Latest Offenders Cambridge

Description

Liam Dennis, 25, from Orchard Drive in Wisbech, has been jailed for five years for rape and sexual assault after forcing himself on a woman following a night of drinking.

He was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court for the 2021 offence, which occurred while he was a 21-year-old university student in Leeds. Dennis denied the charges and had no previous convictions.

Judge Robin Mairs sentenced him on Monday, February 16, with a £190 victim surcharge.

Description

A church volunteer who sent more than 8,000 pages of inappropriate messages to a teenage girl and took part in sexual activity with her has been jailed.

Nam Vu, 28, groomed the girl who he knew from a church in Cambridge - but it wasn’t long before her parents became suspicious.

They discovered deleted screenshots on her phone of a sexually explicit nature, and a WhatsApp chat between the pair but all messages had been deleted.

On speaking to their daughter the girl denied any hint of a sexual relationship and said she was just friends with Vu, of Linclare Place, Eaton Ford, St Neots.

However more evidence then came to light, including a handwritten note from the girl found in a book, which detailed sexual activity between them.

The girl then confided in police what had happened to her, saying that Vu had made sexual remarks to her in the messages and encouraged her to take part in sexual activity, as well as touched her inappropriately.

Vu was arrested and interviewed but answered no comment to all questions asked by officers.

His phone was seized and analysed where it was discovered that in six weeks during 2024, there were more than 8,000 messages between Vu and the teenager – most of them sexual in nature.

'Putting my entire life on the line'

The messages highlighted how Vu began grooming the girl, offered to buy her clothes and complimented her.

On multiple occasions throughout the chat Vu acknowledged the girl was under 16, added that she could ‘ruin him’, said how he could go to jail and how he was ‘putting his entire life on the line’.

Vu continued to deny any wrongdoing however, at Cambridge Crown Court in December, eventually pleaded guilty to six offences including:

• Engaging in sexual communication with a child
• Four counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with girl under 13-15
• Inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity

Vu was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court on Thursday (19 February) where he was handed a total of three years and four months in prison.

He was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), with strict conditions to monitor any future offending and contact with children.

Vu was also given a restraining order, to run indefinitely, preventing him from contacting his victim in any way.

'Never able to truly see the danger'

Detective Constable Lara Wycherley, of the force’s Child Abuse Investigations and Safeguarding Unit (CAISU), said:

“Vu engaged in highly sexualised communication with the victim in this case, whilst acknowledging her age and that he was in a position of trust.

“He groomed a vulnerable child for his own gain and his behaviour was utterly disgusting. I would like to praise the parents in this case who realised something wasn’t quite right, and urge other parents and carers to speak to their children about exactly who they are communicating with.

“The magnitude of the effect of Vu’s behaviour cannot be underestimated. In a victim impact statement given to the judge, the teenager told how the persistent nature of the abuse meant she was never able to truly see the danger she was in.

“She added that Vu repeatedly told her to keep quiet and conditioned her to believe that his crimes were her fault.

"Also of importance, she told how the abuse had made her lose all trust in men, changed her perspective on people in a direction that isn’t pleasant, stripped her from her childhood innocence and left an irreparable scar.

“We will do everything in our power to protect children from predators like Vu and, as this case demonstrates, bring them to justice for their actions.”

Description

A convicted sex offender who shared explicit messages with what he thought were children on social media has been jailed.

Christopher Bradshaw, 32, contacted an account in May, not knowing it was a decoy run by an online child abuse activist group.

Despite the “child” telling him she was only 13 years old and still at school, he proceeded to strike up conversations of a sexual nature before sharing his number and moving the conversations to WhatsApp.

He also contacted another decoy account around the same time, with the “child” explaining she was only 14. Again, Bradshaw continued his explicit conversations and shared his number so they could exchange messages on WhatsApp.

Despite not using his real name, officers traced the phone number shared with the decoy accounts back to Bradshaw and later arrested him.

Bradshaw, from March, pleaded guilty to inciting a girl aged 13-15 to engage in sexual activity and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements. He was sentenced to six years in prison at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday (23 December).

Detective Sergeant Rob Hutchings, from the management of sexual or violent offenders unit (MOSOVO), said:

“Bradshaw is clearly a risk to children. Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice.”

Description

A 'despicable' man left a 13-year-old girl 'traumatised' after sending her a sexually explicit video during an unsolicited phone call.

Andrew Murray, 31, was believed to dial random numbers for sexual conversations with strangers.

On October 7, he called the teenager, who recorded the conversation and informed her mother, leading to a police report.

Her 'swift' and 'sensible' actions provided Cambridgeshire Police with evidence to arrest Murray, who asked her age before sending the video of himself performing a sexual act.

His actions also breached a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Murray, of St Bedes Crescent, Cambridge, admitted causing a child aged 13 to 15 to view an image of sexual activity and pleaded guilty to three SHPO breaches.

He was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Cambridge Crown Court on November 27.

Detective Sergeant Andy Harding said:

“The fact Murray ascertained the age of the child and continued to send the explicit video of himself, makes his actions all the more despicable.

“This event was traumatising for the teenager.

"Her swift actions were truly courageous and her calm, sensible reactions meant we could arrest Murray with proof of the encounter.”

Description

A man has been jailed after grooming a 13-year-old girl online and taking her on car journeys.

Philip Thurston, 34, of Laburnum Close, Cambridge, first contacted the child on Instagram in June 2023, asking for her Snapchat details.

Despite knowing her age, Thurston arranged to pick her up near her home. On the first occasion, the girl declined to get into his car, but days later he returned and drove her to Cambourne and then to a McDonald’s, in Caxton, where he paid for food.

During their conversations online, which spanned two weeks, Thurston sent sexualised messages - telling the victim that if she were older, he would “get with her” and describing what he wanted to do to her. But in person, the victim noted, he appeared quiet and reserved.

At about 7.50pm on 28 June, the victim told her parents she was going out for a drive with a 17-year-old boy named Fabio.

Her stepdad became suspicious so followed her to a nearby bus stop, where Thurston was waiting in his car. He managed to take a photo of the vehicle and drove behind it through Cambridge, before losing sight.

While driving, Thurston admitted to the victim he was 32, not in his late teens. He became angry when he noticed they were being followed by the victim’s stepdad and asked if she was “setting him up”.

He added: “Your stepdad is lucky he didn’t catch me” before taking her home.

Thurston was arrested and in police interview, he admitted meeting the victim and said he thought she was 14.

He insisted he was “not a bad person” and said he didn’t realise picking up a child was illegal, claiming he just wanted to “help people” as she wanted to be taken out.

Thurston pleaded guilty to taking a child as to remove him/her from a person having lawful control, at a hearing in January this year.

On Monday (17 November), at Cambridge Crown Court, he was sentenced to two years and three months in prison and handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Detective Constable Daniel Knight, who investigated, said:

“Thurston is clearly a danger to children, and I’m pleased he is now behind bars. Protecting children from abuse is a force priority and we will do everything we can to protect them from harm.”

Description

A shop owner who sexually assaulted a volunteer and a customer at his premises has been jailed for two years.

Michael Bell, 68, owned a shop in Hardwick, South Cambridgeshire, and used his position to inappropriately touch a female volunteer several times between March and July 2021. 

During the four-month period he would make regular sexual remarks and assaulted her several times, touching her body over clothing.

These incidents came to light on 6 August the following year, after he touched a customer inappropriately and she reported the assault to police.

Bell, of High Street, Yelling, St Neots, denied all the allegations but was found guilty of seven counts of sexual assault following a trial at Peterborough Crown Court last month.

He was sentenced at the same court on Friday (14 November) to two years in prison for each of the offences, to run concurrently.

In addition, he was issued with an indefinite restraining order and a requirement to register with the police under the Sexual Offences Act for ten years.

DC Andy Watters said:

“This type of behaviour should never be tolerated. Women should be able to go to work and go into shops without fear of sexual predators.

“I hope the sentence will reassure both the victims, and women everywhere, that this type of behaviour will never be accepted by police, and should always be challenged and reported.”

Description

A man who repeatedly raped a child over an eight year period has been jailed for 20 years.

Christopher Rudd, aged 34, of Wisbech was sentenced at King's Lynn Crown Court today (Monday 17 November) following a week-long trial in August where a jury found guilty unanimously of 12 counts of raping a child, 2 counts of assault (ABH) and one of causing fear of violence.

The court heard how the offences took place in the King's Lynn area and came to light in January 2025 when the girl told her family what had been happening. The court heard that in addition to the sexual assaults the child had been choked, kicked and punched by Rudd and one occasion her fingers were fractured.

At today's hearing Rudd was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and a further four years on licence. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and indefinite retraining order.

As Recorder Rouse KC handed down the sentence in court he described Rudd as a "manipulative predator void of empathy" whose offending was "exceptional in its gravity".

In a statement read in court the victim said:

"I have been hurting everyday, for as long as I can remember, and there's no way to stop the hurting, or to feel anything else.

"(Rudd) abused me in so many ways. No amount of healing will ever change that, and I'll never get my childhood back even if I tried.

"Despite all this, despite everything I've gone through and endured, I am in a better place now.

"I finally don't have to live in fear, and I finally have the freedom to truly be myself and figure out who I really am behind all the trauma. I'm finally free, and I have my whole future ahead of me".

In her statement the victim's mother referred to Rudd as a 'monster' and said "Since finding out what happened, I have asked myself over and over how to help my daughter recover from something no child should ever endure. 

"I am doing everything I can to help my daughter heal. But healing is a long road - and I know I will be walking it with her for years to come".

Following sentencing Detective Constable Stuart Sansbury praised the victim for her bravery.

"From the outset of this investigation, the victim has demonstrated steadfast courage and it is testament to her that justice has been served.

"She has experienced a terrible amount of trauma and I truly hope today's result helps her begin a new chapter in her life, where she can be safe and thrive.

"I also hope that today’s sentence sends a clear message to others who harm, or seek to harm children and vulnerable people.

"Norfolk Constabulary takes reports of abuse extremely seriously and if this has happened to you or someone you know, then please come forward and report it to us, no matter when it happened. You will be given help and support by our dedicated teams."

Description

A paedophile who drove into the path of oncoming traffic on the morning of a first court appearance has been jailed for more than three years.

Luke Jarrett, 26, was spotted by officers driving a green Jeep Cherokee on the A47, from Thorney Toll towards Wisbech, at about 9am on 22 September.

Concerns had been raised for his welfare that morning after he had been due to attend Cambridge Magistrates’ Court to face charges relating to illicit images of children.

Jarrett approached the South Brink roundabout and joined the A47 where he failed to stop and accelerated aggressively, moving into the middle of the road.

He reached speeds of 64 mph in a 50-mph limit and recklessly overtook vehicles by moving into the path of oncoming traffic.

As Jarrett approached the Elme Hall roundabout, he swerved into the path of a police car to stop it overtaking but the officers made tactical contact with the Jeep to stop it.

Jarrett was on bail at the time after being charged with illicit images of children offences following an investigation which began in July 2024, after he had uploaded an indecent photograph of a child to the internet.

When officers arrested him for this in September 2024, they seized his electronic devices and found:

• 703 indecent images of children and 771 videos 
• 638 extreme pornographic images
• 288 indecent photographs of a child that had been distributed

On Wednesday (5 November), at Peterborough Crown Court, Jarrett, of Lords Lane, Wisbech, was jailed for three years and four months, having pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and one count of distribute an indecent image of a child.

He also admitted three counts of make an indecent image of a child, two further counts of distribute an indecent photograph of a child and possess an extreme pornographic image, all for which he received no separate penalty. 

Jarrett was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and banned from driving for five years and four months.

DC Simon Law, who investigated, said:

“Creating indecent images and then sharing them may not be a physical offence, but it still harms the child victims.

“Jarrett clearly did not want to face justice for these crimes, which may lie behind his reckless and dangerous driving that endangered innocent members of the public on the day of his first court appearance.”

Description

A man who distributed sexual images of children has been jailed for two years and four months.

Mark Barnes, 43, was found with various mobile phones when police visited his home in of Wallers Close, Great Chishill, near Royston, on January 11, 2024.  

This breached a court order from January 2014 when he was registered as a sex offender.

The phones and tablets revealed he had distributed 14 category A (the most severe), five category B and 25 category C, indecent photographs of children between July 2022 and March 2023.

He had also made more than 2,000 indecent photographs of children: 628 category A images, 496 category B and 1163 category C.

He claimed he was borrowing one phone from his neighbour, but police found another phone containing sexual images in a suitcase under a bed.

Barnes appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday (4 November) and admitted making and distributing indecent photographs of children, failing to comply with the Sex Offenders Register and breaching a sexual offences prevention order.

He was jailed and given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), banning him from owning any device on which he can access the internet.

He was also barred from using any remote storage devices, including cloud storage and will have mandatory notification requirements indefinitely.

All the devices recovered by the police have been destroyed.

DC Andrew McKeane said:

“Barnes was fully aware his actions were in breach of his SHPO but he chose to ignore it.

“He showed a blatant disregard for the law and lied about owning the phones and tablets to protect himself.”

Description

A convicted rapist threatened to kill a man just hours after being released from prison.

Jason O’Dell, who had just served a nine-year sentence for rape, turned up at a family member’s home in Longstanton at about 5.30pm on 17 February this year.

After the victim showed him into the kitchen, O’Dell asked for money to help him “get back on his feet”.

The victim refused, citing abusive letters he had received from O’Dell while he was in prison.

This enraged O’Dell, who shouted, “you are disrespecting me, who do you think you are?”.

He then grabbed a six-inch knife from a block and pinned the victim against the worktop, threatening to “end him.”

The victim, fearing for his life, pleaded with O’Dell to put the knife down and offered to talk about money.

O’Dell refused and pressed the knife harder into the victim’s side, repeating his threats.

A struggle between the two ensued, during which the victim managed to wrestle the knife from O’Dell’s grip.

The victim managed to shout out to another household member to call the police and managed to get O’Dell out of this home.

O’Dell was arrested a few hours later in Cambridge and was recalled to prison.

He initially denied the charges but later pleaded guilty to threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a private place and making threats to kill.

O’Dell was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday (30 October) to three years and ten months in prison.

DC Samuel Andrews, who investigated, said:

“O’Dell’s actions caused considerable fear and distress for the victim, in his own home.

“O’Dell is clearly a dangerous individual who has a history of offending and I hope the fact he’s back behind bars provides reassurance to those affected by crimes.”

Description

A judge described a paedophile making sexual advances to what he thought was a 14-year-old boy as “gratuitous self-indulgence”. 

James Brooking, 30, was actually speaking to an undercover officer on the social media platform Fabguys on 3 July when he asked the decoy for their mobile phone number.

Once they had exchanged numbers, Brooking began asking the ‘boy’ for inappropriate photos of himself and turned the conversation sexual.

Brooking also said he wanted to see the ‘boy’ in his school uniform, to meet up and also sent inappropriate photos of himself. 

The contact between Brooking and the undercover officer ended on 10 July and Brooking was arrested on 14 July at an address with a child he had failed to tell police about. 

Brooking was convicted in 2014 of child sex offences and given specific requirements to alert police of new online usernames and to notify police if he was staying at an address for 12 hours or more where a child lived.

Brooking had failed to notify officers of any of this.  

On Friday (24 October), at Cambridge Crown Court, Brooking, of Upwood Road, Ramsey, was jailed for eight years having pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child, cause a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity, arrange facilitate the commission of a child sex offence and four counts of failing to comply with sex offender register notification requirements.

Judge Andrew Hurst described Brooking’s offending as “highly sexualised” and “gratuitous self-indulgence”.

He also said Brooking was “out of control” with his urges, had “learnt nothing” from his previous conviction and did not have “the courage or conviction to acknowledge” he had an interest in children.” 

PC Emily Heriot, who investigated, said:

"Brooking displayed a disguised compliance to his requirements but the truth has caught up with him. 

“We will do everything we can do to put those who intend to harm children in front of the courts so they can face justice.”

Description

A man who raped a vulnerable woman in Cambridge has been jailed for nine years.

Jason Smith, 34, forced himself on the victim at a house in Kings Hedges, while his partner and children slept upstairs, on 11 June 2023.

The victim repeatedly told Smith to stop, but he refused to listen. He was arrested the same day and claimed in interview nothing sexual had happened.

However, DNA evidence helped prove his actions to a jury and he was unanimously found guilty of three counts of rape following a trial in July.

Smith, of Main Street, Hardwick, near Cambridge, was sentenced yesterday (29 September) at Peterborough Crown Court.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and handed a ten-year restraining order.

Det Sgt Jodie Bolton, who investigated, said:

“I would like to praise the courage of the victim for not only coming forward but for the strength and bravery she has shown during the investigation and trial.  Without her bravery to keep supporting this investigation, we wouldn't have been able to receive this result.

“This sentencing is a reminder that consent matters, no means no, and being intoxicated is no defence. We will always strive to bring offenders before the courts.

“We have a dedicated team of detectives and specially trained officers ready to investigate allegations promptly, fully and professionally, and a network of partnership agencies and support services to offer assistance and support."

Description

A registered sex offender flouted a court order by having software on his phone which wiped his internet history.

Adrian Miles, 58, was visited by officers at his home in Cherry Court, Cambourne, on 1 February 2024.

The officers found he had installed a data cleaning app and deleted monitoring software on his phone.

He had also not informed officers about an Amazon cloud storage account.

All of this put Miles in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order handed down by Exeter Crown Court in May 2022 following a conviction for making indecent images of children. 

On Tuesday (2 September) at Huntingdon Law Courts, Miles was jailed for 20 months, having pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

DC Paul Evans, from the force’s management of sexual and violent offenders department, said:

“Miles was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which imposed clear restrictions designed to safeguard the public. His breaches demonstrated a disregard for the legal boundaries set by the court.

“The fact he’s been jailed reflects the gravity of the offences and the importance of upholding protective measures for the safety of others." 

Description

A man who harassed a woman after their relationship ended has been sent to prison.

Damien Asplen, 33, already had an injunction against him preventing him contacting his ex-partner after they split up last year.

However, he repeatedly breached it by sending her messages via text, WhatsApp, and Facebook, asking for money and help between January and March this year.

The woman from Cambridge managed to capture the messages and share them with police in a bid to stop the harassment escalating.

Asplen, of no fixed abode, admitted three counts of harassment and was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court on Monday (4 August) to 10 months for each offence, to run concurrently.

He also admitted failing to comply with Sex Offenders Register requirements for him to update where he was staying and was sentenced to six months imprisonment, to run consecutively.

He was also handed an additional 12 weeks, to run consecutively, for committing an offence during the qualifying time on a previous suspended sentence.

Detective Sergeant Beccy Steel said:

I hope this case serves as a reminder to anyone who believes it is ok to abuse or harass someone, whether they are in a relationship with them or not.

No means no and when a relationship ends and it is clearly over, its time to leave and move on. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behaviour and the sentencing clearly reflects that.

I hope the victim can now move forward with her life knowing that justice has been done.

Description

A sex offender who abused two boys and persuaded a third to send him an indecent image has been jailed for 18 years.

Billy Ingram, 31, befriended families in Cambridge before having unsupervised access to their children.

In August 2022, Ingram, who was already a registered sex offender, saw a woman he knew walking with her children. He began talking to her and followed her home.

The woman let him into her property and they continued talking until the early hours of the morning when she fell asleep.

The next morning, Ingram sat next to the woman’s young son and let the boy play on his mobile phone, before sexually assaulting him.

A few weeks later the child told his mother what had happened, and Ingram was arrested.

The subsequent investigation established Ingram had befriended several other families in Cambridge and had had unsupervised access to their children.

This unsupervised access represented a breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order he was given in 2017 as part of a separate investigation.

Officers also analysed two mobile phones belonging to Ingram and found hundreds of indecent images and videos of children, as well as additional prohibited content suggesting a sexual interest in minors.

Included in the content was video footage of Ingram sexually abusing a boy. Officers managed to identify the child and visited his home in the Greater Manchester area, where it was confirmed Ingram had stayed at the address at the time the videos were recorded.

Officers visited the home of another boy in West Mercia who was also identified from the content.

The boy described how Ingram had contacted him online via a computer game in 2020, when he was ten years old, and persuaded him to send an indecent image of himself.

Ingram, of Ongar Court, Cambridge, admitted two counts of sexual assault of a boy under 13 by touching, four of possessing indecent images of a children, one of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity and four breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Yesterday (22 July) at Cambridge Crown Court he was jailed for 18 years, with an additional eight years on licence. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.

DC Paul Evans said:

“Ingram is a devious sex offender who befriended families and manipulated his way into their homes specifically so he could prey on their children.

“I’d like to commend all the children involved who assisted us with the investigation and their families. Their bravery in talking about what happened to them has resulted in Ingram being brought to justice.”