Latest Offenders

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A CONVICTED paedophile was caught staying with a Barrow mum and her children, a court heard.

Aaron Pollard was jailed for 27 months at Swansea Crown Court in March 2019 for sexually assaulting an underage girl after plying her with alcohol and cannabis.

The 28-year-old admitted breaching the terms of his ten-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and for failing to comply with notification requirements.

Prosecutor Ellie McManus told Preston Crown Court Pollard had been in regular contact with the mother’s young daughter in Barrow this year.

She said the defendant shouted to the mother: ‘You do not know me, you have never seen me before babe’, as he was arrested.

The court heard Pollard had been in a sexual relationship with the mother after originally communicating via Snapchat.

Ms McManus told the court the defendant was homeless and that he would either sleep on the streets or in his car.

She said the defendant would stay at the woman’s address for a few hours but never overnight and that he had contact with her daughter regularly on a daily basis.

The court heard Pollard was also at a party where girls aged between seven and ten-years-old were present.

Ms McManus added he would drive her daughter to school on occasions while she was in the car and that he would make attempts to avoid the police in Barrow.  

She said Pollard had failed to inform the mother that he was a registered sex offender.

The prosecution said the victim was ‘shocked’ and ‘upset’ when discovering who the defendant was.

A police inquiry was launched after Pollard was arrested outside McDonald’s on Dalton Road on May 2 this year for being drunk and disorderly, the court heard.

Officers attended his registered mother’s address who revealed her son had not been at the address address since April 19 this year.

In mitigation, Emma Keogh said her client’s offending began after Christmas last year after the breakdown of a relationship where his son was taken into the care of social services.

Ms Keogh said: “He turned to alcohol as a clutch and his behaviour worsened.

“He began speaking with another woman online and their relationship progressed quickly. He found himself in Barrow with no money and unable to get back to Swansea because his car had broken down.

“He knows he should have gone to the police and told them about the situation, but he buried his head in the sand.

“He regrets his actions and has already had three months in custody to reflect on the ramifications.

“His mother is now very ill and requires the help and assistance from her son. He very much wants to be rehabilitated.

"I urge you to consider suspending the sentence of imprisonment today.

However, His Honour Judge Graham Knowles said he was left with no other option but to jail Pollard for 18 months.

Passing sentence, Judge Knowles said: “In cases similar to this, women sometimes know of a man’s history, but in this case you did not tell her the truth at all.

"You deceived the mother and her four children. You were present in her house more than you care to admit.”

“You are deemed to pose a high risk of reoffending and you are deemed to be of serious harm to the public.

"This was clearly a persistent breach. I cannot say there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, nor do you have particularly strong personal mitigation.

“The reality is, this is clearly a case where appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”

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An online sex offender has been jailed after downloading and sharing hundreds of ‘horrific’ child sexual abuse images.

Paul Smith, aged 41, came to the attention of Nottinghamshire Police when his IP address was linked to illicit images and videos stored on an online file sharing site.

When he was arrested in February 2022, Smith admitted to using the site to access images of adults, but also made voluntary reference to ‘child porn’ – saying that he made a point of instantly deleting any such images.

Officers then began a more detailed search of his then home address in  Grimston Road, Radford, and seized electronic devices.

Forensic examination of his mobile phone confirmed his use of the file sharing site and uncovered multiple prohibited images.

It also contained a damning history from use of an online chat application in which he shared and viewed hundreds of links to images and videos featuring children and babies.

Most of the images were graded as Category A – depicting the most serious sexual abuse of children by adults.

Smith, of Radford, initially denied any wrongdoing but later pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing indecent images of children and three counts of making indecent photographs of children.

He also admitted to possessing a prohibited image of a child, and possessing an extreme pornographic image of an animal.

Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday (29 July) he was given a seven year extended prison sentence and added to the sex offenders’ register for life.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order that will tightly restrict his access to children and the internet once he is released.

Description

A convicted sex offender made a bomb threat to the police after he breached an order preventing him from having unmonitored access to the internet. He told a 999 operative: "If I light this I don't have to go to court and I don't have to go to prison."

Kynon Crisp, 18, of Cardiff, made a 999 call on June 16 and told the operator a friend had made a "canister bomb" which he was going to ignite. The defendant said: "My mate is good at explosives and he's made me a canister bomb and I am tempted to light this. He told me to put it under the gas line which will make the gas explode, kill me, and blow up the flat."

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard Crisp told the operator the bomb would "go bang" when heated and said: "If I light this I don't have to go to court and I don't have to go to prison."

Police attended the defendant's home in Tudor Street, Riverside, where they found a block of deodorant cans tied to each other and covered in wax. Crisp was arrested and taken into police custody.

Prosecutor Alice Sykes said the defendant was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years after he was convicted of sexual assault and voyeurism. Prior to the bomb hoax incident Crisp had attended Cardiff Bay police station as part of his conditions but was found to have downloaded a VPN on a new phone in order to mask his IP address and watch pornography.

Crisp later pleaded guilty to making a bomb hoax and breaching a sexual harm prevention order. In mitigation Ruth Smith said her client was a "complex individual" with learning difficulties and had the understanding of a 12-year-old. She said the defendant had a difficult start in life and was placed into care at the age of nine years old.

Judge Daniel Williams sentenced Crisp to a total of six months imprisonment. The defendant will serve half the sentence in custody before he is released to serve the remainder on licence.

Description

A paedophile sent videos of himself performing a sex act to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl – but he was speaking to an undercover member of the police force. He also asked the decoy for naked images of herself.

Hywell Hardman, 31, of Bridgend, sent messages to the decoy on Snapchat between February 8 and 13 this year using an account with a false name. He claimed to be 17 years old and the decoy told him she was just 13.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Thursday heard the defendant asked the decoy for a picture and an image of a girl aged about 13 was sent back. He said he would like to see more photos of her while she was in school and asked her about the colour of her underwear.

Prosecutor Matthew Comer said Hardman asked the decoy for naked pictures and to send intimate images of herself. He sent photographs and videos of himself which included his penis and of him performing a sex act. The language used was sexual in nature.

Hardman, of Stormy Down, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause/incite a child to watch an image of sexual activity. The court heard he was of previous good character.

In mitigation Ruth Smith said her client left school with no qualifications and had had difficulty in the past with bullying. He was in a relationship when he carried out the offences and is a father-of-two who now only has supervised contact with his children.

Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams said the offences were "too serious to be dealt with by anything other than an immediate custodial sentence". Hardman was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and was made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

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A Hastings man who raped a vulnerable woman has been jailed for ten years.

Nathan Ackerley, 28, of School Road in Hastings, raped a woman as she slept after taking her back to his home in October, 2021.

She woke up during the attack, in which he had cut her clothing, managed to escape and came directly to a police station to report the crime.

While she was supported by specialist officers, Ackerley was located and arrested on suspicion of rape.

A search of his phone found he had taken pictures of the victim while she was asleep.

He was subsequently charged with rape, sexual assault by touching, sexual assault by penetration and voyeurism.

On Friday, 19 July, he was convicted of all charges and the following Monday – 22 July – he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, with a minimum period of two thirds.

He was also given a restraining order against the victim and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

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A foot fetishist and serial sex offender breached a court order just a month after being released from prison.

Luke Merry, 30, was jailed for 18 months in 2019 after Leeds Crown Court heard he how he had committed two charges of sexual assault on a child under 13 and one offence of voyeurism at a Vue cinema.

He had also previously been convicted of outraging public decency by sitting under a desk that was being used by a female and performing a sex act and performing a sex act while looking at images of women's feet.

On Tuesday, Sheffield Crown Court heard how Merry, of Lakeside Boulevard, Lakeside, Doncaster, was released from his last sentence in December last year and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which he breached in January. Prosecutor Richard Sheldon said it was then that he "disclosed he had a laptop and produced a phone and gaming computer.

"In February 2024, he failed to notify the police with a change of address and accepted a conditional caution and agreed to take a polygraph test. The police visited him to check the internet enabled devices and he handed over a number. He was asked about hard drives as the officers could see them in a drawer."

Officers, the court heard, recorded Merry having 17 internet enabled devices. Only three of those were registered. A phone was also found to have Snapchat on, with a username of lukemerry93 on the application. There was also 366 items - including emails - in a deleted folder on the phone. Merry was prohibited from deleting any internet history.

Cheryl Dudley, mitigating, told the court "a lot of information" had been handed to the court, including a psychiatric report and pre-sentence report. She said the probation service required Merry to have a formal assessment for autism and he had been recalled to prison and then remanded into custody since April this year.

Ms Dudley added: "There is room for rehabilitation and the opportunity for rehabilitation that could be grasped...There are factors that support the conclusion that he has autism." The court heard Merry had admitted failing to comply with notification requirements, breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and deleting internet history.

His Honour Judge Reeds KC jailed Merry for 14 months and told him: "You were not long out of prison when you breached your Sexual Harm Prevention Order and notification requirements.

"You were cautioned in February 2024 about being in breach of those requirements. That was a warning but you nevertheless continued to ignore the requirements of that order. You knew what you must not do. It was written down for you and you did it any way."

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Nigel Reeson, 58, began sexually assaulting the young girl in 1994, with the abuse taking place on regular occasions until the early 2000s.

Cambs police said Reeson sexually touched the girl on multiple occasions, including one instance when he got into a bath with her.

In 2010, Reeson sexually assaulted another girl at her home.

A force spokesperson explained: “Last year the victims reported what had happened and Reeson was arrested at his home in Abbots Drive, Crowland, near Peterborough.

“He admitted six counts of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 14, inciting a girl under 16 years of age to commit an act of gross indecency and assaulting a girl by touching.”

On Friday, July 26, at Cambridge Crown Court he was jailed for three years and eight months.

DC Anna-Mae Dawson commented: “Reeson subjected the first victim to a prolonged period of awful abuse, before assaulting another girl.

“I’d like to commend the victims for the strength they showed in reporting what had happened. Once again, this case shows that time is not a barrier to bringing perpetrators of abuse to justice. If you’ve been a victim of abuse, I’d encourage you to report what happened.”

Description

A former secondary school teacher who admitted downloading hundreds of indecent photos and videos of children performing sex acts has been handed a suspended sentence.

Joshua Pope, of Lancaster Gardens, Plymouth, pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on June 11 to three charges - namely making indecent photos of children of category A, B and C, with A being the most serious and depraved.

The prosecutor told Plymouth Crown Court today how police received information that a Dropbox account linked to 26-year-old Pope was associated with images of child sexual abuse. On March 8, 2023 police attended his home, Pope was arrested and a number of electronic devices were seized including an Apple iPhone, a second iPhone, a hard drive and an Apple Mac Pro with a damaged screen.

The court was told investigators found 276 images of Category A - with 210 being moving images. They also found 214 Category B images, of which 127 were moving and 296 Category C with 25 moving images. Police found images were downloaded over a period of many years up until March 5, 2023.

During police interview Pope claimed he had "stumbled" onto the photos "by accident" and then had immediately deleted them, but over the last two years he had begun to click on links he knew he could find indecent images of children. Pope insisted to police he had "no sexual interest in children" and the images had been downloaded "out of boredom and loneliness" and that he had "felt desensitised to it". He also accepted he had downloaded more vile material just a week before his arrest.

At his second police interview on November 30, 2023 following further investigation he accepted the accounts were his and while he did not think he had stored any of the images he accepted they were on his account.

The court heard the 27-year-old had no previous convictions or cautions to his name and was effectively of good character.

In mitigation, his advocate Ed Bailey said the knock on the door by the police had been an "wake up call" and that his clients "obsession for searching for indecent images of children had got way out of control, especially during the isolation of the pandemic". He said that Pope felt "relieved that he had been finally been caught and his secret was out in the open" and that he had been "able to deal with his sense of shame upon his family finding out".

Mr Bailey said that Pope had "immediately lost his job which was a decent one as a secondary school teacher". Mr Bailey said his client took voluntary steps, paying for six month's one-to-one therapy an engaged with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and the Stop It Now organisation in an attempt to address his underlying predilection in viewing "this type of material".

Mr Bailey said while his client has denied a sexual interest in children, he said the judge would recognise this as a "familiar feature with offenders of this nature" and he would be working on this.

He said Pope had now secured new employment as a "self-employed journalist and copywriter".

Judge Peter Johnson told Pope the reason some of the types of imagery he was found in possession of was read out - such as children being sexually penetrated - was for the 26-year-old to appreciate "exactly what it is you have been doing".

He told Pope: "You have been a party to the sexual abuse of children by creating the demand which leads to these children being abused. It causes them long term harm, not only physical for screamingly obvious reasons but also psychological. It affects their mental health massively. It affects their ability to form relationships. In short, the damage is enduring and is generally permanent".

Judge Johnson KC told Pope any doubts he had about this damage would be "dispelled" over the next two years as he participated in an accredited programme.

Taking into account the aggravating and mitigating factors and the sentencing guidelines, Judge Johnson noted how Pope had lost his job as a schoolteacher which he had spent some time training for, adding that there was "no doubt the public would say 'quite right too'."

He handed Pope a eight month jail sentence, suspended for two years, saying there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. He ordered him to be under a supervision requirement for two years and attend an accredited sex offender programme lasting 42 days which would require him to look "deep inside your soul" and take steps to ensure he never became involved in this offence again.

He also ordered Pope to complete up to 15 Rehabilitation Acrtivity Requirement days and carry out 100 hours unpaid work. Judge Johnson also approved an application for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting 10 years and said Pope would be informed by the Disclosure and Barring Service that he would be barred from working in future with children and vulnerable adults.

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Two men have been sentenced as part of a long-running investigation into the sexual abuse and trafficking of girls in West Yorkshire.

Ebrahim Pandor was jailed for six years for trafficking a girl when she was aged 13.

Another man, Amjad Hussain, was jailed for 10 years in his absence for raping the same girl when she was 18. West Yorkshire Police said efforts to locate Hussain were continuing.

The sentences meant 28 men in total had been jailed as part of Operation Tourway, police said.

The operation has been investigating the sexual abuse and trafficking of eight females in north Kirklees between 1999 and 2012.

Pandor, 44, of Highdale Road and Hussain, 45, of Lee Street, Ravensthorpe were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court earlier.

Police said as part of the operation, jail terms totalling almost 400 years had been given out to the 28 men.

The force said during trials, jurors had "heard repeated stories about how vulnerable victims were targeted and groomed by their abusers who treated them almost as commodities".

Speaking about Hussain, Det Ch Insp Oliver Coates said: “Clearly it is a matter of regret that Hussain was sentenced in his absence today and inquiries do continue to locate this convicted sex offender.

“Officers have been working with partner agencies to locate him and are keeping an open mind as to his whereabouts."

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A teaching assistant from Plymouth has been jailed after he admitted sexual activity - and filming it - with an underage girl. During the hearing, held at Bristol Crown Court, it was revealed how Callum Leech, of Kingsland Garden Close in Plymouth, met the girl via the social media site Snapchat when he was 21 years old and she was 14, but he claimed he was a teenager too.

The Crown Prosecution Service told prosecutor how the now 24-year-old Leech pleaded guilty in March this year to four offences - three of sexual activity with a child and one of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

In addition, Leech admitted three offences of making indecent images of a child - the girl he had targeted - and three further offences of making indecent images of a separate child aged between 12 and 13 years old. The court heard that the images included still images and videos ranging from Category A - the most serious - through to Category C.

The prosecutor told Judge James Patrick the victim in the case was considered to have vulnerabilities and that her father became aware of the "relationship" in December 2020 where Leech claimed he was 16.

In January 2021, a multi-agency strategy meeting was held as his own employer - a primary school - became concerned about a potential "inappropriate sexual relationship" with the girl. At that point he denied the relationship was sexual.

Police and social workers met with the girl but she also denied any sexual element to their relationship.

Leech was arrested in February 2021 and during interview he denied it was a sexual relationship and that he met her through Snapchat when she was 14. His laptop and mobile phone was seized but he refused to offer passwords to access them.

He was made subject of a child abduction warning notice on release and on February 4, 2021 the investigating officer spoke with the girl at her school and she revealed that Leech had bought her a new mobile phone and there was a "significant" amount of contact recorded on it between them.

Police later discovered that over the next six months there were thousands of pages of messages between Leech and the girl, including her efforts to end their relationship but with him talking her out of it, making claims that he would harm himself.

In June 2021 he was arrested again and offered no comment to all questions about the messages as well as the images and videos of Leech and his victim engaging in sexual activity on a phone seized by police.

Investigators also learned he had engaged with other young girls on Snapchat using "overfamiliar language" and a what the prosecution said was a "real sexual interest in underaged girls". A search of his bedroom in June 2021 revealed photos of children in school uniform aged between nine years and 10 years old.

The court heard this was the same age group as the children he was in contact with as a Teaching Assistant. The prosecutor said police also found notes, which were effectively "love letters" between Leech and his victim, where there was frequent use of the word "Daddy".

In parallel, one of the victim's teachers confiscated the phone and saw lots of notifications from Leech around the time he was arrested and re-interviewed. She shared her concerns with fellow staff members.

The prosecutor noted how the girl herself had a number of real vulnerabilities and had been allocated a base worker to support her as there were concerns she was at risk of sexual exploitation. While the girl was not initially keen to engage at that time, when she turned 18 in early 2024 she came forward and revealed the extent of the abuse she had suffered.

She admitted that they had met frequently after she was 14 and that he would buy her chocolates and flowers and message her repeatedly. She told police she now realised she was "bombarded" by him and admitted that they would meet after school. She revealed he did not tell her the reason for his arrest and confirmed that they would have sexual activity "pretty much every time they met".

The court heard that a number of the images and videos seized from Leech were of him engaging in sex with his victim or of them engaging in sexual activity online.

The prosecutor noted that Leech had no previous convictions.

In mitigation, Leech's legal advocate explained that his client was a young man with his own vulnerabilities and that during the long wait for the case to come to court had self harmed.

Judge Patrick noted a pre-sentence report and a psychiatrist's report and guidelines on sentencing young persons. He noted Leech's "highly disadvantaged early development" and how he had developed an "attachment disorder" as a result.

He acknowledged the timeline of the incidents and how Leech had breached the trust of the girl despite being fully aware of the importance of protecting her, thanks to his role as a teaching assistant. He noted that Leech did not only film the sexual activity, but retained the footage. He also noted how Leech had lied to the authorities about the true nature of his relationship with the girl and that he did not stop continuing to contact her even when she told him her mental health was suffering and even went on to contact other girls who were under the age of 16.

He accepted Leech's advocate's point that this was not a "pseudo-rape" case, but that there was grooming and filming and Leech had tried to conceal evidence.

Judge Patrick said he believe Leech was "more susceptible to offending" due to his background and the attachment issues he had "suffered" made him "less able to control" himself and forge appropriate relationships, but the background to all this was "you knew that what you were doing was wrong", having "groomed her", as well as lied to her and his parents about his age.

Having noted the mitigating and aggravating factors, as well as the reports, the delay in the court case and sentencing guidelines, Judge Patrick passed a sentence of 44 months.

He said Leech would serve half before being released on licence and he would be placed on the Sex Offenders' register for life. In addition he would be barred from working with children and vulnerable young adults for life, and would be subject of a restraining order and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further notice.

Description

A woman cried "I love yous all" as she was locked up for sexually abusing a teenage girl. Lucy Wilding targeted her victim over the course of several months after grooming her on Snapchat.

This included sending her a "manipulative" video, in which she asked the youngster to "be her girlfriend" by spelling these words out in love hearts. The 20-year-old then engaged in sex acts with the teenager on dozens of occasions.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Monday, that Wilding was aged 18 when she initially met the complainant in Liverpool city centre in early 2023. The two thereafter began exchanging messages over Snapchat and began meeting up with one another in the spring.

Steven Ball, prosecuting, described how this progressed to the 14-year-old girl staying overnight at the then 19-year-old defendant's home, sleeping in the same bed together. This led to Wilding, of Southey Street in Bootle, touching the teen sexually on at least 20 occasions, with the victim reciprocating these acts on at least four occasions.

She was said to have known the victim's age "from the outset", but "would tell other people that she was 17 so they would not get into trouble". The sex offender also sent the girl a "quite manipulative" video on one occasion in a clip showing balloons and love hearts spelling out words on the floor "asking her to be her girlfriend".

The child's mum became aware of their relationship during the summer of 2023 and warned Wilding to cease her contact. But the mother informed the police around a month later when she continued to contact her daughter "using fake social media accounts".

Under interview, she claimed that she "thought she was 16". But messages recovered from her phone showed that Wilding, who has no previous convictions, had sent messages to the girl's mum "apologising for the stress and drama caused" and "acknowledging she knew it was wrong, but also reassuring her that she would wait until she was 16".

Stuart Nolan, defending, told the court: "These are very serious matters, and the court will be concerned with them. She is a woman of hitherto good character.

"She still works at a company in Merseyside, Makro. They are aware of the circumstances of this hearing. The indications are that she is well liked there, and she intends to work there as soon as she possibly can.

"She is clearly well thought of by her family and friends. She has previously required the assistance of medical practitioners for anxiety and depression. She understands the gravity of what went on. This is a young woman who is obviously terrified at the prospect of jail."

Wilding, who appeared to be in tears at times during the hearing, admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child and two charges of inciting sexual activity with a child. Wearing a navy blue suit and tie over a white shirt in the dock, she was jailed for 18 months.

Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "She was a child. While you yourself were relatively young, you were an adult. You should have stopped and you should not have carried on seeing her, but you did.

"She stayed over on many, many occasions at your address. During this period of time, you engaged in sexual activity with her. Unlike her, you were aware that it was wrong. You knew full well that she was underage.

"You have never been before the courts before. It is a great shame to find a woman such as you, who has a number of positive attributes, in the dock in a crown court facing serious sexual allegations.

"I take into account your lack of maturity, but this was not just a one off incident. This was a number of times with a number of offences over a number of months.

"The number of people supporting you today shows you are well viewed by those who care for you and love you and someone who, at the start of your adult life, does have a positive future ahead of you. You are someone who, in the past, has struggled with your mental health.

"The fact is that you, as an adult, should have controlled your behaviour and you failed to do so. Anybody involved in sexual activity with a child will be viewed gravely by these courts.

"The law is in place to protect minors, sometimes from their own actions. You, as an adult, knew it was wrong. In this case, you do present a risk to the public. In this case, in my judgement, appropriate punishment can only be achieved by an immediate custodial sentence."

Wilding was also handed a sexual harm prevention order, a notification requirement and a restraining order - all lasting 10 years. She turned to the public gallery and said "I love yous all" to her sobbing supporters as she was led down to the cells.

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 A JUDGE described this man as a “significant risk” to young boys in the community as she jailed him for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old on a bus.

Matthew Gilbert, 39, of Water Street in Pembroke Dock, was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to sexual assault.

“You knew that this was clearly wrong,” said Judge Catherine Richards, sentencing Gilbert.

“You are a significant risk in the community to young boys.” 

 Prosecutor Craig Jones told Swansea Crown Court that Gilbert boarded a bus at Pembroke Dock on the morning of September 28 last year.

He headed to the back of the bus, where a 17-year-old was sat. The teenager put his feet up –indicating he wanted to be left alone – but Gilbert sat opposite him, before immediately starting to talk to him.

Gilbert asked the teenager how much money it would take for him to do a sexual act with a man, before then moving closer to him.

“The defendant covers the aisle position and hems him in,” Mr Jones said.

He asked the teenager his age, to which he said he was 15. Gilbert replied that was fine and offered him £40 to do a sexual act with him. He then upped this to £100, Mr Jones said.

Gilbert moved next to the teenager and put his hand on his thigh, before kissing him on the cheek. He then asked him to get off the bus at Johnston with him and “find a public toilet”, Mr Jones said. 

 When the bus stopped, Gilbert got off, but the teenager remained on the bus and the police were called.

The defendant was arrested that day whilst visiting his mum in hospital. He told officers: “Since mum has been in here I’ve been doing stupid things again.” 

 The court heard that he had a previous conviction from October 2023 for exposure, where he was seen masturbating behind a glazed front door in Pembroke Dock, whilst he was also convicted for malicious communications in June after making unwanted sexual comments in phone calls to the fire station.

Ryan Bowen, in mitigation, said: “He acknowledges his convictions are recent and for offences of a sexual nature.

“He has led the majority of his life without appearing before the court.

“Plainly this is someone with underlying issues.

“He’s deemed to possess a lower cognitive function.

“His sexual preoccupation appears to be exacerbated by boredom and a lack of routine.”

The defendant was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years, and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. 

Description

A former professional footballer who admitted the serious sexual assault of a child and possession of thousands of indecent images of children has been jailed for four years.

Ian Heddle, 61, originally from Dunfermline, was charged after being caught with more than 270,000 indecent photos and videos.

A police investigation led to him being further charged with the sexual assault of a child, believed to be aged about eight, in Thailand.

Heddle was a midfielder for a number of Scottish clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including St Johnstone and Dunfermline Athletic.

The High Court in Glasgow previously heard he was arrested at Edinburgh Airport last year as he prepared to fly to his home in Thailand.

He had been linked to the viewing and uploading of child abuse material from the web at a property he used in Scotland when was not in the Far East.

Judge John McCormick noted that Heddle, who was staying in Dunfermline at the time of his arrest, was a first offender but said he was satisfied an extended sentence had to be imposed.

As well as the jail term, Heddle will be supervised for a further two years on his release and will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Heddle's KC, Brian McConnachie, had told the judge that his client had a "willingness to seek treatment".

The advocate added an organisation Heddle had been dealing with described him as "wrapped in guilt and shame" at what he had done.

Mr McConnachie said: "He acknowledges the significant adverse impact on the child involved."

After Heddle was sentenced, Det Insp Adrian Ure of Police Scotland's National Child Abuse Investigations Unit said: “Heddle’s behaviour was deplorable with no thought to the young child he sexually assaulted or the victims depicted in the images and videos he was viewing.

“His sentencing sends a clear message that anyone found guilty of these offences will be brought to justice.”

Description

A paedophile sexually abused a young girl and took intimate pictures of her, a court has heard. The abuse happened at a number of locations around Neath and Port Talbot including on one occasion in a vehicle on Aberavon seafront.

Swansea Crown Court heard the abuse came to light when the young victim made disclosures to a teacher, but defendant John Charles denied the allegations against him right until the first day of his trial, claiming they had all been made up. A judge said he had no doubt that if the youngster had not courageously spoken up in school, the sexual assaults would have continued for years.

Ashanti-Jade Walton, prosecuting, said the complainant in the case had a lesson in school about relationships, sexual consent, and puberty, and at the end of the class the teacher asked the pupils to write down any questions they may have on a piece of paper. The court heard the girl made disclosures to the teacher about being "touched", and as a result the head of personal care at the school spoke to her. Police were then notified and an investigation was launched.

The court heard it emerged Charles had sexually assaulted the girl on multiple occasions over a period of more than two years, often calling her "sexy" and beautiful" while doing it. The abuse happened at a number of locations in Neath and Port Talbot including, on one occasion, in the defendant's vehicle while it was parked at Aberavon seafront. Charles also took intimate pictures of the child. When the 65-year-old was arrested and questioned he denied all the allegations saying the youngster was making them up and acting out of spite.

In a statement read to the court, the young victim set out the impact Charles' offending has had on her. She described how she felt "lonely and lost" and found it difficult to concentrate at school and how her grades suffered as a result. She said she suffers with flashbacks she cannot control, and she feels she has "lost the life" she had before the abuse. She said she was worried that nobody would believe the allegations, and said she now wants to focus on the future and train in education and social care in order to "help girls who need help" just like teachers and social workers helped her.

John Victor Charles, of Villiers Street, Briton Ferry, had previously pleaded guilty on the first day of trial to multiple counts of sexual assault and to possession of indecent images of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

David Singh, for Charles, said at the age of 65 the defendant had lost his good name. He said the defendant had been diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after the allegations were first made, and said Charles was realistic about the outcome that awaited him and knew that a lengthy custodial sentence was inevitable.

Judge Geraint Walters said Charles' offending against the girl had been "persistent, repeated, and relentless". He said in the experience of the courts, offending of the type in the case often had life-long impacts on its victims and that was the "wickedness" of such behaviour. He said but for the school lesson and the "courageous" disclosures made to the teacher, he had no doubt that Charles would have continued abusing the young girl for many years more. With a 10 per cent discount for his guilty pleas, Charles was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He will serve two thirds of that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Charles will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to control his access to children.

Description

A sex offender who spent five years on the run after being charged with indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl has been found guilty of the offence.

Shahid Hussain, who fled the country in 2018, was arrested in Bulgaria in 2023 and extradited back to the UK to stand trial.

Jurors at Sheffield Crown Court found the 48-year-old guilty of indecent assault after hearing he had forced his victim to perform a sex act in 2003.

Hussain, formerly of Rotherham, has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 16 August.

Hussain was investigated as part of Operation Stovewood, the National Crime Agency's (NCA) inquiry into non-familial child sexual abuse and exploitation which took place in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

'Coward'

NCA Senior Investigating Officer, Stuart Cobb, said: “Hussain carried out a vile attack on a vulnerable young girl and when he knew he was going to be held to account, he took the coward’s route by going on the run.

“We have always been determined to put Hussain before the courts. Finally, 21 years after carrying out his crime, he has faced justice."

Martin McRobb, Specialist Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Hussain had "targeted a child and subjected her to a horrendous sexual assault" before trying to "evade the law" by leaving the country.

He added: “I hope this conviction sends a clear message: sex offenders who flee abroad will not escape justice. We will continue to work collaboratively with international partners to ensure perpetrators are returned to face the full force of the law."