Latest Offenders Brighton

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A Brighton man has been given a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexual assault on a girl then aged under 13, more than six years ago.

Jason Lineker, 34, of Mouslecoomb Way, Brighton, had been found guilty by a unanimous jury verdict at Lewes Crown Court on 27 August after a five-day trial which included evidence from witnesses and the girl herself.

On Friday 3 September he was sentenced to four and a half years plus one year on additional prison licence.

He will be a registered sex offender for life, and was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last until further court order, severely restricting his access to children.

This was a re-trial after a previous jury had failed to agree on a verdict in November last year.

Detective Constable Angela Harvey of the Brighton Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: "The victim, a young child, was very brave, having to give evidence in two trials as a result of the hung jury outcome in November 2020"

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A Brighton pub and club owner has begun a three-year prison sentence for a sexual offence against a vulnerable 17-year-old girl from Brighton on his yacht in Majorca two years ago.

Kenneth McGrath, 61, a company director from St Martins Place, Brighton, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on November 30 after being convicted on November 10 of paying for the sexual services of a child, Sussex Police said.

He was acquitted of two sexual assault charges against the same girl.

Police stated he will be a registered sex offender for life and received a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) lasting until further court order.

The SHPO bans him from providing massage services, taking images of under-18 girls without parental or guardian permission, and any employment involving contact with under-18 girls. He is also prohibited from possessing digital image-taking devices unless inspectable by police, and from contacting the victim.

In 2015, the girl was recommended by a mutual friend to McGrath, who sought a "girl friday" to work on his yacht in Majorca, hosting hen parties, police said.

However, officers reported no hen parties occurred; instead, McGrath exploited her isolation and vulnerability to coerce her into a sexual act and created a document purporting to show her willingness as part of her employment contract.

Detective Constable Melanie Wauchope said: “Ken McGrath exploited a balance of power between an employer and employee to control and manipulate a vulnerable young person into engaging in sexual activity. During the trial he tried to discredit her motives but clearly the jury did not believe him. We will always take seriously such reports and take action wherever possible.”

An NSPCC spokesperson said:

“McGrath has been shown to be a manipulative and calculating individual who exploited a vulnerable child for his own sexual gratification.

“It is flabbergasting that in a bid to cover his despicable actions he created a document suggesting his victim was a willing participant in her own abuse.

“We hope she has received all the support available to help her move forward with her life and that McGrath’s sentence gives her some form of closure, as well as protecting others.”

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A paedophile is starting a three year prison sentence for sexual and cruelty offences against a child. John Denian, 65, handyman, of Dewe Road, Brighton, was sentenced when he appeared at Brighton Crown Court on Friday. Denian was found guilty of incitement to gross indecency and indecent assault on a girl aged between 5 and 10 between 1980 and 1985, and cruelty to the same girl between 1980 and 1991. He was sentenced to one year for the indecency offences, and two years for the child cruelty offence, with both sentences running consecutively. He will also be register as a sex offender for ten years. Detective Constable Sarah Townsend said: "Denian took advantage of the vulnerability of this young girl, who he knew, for many years, starting when she was barely five years old. It was a quite appalling breach of trust and only a year ago did she feel able to come forward and tell us what had happened to her over so many years. "We admire her bravery in coming forward and being prepared to give evidence. It shows that we will always take such reports seriously and will investigate wherever possible." Following Denian's conviction his victim, who has anonymity under Sexual Offences Act, said: "My childhood was filled with fear, uncertainty, misery and the feeling I had nowhere to turn as a result of the violence and abuse I experienced. I felt conscious of small things every day, even what I wore and how I presented myself. "I spent years feeling petrified of John Denian and it has been extremely difficult for me to come forward and speak about this but it was the right decision to do so. "I also chose to give my evidence in court without the use of screens or video link because I wanted to face him as an adult, and show him I have control of my own life and I wasn't afraid of him any more. "I am delighted that he has been convicted and I can now move forward with the continued support of my friends and partner."

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A MAN who spent more than three years on bail before being charged has pleaded guilty to child pornography offences. Jonathan Barclay, of Chadborn Close, Brighton, has been given a 24-month community order and will be a registered sex offender for five years. His estranged husband has spoken of his upset at learning through this newspaper that his partner had been charged with such serious offences. Barclay, 51, co-founder of a Brighton events management company, pleaded guilty to five counts of downloading indecent images of children and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child. He had been arrested in October 2011 but not charged until January this year due to what police described as a very exceptional series of complex legal and technical issues. His case was used by the chief constable Giles York as an example of why a cap should not be put on the length of time people could be on police bail, arguing some cases were too complex. Mr Barclay had pleaded not guilty to causing or inciting a child between 13 and 17 years old to be involved in pornography and refusing an order to disclose a computer password. The court did not proceed with those charges but they will remain on file. His estranged husband, William Underwood, pictured right, who has changed his name to Christopher Clayton, said he was shocked to learn of the offences through The Argus when the paper first covered the story in January. The 21-year-old, who now lives in London, said Barclay had told him he was on bail after they moved in together but not what for, and he had not pressed the issue. The pair married in April, 2013 after meeting via a dating website that Christmas. They separated shortly after, before Barclay was charged. Mr Clayton said: I did not know how serious it was until I saw it in the paper. I was completely in love with him at the start. Since I got off the train there was a spark with him and I fell in love. He was a lovely guy when it was nice. When it was nice, it was lovely. But when I first found out about the case I felt violated. Now I think my whole wedding and everything with him was based on a lie from the beginning. Under the name Jon Philips, Barclay was featured on the website of Brighton events management company Showbizz, in Cheapside, earlier this year, as a co-founder. He no longer has anything to do with the company, a spokesman said. BACKGROUND The Home Secretary Theresa May is planning to limit the amount of time suspects can spend on police bail to an initial 28 days. Any time beyond that, up to three months, would need to be authorised by a superintendent. A magistrate would have to approve anything beyond three months. Under the changes set to go through Parliament, there would also be a presumption to release without bail during investigations. Sussex Police chief constable Giles York has argued against statutory time limits, saying rushed investigations would see more cases failing at court.

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A known paedophile who repeatedly raped a nine-year-old girl despite being under community supervision was today jailed indefinitely.

Kevin Hazelwood, 40, was already on the sex offenders' register for downloading child pornography but was still able to subject the girl to a string of assaults. He was told he must serve a minimum of five years and seven months.

He pleaded guilty at Lewes crown court on March 10 to six counts of rape, two counts of attempted rape and two counts of indecent assault, all on the same victim.

Hazelwood, from Brighton, also admitted charges of sexual activity with or in the presence of a child under 13, historic assaults on a girl dating back to the 1980s and for making indecent movies of children.

Judge Richard Hayward said Hazelwood was "cunning and manipulative" and was "unable or unwilling" to control his paedophile urges.

The court heard that in October 2002 Hazelwood was placed on the sex offenders' register after pleading guilty to 20 specimen counts of making indecent pictures of children.

Judge Hayward told him: "Before anyone rushes to judgment on this issue, I must say that you alone are to blame. You are cunning and manipulative of people. You gave every indication of complying with the sex offenders' register and there is no reason why a hard-pressed probation officer or anyone else should know anything about it."

He added: "You are a determined and predatory paedophile and you will remain a danger to young girls for the foreseeable future."

Gillian Etherton, prosecuting, told the court how Hazelwood befriended the nine-year-old girl's parents before using the relationship to "systematically sexually abuse" her from when she was about six years old until two weeks before his arrest in November 2005.

Miss Etherton said: "It would appear from a fairly early stage that the defendant took a keen interest (in the young girl).

"At face value he appeared to get on well with her and would say to her mother that he would in effect take her up to her room to give mum breathing space."

The mother recalled that suggestions of sleepovers with the girl at Hazelwood's home were always initiated by him, Miss Etherton said.

She added that the abuse came to light in November 2005 when the girl disclosed to her mother in conversation that "uncle Kevin does it to me".

"The mother immediately understood what the disclosure meant," said Miss Etherton.

The girl also disclosed that when she would cry while being abused, Hazelwood would "call her a baby".

As a result of the girl's conversation with her mother, police were brought in and in interview she said Hazelwood had subjected her to three years of abuse.

Miss Etherton said: "He would sometimes say to her 'I'm bored, let's play a game' and he would often entice her with different games and presents.

"She described how she didn't want any presents because they reminded her of him."

The court heard that Hazelwood had taken indecent pictures of the girl and had threatened to send them to her mother if she failed to maintain her silence over the abuse.

Miss Etherton said: "She felt to some degree to blame and in trouble and to some degree that explains her silence."

Following the girl's police interview in November 2005, Hazelwood was arrested and questioned but initially declined to comment, except to admit abusing another young girl between 1981 and 1985.

He later admitted to making indecent images, including taking pictures of the nine-year-old girl, which were later deleted.