Latest Offenders

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Daniel Devlin, 38, thought he was messaging a mother selling her children for sex when he said he would do "anything" to them, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

It was actually undercover police officers and his obscene messages and a phone call were recorded.

Devlin, who was previously jailed for possessing indecent images of children, admitted offences including attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence.

Police set up an online profile on Chatiw with a username suggesting they were a mother offering her seven-year-old and 11-month-old daughters for sex, prosecutor Omar Ahmad said.

On 20 March this year Devlin got in touch to arrange a "playdate", Mr Ahmad said.

In a follow up telephone call, Devlin said he would be "into anything" with the two girls, giving details of sex acts he would make them perform.

Upon his arrest, Devlin told officers he had "no friends" and had spoken to the decoy account as part of "sexual role play" but had no intention of meeting the woman or her children.

'High risk'

The offence was committed while he was on bail for breaching a sexual harm prevention order, the court heard.

The order was made after Devlin, of Coburg Street in Blyth, Northumberland, was jailed for 15 months in September 2017 for seven counts of possessing and making indecent images of children.

In January 2023, he spoke to another undercover officer on Chatiw and Kick with his conversation "almost exclusively sexual and discussing sexual fantasies with young children" including a toddler he knew, Mr Ahmad said.

When he was arrested he was found with two phones which he had not registered with police.

Devlin also admitted two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and publishing an obscene article.

Judge Tim Gittins said there had been a "very high risk of really serious harm" if Devlin had succeeded in meeting a girl for sex but he was a man with "difficulties" having been sexually abused as a child.

Another indefinite sexual harm prevention order was also made and he must sign the sex offenders' register until further notice.

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A pensioner sexual predator who repeatedly abused young girls in Dundee has been jailed.

David Duncan, 77, targeted a child at sleepovers in Dundee, Angus and Spain and abused a four-year-old in a parked car outside a school.

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A child sex predator who molested teenagers at his Perth home over the course of more than a year has been jailed.

Victims and family members hugged and broke down in tears as charity worker Ryan Kinnear was led away to begin a 30-month sentence.

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A child sex offender is back in jail after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention order. Max Coughlin, from Redhill, was jailed for six years at Guildford Crown Court on Monday, October 28 with an extended licence for a further year.

It follows his trial in February when the 29-year-old was found guilty of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence having already pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. Coughlin had been known to police due to a prior conviction in 2014 for making and distributing indecent images of children.

Following his release from prison for those offences, he was subject to the Sexual Offences registration requirements for 10 years and had a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which placed tight prohibitions on him, including having no contact with children. In October 2021, a warrant was executed at an address in Redhill by the Force’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) following intelligence he was breaching his SHPO by using apps including Snapchat and then deleting them.

Officers recovered 15 devices including phones and laptops from him which underwent extensive digital examination. Coughlin was arrested for breaching his SHPO and facilitating the commission of a sexual offence after evidence showed he was making plans to meet a child for the purpose of sexually abusing them.

Having given no comment in his police interview, he later pleaded guilty to making indecent images but not guilty to facilitating the commission of a child sex offence. After a review hearing in March 2023, the case was set for trial in February 2024 where he was convicted.

He was remanded in prison until his full sentencing this week where he was jailed for seven years. The judge also ruled Coughlin would be subject to the Sexual Offences registration requirements indefinitely and have a Sexual Harm Prevention Order made on him indefinitely.

Detective Sergeant Ben Green, from Surrey Police’s POLIT Team, said: “Once we received intelligence about Coughlin’s online activity, we took swift action to arrest him and seize his devices and the intended victim was never subject to any physical sexual offence.

“It was clear in this case that Coughlin had been using various tactics to try to cover-up his digital footprint and was prepared to continue lying in the face of the evidence. The behaviour he was showing was predatory so I am extremely pleased with this outcome.

“I would like to thank officers and staff not only in POLIT, but in the digital forensic and offender management teams, who have all worked together to achieve this result. This is a clear demonstration of our policing response to the ever present online threat posed by predators towards children.”

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A Welsh paedophile has been banned from going to children’s parks and swimming pools after he sexually abused a young boy.

Andrew Rowe, 47, from Caerphilly was jailed for six months after he admitted assaulting a boy under the age of 13 by touching.

The offence took place last month on September 25, prosecutor Michael Williams said.

Newport magistrates were asked to take in account Rowe’s guilty plea.

The defendant, of no fixed abode, will have to register as a sex offender for the next seven years.

A seven-year sexual harm prevention order was imposed which places a number of restrictions on Rowe once he is released from prison.

One of these prohibits him: “From attending places where large numbers of children are likely to be present, such as a play area in a park, sports fields where children’s clubs are participating or leisure facilities such as swimming pools."

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A Gloucester man has been jailed after pleading guilty to making thousands of indecent images of children.

Philip Wood, aged 71 and of Westgate Street, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court last Wednesday (23 October).

He had been charged with eight counts of making indecent images of children and nine counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Wood is a registered sexual offender and was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court in 2020 in relation to a number of sexual offences. He was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order at the time, which expires on 1 December 2027.

As part of the order, Wood was not allowed to own any electronic devices, such as mobile phones or laptops, without declaring them to the police and offering them to police for inspection.

He received unannounced home visits from Gloucestershire Constabulary's Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) team.

Officers visited Wood on a number of occasions between August 2023 and May 2024. During each visit, they found that Wood had electronic devices that he had not declared or made available for inspection, these contained indecent images of children. He was also using a pseudonym for online accounts, which he was banned from having under the order.

After suspicions were raised on the first visit around the breaches, Wood’s devices were seized and examined. He was arrested in November and bailed while a case was built against him, before being rearrested and remanded in May this year.

Across the various devices, officers found in excess of 134,172 indecent images of children as well as more than 150 hours of video footage.

Wood pleaded guilty to the offences at a hearing on 7 August. In mitigation, he told the court that he had a thrill of the forbidden and that he had attended previous rehabilitation courses which had not had the desired effect.

He was sentenced to three years in prison for each of the nine breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

In addition, he received three years for making Category A indecent images of children, two years for making Category B images and 12 months for making Category C images.

All sentences are to run concurrently. He was also put on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

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A man from Swindon has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for non-recent sexual assaults on children.

Stephen Burrows (also known as Marc), 47, of Fitkin Court, Redhouse, was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on October 24 after being found guilty by trial in August of indecent assault, two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13, assault by penetration and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Between 1999 and 2012 Burrows took advantage of his victims when staying in their homes.

When Burrows was in his 20s he assaulted his first victim when she was between 8 and 10 years old when staying over at her house. When she got up for a drink in the early hours of the morning he assaulted her.

He assaulted his second victim on two occasions when she was aged between 10 and 12 years old, while having a relationship with her mother.

Burrows was sentenced to two years for indecent assault, six months for sexual assault, six years for another sexual assault, 13 years for assault by penetration and seven years for causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Once released he will have an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A taxi driver from Gloucester has avoid jailed for sexually assaulting woman while he was at work. The 49-year-old was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault at Gloucester Crown Court on July 30.

Taranjit Singh, known as Tony, has been banned from driving a taxi for ten years following the sentencing. The court heard that the victim used Singh's taxi service several times before the attack and he had given her his personal mobile number.

In November 2021, despite being off duty, Singh agreed to pick up the woman from Gloucester and take her to Tewkesbury, breaching his licence conditions. The woman, in her 20s, fell asleep during the journey. Singh then drove to an industrial estate, and the victim awoke to find Singh digitally penetrating her vagina and touching her breast.

She asked Singh to stop and tried to push his arm away, but he continued to sexually assault her, telling her that she was enjoying it.

The court was shown footage that the victim had secretly recorded on her mobile during previous rides in Singh's taxi. In one clip, Singh is heard propositioning the woman for sexual favours, to which she firmly declines.

Singh, from Estcourt Close in Gloucester, denied sexually assaulting the woman and claimed he may have accidentally touched the woman's breast while assisting with her seatbelt. He further claimed the woman guided his hand into her trousers.

On October 18, Singh received a 24-month suspended sentence at Gloucester Crown Court. Additionally, he must register as a sex offender for ten years and is banned from working as a taxi driver or in any paid driving capacity involving passengers for the same duration due to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The judge ordered Singh to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, participate in a rehabilitation programme for up to 30 days, and pay £4,380 towards prosecution costs.

Post-sentencing, the victim said: "While this incident only lasted a short time that night, it has had a major long-term effect on me mentally.

"I would urge anyone who has been through similar to contact the police. I felt heard, seen and believed, and I had great support throughout the process. I'm so glad I reported to hopefully help stop the same happening to others."

Detective Constable Annabel Brittain has praised a victim's courage after reporting a distressing incident, saying: "The victim is to be commended for reporting this distressing incident as, by having the strength to support the investigation, she has helped keep others safe while achieving justice for herself.

"As she read out her victim impact statement to the court, it was clear how much she has been affected by what happened, and I am extremely glad she says she has felt well supported by police throughout.

"I hope this conviction is reassurance to others that when such concerning incidents are reported, we will be as thorough and relentless as possible in securing all available evidence to bring offenders to justice."

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A child rapist who carried out abuse on girls dating back to the 1970s has been jailed for 15 years, with the judge saying that a victim’s description of him as a “monster” was “hard to disagree with”.

James Pollard was previously found guilty of abusing five young victims at various locations in the north of Scotland between 1979 and 2022.

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A convicted child sex offender has been returned to prison after further victims of his abuse came forward.

Neil Piggott, now aged 46, was previously jailed in 2019 for sexually assaulting another child two years before.

The publicity surrounding that conviction encouraged further victims of his offending to come forward and approach Nottinghamshire Police in 2021.

One woman reported that he had raped her twice when she was a teenager in the late 1990s.

Another young person gave an account of a previously unreported sexual assault in 2017, whilst a third victim explained how Piggott had posed as someone else to extract personal photographs from her in 2013.

Piggott initially declined to comment in his police interview and later pleaded not guilty to four charges.

After a trial at Nottingham Crown Court in September, he was found guilty of two counts of raping a female under the age of 16, one count of inciting the exploitation of a child, and one count of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday 28 October, Piggott, of no fixed address, was given an extended 24 year prison sentence after being designated as a dangerous offender.

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Former Margate bar boss and previous childrens home worker Duncan Bayles will be sentenced in January after being found guilty of sex offences against children.

Mr Bayles was found guilty of 12 indecent assault charges against children aged below 14 years; six indecency with a child charges and one charge of attempted rape following a two trial at Canterbury Crown Court which concluded last week.

The offences took place in the 1980s and 1990s against four boys, then aged under 13, at two childrens homes in Ramsgate and Deal.

Mr Bayles, aged 64, of Northdown Road, has been remanded in custody and will return to the court on January 24 for sentencing.

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A promising teacher with his career ahead of him has been jailed after he raped a female he met during a night out.

Sam Mitchell forced himself on the victim, put his hands around her throat and slapped her across the face. He unknowingly also gave her a sexually-transmitted disease.

The 23-year-old was found guilty of three counts of rape and three counts of assault by penetration after a recent trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The court heard that Mitchell had been out on January 22 last year. He was with a friend and he met the woman in a nightclub. He had been drinking and taking drugs, but denied throughout his trial that it had affected his judgement.

They later got a taxi back to his friend’s home in Wakefield and they eventually fell asleep on a sofa.

The victim said “no” to his advances but he forced himself onto her.

Mitchell, of Canal Court, Lofthouse, appeared in court this week from HMP Lincoln where he was being held on remand.

Mitigating, Lucy Brown said there was little that could be said in Mitchell’s defence due to his denials, but did point to his young age at the time of the offences, and that he has no previous convictions.

She said that his teaching career was now over and said: “It’s the start of a difficult journey for him to accept what happened.”

Judge Andrew Stubbs KC told Mitchell: “You had the world at your feet. You were a talented and gifted young man.

“Something led you to behave that way that was totally out of character for you. The drinking and drugs must have played a part.”

He jailed him for seven years and put him on the sex offender register for life.

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A man has been jailed for 24 years for sexual offences dating back to the 1970s.

Peter David Long, 66, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2024, to six counts of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 years and 13 counts of indecent assault. The 19 offences were against four girls who were all aged between seven and 14 at the time of the offending.

On Friday, October 25, Long was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to 24 years' imprisonment with one year on licence, a life-time restraining order for all complainants.

Long was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

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An Ipswich teacher accused of having conversations about sex with girls he thought were as young as nine has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Richard Cook was previously found guilty of eight child sex offences and was before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday for sentencing.

Cook, now of Lambert Lane, East Cowes, previously denied one offence of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, three offences of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and an offence of arranging or facilitating a sex act he intended to do, namely engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl under 16.

The court heard he had hoped to meet one of the decoy 13-year-old girls in Christchurch Park for penetrative sex.

All the offences relate to conversations he allegedly had with adult decoys posing as three girls aged between nine and 14, over the messaging app Kik.

The offences are alleged to have been committed in July 2019 and the decoys were a mixture of police accounts and civilians from a paedophile hunter group.

The defendant was eventually caught when he was confronted by the paedophile group outside of his house. 

Cook also denied three offences of making indecent images of children on or before July 29 2019.

The charges allege that he made one indecent image and five videos in the most serious level A category, three images and 10 videos in category B and 19 images and five videos in the least serious level C category.

The 48-year-old father of two claimed his partner had wanted him out of her life and he believed she had installed the Kik messenger account to get him into trouble but she denied this when she gave evidence.

The defendant also said the pictures of his penis which were found on his phone and were sent to decoys were actually images he was going to send to his partner to rekindle sexual activity in his relationship.  

Defence barrister Juliet Donovan said the conviction has had a devastating effect on Cook’s family and mentioned he struggles with his health.

Judge Nicola Talbot-Hadley told the defendant: “You had every intention of meeting with the person at the end of your messaging and committing the offences”.

She added that both his partner and children “have been indirectly impacted as they will need to deal with the shame of what’s happened to you”.

Judge Talbot-Hadley then sentenced Cook to seven years in custody and imposed a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years.

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A prolific paedophile whose offending spanned 50 years will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after several abuse survivors bravely came forward.

Surinder Blah, 72, first caught the attention of detectives in 2020 when a man raised concerns over Blah’s behaviour in the 1960s.

Because these concerns related to a time when Blah was living in Leamington, Warwickshire Police took responsibility for the investigation.

In police interview Blah – who now lives on Orchard Way, Uxbridge, denied what the man had said entirely, branding it a ‘malicious allegation’.

In the wake of that investigation, two more people came forward – including a woman who Blah had started to abuse when she was seven.

The woman told detectives how Blah had continued to abuse her through the years and into adulthood.

She also identified another woman, whom Blah had abused when she was aged between 11 and 17.

This victim was found to be living abroad, but she assisted detectives by providing an online statement and later by flying to the UK to attend an in-person interview.

Blah was arrested at his Uxbridge address in July 2021 and in police interview he once again denied any offences.

At the time of the arrest, officers seized digital devices which were later found to contain extreme pornography and indecent images of children.

For his offences against the two women, and for the images found on his digital devices, Blah was subsequently charged with:

• Three counts of having Sexual Intercourse with a girl under 13.
• Eight counts of Indecent Assault.
• Six counts of Rape.
• One count of Making Indecent Photographs of Children.

And on Monday, 21 October this year, at Warwick Crown Court, Blah was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

He has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register - which he will remain on for the rest of his life.