Latest Offenders

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A man has been sentenced for child sex offences after being caught flying a drone over a primary school in Salisbury.

Jeremy Bird, 48, of Coldharbour Lane, Salisbury, appeared at Winchester Crown Court yesterday (28/04) after pleading guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children and recklessly allowing an aircraft to endanger people or property.

He was jailed for 19 months, suspended for two years. He was also made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

On September 13th, 2023, police received a report that a drone had been flown over a primary school within the Salisbury area on several occasions, following the children within the playing fields.

At around the same time, police received a further report from another school within the Salisbury area reporting that when teachers were taking the children out to visit a harvest festival, a man was seen recording the children and trying to chat with them.

The man was seen a short time later in a vehicle appearing to be taking more pictures of the children.

Enquiries by police identified the suspect as Jeremy Bird. He was arrested and searches of his devices found a considerable number of indecent images of unknown children.

He was subsequently charged and convicted.

Complex Crime Investigator Debbie Quayle said:

“I’d like to thank the schools for reporting Jeremy Bird’s behaviour – without their support we would be unaware of the extent of his offending.

“Mr Bird has taken no accountability for his actions and the fear he put into the children when flying his drone near to them to film them.

“He has now been sentenced and has been made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which places limits on his internet use and travel.

“He is also not allowed to own or use a drone and must also allow officers into his address to do checks.

“I hope this investigation also shows that we will not tolerate any person who uses drones in an inappropriate manner, and they will be put before the courts.”

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A 29-year-old man has been jailed for 17 years after he was convicted of multiple child sex offences.

On a number of occasions between April 2023 and June 2023, Klein Chinoda, previously of Wellingborough, sexually abused a girl in Wellingborough.

An investigation was launched, led by specialist officers from Northamptonshire Police’s SOLAR Team, which led to Chinoda’s arrest. He was subsequently charged with seven counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of possessing indecent images of a child, and one count of rape.

Prior to the start of his trial, Chinoda pleaded guilty to all offences except the rape offence which was taken before a jury.

Following a four-day trial at Northampton Crown Court which ended on December 12, Chinoda was found guilty of rape.

He returned to the same court last month (March 20) where he was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Lead investigator - DC Rachel Morrison from the Force’s SOLAR Team said: “I am really pleased with this significant sentence as it sends a strong message that the police and the courts take sexual offences extremely seriously.

“The survivor in this case has been incredibly brave and I hope, with Chinoda safely behind bars, that she can now move forward and learn to enjoy life again. I wish her the very best.”

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This is the moment we arrested a sex attacker less than 90 minutes after he targeted a woman in Brierley Hill.

Arez Omer, 40, had spotted the woman, who was walking home after a night out with friends, as she walked from Hill Street on the night of 8 August last year.

CCTV shows how he followed her before sexually assaulting her before calmly walking away.

The woman called police and was able to give a description of him, which was passed to CCTV operators at Dudley Council who were able to locate him and guide officers to where he was – more than two miles away on King Street in Dudley town centre.

Det Sgt Sian Edwards, from our Public Protection Unit, said:

"This was a terrifying attack on a woman simply going home after a night out with friends in Brierley Hill.

"Omer has preyed on a woman who repeatedly told him to stop and was able to fend him off and call the police.

"There was some excellent teamwork between call handlers, CCTV operators at Dudley Council and Response officers to bring Omer into custody quickly, enabling us to build a really strong case against him and secure his conviction.

"I’d like to pay tribute to the bravery of the woman during and after this awful incident, who we have supported throughout.

"I also hope the prompt actions of our officers in responding to such incidents of violence will give others, no matter the circumstances, the courage to come forward. We are ready to support you and get justice."

Councillor Phil Atkins, cabinet member for development and regulation, said:

“I welcome the court judgement following this shocking and upsetting case, and our thoughts are with the victim of this abhorrent attack.

“I would like to thank the team, who were able to utilise our CCTV to locate footage of the perpetrator within 90 minutes of the attack and support police in finding his location.”

Omer, of Ivanhoe Street, Dudley, appeared before Wolverhampton Crown Court on 4 February where he admitted sexual assault and exposure.

He was remanded in custody and jailed for 33 months on Friday.

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A paedophile who carried an envelope filled with girls’ underwear while attempting to meet a 12-year-old girl he had groomed online has been jailed for four and a half years.

Christopher Webb, 38, of Tilesford, Worcestershire, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court after an undercover police operation.

He began communicating with someone he believed was a 12-year-old girl on social media, sent explicit images of himself, asked for similar images in return, and arranged to meet at Gloucester railway station on 26 March 2025. He made clear his intention to have sex with the child.

Officers arrested him on arrival. He was carrying a black bag containing an envelope of girls’ underwear bearing his home address. Phone searches later confirmed he knew his intended victim was underage, including web searches for “do under 16s need a train ticket?”

Webb pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause or incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity involving penetration, and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

He received concurrent sentences of 10 months, four years and six months, and two years and three months respectively. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Det Con Rich Britton, from West Mercia’s Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team, said:

"We are pleased to put this paedophile behind bars before he could carry out any of his disgusting intentions on an actual child, so this operation was a good result to protect potential victims from his depraved behaviour.

"Webb was caught red-handed, thinking he was speaking online to a girl, and we would warn any other individuals thinking of communicating with a child and attempting to arrange sexual activity like this to be warned it could be the police and you too could be sent to prison."

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A man who exposed himself to multiple women on a London train, breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) handed to him less than two weeks prior has been jailed, following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Ayman Yanoussi, 21, and of St Johns Road in Newham, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday 16 April to 14 months’ imprisonment having previously pleaded guilty to two counts of exposure, breaching his SHPO, and possessing cannabis.

The court heard how on 28 December 2025, at 11.20am, Yanoussi was at Upminster Bridge Underground station sat on a bench on the platform.

A woman who walked up the platform noticed that Yanoussi was sat with his trousers by his ankles while touching himself inappropriately.

She took out her phone to record what he was doing to pass on to police, but he quickly pulled his trousers up and hid behind a pillar. He then boarded a District Line train heading towards Wimbledon.

Not long after he boarded the train, Yanoussi sat next to another woman and pulled his trousers down. After that woman moved away, Yanoussi sat opposite another woman, again exposing himself to her before she moved away.

Yanoussi repeated this behaviour a third time, sitting next to another woman and exposing himself as the train approached Elm Park at which point several of the women who Yanoussi had targeted left the train.

Yanoussi continued to expose himself on different trains across London while occasionally touching himself inappropriately until 12.51pm when a woman reported his behaviour to a member of staff.

The train Yanoussi was on was held at Hammersmith Underground station, and Yanoussi quickly fled the station.

A BTP officer was dispatched to the station and found Yanoussi waiting at a bus stop where he was promptly arrested for exposure. 

After being detained, it emerged that Yanoussi had been handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order less than two weeks earlier after he was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, having pleaded guilty to three counts of Upskirting that occurred in April 2024.

While on the way to custody, Yanoussi began to slam his head against the wall of the custody van stating that he regretted his actions and that he was "taking the L".

BTP Detective Constable Ian Hourihan said:

"Yanoussi's actions that day were despicable. He sought sexual gratification on the railway at the expense of dozens of women and other commuters.

"I am pleased to see him put behind bars, and would like to commend the bravery of the women who came forward to report his actions and support our investigation so we could secure justice. We believe that other women may have been targeted by Yanoussi that day, and I want to encourage them to come forward and report their experiences so we can secure justice for them too.

"If you've witnessed something similar or see any sexual offending on the railway network, I urge you to report it to us by discreetly texting 61016. We take every report seriously, and officers can be dispatched to intercept trains and arrest offenders.”

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A man from Penkridge who sexually assaulted a woman inside a house has been jailed.

Mark Ball, 52, of Penkridge, admitted sexual assault on a female at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to four years at Stafford Crown Court on Monday (27 April).

In March this year, Ball carried out the assault on the survivor.

When it was reported to us, we arrested him straight away and brought him in for questioning. He denied the offence and told us that nothing happened.

Officers worked hard to support the survivor and to build all of the evidence needed to secure the charges against Ball.

When confronted with the evidence, and the bravery of the survivor, he admitted the offence in court.

Detective Constable Jason MacTaggart, from our rape and serious sexual offences unit (RASSO), said:

“The survivor in this case has shown immense courage in coming forward and supporting this investigation, despite Ball’s original attempts to deny anything happened.

“We are working tirelessly every single day in Staffordshire to act robustly against sex offenders and to support survivors as much as possible.”

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A Hampshire man has been jailed after a violent two-year campaign of abuse against a woman in her twenties.

Ben Siddle, 27, of Willow Park, Havant, was convicted of three counts of assault by penetration, three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), two counts of assault by beating, witness intimidation and criminal damage.

He was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 17 April to 18 years’ imprisonment, with a five-year extension period. He was also given a restraining order and placed on the sex offender register indefinitely.

Siddle carried out the offences between August 2021 and October 2023. In the most recent attack in Denmead, he punched and kicked the victim while she was on the floor wearing steel toe cap boots, threw a diffuser at her, bit her arm, grabbed her neck, poured its contents onto her face causing burns, sent abusive messages and threw her phone against the wall, damaging the wall and fireplace. He then sexually assaulted her.

After the attack, he tried to pressure her into withdrawing her police statement by urging her to change her account.

Detective Constable Gemma Hodgkinson of Winchester CID praised the victim’s bravery, saying: 

"Ben Siddle’s behaviour was abhorrent, and his actions left the victim living in fear for more than two years.

"I would like to commend the victim for coming forward to secure justice and to ensure that Siddle is off the streets and unable to treat other women this way.

"The woman was resilient and brave throughout the whole investigation, including the trial, and I hope this significant sentence allows her to try and move forward with her life.

"I hope this also encourages victims of similar offences to report to us and seek support.

"You will be believed and we will always carry out a thorough investigation to ensure offenders face the consequences of their actions."

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Sex offender back behind bars for second SHPO breach

A sex offender is back in prison after breaching his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for a second time.

Darren Bennett, 47, of Town Hill, Warrington, was convicted at Crewe Magistrates’ Court of two breaches on 27 February.

He was caught in possession of a device capable of storing digital images and failed to provide police access for inspection. He also failed, without reasonable excuse, to notify Cheshire Police within three days that he had acquired a device capable of accessing the internet, providing its make, model and serial number.

Bennett initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea on the day of trial and admitted both offences. Magistrates said the case had crossed the custody threshold because of his “flagrant disregard for court orders”. They jailed him for six months immediately and ordered him to pay a £154 victim surcharge. His SHPO will continue.

The order was imposed last April when Bennett was given a 21-month suspended sentence for attempted sexual communications with a child and attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity.

Chester Crown Court heard he had spent more than two weeks chatting online with someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl — in fact an adult decoy — telling her she was ‘sexy’, asking what size her breasts were, how he could please her and about her sexual history. He sent her photos of his penis and asked for naked images, admitting the communications were “for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification”.

Just days after being spared jail, Bennett breached the SHPO by hiding in the bathroom of a property where a child lived. He was jailed for 18 months in July. Police had visited him shortly afterwards to remind him of the order, but he returned to the address.

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A 29 year old man from Lowestoft has been jailed after committing a string of offences inciting children into sexual activity.

Owen Trevallion (pictured below) of Ailmar Close in the town was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday 23 April after he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and he was jailed for six years.

In January 2026 officers arrested Trevallion for breach of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) that is in place until November 2030 and upon his arrest he produced two mobile phones. When one phone was analysed by officers they identified extensive messages to young female children, all of a sexual nature. He was posing as a female and asking the children for sexual or nude images. Indecent images of children were also found on his phone.

Further enquiries established two female children were the victims of Trevallion’s behaviour. Further examination of his phone established Trevallion had various applications on his phone that were in breach of his SHPO.

In total he pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, two counts of inciting two separate girls to engage in sexual activity, one count of threatening to share photographs or film of a person in an intimate state and four counts of breaching a SHPO.

Investigating officer DC Matt Fox said:

“This is a pleasing sentence for a man who pretended to be a teenage girl to target children via social media for his own devious sexual pleasure. I would encourage parents to routinely monitor their child’s access to social media and who they are communicating with online.”

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A “devious and manipulative” paedophile who told a 12-year-old girl with learning difficulties to advertise herself online for sex — complete with a recommended price list — has been jailed for nine years.

Stephen McLean, 25, from Sunderland, met the vulnerable North Tyneside girl online and messaged her for nearly a year. He demanded indecent images of her performing sex acts, suggested she abuse other children, and instructed her to offer “sexual services for payment” to other paedophiles, with the money paid into his bank account.

He even supplied a price list ranging from pictures of “whatever they want” to “no limit” encounters where they could “do whatever”, Newcastle Crown Court heard. McLean arranged several meetings with her for sex, but she cancelled each time.

He was also caught by a police decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl on the Chatib chatroom, where he quickly began asking for sexual images and sent her naked pictures of himself. His username meant “horny for younger girls”.

McLean admitted more than 20 offences, including sexual exploitation of a child and encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity. Police found he had sent images and videos to other abusers and possessed about 500 indecent images and videos of children aged three to 16, including 224 in the most serious category. He also breached an interim sexual risk order by failing to disclose his devices, usernames and bank accounts.

Judge Robert Spragg told the court that what McLean put the “very vulnerable little girl through” was “horrific”. He described it as “heartbreaking” to hear her mother’s victim impact statement.

The girl’s mother said her daughter was a “lovely, beautiful young girl” but “easily led”. She said McLean was “devious and manipulative” and had targeted her daughter online “where [she] could not possibly have protected her”.

The judge called McLean a predator who exploited girls for his “own personal gain” with “total disregard for their well-being”.

McLean will serve an extra five years on extended licence after his release.

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A man from Swansea has been jailed after a jury found him guilty of rape.

41-year-old Abdul Shahid, from Sketty, falsely gave his victim the impression that he was an Uber driver when he picked her up in Swansea city centre. Instead, he drove her through dark roads before stopping at a car park, where he went on to rape her.

After pleading not guilty to all charges, Shahid was found guilty of two counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

He has today been sentenced to an extended 18 years in prison.

Detective Constable Claire Davies said:

“I would like to thank the victim in this case for coming forward and for being courageous throughout the process of this investigation. Because of her, we have been able to convict a man who is clearly a threat to women. I can only hope that this helps her to move on from this in a more positive way and gain some form of closure.

“During the trial, Abdul Shahid did not show any remorse for his actions and even tried to blame the victim for what he did. The victim was simply trying to get home and put her trust in what she thought was an Uber driver.

“If you are the victim of a sexual offence, we urge you to report it to the police as soon as possible. You will be supported, and officers will treat all reports with sensitivity and professionalism.”

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We have today, Monday 27 April, welcomed the sentencing of a Wirral man for rape.

Ross Fyles, 28, of The Woodlands, Tranmere, was found guilty of three counts of rape, two counts of s47 assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an imitation firearm and stalking with fear of violence following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Today he was jailed for a total of 16 years with an additional three years on extended licence.

Detective Constable Patrick Shaw said:

“Fyles denied the allegations but was found guilty by a jury following trial.

“His actions have had a considerable impact on his victim and it is right that he is now behind bars for a considerable amount of time as a result.

“I would like to take this opportunity to praise the victim for her bravery and resilience throughout the investigation and court process.

“We would always encourage anyone who has been a victim of a sexual offence to have the courage to come forward and speak to us.

“We have specially trained officers and will provide all the necessary support throughout the investigation, court process and beyond.”

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A former Dudley councillor has been jailed for 32 months after admitting four sexual offences involving children in an online police sting.

Adrian Hughes, 36, of Marsh Lane, Preston, was caught by officers who posed as two girls – “Lucy”, 13, and “Molly”, 12 – on the platforms IB and Kick between May and June 2025.

Despite no real victims, Recorder A Siddiqi told Preston Crown Court on April 24: “You thought you were messaging 12 and 13-year-olds, you could have done a great deal of harm. Unacceptable does not capture how appalling your behaviour was; immediate custody was inevitable.”

Hughes, a Labour councillor in Dudley from 2022 to 2024, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a girl under 13 into non-penetrative sexual activity, the same offence with a girl aged 13–15, and attempting sexual communication with a child in both age groups.

He contacted “Lucy” first, asked for pictures, complimented her “amazing body” and sent explicit messages. He then messaged “Molly”, asked her to remove her hoodie, briefly broke off contact after noting she was “too young”, but later sent images of himself in underwear and of his genitals.

He was arrested on 23 June 2025.

Defence lawyer Georgia Faulke said Hughes was previously of good character and the offences occurred over a short period while he was suffering mental health difficulties, isolation and self-medicating with cocaine, cannabis and alcohol. He has since stopped taking drugs and dramatically reduced his drinking.

“It was a period of isolation, he wanted support from someone, someone to talk to,” Miss Faulke told the court. “It stems from mental health difficulties he was going through at the time.”

Recorder Siddiqi imposed 32 months’ imprisonment for the incitement offence and concurrent terms of 12, 15 and 12 months for the others. She noted as aggravating that Hughes had deleted some chats to conceal evidence.

He was also made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and indefinite notification requirements.

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A Rugby man has been jailed for seven and a half years after admitting raping and drugging a woman.

A woman in her 20s was out in Warwick on 21 July 2023 when she was approached by an unknown man.

The man – Connor Ratcliffe – plied her with drugs and alcohol over the course of the evening before carrying out what a judge described as “a sequence of predatory acts” that culminated in him raping her in a secluded car park.

Officers soon arrested 30-year-old Ratcliffe, who was later charged with two counts of rape and supplying a controlled drug of class A – cocaine.

Despite initially denying the offences, he eventually changed his plea at a hearing in March.

Appearing at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday (23 April), he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for the rape and six months for the drug offence to run concurrently. 

Ratcliffe, of Yates Avenue, was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Detective Constable Sacha Bury said:

“This has been very traumatic for the victim who has shown immense bravery since the outset.  

“Her life has been hugely impacted by what happened, but I hope knowing Ratcliffe is now behind bars will provide some comfort as she tries to come to terms with it all.

“I hope his conviction also reassures other victims of sexual offences and gives them the confidence to report their ordeal knowing they will be listened to and supported. We will always investigate and do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.” 

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A registered sex offender has been jailed after he admitted sexually assaulting a young girl in Kirklees and voyeurism offences.  

Andrew Garbutt, also known as Samuel Little, aged 42, of Wentworth Road, Bridlington was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court today (27 April), after admitting four sexual offences.  

He was given an extended sentence of 11 years and three months for one count of sexual assault on a child between May and August 2023, two counts of possession of indecent photos of a child, and one count of voyeurism.  

He will serve six years and three months in jail and the rest on licence. He was also made to sign the sex offenders register for life and given a sexual harm prevention order.

Garbutt’s offending came to light in August 2023 after the sexual assault victim made disclosures to her family who then contacted Kirklees Police.  

The 42-year-old was arrested on 1 September and Kirklees safeguarding officers began a lengthy and complex enquiry into the reported offending.  

As part of the investigation, his devices were seized with officers finding indecent images of a child and a covert recording of an unidentified woman.

Garbutt was charged in July 2024 and first appeared before magistrates on 25 July. He admitted his guilt in a court hearing earlier this year.  

DC Emily Brattan of the Kirklees Child Safeguarding Unit, said:

“Andrew Garbutt undoubtedly poses a danger to young children and we welcome his sentencing for these offences.  

“I wish to commend the bravery of the young girl in disclosing Garbutt’s actions to her family and their courage in coming forwards to report his offending and support the investigation. “  

“We do realise just how difficult it can be to report being a victim of sexual abuse or disclosing offending on the behalf of a young person.    

“All reports are investigated by specially trained detectives who can also help victims access specialist services from partners that they may need.”