Latest Offenders

Description

A 70-year-old man who carried out an "appalling catalogue" of sexual abuse against boys over three decades has been jailed.

Keith Lockwood, of Park Lane in Keighley, was described as a serial child abuser by detectives.

His offending took place in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s across the Kirklees district.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Lockwood had committed sexual offences, including gross indecency with a child and indecent assault, against seven boys aged under 16.

He was jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of 23 non recent sexual offences committed over a 30-year period.

The pensioner is currently on the Sex Offenders register and will remain so for life.

DC Gilly Hodds, who investigated the case, said: "Lockwood was found guilty by a unanimous guilty verdict of an appalling catalogue of offending against victims who were young and vulnerable.

"He forced those victims to relive the dreadful offences he committed against them by putting them through the ordeal of a trial, and I am pleased for them that the jurors saw through his attempts to evade answering for what he has done."

She added: "Victims in this case demonstrated exceptional bravery in coming forward and supporting both the police and CPS in taking action against a man who has been a serial abuser of children whilst in a position of trust."

Description

A sexual predator who attacked two women on Metrolink trams has been branded as posing a 'risk to females'. Tahir Ali, 37, groped a student after sitting next to her, and weeks later pressed his body against the bottom of a 16-year-old girl for his own sexual pleasure, in front of her mother.

University student Ali has been banned from using trams indefinitely after targeting his victims who were complete strangers, and had boarded trams at Exchange Square on the Rochdale and Oldham line. Manchester Crown Court heard that he has an 'appalling' criminal history, and has six previous offences of sexual assault on his record.

His lawyer said Ali's deviant behaviour is a 'compulsion' which he has been 'unable to resist'. Remorseless Ali, from Oldham, forced his victims to give evidence in court after he refused to admit his crimes. He was sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty.

Prosecuting, Nick Ross told how Ali’s first victim noticed that he was staring at her while she waited to board a tram at Exchange Square on November 14 last year. When she got on the tram, Ali sat behind her but then moved to sit directly next to her.

Ali then began to move his hands up and down her leg ‘in a sexual manner’, Mr Ross said. He got up when the woman asked him to stop.

Weeks later, Ali boarded another Rochdale bound tram at Exchange Square, on December 22 last year. His 16-year-old victim was with her mother on the busy tram when she noticed a man pressing against her bottom.

When she turned around she saw that Ali’s penis was erect. Ali left the tram at Failsworth, where the girl’s mother shouted at him. He proceeded to board another tram heading back into the city centre.

“It is horrifying that you sexually assaulted a 16-year-old victim as her own mother was present in the tram carriage,” Judge Tom Gilbart told Ali. “You were travelling on the Metrolink system for the purposes of sexual gratification.”

Ali’s first victim said his behaviour was ‘disgusting’. In a statement read to the court, she said: “I don’t feel comfortable sitting on my own on the tram. I was scared at the time that he would follow me home.”

The 16-year-old said: “I felt like I couldn’t do anything to stop the male touching me. I felt like the male had power over me. I don’t want to see this male on the tram again. He is a risk to females. I want him to know that he can’t get away with what he has done to me.”

Mr Ross said of Ali, who was caught out on Metrolink CCTV cameras: “The Crown suggests he is a persistent sexual predator.” His previous sexual assaults include attacks on a woman in a shop and in a library.

When he was interviewed by a probation officer prior to sentencing, Ali continued to ‘completely deny’ his wrongdoing and claimed he’d been ‘set up’.

Defending, David Morton said Ali was enrolled in the first year of a business and finance university course prior to his incarceration. He said of Ali’s behaviour: “These are compulsions that he has been hitherto unable to resist.”
A sexual harm prevention order was imposed indefinitely, to prevent Ali from using the Metrolink system. Ali, of Kelverlow Street, Oldham, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault.

Description

A REGISTERED sex offender was snared by artificial intelligence as he flouted a strict court order by viewing perverted internet images of children.

Thomas Young, 34, had appeared at Carlisle Crown Court a decade ago when he was sentenced for inciting a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

As part of the punishment, Young was made subject to the strict terms of a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO). This imposed tough curbs on his online use for an indefinite period.

Young was twice brought back to court for breaching the SOPO, once in 2023 and then again in early February when he received a suspended prison sentence.

But within days of being spared jail, Young flouted the order once more.

“Police were first alerted on March 15 of this year by e-safe global software installed on the defendant’s phone,” prosecutor Brendan Burke told the city’s crown court.

“That software captures and screenshots any activity which the artificial intelligence detects to be of a suspicious or concerning nature.”

On that date, two indecent category C images were logged. Three days later, a further four were detected along with one image classed in category A — the most serious — involving a girl aged 12 to 14 years.

All images had been accessed via the Telegram platform. And Mr Burke said analysis showed that from February 11 — just days after his last crown court appearance — and March 18, Young had installed and then uninstalled the Telegram application a dozen times.

This was a flagrant breach of the SOPO, which was designed to make all such data available for scrutiny, and display internet history.

In addition, Young was found to have flouted sex offender notification requirements by failing to disclose two online usernames which had been active around the turn of this year.

When brought to court Young admitted making indecent photographs of a child, breaching the SOPO and twice flouting the notification requirements.

The category A image, said Mr Burke, had been captured by Young from a video of two hours, 31 minutes’ duration.

Defence lawyer Jeff Smith, mitigating, said of Young: “He can provide no real explanation as to why he finds himself in the position that he does.”

Young had been “lonely” and taken cocaine which, he suggested, may have altered his judgement and failed to impress upon him the consequences of his actions.

Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Young, latterly of Warwick Square, Carlisle, for 18 months. New strict court orders placing restrictions on him, and an obligation to regularly provide police with personal information, were imposed for 10 years.

“You knew that by doing those actions you were likely putting yourself, not just at risk, but of receiving an immediate custodial sentence,” Judge Barker told Young.

Description

A former Fife Tory councillor found guilty of two sex attacks against children in Glenrothes has been put on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

Michael Green’s first victim told a trial he massaged her legs, put his hand under her shorts and touched her as she watched X Factor on TV, when she was aged ten.

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Description

A dad downloaded thousands of sick sexual images of children and stashed them on laptops and hard-drives in his family home.

Martin Mannion, of Springhill Court, Wavertree, amassed his "catalogued library of images" between November 2022 and March 2023. He was caught when police carried out an investigation into those using file-sharing software to make and distribute images of child sex abuse. One IP address, which was used to access a folder containing 4,461 indecent images of children, was traced to a Virgin Media account belonging to Mannion, 61.

Officers attended Mannion's house shortly after 9am, on June 29 2023, while his 11-year-old son was at school. They seized two laptops and two external hard-drives, found to contain thousands of items of child pornography.

In total, officers found 28 images and 30 videos of the most serious category A, four images and six videos category B, and 6,004 images and 54 videos category C. The images were kept in a number of folders on each of his devices, including one marked with his initials, and another called "photos to keep".

Mannion pleaded guilty to the possession of 6,058 of indecent images of children, and three counts of making indecent images of children (categories A, B and C). He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, May 10, for sentence.

Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, said: "The content of these videos are sadly typical of the type of abuse that this court sees. In each of these videos, in each of these images, there is an abused child somewhere in the world. In terms of victim impact, it's a global trade."

Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, said: "During the time between his arrest and thereafter it has been extremely sobering for him and very difficult. It's of course not only difficult for him, but for his immediate family and his son. His wish, his hope, is that he can soon regain the trust of his family, in particular his wife and his son."

He added: "Having worked 40 years of employment for his family, for his son and his wife, he then went off the rails, and one can only look at his personal circumstances to see perhaps an explanation, an understanding that something changed for him.

"This is a man crying out for assistance. He needs it. He lost his employment as a result of his arrest, and many would say so he should. It had an effect on his wife and son. He gained two alternative places in employment and he lost those again because of the proceedings." He said Mannion, who has no previous convictions, had to rely on his brother for financial support as a result.

Judge Mark Ainsworth said: "It needs to be emphasised this is not a victimless crime. Far from it. Behind each and every photograph is a child being sexually abused. We may never know who they are, we may never know where they are, but the images show children being sexually abused, and plainly that's a matter that the public and indeed the courts find abhorrent, and rightly so. The assumption must be made that if it were not for people like yourself, there would be no marketplace for these images."

He sentenced Mannion to a total of 10 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He also ordered him to complete two rehabilitation courses and 160 hours of unpaid work, and made a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Description

A serial sex offender from Cupar caught with an unauthorised mobile phone days after being convicted for possessing child abuse images for the second time has been jailed.

David Adamson was told he was lucky to have dodged a prison sentence in 2021 after admitting possessing indecent images.

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Description

A Cleckheaton man who sexually abused children over three decades has been jailed after being found guilty of more than 30 sexual offences.  

George Thorley (74) of Moorbottom in Cleckheaton was sentenced to 27 years at Leeds Crown Court on May 8 for committing 32 sexual offences, including rape, between the 1970s and 1990’s in locations across England.

The 74-year-old was described as posing a genuine danger to children by detectives who welcomed his conviction for offending in Durham, London and West Yorkshire.  

He was jailed for one offence of rape, multiple indecent assaults and other serious sexual offences and will also have to register on the sexual offences register for life.  

Leeds Crown Court heard that Thorley had committed offences against seven child victims, both boys and girls, with the first offence taking place in 1973 and the last occurring in 1995.  

The matters came to police attention after three of the victims, one each from West Yorkshire, London and Durham, came forward independently of each other to their respective police forces over a 12-month period, with the West Yorkshire report being made in 2021.  

These reports led to police enquires being launched in all three police force areas, resulting in seven victims being identified in total; two in West Yorkshire, four in the London area and one in Durham.  

Due to the suspect living in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire Police took primacy for the investigation.  

Thorley was arrested in March 2021 and eventually charged with multiple sexual offences in 2022.

Description

A Doncaster man who raped a woman, before falsely imprisoning her and subjecting her to a campaign of violent abuse has been jailed for over nine years.

David Flatters, 22, waited for his victim to fall asleep before raping her, and later issued a series of chilling threats in a desperate bid to keep his violent behaviour a secret.

He told her he would "send people round to her family's house" and that he was going to "watch her take her last breath" after Flatters' brutal attacks left her with a catalogue of horrific injuries.

She suffered bruises, bleeding to the head, a black eye and cuts to her face - and on one occasion, Flatters lured his victim to the woods, beat her with sticks and stood on the back of her neck while she was face down in the dirt and unable to breathe.

Investigation Officer Rowan Bradbury, who works for Doncaster's Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) team, said:

"Flatters' offending was savage, calculated and wicked as he subjected his victim to vile abuse both physically and mentally.

"She was understandably terrified of him and I want to praise her courage and fortitude in coming forward to tell us about the abuse she had endured at his hands.

"It can't have been easy for her and I can't imagine the terror she must have endured but it was her testimony that helped secure a lengthy custodial sentence for Flatters."

Flatters was arrested by officers and brought into custody before being charged with multiple offences.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), rape, controlling and coercive behaviour, false imprisonment, strangulation, common assault, intimidation and escaping from lawful custody. 

Flatters was sentenced to a total of nine years and five months in jail during a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court last Wednesday (1 May).

He must then spend an additional two years on licence, with Flatters also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for an indefinite period.

The terms of the SHPO mean that Flatters, of Cranbrook Road, Wheatley, must also inform the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) whenever he enters into a new relationship with another person.

Description

A criminal network who conducted extreme body modifications and illegal surgeries have been jailed after Met detectives uncovered their horrendous crimes

Specialist Met officers leading a unique investigation into the extreme body modification of men have seen seven men jailed today, Thursday, 9 May for a total of 79 years after a hearing at the Old Bailey.

Met detectives launched an investigation into the illegal surgical procedures after a victim was first identified by Devon and Cornwall Police in November 2020 after it was established the offending had taken place in North London.

Marius Theodore Gustavson, 46 (7.12.77), of Haringey was identified by detectives as being the primary offender following a lengthy and complex investigation. Alongside the six other men, he was jailed for life today with a minimum tariff of 22 years for:

• Conspiring to commit grievous bodily harm
• Five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent
• One count of making an indecent photograph of a child
• One count of distributing an indecent photograph of a child
• Possession of extreme pornographic images
• Distributing indecent pseudo images of children

The court heard how Gustavson used the internet to seek out and manipulate vulnerable people, coercing them to take part in the procedures.

Detective Inspector Amanda Greig, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “I would like to highlight the excellent work of the Met’s investigation team, who have examined thousands of hours of horrific material seized from the suspects. Their diligence and professionalism have ensured no one else will suffer at the hands of these men.

“This lengthy and complex investigation demonstrates that we are determined to protect Londoners from harm and bringing those that threaten the safety of our communities to justice.”

Following the court hearing today, DI Amanda Greig also thanked the victims for their bravery throughout the investigation. She acknowledged their immense suffering – with many victims having profound mental health issues as a result of the group's brutal actions. The victims were supported by specialist officers and signposted to support services by the LGBT+ anti-abuse charity GALOP.

Detectives worked closely with partners from a number of UK police forces, NHS, London Ambulance Service, the General Medical Council and the Midwifery Council to help identify and support victims.

They discovered that Gustavson owned and managed the website ‘Eunuchmaker.com’ where he advertised extreme body modification services, including castration and penis removal. He also owned a production company, where he would record all the illegal mutilations and upload them to his site, which captured an international audience.

Officers interviewed and obtained statements from victim-survivors, who had been assaulted between February 2017 and January 2020.

In at least three cases, the injuries inflicted on the victims were life threatening, with one victim coming close to losing his life due to blood loss.

Officers sought the expertise of Consultant Urological Surgeon, Mr Chris Dawson, who stated “The procedures performed in these cases have highlighted the dangers involved in 'back street surgery'.

"To become a highly qualified surgeon takes a number of years, and these procedures should not be carried out by anyone without the necessary experience or expertise as it risks serious complications such as significant bleeding, or sepsis. When performed in hospital, these procedures are performed under general anaesthesia in a sterile environment, with the surgeon wearing sterile gown and gloves.

"The consent process is a very important part of any surgical procedure, and surgeons are held to very high standards about this. It is imperative that patients are aware of the potential complications of any surgical procedure."

A search of Gustavson’s address found various items, including

• Boxes of medical needles and syringes
• Local anaesthetic packs
• Surgical tools
• A wooden chopping board and a mallet
• A body board with leg and arm restraints attached
• Disposable skin staplers
• Numerous medical procedure videos linked to Gustavson’s digital devices

As Gustavson’s pattern of offending began to unravel, detectives were able to piece together that he was not working alone

Following an interrogation of more than 120 digital devices the remaining offenders were identified by video footage, as well as phone communication with Gustavson. Ashley Williams, David Carruthers, Peter Wates, Janus Atkins, Ion Circuir were arrested at addresses in London, Scotland, Birmingham and South Wales. Stefan Scharf, a German national, was arrested whilst in transit at Heathrow Airport.

The majority of the offences occurred at Gustavson’s former home address, as well as a rented hotel room in London.

Description

A Littlehampton man who assaulted two women has been jailed after an incredible display of bravery by female police officers.

On 2 September, 2023, police received a report of a woman having been sexually assaulted while walking alone through Littlehampton town centre at night.

She was followed and grabbed by an unknown man, who sexually assaulted her, pushed her to the ground and fled the scene.

CCTV footage showed the man loitering in the town centre for around an hour, before following her into a residential area.

Despite a search of the area by police, he could not be located.

The suspect was also captured on CCTV following other women around the town centre.

Suspecting the man posed an ongoing risk to other women, police deployed plain clothes officers to try to catch him.

Police officers, in plain clothes, were deployed to Littlehampton town centre.

In the early hours of Sunday, 1 October, CCTV showed one of the officers – a woman in her 20s - being followed by a man who matched the description of the suspect.

He tailed her for over 30 minutes through the town centre, along the seafront and into the residential Harsfold Road.

Wearing a face covering, he chased after her, grabbed and assaulted her.

He tried to flee the scene but officers nearby who were involved in the operation intercepted and arrested him.

He was identified as 44-year-old Mark Stankus, of High Street in Littlehampton, and subsequently charged with sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm.

Stankus pleaded guilty to all charges and, Porstmouth Crown Court on Friday, 19 April, he was jailed for eight years, given a restraining order and became a registered sex offender for life.

Description

A man who raped a woman and then went on to sexually abuse a young girl has been jailed for 12 years and six months. The rape victim said no court sentence could heal the hurt she had suffered.

In a statement read to Cardiff Crown Court the woman raped by 40-year-old Anthony Lewis said he had preyed on her during a vulnerable time in her life and that after going through what she did she is determined to help others "to face their abusers and find a voice".

Lewis, of Rectory Road, Barry, was convicted at trial of one count of rape of an adult, six counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 touching the girl's breasts and genitals and one count of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity by asking her to touch his penis. He has one previous conviction for motoring matters.

In a statement read to the court the victim of the rape said it was hard to put into words the damage Lewis had done to her. She said the defendant had left her fearful of going shopping or even going for a walk. Although she thanked those who helped bring about the conviction she said no court sentence could heal the hurt she had suffered.

Byron Broadstock, for Lewis, said the defendant was struggling to come to terms with the verdicts of the jury. Recorder Carl Harrison sentenced Lewis to 12 years and six months imprisonment. He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order indefinitely.

Description

A sex offender blackmailed another and threatened to expose him to his wife after hacking into his social media. Joseph Hutchinson, 33, targeted convicted sex offender Gareth Mellor after messaging him on KIK and hacking his way into his social media.

Both men have since been sentenced for indecent images offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Hutchinson had previously been sentenced for making indecent images and causing a computer to perform a function which was unauthorised. Prosecutor John Bottomley said: "He hacked two females' phones and extracted topless photographs of them. He threatened to distribute them if they didn't send more."

Hutchinson was given a suspended sentence in 2022 for the crimes, and was subject to a sexual harm prevention order. Despite this, he went on to make more indecent images of children between January 2019 and February 2023 and between December 2020 and April 2021, blackmailed Mellor. Police discovered his crimes against him after Mellor's arrest.

Mr Bottomley said: "He [Mellor] had two internet accounts associated with an email which contained a huge amount of indecent images of children. He was sentenced in December last year. During the investigation and IP login with the same email address showed it was being used by another party..."

That led police to Hutchinson and during that arrest images were discovered on a Samsung phone. Mr Bottomley said: "It was taken from a vehicle, not within the property. He was arrested and interviewed and made admissions that he pictures would be found and said he had been blackmailing the other man."

It was said that in total, Mellor paid Hutchinson, of Clifford Court in Ossett, £3,102.98, after he threatened to expose him to his wife. Mr Bottomley said: "He [Mellor] said he met the defendant sometime around 2018 or 2019 while searching for illegal pornography. He was directed to KIK by the defendant and in 2020, the defendant offered to sell him a megalink to pornography for £200.

"In 2020 he said he got a message from the defendant, 'You better get onto Kik now I know what you are and what you do.' He said he had been arrested and threatened to expose him to his wife unless he paid him money. He correctly told him [Mellor] his full address, causing him to panic. He requested money through a crypto website..."

The court heard Hutchinson continued to make demands for payment after Mellor's arrest, but he did not send any more money "Because people knew about his offending" but he "still felt anxious."

Hutchinson went on to plead guilty to blackmail and making indecent images. Mitigating, Steven Smithson, said the images offences spanned before and after a sexual harm prevention order being put in place. He added: "The defendant has reconciled to a custodial sentence. He hasn't put forward any weak protestations."

His Honour Judge Khan KC jailed Hutchinson for 38 months, telling him his offending is "more serious because of that previous conviction going back to June 2022."

Description

A perverted serial sex offender who raped and abused a young girl, causing her to suffer a "complete nightmare" that left her "world turned upside down", has been jailed for 18 years.

Former bus driver and chef Owen Evers put the victim through a "deeply disturbing" ordeal that left her feeling "haunted" and fearing that the misery she suffered at his hands was "carved" into her and would be "almost impossible to eradicate" from her life, Hull Crown Court heard.

Evers, 61, of Rushworth Close, Bransholme, denied 12 sexual offences, including two offences of rape, six offences of sexual activity with a child and four offences of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, but he was convicted by a jury of all of them after deliberations of 11 hours and 19 minutes, spanning three days.

Ten of the verdicts were on a majority of 11 to one and the other two were by a majority of 10 to two. Evers had been on bail during the trial but, after the verdicts, he was remanded in custody on Thursday last week for six days to await sentence.

The girl said in a statement: "I am so sad to be in this position at all. My world turned upside down. What had been happening to me was so wrong."

She said that the "memories haunted me" and she added: "I continued to have nightmares about the sexual abuse that I suffered. It makes me feel sick. No matter how hard I try, such memories are almost impossible to eradicate."

Everyday things had become "tainted" for her. "I work hard to try to suppress the memories," she said. "I am scared his influence has been carved into me.

"He took my innocence. What he did became intolerable. It's been a complete nightmare. I am determined that my life, going forward, will not be determined by this."

Andrew Petterson, prosecuting, said that Evers took steps to try to prevent the girl from reporting the offences to the police and from supporting the prosecution. "The victim was particularly vulnerable," said Mr Petterson. "She was a child."

Dale Brook, mitigating, said: "The defendant has been convicted of the most serious offences and he is going to receive a very lengthy prison sentence."

The victim was "to a degree vulnerable" and the rapes were "serious, grave offences". Evers had no previous convictions.

Judge Alexander Menary said there was "a litany of sexual offending" and Evers had "taken advantage of" the girl to commit "insidious" offences. "She was an utterly truthful witness," said Judge Menary. "She was unable to cope with the burden of her existence."

The offences were "deeply disturbing" in their nature.

"The victim personal statement makes for heartbreaking reading," said Judge Menary. "There was, here, severe psychological harm. She was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances."

Evers was given a sexual harm prevention order for life and he must register as a sex offender for life. As he left the dock to be taken down to the cells, he grinned and waved to a male supporter in the public gallery before making a phone gesture.

Description

A 36 year-old Hampshire man has been jailed after he admitted a sexual assault that took place in the early hours of the morning.

Paul Kevin Leslie Kearslake, aged 36, of Warwick Crescent in Southsea has been jailed for 28 months at Portsmouth Crown Court.

On Monday, January 8, a 37 year-old woman was approached by a man she did not know on Albert Road, Southsea, shortly before 2.30am.

Kearslake made sexualised comments towards her before touching her inappropriately over her clothing, Hampshire Police said. He ran off when she screamed.

He admitted both offences at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Wednesday, January 10 and was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday, May 3.

Detective Inspector Claire Ratcliffe said: “I’m pleased that Kearslake admitted these offences without the need for a trial. 

"The sentence imposed underlines the seriousness of his offending. This was a frightening experience for the victim and a I hope such a swift resolution to the investigation and court process will provide her some reassurance.

“Reducing violence against women and girls remains one of our top priorities in Portsmouth and together with other agencies we do a lot of work to tackle this issue.

"Our Operation Rigging patrols see officers out and about in the city centre at our busiest times, identifying and intercepting predatory or concerning behaviour towards women.

“I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that if you have been the victim of a sexual offence, please report it to us – you will be listened to and you will be taken seriously. We will also work to get you the support that you need.”

Description

A Hampshire man who was branded a "risk to young girls" used an online messaging app to engage in sexual conversations with young girls all over the world. 

Southampton Crown Court heard how Stephen Grant would use the app Kik to groom underage girls across the UK, as well as in countries such as Australia and the United States.

He met the girls in a group chat which contained rules for the young girls to follow, with sexual punishments if they broke them.

Grant would then move the conversation into private chats, using different messaging platforms to communicate with his victims online.

This is not the first time the 44-year-old has been in trouble - having been jailed 18 years ago, when he was 26, for detaining a child without lawful authority and possessing indecent images.

This related to a then-15-year-old girl who he was sleeping with in his vehicle. 

Southampton Crown Court heard last week that with one girl from the Isle of Wight, Grant would call her "princess" and "baby", requesting that she send sexual images of herself and even asking her to come to the mainland to meet him. 

This victim was 15 at the time and told police that she got involved in the chat because she had "low self-esteem" and he would "tell her she was pretty and encourage her to send more".

At points, he also told her he loved her and would become angry if she spoke to other men. 

Grant, 44, treated another one of his victims as his partner, asking her to send photos and speaking for long periods with her. 

During one conversation, the girl, who came from Australia, said she was in a mental health facility, at which point he tried to convince her to tell the doctors that she would be better off at home.

Grant was arrested after police received a referral about the distribution of indecent images of children on Kik. 

They attended his home and seized a number of devices where they found a number of indecent images that had been both saved and deleted. 

Following his arrest for the new matters, Grant, of Mercer Way, Romsey, pleaded guilty to four counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, six counts of making indecent images of children and two counts of sexual communication with a child. 

Prosecuting, Keely Harvey said there were hundreds of indecent images of children found, adding that police had to go through and analyse 7,000 pages of messages between him and one of his victims. 

She added that even after being arrested and bailed, he continued to chat with one of his victims. 

The offences took place in 2018 and 2019.

Mitigating, Emily Lanham told the court that her client was "foolish in his actions because these girls made him feel attractive when no one his own age would".

"It has been four and a half years since the offending," she continued. "Not only has that shown that Mr Grant is capable of preventing further offending himself but it has given him time to reflect on his behaviour.

"He is very sorry. It is clear that he has been taking steps to address his behaviour and prevent any further offences."

But Judge Nicholas Rowland found that Grant is a "risk to young girls". 

He was jailed for five years and nine months with an extended licence period of four years. 

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years. 

A deprivation order was made for the seized devices.