Latest Offenders Bristol

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Raymond Ellis, from Bristol, formerly of Sheffield, carried out a sophisticated and harrowing attack on a 17-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

Today, he was sentenced to five years in prison at Bristol Crown Court having been found guilty of Indecent Assault.

Bristol Crown Court heard today (May 13) how, in the assault close to midnight on March 15, 1987, the survivor was approaching her home address after a night out with friends when she became aware of someone behind her.

She began running but one of her shoes came off. She saw her pursuer pick it up and was struck on the head, grabbed and dragged along a nearby passage towards Earl Marshall School Fields, at the rear of Skinnerthorpe Road in Sheffield.

The attacker removed an item of her clothing which he used to tie her feet together and forced her to perform a sexual act. He then made her lay face down and fled. The victim was then able to flee to a nearby telephone box where she called police.

Despite an extensive investigation involving many forensic submissions, her attacker was never traced.

But due to advancements in forensic science, further forensic submissions were made which resulted in a match to Ellis. A mixed DNA profile was obtained from the outer sleeve of the womans leather jacket she was wearing at the time.

Ellis was arrested in August 2019. In interview, the 60-year-old claimed he had memory loss due to a brain injury sustained in 1997 when he was attacked with pick axe handles by poachers on a salmon farm in Scotland.

He made no comment to any questions including where he was at that time

South Yorkshire Polices Dave Stopford, head of the Major Incident Review Team, said: This was a horrific attack on a 17-year-old girl as she made her way home from a night out.

The victim has had to live with this for the past 33 years not knowing who her attacker was.

We thank the victim for her patience and resilience during this difficult investigation in which she had to re-live a traumatic incident. She has shown immense courage, patience and trust in us to do so.

The attack has significantly impacted on her life ever since. This conviction today has provided some closure to the victim, but continues to have serious consequences for her.

"Ellis was obviously surprised when he was arrested for this offence, having thought that he had evaded being caught. The reinvestigation using scientific techniques that were not available in 1987 should send out a message that anyone who has committed such offences is never safe from prosecution.

The review team at South Yorkshire Police prioritise undetected historic sexual offences and are currently reviewing hundreds of cases. Investigating Officer Rachel Morton has been tenacious in achieving this detection, which due to its historic nature has been complex. I would also like to thank the scientists involved, whose work is invaluable in these historic cases, and without them this perpetrator may never have been brought to justice for this crime.

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By day accountant Jagath Arachchige was charming and highly professional. But by night he was a sexual predator, driving around Bristol city centre in his blue Honda Accord targeting vulnerable lone woman leaving nightclubs who took him for a cabbie.

After picking up one woman he kidnapped her for five hours, which culminated in him sexually assaulting her. And just 15 hours later he kidnapped a second woman but failed to molest her.

The 44-year-old of Eighth Avenue in Filton, denied wrongdoing. But a jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted him of kidnap and sexual assault, as well as kidnap and kidnap with intent to commit a sex offence, in December 2017.

Judge Mark Horton handed him a 16-year extended sentence, comprising of 12 years' custody (two-thirds to serve) and four years' extended licence. He found Arachchige to be a dangerous offender, telling him: "It is clear that whilst you present to the world as an engaging, charming and able accountant with an apparent calm and quiet manner, this mask perfectly concealed the callous, and deliberate deception and manipulative skills of a predatory sexual offender."

Judge Horton barred Arachchige from working with children and vulnerable adults. He also ordered him to sign the Sex Offender Register for life.

The judge, who commended the police investigation, added: "I also wish to comment that in this case both of the victims were in no way careless in their behaviour in the case. Both sought what they reasonably believed were a lawful taxi driver providing them with security to get themselves home. Their trust and the steps they had taken were deliberately exploited in a planned way by this defendant."

The court was told Arachchige turned to extra-marital websites after intimacy in his marriage declined. In November 2017 police found him in his car at renowned sex spot with an inebriated student. Officers removed her from his car and gave him strong advice about his actions, the court heard.

Some two weeks later Arachchige picked up an inebriated young woman who had left a Bristol nightclub and, instead of supposedly giving her a taxi ride home, kidnapped her for five hours - which included a trip to a sex spot and even booking a room at a motel. The court heard the episode culminated in Arachchige groping her bare chest and trying, but failing, to touch her intimately under her clothes.

When the woman claimed her mum was in the police, Arachchige took her home. But just 15 hours later Arachchige struck again, the court heard. Having picked up another woman who assumed he was a taxi driver he detained her in his car before she managed to get out of his car unmolested.

Richard Posner, prosecuting, read impact statements from both women in which they said they had struggled with anxiety after their ordeals and had trust issues as a result. One stated: "I feel it is going to stay with me for the rest of my life."

Robert Morgan-Jones, defending, said: "Intimate relations with his wife ceased. He was isolated and alone in the relationship, feeling very much rejected with his sexual and emotional needs not being dealt with."

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A SOMERSET man has been jailed for five years for raping a woman he met online. Malcolm Compton, 60, from Keynsham, had earlier been found guilty of rape following a trial at Salisbury Crown Court on January 28. The jury heard how Compton, of Carpenters Lane, initially met his victim on a dating website in September 2020. They had been communicating online for about a week before agreeing to meet in person. Comptons victim made it clear she was seeking companionship and that she just wanted to be friends. But Compton ignored her wishes and tried to pressure her into sexual activity. On Friday, September 11, Compton went on to rape her and his victim reported the offence to Wiltshire Police the following day. Following the sentence, Detective Constable Jeremy Horner said: Compton completely disregarded the feelings of his victim and exercised controlling behaviour over her from the moment they met before going on to carry out this despicable crime. I hope this sentence will bring some form of comfort to the survivor of Comptons abuse who showed real bravery in reporting this crime. She displayed strength and dignity in the way she supported us in our investigation which eventually brought Compton to justice.

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A 47-year-old man has been jailed for 14 years after being convicted of rape and sexual assaults following a trial at Bristol Crown Court. Mario DiMaggio, of Jacobs Wells Road, Bristol, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of rape and 12 counts of sexual assault, with all the offences committed against one woman in early 2019. The trial judge William Hart called DiMaggio predatory in his behaviour, as he sentenced him to the prison term at a hearing on March 14, as well as to a life-time restraining order. He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. The offences were reported to the police in February 2019 Investigating officer DC Martin Rutterford said: Mario DiMaggio is a predatory sex offender and a danger to women. After the jury saw the extremely harrowing evidence, they unanimously decided he was guilty of all the charges he faced trial for. The victim in this case has shown remarkable bravery throughout the investigation and resulting court proceedings, and I hope this outcome will be of some comfort to her after the terrible ordeal shes been through. I also hope this outcome shows other victims of rape and sexual offences that they will be listened to, believed and respected if they report offences to us, and we will carry out thorough investigations to bring dangerous offenders like DiMaggio to justice.

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A judge told a Speedwell man found guilty of sexually abusing two young girls that the "guilt is all yours".

Scott Hunt, 33, of Whitefield Avenue, abused the youngsters on multiple occasions, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Though he still denies wrongdoing a jury convicted him of three charges of causing or inciting a child aged under-13 to engage in sexual activity on one girl, and two charges of sexual assault of a child aged under-13 on another.

The Recorder Mr Neil Millard jailed him for eight years.

Both complainants read impact statements to the court outlining the guilt and shame they endured as a result of the abuse.

The judge told Hunt: "They should feel no guilt.

"They did nothing wrong.

"The guilt is all yours.

"There is absolutely no guilt on them.

"Their strength is in coming here and telling this court what you did to them.

"They are not little girls anymore, they are strong young women.

"The guilt is yours."

Hunt was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from contact or working with youngsters aged under 16.

He was told to register his whereabouts to police for life.

One complainant told how the abuse left her "confused and frightened".

She stated: "I was just a little girl.

"I didn't understand a lot of things that happened."

The complainant said Hunt manipulated her and told her not to tell anybody about the abuse.

She described how she had blanked a lot of happy childhood memories and became nervous around men.

The other complainant said she suffered feelings of "guilt, shame and disgust" about the abuse, which left her very angry and with trust issues.

Catherine Spedding, defending, said her client was left disfigured after suffering horrific burns aged 11 months.

She said he was picked on in his early life, became isolated and lonely, and a Probation Service report concluded there was a link between his accident and his offending behaviour.

The court heard Hunt had been primary carer for his mother, who suffers from vascular dementia.

Miss Spedding said: "He still does not accept the offences.

"He does appear to accept the effect it would have on the victims."

Investigating officer DC Michael Coleman said: These were awful offences committed against two defenceless young girls in the Bristol area several years ago.

"They were first reported to the police in 2017 resulting in a thorough investigation being carried out. T

"The defendant was charged in January 2021 and convicted of five offences following a recent trial at Bristol Crown Court.

Both victims have shown tremendous bravery, fortitude and resilience throughout the criminal investigation and resulting court proceedings.

I hope the custodial sentence given to Hunt will be able to help the victims find some form of closure.

"I also hope it will encourage other victims of sexual abuse to come forward and report offences committed against them, in the knowledge they will be believed and listened to.

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A 'depraved' Emersons Green man drugged a woman so he and others could rape her.

Daniel Bishop obtained the GHB 'date rape' drug from a Dutch website, Bristol Crown Court was told.

After slipping it into her drink he forced himself on her while she was unconscious and broadcast the abuse via the internet.

And he also arranged for other men to similarly abuse her, the court heard.

Bishop, 43, pleaded guilty to three rapes, three attempted rapes, a sexual assault and administering a noxious substance.

Judge James Patrick, who categorised him as a dangerous offender, jailed him for 14 years and eight months with extended licence of eight years.

He told Bishop: "You fall to be sentenced for a set of depraved offences.

"What you did is, in my judgement, degrading and humiliating."

The judge ordered Bishop to register as a sex offender for life and barred him from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Giles Nelson, prosecuting, said Bishop drugged the complainant before arranging for a man to rape her.

Though he invited other men to do the same they declined, the court heard.

When he raped the unconscious woman twice himself he put the assault online, the court heard.

Mr Nelson said: "The defendant was frank about his feelings as a sexual predator.

"He stated he preyed on prostitutes and said he had a sex addiction for which he had sought help."

Charley Pattison, defending, said her client had been blighted by mental health issues and addiction to alcohol.

She said: "He is devastated by what he has done.

"He has now, for the first time, come to terms with childhood experiences of trauma and how it may well have made him the person he is today.

"He is beyond sorry for what he has done."

Detective Constable Cheryl Aucott, the investigating police officer in the case, said: Daniel Bishop has been convicted of a series of appalling offences following a sensitive and complex investigation.

The victim in this case has shown incredible bravery in supporting these court proceedings.

"We hope this conviction encourages other victims of sexual offences to have the confidence to report incidents to us, so offenders can be brought to justice.

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A barrister who sexually assaulted his colleague during a night out in Bristol has been disbarred. Kevin Farquharson, 45, groped the womans breasts and then asked her to lie to prevent his fiancee finding out, the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service heard. He repeatedly touched the woman's breasts and buttocks on the dance floor and at one point forcibly held her arms by her sides and told her to kiss him, it was told. The victim, referred to as A, asked him what the f*** he was doing and said he refused to stop. After he eventually stumbled back home at 4am, Farquharson was confronted by his furious partner, demanding to know what he had been up to. The following evening, Farquharson sent the woman a text message saying: Would you help me by responding to my text tomorrow by simply stating, We lost sight of you at about 1:45. You left after you had a run in with one of the bouncers. I hope you are feeling OK. The victim was only able to escape Farquharsons forceful advances when the staff at Kongs bar in Bristol city centre stepped in to help and had him removed from the venue on the night in September 2019. In March 2021, Farquharson was found guilty of sexual assault and was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay the victim 1,800 and was put on the sexual offenders list for seven years. Mark Ruffell, for the Bar Standards Board, said: This is a sad case from start to finish. On the one hand, we have a young lady who was great friends with the respondent, no doubt saw him most days in a professional context, and it is fair to say they were friends. For good reasons, as people do, they decided to go out, let their hair down on the evening and then sadly through drink the events took place. Mr Ruffell added that at one point he went against her back at the bar, touching her vaginal area over her clothes to the point where she had to wriggle free. One of the bartenders reportedly advised the victim to take shelter in the female toilets while security removed Farquharson. He texted a second colleague later that weekend, asking the colleague to tell his fiancee that he was with him should she call. The tribunal chair, Judge Witold Pawlak, found all the charges proved and ordered that Farquharson be disbarred, and pay 2,100 in costs.

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A Lawrence Weston man took sick souvenir snaps of himself sexually abusing a boy, a court heard.

Matthew Moseley abused the horrified teenager, who told his family what happened.

Police brought in found the warped mementos on Moseley's phone.

There were also some 200 photos of children in various states of undress which, though not deemed illegal, were said to be 'indicative' of his offending.

Moseley, 26, of Brookthorpe Avenue, pleaded guilty to two charges of having sexual activity with a child and one charge of making an indecent photograph of a child.

Judge Euan Ambrose jailed him for three years.

He told Moseley: "The consequences have had a profound affect upon (the boy) and his family, and on your own family."

Moseley was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop him from re-offending against children.

He was told to sign as a sex offender for life.

Fiona Elder, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court Moseley grabbed the boy and kissed him before groping his private parts and pushing himself against him.

The upset lad told his family and police tracked the abuser down.

Moseley told officers: "I f****d up."

Forensic analysis revealed the boy's DNA on Moseley's hands.

And analysis of Moseley's phone showed he had taken three photos of him groping the boy's private parts previously.

When interviewed Moseley made no comment to police.

Charley Pattison, defending, said: "He accepts he did what he did.

"He feels horrible about it.

"He feels remorse for it.

"If there is a custodial sentence it will not be long enough for him to receive the rehabilitative work which he so desperately needs.

"There has to be punishment, but that punishment can be achieved through unpaid work."

Acting Detective Sergeant Mike Coleman said: "Matthew Moseley is truly depraved.

"Not only did he prey on a vulnerable teenage boy when he was totally defenceless but he even took photos of himself carrying out the horrendous abuse.

"His victim has demonstrated tremendous bravery and I hope the result gives him a sense of closure.

"His family have also shown great resilience and I'd like to thank them for the support they've shown throughout the investigation and court process."

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A Fishponds man who twice forced himself on a woman has been jailed. Ghulam Mustapha would not take "no" for an answer and had sex with her against her will. Bristol Crown Court heard she suffered both physical pain and psychological trauma as a result. Mustapha 48, of Cherrytree Crescent, denied wrongdoing but a jury convicted him of two charges of rape. Judge Euan Ambrose jailed him for 13 years. He told Mustapha: "She has suffered severe psychological harm, as her victim personal statement made clear, and significant physical harm in the form of ongoing pain." Mustapaha was handed an indefinite restraining order to have no contact with the complainant. He was ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life. Jennifer Tallentire, prosecuting, read the complainant's statement in which she said the rapes had left her suffering night sweats and flashbacks.

'I can't stop thinking about what happened'

The woman said it was likely she would have to live with severe pelvis pain and, she had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She stated: "I can't stop thinking about what happened. "The court process has made it all worse. "It has really knocked my confidence, I am paranoid I'm being followed and I'm worried someone will hurt me. "I get scared of everything." Michael Haynes, defending, told the court: "What we are really talking about at the end of the day is totality." Investigating police officer DC James Claridge said: "Mustapha put his own sexual desires above the welfare of his victim, forcing himself on her. "As well as the physical pain he caused, he also inflicted significant emotional trauma on her which she is still coming to terms with. "We continue to provide her with access to specialist support services and hope today's sentence brings her some comfort." He added "I'd like to commend Mustapha's victim for the courage she's shown throughout the criminal justice process – all police officers fully appreciate it can be often difficult for victims of sexual offences to report them and to give evidence at court and she has been extremely brave in doing so."

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A Bristol-based member of the Salvation Army and former National Crime Agency employee has been jailed after being convicted of having sex with a schoolgirl.

James Bryant "moulded and manipulated" the youngster from when she was aged 13, Bristol Crown Court was told.

It was claimed he persuaded her to send him photos of her private parts he told her to touch herself when he phoned her.

They went on to have sex on numerous occasions, in Bristol and in a hotel, and on one occasion together with a adult woman, a jury heard.

Bryant, 40, of Charter House Close in Nailsea, denied three charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He denied 12 charges of sexual activity with a child but admitted three sexual activity with a child charges.

He also denied sexual assault of a woman by touching her bottom.

After 12 hours' deliberation a jury convicted him of all counts barring one charge of causing or inciting a chilld to engage in sexual activity, three of sexual activity with a child and the sexual assault.

The Recorder of Bristol His Honour Judge Peter Blair QC jailed Bryant for ten years.

He was told to register as a sex offender indefinitely, was barred from working with children and was handed a 16-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop him re-offending.

At Bryant's trial David Sapiecha, prosecuting, said Bryant worked for the NCA and was a "rising" member of a Salvation Army branch.

Mr Sapiecha told the court: "The prosecution says the defendant was feeding his own sexual appetite and using a girl for that puropse, a girl too young, to achieve his own sexual desires.

"He manipulated and moulded the victim into his own sex toy, willing to do what he wanted, and he did so in the context of a gross breach of trust."

Mr Sapiecha told the court: "She said at the time she thought she loved him.

"She thought that he loved her.

"She was clearly impressionable.

"He was in control., she was much less robust than somebody of an adult age."

On one occasion Bryant and the girl engaged in a sexual threesome with a woman, the court heard.

The prosecutor told the jury Bryant's case was that the girl and woman spontaneosly engaged in sexual behaviour and he joined in on the spur of the moment.

Matters were reported to police after the girl told her mum and sister what had been going on, the court heard.

Bryant denied a charge that he touched a woman's bottom around New Year's Eve in 2011.

A spokesperson for the NSPCC in the South West said: "This is an awful case where a child was victim to a campaign of sexual abuse.

"Bryant manipulated and exploited a young teenage girl for his own sexual gratification and it is right he now faces justice for his crimes.

"The victim has shown huge courage in coming forward and it is crucial she now receives the appropriate support."

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A youngster left troubled after being molested by a Thornbury man found courage, with maturity, to report his abuser.

And as a result that abuser is now in prison.

The boy was aged 10 or 11 when Jeremy Farrow sexually abused him, Bristol Crown Court heard.

After Farrow told him not to say anything the child said nothing, but after some years he emailed his mum describing what Farrow had subjected him to.

Police were called in and Farrow was arrested.

Farrow, 53, of Castle Court, pleaded guilty to: causing a child aged under-13 to engage in sexual activity; engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child aged under-16 and breach of a Sexual Offence Prevention Order. (SOPO)

The Recorder of Bristol His Honour Judge Peter Blair QC jailed him for seven-and-a-half years.

The judge told him: "You told him to keep quiet and that's what he did until it all became too much.

"You have caused severe, psychological harm to that young man."

Farrow was barred from working with children and was told to comply with sex offender notification, indefinitely.

James Tucker, prosecuting via video link, said the boy changed from being "bright and diligent" to a cannabis smoker whose academic work declined.

There came a time when he emailed his mum, describing how Farrow abused him.

The court heard Farrow committed a sex act in front of the boy, and got the boy to carry out a sex act on him.

As a result the complainant found relationships difficult and acted improperly at school, the court heard.

But as years passed he came to realise the abuse and its toll on him and no longer kept it bottled.

Tabitha Macfarlane, defending, said her client had his own issues to deal with, including a catastrophic brain injury.

She told the court Farrow, who has breached his SOPO on several occasions, wanted to make a fresh start in jail and hoped to take courses including a sex offender programme.

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A Downend man convicted of sexually assaulting one woman and stalking another was jailed. A jury found Aaron Gent guilty of two sex offences but he admitted other charges.

In total the 30-year-old, of Maggs Close, was convicted of stalking, causing criminal damage, harassment and two sexual assaults. Judge William Hart jailed him for 20 months.

The judge told him: "The offending indicates wholly inappropriate behaviour by you to both these women. Women should not be expected to tolerate it. Those who offend in this way should expect custodial sentences."

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Former Ministry of Defence worker moaned on a sick dark web chat room that lockdown stopped him looking at schoolchildren on his way to work.

Phillip Nutt complained on ‘PedoPub’ that working from home stopped his walks past schools and hindered his access to kids.

The 53-year-old used his IT skills to find, download and hide child abuse images picked up on the dark web, including rape and torture videos of babies.

In one chat with another ‘PedoPub’ user, Nutt described how he gained children's trust and concealed the disturbing content he accessed.

He said: “I have everything secured and no one can see unless I leave it unlocked by accident.

“I have a false camera storage as well so if someone asks to see my photos it shows normal people photos. The good ones are hidden.”

In another chatroom conversation, Nutt discussed his frustration with the lack of access to children during lockdown.

He wrote: “I usually walk past a school on the way to work and I can’t even do that!”

Nutt added: “I am of the view that you have to be so careful and disguise your true self….Any little ones around me I treat as friends and gain their confidence.”

When police raided his home in Horfield, Bristol, officers found nearly 300 indecent images and videos on his phone and computers.

Cops also discovered cloud-based accounts overseas that hosted 18,641 files across 445 folders, where Nutt allowed videos to be accessed by other paedophiles.

One folder labelled ‘Incest’ contained hundreds of indecent videos of children, some in the most serious category, police said.

Some of the videos lasted up to two hours and showed the torture and rape of babies and young children, the National Crime Agency said.

Digital forensic analysis found Nutt regularly went onto the dark web and had a secure image storage facility on his phone disguised as a calculator.

He was careful to hide his tracks and described having ‘a scare’ when pictures accidentally transferred onto his main hard drive, the NCA said.

NCA officers arrested Nutt at a holiday home in Cornwall last year.

At Bristol Crown Court yesterday (Thurs), Nutt was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to possessing, making and distributing indecent images at an earlier hearing.

Derek Evans, NCA senior investigating officer, said Nutt used sophisticated methods to hide his crimes.

He added: “The conviction of Nutt serves as a warning to all - that we will work with partners across the globe to safeguard children and bring offenders before the court.

“This investigation identified the horrendous rape of babies and very young children, which was being distributed by Nutt, who attempted to conceal his methods through sophisticated means and his knowledge of IT systems.

“For as long as the demand for this material remains in depraved people like Nutt, it will continue to be supplied.

“This investigation has broken part of that cycle and the NCA have succeeded in disrupting someone who posed a significant threat to children.”

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A man who attacked a vulnerable woman after she confided in him about being sexually abused as a child has had his sentence increased.

Michael Smith, 26, from Bitton in South Gloucestershire, raped the victim following a party in August 2017.

Earlier in the evening she had told him she was very anxious about having sexual intercourse because of her experiences as a child, but he removed her clothing while she was asleep and attacked her.

When the victim threatened to report him, Smith made a false allegation to the police that she was harassing him, despite apologising for the incident in previous text messages to her.

Smith, who was employed by Bristol Ambulance Service, admitted to colleagues he had raped the woman and they also reported the incident to the police.

Police found four extreme pornographic images on his phone – one of which Smith had disseminated to his friends via WhatsApp.

Smith eventually pleaded guilty to one count of rape and four counts of possession of extreme pornography at Bristol

Sentencing judge Julian Lambert took into consideration Smith's age, his good character and his pleas of guilty, as well as the current problems in the prison system caused by the pandemic.

But Attorney General Suella Braverman argued at the High Court that Smith had been treated too leniently considering the impact of the offence on the victim.

During the appeal the court heard the victim was left feeling worthless and dirty, and even three years on from the attack could not contemplate having a relationship with a man.

Ms Braverman said the starting point should have been eight years, before both mitigation and the mandatory reduction in sentence due to guilty pleas were taken into account.

She also argued his four-month sentence for the extreme images should not run concurrently to Smith's sentence for rape, as the offences were unrelated to the attack.

Increasing Smith's sentence for rape to five years and three months, Lady Justice Macur said: "This sentence should not have been reduced below the bottom of the range before the discount was applied."

She added that the extreme images were a "separate category of offending" that call for consecutive sentencing, but reduced the sentence to three months to run concurrently on each count.

It brings Smith's total sentence to one of five years and six months.

Smith appeared at the hearing via video link, but could be seen with his head in his hands at the end of the ruling.

The Attorney General said after the hearing: "Smith's repulsive actions, and the extent to which he lied to cover up his guilt, were truly shocking and caused severe harm to the victim.

"I am pleased I was able to personally present this case and I welcome his sentence being increased."

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A Bristol man thought he was persistently pestering girls aged 12 for sex.

But in reality Adam Pugh, of Seneca Street in St George, was making lewd suggestions to adults, either paedophile hunters or undercover police.

Pugh - who has developmental delay akin to mild learning difficulties - was also found to have downloaded and shared indecent images of children.

Bristol Crown Court heard that, since his offending emerged, he has given himself a self-imposed ban from the internet.

The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, two charges of arranging or facilitating a child sex offence and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

Judge Euan Ambrose handed him an eight-year extended sentence comprising of four years' custody and four years' extended licence.

He told Pugh: "I am quite satisfied you are dangerous.

"This was persistent offending, undeterred by your arrest.

"You had no way of knowing those you were speaking to were not real children.

"You pose a significant risk of serious harm to children."

Pugh was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop his reoffending.

James Haskell, prosecuting, said in June 2019 Pugh chatted online to a girl who told him she was 12, and his conversation became increasingly sexualised.

The 'child' was in fact a member of paedophile hunter group Innocent Voices.

Later in the same month Pugh chatted online to another 'child' aged 12 who was also an adult hunter, discussed sex with her, talked about meeting up and sent her a photo of his private parts.

The hunter group then confronted Pugh, police arrested him and he was released pending further investigation.

But the court heard that, once released, Pugh was at it again - this time chatting to another 'child' aged 12 who turned out to be an undercover police officer.

This time he sent the supposed youngster a video of himself engaging in a sex act.

He also talked about meeting her after lockdown to have sex.

During the course of a police investigation it was discovered Pugh had downloaded and distributed child abuse images, which he admitted and asked the court to take into consideration.

Susan Cavender, defending, said: "He has given up all internet access.

"He now has a Nokia with no internet.

"He asks me to assure you of his genuine remorse.

"He has mild to moderate learning difficulties.

"He has made appalling mistakes."

The court heard Pugh, who has limited experience of travel from Bristol, never intended to meet the 'youngsters' and talk of such amounted to fantasy.