Latest Offenders

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‘Vile offender’ Daniel Gravell from Carmarthenshire has been sentenced today (June 23) to nine years in prison for “truly wicked” rape and voyeurism offences.

Forty-three-year-old Daniel Gravell, of Johnstown, Carmarthen was found guilty of raping a woman in 2002 and admitted to voyeurism following a two-week trial at Swansea Crown Court that concluded in May this year.

Recognising the lasting impact of the rape offence committed in 2002, the Judge said: “The offence of rape, and the violation which is needed to commit such an offence, is one that nearly always leaves a scar – and a scar which, very often, is lifelong.”

Upon sentencing the rapist to nine years behind bars, the judge condemned Gravell’s attack, describing it as a “truly wicked, and terrible thing to do to another human being”.

Gravell committed the rape in 2002 when his 19-year-old victim was enjoying a night out with her friends in Carmarthen. During the evening, the young woman complained about feeling unwell and was taken home.

At trial, the court heard how the victim woke up at her friend’s house to the horrific realisation that Gravell was raping her. It was heard how she told Gravell to stop but was unable to push him off. The victim explained to the court how Gravell said ‘it’s ok, it’s ok’ and that he was her boyfriend.

Giving a statement at court today, the victim explained how she was “extremely vulnerable” on the night she was raped, and recalled an “overwhelming sense of powerlessness” when Gravell carried out the attack that she described as “unforgiveable”.

Gravell admitted to a separate count of voyeurism in 2021 against a woman he had consensual sex with, before taking naked photos of her without her knowledge or consent.

Describing Gravell as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, the victim explained how she felt “disgusted” and “violated in the worst possible way” upon discovering that Gravell had taken those intimate photographs of her.

Daniel Gravell was sentenced to eight years and six months for the rape, followed by a further six months in jail for the voyeurism offence.

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A man has pleaded guilty to making hundreds of indecent images of children, including dozens of the most serious kind, over a period of two years in Bristol.

James Kelvin now faces the prospect of a possible prison sentence following an appearance at Bristol Crown Court today (Monday, June 23).

Kelvin, of South Road, Goldsithney in Cornwall, was living in Bristol at the time of the offences.

Judge James Patrick heard that between November 15, 2019 and October 8, 2021, Kelvin had created 640 indecent images of children that were classed as ‘Category C’ severity, another 46 images classed as ‘Category B’, and 37 that were classed as the most serious ‘Category A’ images, included two that were video clips.

In an earlier hearing at Bristol Magistrates' Court in May, Kelvin had pleaded guilty to other charges - one of making pseudo-photos which were indecent images of children, and another of voyeurism.

The judge released Kelvin, 51, , who is originally from Bishop’s Stortford, on conditional bail after ordering a pre-sentence report to be made on him. Kelvin was ordered to co-operate with the compiling of that pre-sentence report and warned that when he returns to be sentenced on August 21, he could be given a prison sentence.

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DNA found on a schoolgirl's underwear led an outwardly respectable family man being unmasked as a "monster".

Dean Bradley's barrister said his client realises he had "stolen" his victim's innocence and is deeply ashamed of what he did.

Bradley was handed a special custodial sentence as an offender of particular concern and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Carina Hughes, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that Bradley's offending came to light when the girl's mum did the washing one day and noticed a "yellow-white discharge" on a pair of her daughter's knickers. The concerned mother spoke to the primary-school aged girl who broke down and made disclosures about the defendant performing sex acts on her and showing her "sick, weird" videos of people having sex. The girl said the abuse had happened on a number of occasions.

The court heard Bradley later told someone the child was "like my little girlfriend". He then exposed his penis and threatened to cut it off with a knife.

The police were contacted and the girl's clothes were seized for forensic examination. The court heard the defendant's DNA was found on the girl's underwear.

In a statement from the girl's mother which she read to the court in person she set out the effects of the abuse on her daughter and the wider family. The mum described Bradley as a "monster of a man" who "psychologically groomed" her daughter and planned his abuse of her. She said the defendant's actions had turned her daughter's life upside down and "distorted" her understanding of adults, and she described him as "a danger to society and all children".

Dean Thomas Bradley, aged 36, of Lime Grove, Cimla, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13 and three counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Matt Murphy, for Bradley, said the defendant's pleas meant the complainant had not had to relive what happened to her at a trial. He said his client feels a "deep sense of shame" for what he did and accepts his actions have "stolen" the girl's innocence, self-respect and self-worth.

With discounts for his guilty pleas Bradley was made the subject of a sentence of 12 years and eight months comprising 11 years and eight months in custody followed by an extended 12-month licence period. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective constable James Carver said: "Dean Bradley carried out a horrific attack against a defenceless child. We commend the bravery of the victim in having the courage to speak up having lived with this awful experience. We hope that they will no longer have to live in fear of Dean Bradley."

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A sex offender stripped naked and then touched a 'screaming' little girl in a Stoke-on-Trent street in a terrifying New Year's Eve incident.

Daniel Clift - who has 69 previous convictions for 135 offences - was completely nude when he spotted the six-year-old child getting out of a car in Fenton.

As the youngster tried to get back in the vehicle, 36-year-old Clift touched her on her head and shoulder and grinned and laughed as he did it. Police arrived and found him still naked talking to people outside a pub.

He was arrested and later told probation he was under the influence of monkey dust at the time. Now Clift has been jailed for three years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Antony Longworth said the incident happened at 9.40pm on December 31 as a mum was taking her child to a shop. The girl got out of the car as the mum was getting her purse from the passenger seat footwell.

Mr Longworth said: "She saw the defendant naked walking on the street. She shouted to her daughter to get back in the car. The child was standing by the front window of the car.

"She was making her way into the car and had one hand on the door handle when the defendant placed his right hand on the child's head and moved his hand down the side of her shoulder. He was seen to be grinning, smiling and laughing as he did it.

"It was a deliberate act. The mum called 999. The child was upset and screaming, 'When can we go home? Why did he touch me? Is it safe for me to get out of the car?'.

"Police went to the scene. They found the defendant naked. He was arrested. He was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His eyes were very wide and his pupils dilated."

In a victim statement the child's mum said the youngster was traumatised and too scared to get out of the car. She said: "She keeps asking me why a man was walking around naked and touching a child like he did to her.

"I cannot believe he has done it before. I do not feel safe taking her out or letting her play out with her friends."

Clift, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to exposure, breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and common assault. The court heard he has numerous previous convictions for exposure.

Adam Watkins, mitigating, said Clift lost his parents when he was aged five and six and he grew up in the care system. He has significant mental health issues and has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Mr Watkins said: "He has not helped himself by taking illegal substances up to and including monkey dust.

"He has been in custody for six months or so. He has been reflecting. He wants to work with the authorities and groups to get his condition and his behaviour regulated. The girl was harmed psychologically. It was fleeting.

"He cannot explain why he acted as he did. He cannot explain, let alone justify, but the evidence has roots in substance misuse and mental health difficulties. There was no pre-planning or forethought in this offence."

Judge Richard McConaghy said: "On May 5, 2022 you were made the subject of a SHPO. It restricted your contact with children. On the evening of December 31 you were walking naked on the street. You saw a girl who had just got out of a car. Because of your appearance she was getting back into the car. You touched her on her head and down on to her shoulder. You were grinning and laughing as you did it.

"When the police found you were standing still naked outside a pub talking to people. The girl was traumatised.

"This is the 70th time you have found yourself in front of a criminal court. This is the fourth time that you have been convicted of an offence of exposure.

"I take the view that this is a very serious breach of the SHPO. Not only did you have contact with a child. You did so by approaching the child while you were naked and you committed a criminal offence of assaulting her. Your offending is aggravated significantly by your previous convictions and by the fact you were intoxicated by monkey dust at the time."

Description

A CONVICTED sex offender who breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order by accessing the internet anonymously has been jailed.

James Carpenter, 56, of Hainworth Lane, Keighley, was previously handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, as well as the 10-year SHPO after he accessed indecent images of children.

Carpenter, who said he felt he was “not normal and accepted by others”, is now beginning a two-year prison sentence after a judge determined he was a risk to the public.

Bradford Crown Court heard how, during a random check, a police officer who visited Carpenter’s home discovered an unregistered mobile phone.

Carpenter, who cleans and maintains portable buildings, said he needed the phone “for work purposes”.

However, analysis of the phone showed that he had accessed the internet anonymously.

Carpenter pleaded guilty to three breaches of the SHPO.

In mitigation the court heard that Carpenter had suffered significant abuse during his childhood, which had had a lasting impact on his mental health.

The breaches, in March and September 2024, happened around the time of the death of his mother, which was “an emotional tipping point”.

Carpenter was said to have expressed suicidal thoughts and “feels he is not normal and accepted by others”.

Mr Recorder Tony Watkin said Carpenter had plainly used the mobile phone for purposes beyond work.

He said: “There is no good reason that someone would need to anonymise their identity and access the internet in such a way that they would conceal what they had been looking at for work purposes when your work is that of somebody who cleans portacabins on a construction site.

“Do you present a risk to the public? In my assessment, you do.”

He handed Carpenter 12 months imprisonment concurrent on all counts and activated the full 12-month suspended sentence order, to run consecutively, to make the total jail time two years.

Recorder Watkin revoked the original SHPO and imposed a fresh ten-year order running until June 2035.

Carpenter is already a registered sex offender.

Description

An aspiring Rothwell Buddhist who sexually abused two women and hoarded indecent images of children has been jailed.

Harvy Tak targeted two women between 2016 and 2023, filming both of them as they performed sex acts, Leeds Crown Court heard on Friday.

The court heard that Tak's first victim was handcuffed and blindfolded and was unaware he was filming her at the time. It was also said that she had set boundaries for the consensual sexual activity, which Tak ignored, leading to him being convicted for rape following a trial.

Her Honour Judge Rayfield told Tak as she sentenced him: "She made it clear to you and you made a promise...You were not entitled to ignore the caveat she asked of you but you continued to ignore it knowing that she didn't want that. I can't be sure whether you planned to do that from the outset.

"I will give you the benefit of the doubt that it was impulsive."

The court heard the young woman did not know that Tak had filmed the sexual activity. The judge said: "She was horrified and asked you to delete it but you wouldn't, demonstrating you put your own sexual needs and desires above hers. Over the years, you oscillated between agreeing to delete it and blackmailing her, telling her you wouldn't delete it until she agreed to meet your sexual demands."

It was said that when police arrested Tak in 2023, they seized a number of devices and discovered indecent images of children at categories A, B, and C.

He was released under investigation and it was found he had targeted another young woman. He again filmed them taking part in consensual sexual activity. The judge told Tak: "While she knew you recorded the act for your own personal use, what she didn't know is you retained that until the police found it.

"She was very upset that you still had that image of such a private act in your possession and describes one occasion where you showed her an image of a five-to-eight-year-old engaging in sexual activity with an adult man and you enquired whether this was the kind of activity she would be interested in.

"You told her you had accessed images from the dark web which enabled you to hide your IP address."

The court heard police discovered more indecent images at category A, B and C when Tak was arrested.

Prosecutor Michael Greenhalgh summarised the first victim's impact statement, in which she said she had suffered from anxiety between the offences taking place and her initial report to police. She said she was "ashamed" and "felt dirty."

She added: "Because I felt so low I believed at the time that by letting him abuse me in that way I was protecting others. It made me feel I wasn't worthy. When I reported this, my anxiety increased. I was scared he would turn up at my house. At times it would cause me to shut down.

"I was afraid of bumping into him and I get seeing him in my nightmares where he was oblivious about what he did to me, which made me more anxious about sleeping. I didn't want to sleep and would go to sleep very late and wake up early to avoid it. Sometimes I crash out where I am. I started drinking more caffeine."

In her statement, the second victim said: "This has caused my to develop severe anxiety and PTSD. I find it distressing to go to where the crime occurred. The crime has overall affected every manner of my relationships and has caused me to become very paranoid and not trusting of those around me.

"I find it difficult to connect in a healthy manner and I don't let people get too close. It has affected my ability to work, especially during the proceedings in the case and has left me with no choice but to be unemployed for the near future. My anxiety makes it extremely difficult to perform in work places."

Mitigating, Jane Brady, told the court Tak has a diagnosis of autism. She said: "He was [at the time of the offending] a much younger man who was deferential to authority. He is from a strict Chinese, Buddhist family who intended him to become a Buddhist."

It was said Tak was bullied at school and "isolated" due to being from the "only non-white family in Rothwell."

Ms Brady said: "The [pre-sentence] report acknowledges he had an isolated childhood which resulted in him being ill-prepared for relationships...His feelings are of great shame and reluctance to engage in the process but he will unequivocally not offend again."

Judge Rayfield jailed Tak for eight years and made him the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order.

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Two women have been commended for their bravery in providing accounts that have led to a man being jailed for a string of violent and sexual offences.

Randy Ayor committed his crimes in Leicester over a period spanning several months in 2023. The victims, who are not known to one another, contacted police in 2024 to report what had happened.

The first victim told detectives she had met Ayor, now 32, in a city nightclub the year before and that in the following months he raped her on several occasions. She also said during one incident he also strangled her to the point she thought she was going to lose consciousness.

Ayor’s second victim, who met him for the first time in 2023, also reported being raped and strangled by him and that he had also exhibited controlling behaviour over her. She told police there was an occasion where he took her phone from her and began dictating where she could say and who she was allowed to socialise with.

She said he also became angry if she attempted to speak to other men and discouraged her from spending time with her family at Christmas.

Following a trial at Leicester Crown Court, Ayor, of HMP Leicester, was found guilty of:

• Four counts of raping a female aged 16 or over, one count of sexual assault on a female by penetration and one count of intentional strangulation relating to the first victim
• Two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one count of rape of a female aged 16 or over, one count of intentional strangulation, one count of engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour in an intimate/family relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of battery relating to the second victim

Yesterday (Thursday 19 June), at the same court he was jailed for a total of 25 years. He was also handed a 20-year restraining order prohibiting contact with the victims.

Detective Constable Lauren Brown was the officer in the case. She said:

“It’s apparent from the accounts given by both victims that Ayor is a dangerous individual who is prepared to use violence and controlling behaviour towards women for his own sexual gratification.

“The information they both gave as enquiries progressed and during the trial – in which they had to re-live their ordeals – was crucial in securing a conviction.

“I hope that they and the wider community can take some reassurance from the fact he is now facing the consequences of his actions by way of a prison sentence.”

Description

A former agency teaching assistant has been jailed for 20 months as part of an investigation into the possession of indecent images of children.

Keiron Pickett, 24 years, of Withington Road, Speke, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, Friday 20 June. 

In May, he pleaded guilty to the following offences and was remanded into custody ahead of today's sentencing:

• Five counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child (Categories A, B and C), none of which relate to the school
• Operating equipment beneath clothing, relating to an incident at the school in 2023
• Possession of a Class B controlled drug (cannabis), relating to cannabis seized from his home address

On Thursday 5 June at a plea hearing, a further charge of taking an indecent photo/pseudo photograph of a child was taken into consideration, in relation to the same incident at the school in 2023. Today, he was convicted and jailed for 20 months for that offence. 

He was further sentenced for the other offences, to run concurrent.

Pickett was also issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and ordered to pay a Victim Surcharge.

Detective Inspector James Milligan said: “Pickett was an agency teaching assistant at Bank View School in Ganworth Road, Speke at the time of his abhorrent crimes, in the autumn term of 2023. He abused the trust placed in him by the organisation, and today justice has been served.

“We naturally understand the concern caused by such crimes, especially when they take place in an educational establishment, as two of these offences did. As soon as he was charged, Pickett was remanded into custody pending the sentencing.

“Pickett has today been dealt with by the courts following a complex investigation, but we continue to work in close partnership with all of those affected.

“If you have been affected by sexual offences of any kind, then please know that there is a lot of support available, both from ourselves and our partner organisations, so please come forward.”

Description

A 54-year-old man from Waterlooville has been jailed for a year after he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl at a pub in Lee-On-The-Solent.

On Saturday 18 March 2023 Jason Franklin Smith of London Road was in the Wyvern on Common Barn Lane, approached the victim from behind, wrapped his arms around her chest, kissed her down her neck and stated that he couldn’t wait for her 18th birthday. Later the same evening he again approached her from behind and rubbed his groin on her leg and buttocks.

On Tuesday 22 April 2025 Smith was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault at Portsmouth Crown Court. He was jailed for a year at the same court today (Friday 20 June 2025) and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for a year and is subject to a restraining order.

Officer in the case, PC Lynsey Tallon said: “I’m pleased that the court has sent Smith to prison for these assaults that have had a significant impact on the victim causing her anxiety and stress over a long period of time. The restraining order and requirement to sign the sex offenders register will also provide reassurance to the victim and her family”.

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A “trusted” Muslim cleric who repeatedly raped a young boy whilst working as a teacher at a Bradford mosque has been handed an extended jail sentence.

Mohammed Hanif Khan will serve 13 years in prison plus a further three years on licence for a series of sex attacks on the victim more than a quarter of a century ago.

Khan, 57, of Blagden Street, Sheffield, appeared via video link from HMP Leeds for the hearing at Bradford Crown Court.

His victim was present in the public gallery to see justice done.

Sentencing Khan, His Honour Judge Christopher Smith told Khan: “You were a respected member of the teaching staff.”

He said his “outward and respectful appearance masked a devious and perverted sexual interest” in underage boys.

The judge added: “And you grossly abused the trust placed in you by colleagues and the parents of the children in your care in order to commit these terrible offences.”

He added: “You secured your victim’s silence by telling him that he would not be believed if he reported you.

“Regrettably, opportunities were missed to bring your offending to an end when other individual members of staff found you in suspicious circumstances but failed to report matters to others as they should have done so.”

Judge Smith said the extended sentence he passed reflected the danger that Khan continued to pose to the public.

He also referred to Khan’s previous conviction for “strikingly similar” behaviour at Stoke-on-Trent in 2009, for which he received 16 years’ imprisonment in 2011.

His offending in Bradford pre-dated the Stoke assaults.

Judge Smith said Khan could have brought those earlier rapes to the attention of the police when he was charged with the Stoke offences “but you chose not to do so”.

He said: “I am satisfied that you do continue to present a risk of committing such offences.”

The judge said that while he was being sentenced for the offences of more than a quarter of a century ago, “there has been further serious offending of a strikingly similar type in the intervening period”.

“You accept only limited responsibility for your actions and there is a continuing lack of genuine insight,” he said.

“Although you are now in your late 50s you may be eligible for release from the sentence I impose in your mid-60s and I am not satisfied today that ordinary licence provisions will protect the public for the appropriate length of time at that point.”

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A second man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a teenager transported from Romania to a Kirkcaldy flat to be forced into prostitution.

Alexandru Lache has finally been brought to justice almost six years after terrifying a vulnerable woman in a Pratt Street flat.

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An 82-year-old man who carried out multiple sex offences against three schoolgirls over a 40-year period has been jailed for 18 years.

Barrie Hall, 82, of St Andrew's Gardens, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to nine offences, including rape and sexual assault.

He targeted his first victim in the 1980s, before resuming his offending three decades later, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

"Your behaviour almost falls outside the boundaries of the English language," Recorder John Hardy KC said. "I have to face the very realistic possibility that you will die in prison."

Hall admitted raping a girl aged under 16, four charges of indecent assault against the same victim and one charge of gross indecency. He also sexually assaulted two girls under 13.

Police became involved in 2024 after a victim made disclosures.

When his home was searched, officers found a blow-up doll and a number of sex toys and sweets.

The court heard Hall had spent many years raising money for cancer charities. However, he had 12 previous convictions for indecent exposure, which ended in 1980.

Impact statements from two of the victims, who cannot be identified, were read to the court.

One said: "You have not got away with what you have done. Now it is time for your nightmare to begin."

Another victim described how she was now frightened to wear a dress or shorts.

Description

A registered sex offender with 99 previous offences has appeared in court for not informing police of his whereabouts.

Paddy Mutch, 37, was jailed in January 2024 for sexually assaulting a woman in Norwich who he had threatened with a knife.

Sentenced to 15 months at Norwich Crown Court he was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard he had been arrested on June 16 after failing to reveal where was living within three days of his release from prison. 

He had just been released after serving an 18 week sentence for similar breaches. 

Mutch pleaded guilty to failure to comply with the notification requirements.

Natasha Baker, mitigating, said he had faced a “revolving door” of short prison sentences because he had been living rough and that police were “well aware of his whereabouts”.  

She said he now had a permanent place to stay and that being sent back to prison would risk treatment needed for facial injuries suffered in a stabbing.

Magistrates told him the “onus is on you to comply with the requirements whether you think the police know where you are or not”. 

They said they had been “just persuaded” to suspend a sentence of 30 days imprisonment for six months by his need for medical treatment. 

“It’s very important that you comply from now on. If you don't, there will be no escaping jail from now on,” they warned. 

A prolific offender, Mutch has 46 previous convictions for 99 offences including thefts, burglary and shoplifting.

His sexual offence came when he visited the home of a woman he knew at 4am in June 2023 and demanded to be let in. 

Once inside he attacked her, pushing her onto the bed and trying to remove her trousers before sexually assaulting her. 

Description

A serving police officer sexually assaulted a member of the public and told her: 'I can get away with it, I'm a PC, no-one will believe you'. Albert Jardine was a PC based in Newcastle when he subjected her to "lewd and disgusting" behaviour.

A court heard he would regularly grab her and thrust against her and on one occasion threw water on her blouse to create a wet T-shirt look. The Northumbria Police officer's behaviour was reported to an inspector at the time and the professional standards department investigated but took no action and Jardine retired on medical grounds soon afterwards.

Decades later, his victim, having seen other historic cases being dealt with, plucked up the courage to report him. Jardine, now a 79-year-old great-grandfather, of Millbrook, Felling, Gateshead, was convicted of indecent assault by a jury and has now been given a suspended prison sentence at Newcastle Crown Court.

Christopher Rose, prosecuting, said: "She described how he would come up behind her, grab her and hold her tight. Others spoke of him doing something like a bear hug. When he did it with her, she could feel he was aroused and he pressed himself up against her.

"He also did it from the front, pressing up against her groin and making thrusting motions as if having sex. He would often make lewd comments and jokes."

The prosecutor added: "When it was investigated at the time, one of the complaints that arose was that the defendant had thrown water at her chest so as to create a wet T-shirt effect. The complainant reported when spoken to by senior officers at the time that the defendant said 'I can get away with it, I'm a PC, no-one will believe you'. It was that impression she had that meant she didn't complain sooner."

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "The actions of Jardine have stayed with me more than 33 years. Despite trying to put it behind me. On a daily basis I see his grinning face in my mind.

"At the time I felt embarrassed and alone." She said she was left wanting answers to questions including: "Why did he treat me like that? Why did the police allow it to happen to me?

"I still feel aggrieved he treated me like he did and the police allowed me to be treated like that."

Jardine was convicted after trial of indecent assault spanning a year in the early 1990s, on the basis there were not less than two separate incidents.

Sentencing him, Judge Julie Clemitson said: "The specific offences have to be seen in the context of your general behaviour towards her, which describes as generally lewd and disgusting, beyond what could be described as acceptable, even then. She said you were quite a nice man if you sat and talked to her but had no respect for her or women generally."

The judge said the offending was reported by another police officer at the time to an inspector and the force's professional standards department investigated but it "came to nothing" and very shortly afterwards he took early retirement due to ill health.

Judge Clemitson said the woman eventually found the courage to come forward after seeing other people report historical cases. She added: "She said she just wanted you to explain yourself, she wanted an answer from you. That she didn't get because you denied it at trial and you deny it still."

She added: "The offences were committed in the context of degrading or humiliating conduct.

"You were working as a serving police officer at the time. Any member of the public was entitled to trust that you would protect them rather than harm them. Instead you violated that trust and risked damaging public trust in the police generally."

Judge Clemitson said it was likely Jardine's behaviour would add to the sense of distrust created by the misbehaviour of other police officers over the years.

She added it is "important victims of this sort of offending feel able to speak out" and that "perpetrators can't hide behind a badge" when they break their oath to protect and serve and that the public can have faith.

Jardine was sentenced to eight months suspended for 18 months and must pay £3,000 towards the cost of the prosecution, at £150 a month.

Andrew Walker, defending, said: "He is embarrassed and ashamed beyond belief after being convicted of an offence of this nature." He added: "He worked all of his life until medical retirement.

"He has not been in trouble before or since. He is a family man with two grown up children, a wife of many years and two grandchildren and a great-grandson. He plays a very important part in the lives of all of those people."

Description

A monk who sexually abused two boys at Ampleforth College has been jailed for seven years. 

Michael James Callaghan, 71, of Moortown, Leeds, also known as Father James, denied 12 counts of indecently assaulting the first victim, with four taking place when the boy was under 16, and one count of sexual assault on the second victim.  

But following a trial at Teesside Crown Court he was found guilty of all counts, and today, 19 June 2025, sentenced to seven years in prison. He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely, which will forbid him from any contact with the victim and from having any unsupervised contact with any person under the age of 16. 

The offences took place at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire, between 1994 and 2013. Callaghan targeted the first boy at Ampleforth between 1994 and 1997. He went on to indecently assault the second boy in 2013. 

The first incidents were reported to North Yorkshire Police in December 2022 and an investigation was launched by our Non-Recent Abuse Investigation Team.  

Callaghan was arrested and interviewed, and despite denying any wrongdoing he was charged. 

The court heard victim impact statements from both men in which the men spoke about the impact Callaghan’s abuse had had on their lives. 

The first victim described how he felt there were two parts to the abuse he suffered at the hands of Callaghan - the sub-conscious effects from before his acknowledgement of what happened, and the devastating impact on his life since then.  

He described how he became withdrawn, stopped taking part in activities he enjoyed, and how it has affected his view of the world and impacted him both financially and mentally.   

He said: “This man knows what he has done, he knows exactly how this will have affected me. He knew what he was doing was wrong – why else would it have had to be a secret?  

He continued: “Yet, when given the opportunity to acknowledge this himself, he chose to continue the abuse by denying it. He chose to leave me, when I was already devastated myself, having to fight for the 14-year-old boy he hand-picked for his own gratification. 

The second victim said: “I looked up to him; I trusted him. And what was the response? He chose to violate my boundaries; first to groom me over a period of time, and then to sexually assault me.”  

He described how he suffers from nightmares, panic attacks, becomes startled if someone unexpectedly touches him, and still has sleepless nights to this day.  

“He chose to prey on me, in full knowledge of how very vulnerable I was. It all leads me to ask: How come? Why? And how obsessed was he with me in particular, or was I one of a larger number of victims?” he said.  

Speaking after the sentencing today, Detective Constable Alison Morris of North Yorkshire Police’s Non-Recent Abuse Investigation Team said: “Not only did Callaghan abuse his position of trust in the most appalling way, taking advantage of vulnerable boys he should have been caring for and protecting, he denied his offences throughout and showed no remorse for the pain and suffering he caused.  

“I want to pay tribute to the incredible bravery of the victims, whose courage and support throughout the investigation were vital in ensuring Callaghan was brought to justice.  I hope today’s outcome brings them some sense of closure. 

“I also want to take this opportunity to reassure any other victims of sexual abuse that the passage of time is no barrier to justice. We are absolutely committed to investigating these offences, no matter when they took place, and specially trained officers are ready to listen, support you, and take action.”