and pleaded not guilty to charges of raping a girl aged 13 on 21 January and two charges of raping of a girl under 13 between 21 December 2019 and 20 December 2022.

But he changed his pleas to guilty when the girl attended court, ready to give evidence against him to a jury.

Emotional pain

Shenaiya Kharegat, defending, said that although Reynolds had not admitted the offences from the start he now "accepts full responsibility and has made no attempt to minimise his behaviour...

"He has reflected on his actions and fully understands the effect of his offending on the victim and her family."

Judge Ian Lawrie told Reynolds that the statements he had heard had made clear the "pain, emotionally and psychologically, that your abuse has caused".

He imposed jail terms totalling 231 months as well as a lifelong sexual-harm-prevention order and a restraining order.

The judge said he had allowed a discount of 12.5% on the sentence to reflect that Reynolds had belatedly pleaded guilty, sparing the girl the "torture" of giving evidence.

Judge Lawrie added that Reynolds will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence before he can be considered for parole.

"It takes courage to come forward about things like this," the judge told the girl. "I know the appalling strain it puts on everyone.

"You should be proud of your courage. You didn't budge an inch and that made him feel he didn't have room for manoeuvre."

Description

A Leicester man who admitted to a number of offences linked to indecent images of children has been jailed.

Neil Garnett, 58, of HMP Leicester, appeared at Leicester Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 23 May) and pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent images of children and three counts of distribution.

He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.

In April 2021 officers received information suggesting Garnett has been accessing indecent images of children online.  He was subsequently charged with three counts of making Category A to C images, of children.

Garnett failed to appear in court for his first hearing in March this year and was arrested for failing to appear in court.

When he was arrested a mobile phone was seized from him and contained indecent images of children.

After further examination of the phone the true extent of his offending was discovered. Hundreds of images of children ranging from Category A to C were found on his phone.

He was further charged with three counts of making category A-C indecent images of children and three counts of distribution of Category A-C images of children.

At crown court yesterday, he was also given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Detective Constable Glen Reid from the force’s Artemis team in the Digital Hub was the investigating officer.  He said: “When Garnett was interviewed about the offences, he tried to trivialise his actions.  Just because these offences are online, doesn’t make it any better than physical abuse. Online offenders are perpetuating the harm caused to children.

“We are pleased he admitted his involvement in these offences.  We hope his time in prison, with the addition of being given a SHPO and being placed on the Sex Offender’s Register, will deter him from committing further offences and he seeks the help he needs to reform.”

• During an investigation of this nature specialist officers will grade indecent images of children categories A to C. Category A images are the most serious. Categories B and C are less serious than category A as far as sentencing is concerned but nonetheless are still serious images of child abuse.
• The offence of making indecent images relates a person performing an action that has ‘made’ those images appear on their device, for example by downloading them from a website. Making indecent images does not mean that they are the person that was the actual contact abuser.

Description

A man has been jailed for rapes he committed more than 10 years ago.

Leicestershire Police said Thomas Prince attacked two victims the first time he met them - overpowering one and giving the other alcohol so he could take advantage of her.

The victims, who did not know each other, were raped in June 2011 and December 2012.

Prince was sentenced to nine years and three months in prison at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.

The 26-year-old, of Western Road, Leicester, was found guilty of four counts of rape following a trial.

Officers said Prince's victims, who are now adults, independently reported the attacks in 2020.

'Degree of closure'

Det Con Rachael Lee said: "I'd like to commend them on the strength they showed in giving evidence during the trial.

"Since each of these horrific incidents occurred, they've been living their lives, continually traumatised about what had happened to them.

"To stand up in court and recount your ordeal in front of a jury takes an unbelievable amount of courage, but ultimately in this case it meant that Prince is now dealing the consequences of his crimes.

"I hope the outcome has provided them with a degree of closure."

She said it "became apparent there may be other people out there who are victims of Prince", and urged anyone with any information to contact the force.

Description

A man has been jailed for child sex offences committed on the Lincolnshire coast over a period of nearly two years. Kevin Clarke, 38, of Gresley Close, Leicester was given six years in prison at Leicester Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to nine charges.

Clarke was sentenced for offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual communication with a child. He was also sentenced for making and possessing illegal images of children, including 269 images in category A, and two in the extreme category.

The charges relate to offences that happened in Skegness, between January 1, 2021 and October 28, 2022. DC Michelle Adamson, of Lincolnshire Police PVP, said: "Clarke had built a relationship with the victim knowing, when the relationship began, she was just 14 years old.

"Getting this man convicted means he will not be able to offend against any other child or young person."

Description

A man has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of the rape of a teenage girl.

Warren Waldrom, now 30, attacked the girl at an address in Coalville, Leicestershire, in July 2017, when she was under 16.

He also denied a charge of sexual assault but was convicted of both at Leicester Crown Court in February.

Police praised the victim and her family for their bravery and patience in bringing the case to court.

Police said Waldrom, of Radiant Road, Leicester, took the girl to his former home address in Coalville and later sexually assaulted her.

'Extremely difficult time'

She told him to stop, which he did, but shortly after he returned and, despite her pleas, raped her.

The victim told friends and then family, which led to Waldrom being arrested.

He claimed he thought the girl was older and the sex was consensual but officers said "further extensive enquiries" led to him being charged in November 2019.

Det Con Katie Leadbetter, of Leicestershire Police, said: "This has been an extremely difficult time for the victim and her family as they have waited firstly for our extensive enquiries to be completed to enable charges to be made and then for the trial to be heard.

"Without the victim's bravery, patience and co-operation during this time, we would not have been able to see this conviction happen."

Description

A man who had unknowingly been speaking to police when he was arranging to meet a child to rape has been jailed.

Joseph Hopkinson, aged 39, travelled by train from Leicester to Cheltenham in August 2022 intending to rape a 10-year-old.

He had in fact been communicating with specialist police officers who arrested him as he arrived at Cheltenham railway station on 17 August.

Hopkinson has been sentenced to seven years and two months for the offence.

He has has remained behind bars since his arrest.

The 39-year-old was also found to have cannabis on him and in his home when it was searched by Leicestershire Police.

Switched to guilty plea

The 39-year-old, of St James Road in Leicester, denied the offences and was due to stand trial at Exeter Crown Court on 13 February.

However, he changed his pleas to guilty on what was meant to be the first day of his trial.

At Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday he was jailed for seven years and two months for arranging/facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, namely the rape of a child under 13.

He was also sentenced to nine months for two drugs offences, to run concurrently.

'Significant harm'

Detective Inspector Simon Goodenough, from the child sexual exploitation and indecent images of children teams said: "Hopkinson has a clear sexual interest in children and was intent on causing them significant harm.

"He spent months communicating with the police operative about abhorrent things he was wanting to do to young children, and it was evident that he was planning to carry out his vile thoughts and ideas."

He added that police teams work "tirelessly" to pursue sexual predators who are intent on causing harm.

Officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) worked with Gloucestershire Constabulary's Indecent Images and Child Sexual Exploitation teams on the investigation.

Detective Inspector David Wells, from SWROCU's online investigations team, said: "There is no doubt Hopkinson posed a serious threat to children and the sentence handed to him reflects that."

Hopkinson has also been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A Detective has described the behaviour of a convicted sex offender as dangerous and disturbing after he carried out attacks on two lone women in Loughborough last year.

Detective Sergeant Amanda Boswell, who oversaw the investigation, has spoken how the defendant – Grzegorz Luczak - showed predatory behaviour, targeting women who were both under the influence of alcohol as he was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday (30 March).

The 45-year-old formerly of Holmfield Avenue, Loughborough, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

During an evening in March last year, Luczak admitting spending a number of hours driving and frequently stopping around Loughborough town centre around the time that the bars was closing. The prosecution believed his intention was to voluntarily seek out a vulnerable woman to assault that night.

Hours later, an intoxicated woman got into his car believing it to be a taxi and asked to be taken home. He did not ask her to leave and instead he drove off with her in his vehicle.

A brave member of the public tried to intervene and assist the victim to get out after she felt uneasy about the situation. She took images of his car and warned the driver against doing anything to the victim.

These are words of warning he clearly ignored as when he continued his journey, he sexually assaulted the victim despite her protests.

She was thoroughly scared and the incident only ended when she escaped out of the moving car and fled to a nearby house, alerting the occupants shouting for help.

Luczak was arrested but without sufficient evidence to charge him at that stage, he was released under investigation to allow officers to complete further enquiries.

In August some months later, Luczak was once again driving around Loughborough town late at night, for what he later claimed was to collect scrap items discarded by residents that he could mend and sell.

He spotted another vulnerable woman walking home from an evening out, alone, in a quiet residential street and immediately turned his car around, travelling the wrong way down a one-way street, to approach her.

CCTV captured the moment he got out of his vehicle, instantly attacking the woman and wrestling her to the floor. She was then subjected to a serious sexual assault.

Luczak was later arrested and charged with one count of sexual assault and two counts of digital penetration of a female over 13 and he was found guilty of all counts at a trial in February.

Detective Sergeant Amanda Boswell, from the force’s SIGNAL team, said: “This man subjected both women to degrading and humiliating attacks causing a level of emotional trauma that is unforgivable. He deliberately sought them out and targeted them as lone women, late at night; this is disturbing and worrying behaviour which thankfully the jury recognised in their guilty verdicts against him.”

“Women are entitled to go on a night out and drink alcohol if they so choose. Doing so, should not make them vulnerable to men like Luczak. Women should be able to walk home safely and not be targeted.”

“This investigation has shown how important it is to work as a team with the victims and their wishes at the centre. Victims should feel listened to, supported, respected and understand how important they are to cases like this. We are unable to achieve results like this without them.

“Both victims and witnesses in these cases have demonstrated immense courage and strength throughout the investigation and in providing evidence at the trial. It shows bravery and commitment and I want to thank each of them for the part they played in securing the conviction of a clearly dangerous man.”

DS Boswell added: “Given the obvious repeat offending of Luczak, there could be other women who have been assaulted by him in similar circumstances and didn’t feel that they could report the incident at the time. If you are a victim, I would urge you to come forward and contact my team. We have specialist officers who can support and guide out through that process and we also work closely with a number of other agencies and can refer you for ongoing support.”

Description

The four-year dedication of an officer to see justice done for a teenage girl who was raped has led to the man responsible being jailed for 15 years.

Detective Constable Suzie Brenton from the force’s Child Abuse Investigation Unit (CAIU) has remained committed to the case since taking over as the officer in charge in February 2019.

Her efforts to ensure the victim’s voice was heard have never waived and on Monday (27 February), following a trial at Leicester Crown Court, Kevin Sidwell was found guilty of two counts of rape – which occurred on at least 10 separate occasions – and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was found not guilty of a further two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of a child.

The 54-year-old, of High Street, Barwell, was given a total of 15 years in prison for the offences which happened between December 2010 and May 2018.

When released he will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will also be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Working closely with the victim and her family, DC Brenton worked tirelessly to ensure the offences were thoroughly investigated and provided support every step of the way.

She said: “I am so pleased after more than four years this case has been heard in court and the person responsible for committing these horrific crimes will now be behind bars for many years.

“Throughout this time my focus has been getting justice for the victim and doing all I can to support her and her family through the process.”

The offences were first reported to police in July 2018 by the-then 13-year-old girl and her family.

Following an extensive investigation and examination of the evidence, working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, Kevin Sidwell was charged in 2020.

DC Brenton added: “The courage and strength the victim has shown, supported by her family, since making that initial report has been incredible. Their willingness and determination to see this man answer for the devastation he has caused is truly commendable. 

“While yesterday’s verdict will not take away the pain and suffering, I hope it will enable them to begin to move forward with their lives.”

Detective Superintendent Gav Drummond, who is responsible for overseeing the CAIU, said: “I want to commend the efforts of all the officers involved in this case - from those who took the initial report and ensured the girl was no longer in danger – but particularly to DC Brenton for her outstanding hard work and commitment to see this case to conclusion and to achieve justice for this child.

“Her efforts are a shining example of the work officers do every day - striving to safeguard the most vulnerable in our society and deal with those who the cause most harm.”