Latest Offenders

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Warwick Crown Court heard yesterday that 31-year-old Joshua Ashby, of Rugby, was jailed for 10 years and 8 months.

He pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), two charges of inciting girls to engage in and watch sexual activity, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a person under 16, and failing to comply with his sex offender registration.

Following an 18-month sentence and two orders imposed in October 2015, Ashby was jailed for 25 months in February 2019 after pleading guilty to breaching his SHPO and failing to comply with his sex offender registration.

As a high-risk sex offender, Ashby has been managed by our Sex Offender Management Unit (SOMU) in the north of the county since then. He’s been subject to intense offender management and as a result of the work by the unit, we were able to charge and remand Ashby in custody last year for a breach of his order where he communicated with a 13 year old child. He pled guilty to this charge, and was subsequently sentenced on all counts.

DS Kim Stafford said, “As a team it’s our job to enforce the conditions when someone like Ashby is released into the community. By being proactive, we’ve got a prolific sex offender back behind bars.

“An SHPO is a civil order, but it was given on conviction for Ashby due to the nature of his offences. We have a number of options at our disposal to keep the public safe from sexual predators, and we use them effectively.”

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An asylum seeker who arrived in the country on a small boat raped a woman in the centre of Norwich after she left a nightclub.

Dan Tesfalul, an Eritrean who has been in the UK since 2022, attacked his victim on Rose Lane before running off when challenged by a security guard.

He was initially charged with raping the woman three times on the same occasion.

However, after he pleaded guilty to one charge, prosecutors agreed to let the other two counts lie on file.

Appearing at Norwich Crown Court yesterday, he was jailed for eight years and three months.

His sentencing came on the day Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, announced plans she said would make it harder for asylum seekers convicted of sex offences to stay in the UK.

The court was told that Tesfalul had left Eritrea seven years ago and arrived by boat in the UK in 2022.

The war-torn country, in the Horn of Africa, is home to just 3.6 million people but Eritreans have made up the fourth-largest group of asylum seekers in the UK in recent years.

As an asylum seeker, Tesfalul - who had been studying for a psychology degree in his home country - was granted leave to remain in November 2023.

At the time of the attack, in May 2024, he had been staying at the Brook Hotel in Bowthorpe, one of two hotels in Norwich used by the Home Office as a temporary home for those seeking asylum.

He had been drinking in Norwich city centre on the evening of May 2, 2024, when he spotted the victim in Qube nightclub, on Prince of Wales Road.

He bought drinks for the woman before she went to buy food. He also left the nightclub and approached her on nearby Mountergate.

Stephen Spence, prosecuting, said that although the victim was too intoxicated to remember what happened to her other witnesses saw her being raped by the 27-year-old in a grassed area near Rose Lane car park.

Mr Spence said a woman leaving the car park saw the victim on the grass with the defendant having sex with her.

The witness became concerned after she heard the woman "screaming out" and called police. 

A car park security guard also realised something was wrong and after challenging Tesfalul the defendant pulled up his trousers and ran off.

Mr Spence said he was arrested in Whitefriars a short while later.

Sentencing Tesfalul to an extended sentence of 13 years and five months - eight years three months custody and five years on licence - Judge Alice Robinson told him: "This was a horrific attack on a lone intoxicated female in the middle of the night resulting in a number of bruises and deep distress."

She said Tesfalul had "specifically targeted" the victim who was particularly vulnerable and unable to defend herself through drink.

The judge said he was an "extremely dangerous" offender who had demonstrated a "predatory sexual manner" toward the victim.

Before the sentencing, the victim read out a statement in which she said: "It was such a horrible attack when I was at my most vulnerable."
She said was now “scared of being out alone in case it might happen again”.

“I feel scared of men and feel they are out to get me and rape me too.

“It’s horrible to feel scared of every man you see when in the city and in the shops."

The victim also said she now "hates people touching me", keeps herself "hidden away" and just wants to "curl up into a ball".

Matthew Sorel-Cameron, mitigating, said Tesfalul knows the victim "will have to live with the consequences of his actions".

He said the defendant was deeply sorry and profoundly ashamed” to have caused the suffering she had.

Mr Sorel-Cameron said the defendant deserved credit for his plea.

The defence barrister said the alcohol the victim had taken made her vulnerable but insisted there was “insufficient evidence” to say him buying her drinks had been a “calculated” act to “make this offence easier”.

He said the defendant had “been out by chance at the same time” as the victim.

Mr Sorel-Cameron said Tesfalul, whose own father died while "crossing the Mediterranean in a boat when the defendant was four or five", had been studying software development at the time of the offence.

Speaking after the sentencing, detective constable Dave Block said: "I hope this conviction and sentence serves to re-enforce the message that in Norfolk, dedicated detectives investigate reports of sexual offences thoroughly and that courts take these matters seriously.

"I would like to commend the members of the public who intervened in this incident, the police officers who attended swiftly and professionally, and most of all the victim who has engaged with us throughout the investigation. “

Tesfalul was made the subject of a restraining order banning him for contacting the victim directly or indirectly for 15 years.

He was also put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

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A man has been jailed for engaging in sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice.

The incident happened in the sauna at Hyndburn Leisure Centre in Accrington on 16th January 2022.

Stephen Tate, 69, approached his victim and without warning performed a sexual act on him.

The victim, who was 19 at the time and has severe learning difficulties, did not want that to happen.

He reported the incident to his dad, who had come to collect him and pointed out Tate to him.

The victim’s dad told Tate to wait but he ignored him and got into his black BMW and drove off.

The victim’s dad took note of the vehicle registration number and reported the matter to the police.

Tate, of Gordon Street, Church, was arrested and later charged with engaging in Sexual Activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice. He was found guilty following a trial at Preston Crown Court in December last year.

Tate returned to the same court today (29th April) where he was jailed for six years. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and was barred from working with children and vulnerable people. Tate was also made subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, which bans him from entering any public sauna, steam room or solarium

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A serial city centre sex attacker who targeted a drunk student in a disturbing attack has been branded a danger and jailed.

Hosien Nedjad has repeatedly sexually and physically assaulted women on nights out in Newcastle in offences spanning almost a decade. Despite already being on the sex offenders register, he subjected a young woman who had become separated from her friends to a disgusting attack inside a bar.

Now, having evaded justice by fleeing to Germany for more than three years, the failed asylum seeker has finally been jailed and was told he is likely to be deported.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim was on a night out in Newcastle in 2019 when she ended up in Soho Room, on Mosley Street. By the early hours of the morning, she was drunk and had become separated from her friends.

Nedjad was in the same bar and sexually assaulted the student. Philip Morley, prosecuting, said: "He took the opportunity to put his hand, initially, down the front of her jeans and started to grab at her.

"She asked him not to and tried to push his hands away. However at this point he grabbed her arms and pushed her forward onto the bar and pulled her jeans further down."

After finishing his attack, Nedjad left the victim crying and distressed and she pulled her jeans back up. Forensic tests revealed Nedjad's DNA on her clothing.

In a victim impact statement, she said she finds it difficult to put her ordeal into words and she thinks about it every day. She has been left struggling with anxiety and has needed therapy and medication and struggles to sleep.

She added: "I relive the night so often but it still paralyses me." She added that she has been left questioning whether she is safe and has been "plagued by flashbacks so severe they have been mistaken for seizures".

She added: "The outside world is terrifying and exhausting. I can't feel safe or trust anyone ever again."

The court heard Nedjad was convicted of common assault against four women in 2011 at Beyond bar. He pulled one victim to the floor and punched her and when three of her friends intervened, he punched them too.

In 2013, he assaulted two women at the Magic Flame takeaway, in Newcastle, punching both of them in the face. Then in 2014, he sexually assaulted a woman in Newcastle city centre, pushing her against railings, molesting her and trying to pull her pants down despite her telling him to stop. He was placed on the sex offenders register for seven years after that offence.

While he was being investigated for the attack in Soho Rooms, he sexually assaulted a woman in Popworld, in Newcastle, lifting up her dress while he had his trousers unbuttoned.

For the Soho Rooms offence, Nedjad, of Brighton Grove, Newcastle, was found guilty of sexual assault after a trial in his absence and pleaded guilty to a Bail Act offence after going to Germany for three-and-a-half years, evading justice. He was found last year and sent back here.

Sentencing the 42-year-old to four years in prison with an extended licence period of a further four years and ordering to sign the sex offenders register for life, Judge Edward Bindloss said he poses a significant risk and is a dangerous offender.

He told him: "You took advantage of the fact she was on her own and in drink. She described the last five years as being in the prison of her own mind. This has had a significant and profound effect upon her."

He added: "You have relevant previous convictions. In all of them, you targeted females at night. You touched them either physically or sexually, even though they said no."

The court heard Nedjad came to this country in 2007 and had worked as a chef and Amazon driver. Judge Bindloss said he is a failed asylum seeker and is likely to be deported having been given a sentence of more than 12 months.

Andrew Walker, defending, said Nedjad is embarrassed and remorseful and has not consumed alcohol for three-and-a-half years. He added that he is a "capable and resourceful individual" with a good work ethic.

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A brazen sex offender has been jailed after he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl on a train to Sevenoaks.

Petro Ninichuk, 37, and of Station Street, Brighton, pleaded guilty to sexual assault at Inner London Crown Court on 11 April. He has been sentenced to 19 weeks in prison and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

On Sunday 27 January 2024, the victim was walking through a train with her friend when Ninichuk grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit on the seat in front of him.

She told him she was only 15-years-old in the hope it would stop his advances, but Ninichuk was non-deterred and brazenly sexually assaulted her in a prolonged attack.

The victim’s friend approached another passenger who intervened and invited the girls to sit with him.

When the train reached Sevenoaks the victim’s friend alerted security staff who identified Ninichuk on the train. While he was with security staff Ninichuk spotted the victim who had been taken to safety in the station office and was trying to get near her, telling them “that’s my girlfriend”. Staff called BTP who arrived and arrested him immediately.

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On Monday 28 April at Liverpool Crown Court, Ashley Darbyshire (01/01/1997), of Bolton, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of grooming, raping and sexually assaulting underage girls in Blackrod, Bolton, between 2016-2018. He will serve 10 years in custody.

He has been put on the Sex Offenders' Register for life. 

He was the main offender of a group of sexual predators who preyed upon young teenage girls in the local area.

On the first day of a sentencing set to last into tomorrow (29 April), Darbyshire was sentenced alongside three other men.

The offences began in 2016 when the primary offender, Darbyshire, who was 19 at the time, first came into contact with the primary victim, a girl aged 13.  

He went on to introduce her to nine of his friends, and they went on to use and abuse her at their disposal on numerous occasions into 2018. 

The group of men were all convicted of a range of sexual offences - over 30 convictions between them - including rape, sexual assault and sexual activity with a child under 16. 

The men, who were all aged from between 17 and 29 at the time when the offences began, also approached the other victims, all girls under the age of 16, via private messaging and social media platforms. 

They got to know the girls from where many local teenagers would hang out and socialise near the community centre. 

The men plied some of the victims with alcohol and drugs. Some of them would send indecent images of their private body parts to the girls as well as initiating sexual conversations with them on messaging platforms.  

The group were friends of a male who was 17 at the time, and would visit his main home address where he lived with his father, a rented property in Blackrod, where most of the offences took place.  

He was a regular drug-user and would often bring his friends over to the house where they would hangout, use drugs and drink alcohol.

After a while, some of the friends would stay over at the address, and over time, the property deteriorated into a squalid condition. The men punched holes through the internal doors, smashed lightbulbs and even urinated in the corners of some of the rooms.  

The offences eventually came to light after an incident involving one of the victims and another defendant, on Sunday 17 June 2018.  

He messaged her to come over to an address in Blackrod. He was intoxicated and took some car keys belonging to his friend's father. 

The defendant left the house and sped off in the car with the 15-year-old girl travelling as a passenger. He drove round a bend, swerving to miss an oncoming vehicle, and crashed the car into a row of parked vehicles.   

The impact set the airbags off and caused a cut to the girl’s eye.  

On waking up for school the next day her eye was badly swollen. She initially told her mother and teachers at school that she had fallen out of bed when they asked her what had happened.  

Her friends became suspicious and told teachers of their concerns which led to the victim confessing and other victims coming forward.  

The police were notified, and an investigation was launched.  

Ashley Darbyshire (01/01/1997), of Bolton, was convicted of three counts of rape, 12 counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and one count of making indecent photographs of a child. He was sentenced to 15 years, to serve 10. 

Brandon Harwood, (20/09/1999), of Bolton, was convicted of one count of rape, one count of attempted oral rape and one count of sexual activity with a child under 16. He was sentenced to 10 years, to serve two thirds. He has ben placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Ross Corley (14/01/1995) was convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child and sentenced to 28 months in prison and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He has been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.

Another man convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child under 16, was sentenced to 15 months, suspended for two years. He will do 100 hours of unpaid work and has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He has been placed on the Sex Offenders' register for 10 years.

The men, many of whom showed no remorse for their actions in court, were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday 28 April 2025. The sentencing of the remaining defendants will continue into tomorrow (Tuesday 29 April 2025).  

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A 71-year-old man from Wootton Bridge has been jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of eight counts of non-recent sexual offences against three children in Ryde and East Cowes between 1994 and 2012.

On 14 July 2022 we received a third party report relating to a 26-year-old woman who had been physically, sexually, and mentally abused when she was under the age of 16 by Keith Matthews of Mary Rose Avenue. Subsequent enquiries identified a 28-year-old woman who was also a victim of similar offences by Matthews when she was under the age of 18. Following Matthews initial arrest on 28 July 2022 a 42-year-old woman came forward and reported that she had also been sexually assaulted by Matthews when she was under the age of 16. The offences all took place between 1994 and 2012 in Ryde and East Cowes.

Following a thorough investigation Matthews was charged on Monday 22 April 2024.

At Newport Crown Court on Friday 4 April 2025 Matthews was found guilty of the following after a thirteen day trial:

• Indecent assault – victim age 12-13 / multiple incidents.
• Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child – victim age 8-9.
• Rape of a female – victim age 14-15.
• Assault by penetration – victim age 13-14 / multiple incidents.
• Two counts of sexual assault – victim age 13-14 / multiple incidents.
• Two counts of assault by penetration – victim age 13-14.

He was sentenced to a combined total of 18 years in prison at  Court on Wednesday 23 April 2025.

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A man who engaged in sexual activity with two children has been jailed for nine years.

Jacques Nel, formerly of Chapel Lane in Luffenham, Oakham, pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences, including sexual activity with a child and sexual assault, last December.

The 39-year-old carried out the crimes in Stamford last July, before being arrested and charged by Lincolnshire Police.

He was due to appear in court for a week-long trial before pleading guilty to the offences shortly before it began.

Nel was jailed for nine years, handed a sexual harm prevention order and given a restraining order. He must also remain on the sex offenders register for life.

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An “evil and foul” man who sexually abused a little girl in North Yorkshire has been jailed for 12 years.

Gary Henshall recorded himself sexually abusing the girl in the middle of the night, York Crown Court heard.

Tom Jackson, prosecuting, said the light on the paedophile’s phone would wake her, and he persisted in what he was doing as she tried to stop him, by moving away from him.

“He is the most selfish, evil and foul old man,” the victim said in a personal statement.

She said the abuse had affected her mental health so much it had drastically affected her education.

Mr Jackson said the girl eventually stopped the abuse by telling her family about it.

Following Henshall’s arrest, police found a video he had made of himself alone performing a sex act, making sexual comments about children and pretending to be a six-year-old girl.

He had previous convictions from the 1980s for child sexual abuse.

After the girl had stood up to Henshall, the paedophile had “manipulated” and delayed the court process by initially denying the charges, then pleading guilty, then trying unsuccessfully to change his plea back to not guilty and finally not turning up to his sentencing hearing, so that North Yorkshire Police had to locate him and fetch him from Leeds.

The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, said Henshall “twisted the knife” by not turning up to court.

Henshall, 65, formerly of the Caravan Park at Scalm Park, Wistow near Selby, and later of Batley, pleaded guilty to five sexual assaults and was given a 17-year extended prison sentence, consisting of a 12-year prison term plus five years extended prison licence.

For the rest of his life he will be on the sex offenders’ register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order to protect all children from him and a restraining order to protect the girl including after she becomes an adult.

For Henshall, Kevin Batch said the defendant understood the “devastation” he had brought the girl and no words would come “anywhere to alleviate that level of distress and suffering”.

Detective Constable Sophie Wilson, of North Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation, said: “This has been a very difficult case, and I cannot praise the victim and her family enough for standing up for what is right and seeking justice against Henshall.

“Henshall also dragged out their suffering by repeatedly changing his plea. The judge’s intervention ensured that justice has been served, and I hope the victim and her family can draw strength from the outcome at court.” 

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A persistent sex offender is back behind bars after he failed to tell a woman staying at his home about his perverted past.

Paul Luck had breached the terms of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which was imposed after he was convicted of sexual assault.

The 62-year-old’s home was visited by police after they were alerted about a female living at his home, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Nicci Horton, prosecuting, said the defendant was legally required to alert police to any relationship he formed with a female, and he was barred from allowing women to stay at his home unless they were aware of his past.

She added: “When they entered the property, they found a female asleep on a mattress in the rear bedroom. She said that she had stayed a couple of nights at the address she and her partner were homeless.

“She had no knowledge of the defendant being a registered sex offender.”

The court heard how Luck had six convictions on his record for sexual offences.

Luck, of Easington Road, Stockton, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching the terms of his indefinite SHPO following his arrest on March 28.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said her client had never been left alone with the woman as she was staying at his home with her partner and had been recalled on licence following his arrest.

Recorder Richard Wright KC jailed Luck for 12 months for breaching his court order.

“You are convicted sex offender with a history of committing sexual offences over a number of years,” he said.

“You have been subject to the terms of SHPO, and you know and understand full well what is required of you.

“You deliberately breached the order when you allowed a woman to stay in your house. She didn’t know that you were a sex offender or that she was placing herself at risk by being in your property.”

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A serial sex offender has been jailed for 19 years after being found guilty of 23 sexual offences - including 11 of rape.

Leigh Nicholson, 52, of Bransholme, Hull, denied them all, but he was convicted after a trial.

Hull Crown Court heard he had convictions for two previous offences, allowing himself to be carried in a vehicle taken without consent in October 1990 and a public disorder offence in September 2000.

Frances Pencheon, mitigating after the guilty verdicts, said that they were serious offences and, because of the level of psychological harm caused, they attracted long prison sentences for a reason.

"He has never faced a custodial sentence before. He has worked at times during his life. He has been an active member of society. He is aware that he faces a very lengthy sentence as a result of these convictions."

Nicholson, who had been on bail during the trial, was jailed for 19 years and he will be on extended licence of one year after his release from prison. He will have to serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before he might be considered for possible release.

Nicholson showed no emotion as he was led out of the secure dock to be taken down to the cells.

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A MAN is facing jail after he was found guilty of a child sex offence by a jury following a trial.

Ryan Dymond, aged 32, from Caerphilly was convicted of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of an underage girl.

The offence happened in Cardiff in May 2021, prosecutor Alexander Greenwood told jurors at the capital city’s crown court.

Dymond, of Farm Road, had denied any wrongdoing.

After the guilty verdict was returned, the defendant’s barrister Bethan Evans asked if the case could be adjourned for the preparation of pre-sentence report.

The judge, Recorder Andrew Hammond, said sentence will take place on June 6.

He advised Dymond to co-operate with the probation service in the meantime.

Mr Greenwood said the defendant will have to register as a sex offender following his conviction.

The length of registration will be determined on sentence.

The defendant was granted conditional bail.

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Antony Bowden, 52, collected indecent photographs of children over five years. Police discovered the images on three mobile phones during a raid on his home in 2021.

In 2025, Judge Nigel Peters KC described Bowden's actions as “inexplicable” but allowed him to avoid prison.

The court revealed he had 805 category C images, 43 category B images, and 46 category A images, including a prohibited image of a child and extreme pornography. Bowden pleaded guilty to multiple charges and is set to be sentenced on April 28.

Maximum sentences vary by category. 

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A man from Birmingham has been jailed for 26 years for several serious offences against two children, including rape and sexual assault.

We were contacted in August 2024 about a girl being sexually abused.

Our officers carried out immediate enquiries, and Mohammed Mire was arrested later that day.

Following a thorough investigation, officers discovered Mire was responsible for a catalogue of abuse against two young people dating back several years.

The 35-year-old, of Moat House Road, was subsequently charged with raping a child under 13, three counts of raping a teenage girl, assault by penetration, threats to kill, and actual bodily harm.

Mire denied all of the charges but was found guilty following a trial.

On Tuesday (22 April) he was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to 26 years in prison. 

He is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, a restraining order, and a notification order under the Sexual Offences Act.

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Two men have today been jailed following the rape and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Southampton in December 2024.

Damian Andre Martin, 48, of Millbrook Road West, appeared at Southampton Crown Court today (Friday 25 April) where he was sentenced to 14 years in prison for rape, sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration, assault by beating and taking a child so as to keep him/her from a person having lawful control. Martin will also have a five year extended license and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the Sex Offender's Register for the rest of his life.

Gurdev Singh Rathore, 50, of Milton Road, appeared at the same court where he was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault and causing a female 13 or over to engage in a non-penetrative sexual activity. Rathore will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the Sex Offender's Register for the rest of his life.

Police received a report on Friday 27 December that some time overnight on Thursday 26 December into Friday 27 December the girl was raped by a man and sexually assaulted by a second man at an address in the St Mary’s area, both of whom she had met that evening.

The girl reported that she met the two men as she was walking along St. Mary Street. A short time later, Martin raped her and sexually assaulted her. She was then taken to an address on Chapel Road where Rathore sexually assaulted her.

Rathore and Martin both pleaded guilty to the charges against them and have now been jailed for a combined total of 18 and a half years.

On sentencing, His Honour Judge Christopher Parker told both men: "That detention of her in those terrible circumstances must have been unimaginably horrific for those close to her, but for her as a 13-year-old child to have been raped and taken to a flat, abused further sexually in turn by the pair of you must have been - as she describes it - absolutely horrendous and she was in fear of her life."

He told Martin that his behaviour was so dreadful that he could not be considered to be safe around young vulnerable children.