Latest Offenders Cheshire

Description

A man has been sentenced to more than seven years after sexually abusing a child in Runcorn.

Shaun Ashley, of Cotton Lane, Runcorn, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 17 July.

The 37-year-old was previously found guilty of two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching and one count of engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15.

The case began in 2021, when the victim reported incidents of sexual assault committed by Ashely on at least three occasions. The incidents took place in the Runcorn area of Cheshire between 2014 and 2021.

Ashley was subsequently arrested and interviewed in relation to the incidents. Following a thorough investigation, he was later charged with multiple offences but denied them. He was found guilty following a trial.

On top of his custodial sentence, Ashely is subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must comply with a restraining order protecting the victim in this case. He must also sign the Sex Offender Register indefinitely.

A Cheshire Police spokesperson said:

“Firstly, I would like to commend the victim in this case for reporting what happened to her and for her subsequent bravery throughout the trial after Ashley refused to admit his heinous crimes.

“But the jury saw through his lies and I hope the fact that he is now subject to a lengthy spell behind bars will give her some sense of closure.

“I also hope it encourages anyone who has been a victim of sexual offences to please contact us. We will investigate all reports thoroughly with the needs and wishes of the victim as our main priority.”

Description

An "extremely dangerous" predator is facing a long prison sentence after being convicted of raping a child. Daniel Carter was also found guilty of a string of other sexual offences against the victim.

Chester Crown Court was told Carter abused the girl - who was under 13 - over three years. He had denied all the allegations but was found guilty after a four-day trial.

Carter was found guilty by unanimous verdict of 10 counts of child sexual offences, including rape of a child under 13, exposure, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Police began an investigation in November 2022 following a disclosure made by the victim. Carter, aged 28, of no fixed abode but from the Macclesfield area, has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced on September 12.

Following the verdict, Detective Constable Steph Darbyshire said: “Firstly, I want to commend the victim for her bravery and courage shown throughout this investigation and trial. Sadly, there are no winners in this case, however I truly hope this result will provide her closure.

"I would like to thank the victim’s family who have whole-heartedly supported her and the investigation throughout. I would also like to thank my team and all those involved in securing this verdict – an immense amount of work has gone into ensuring the victim and other innocent children are safeguarded from what is an extremely dangerous sexual predator.

“Carter has shown no remorse for the horrific acts of abuse he subjected his victim to, and denied everything throughout the investigation, traumatising his victim further by putting her through a trial.

“Thankfully, the jury were able to see through his lies, and he will finally be held accountable for what he’s done.

“I hope this result will enable the victim to move past this part of her life, with the comfort of knowing Carter will never be able to hurt her again.”

As well as his sentence, Carter has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Description

A RAPIST ‘laughed wickedly’ before throwing scalding tea at a woman, leaving her with burns that required hospital treatment.

Kyle Hazeley only stopped with his ‘appalling and cruel’ serious sexual assault as the woman’s tears were ‘putting him off’.

The 34-year-old dad was later convicted of charges of rape, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Having initially denied the charges and other offences, he pleaded guilty to the aforementioned counts on the day of his trial.

These were accepted by the crown, with remaining charges to lie on his file, and his sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court was adjourned to Monday for reports to be prepared.

The offences were all committed in Warrington last year, the court heard from David Birrell, prosecuting.

Hazeley was in the kitchen of an address in the town with the victim. The pair were arguing and the defendant was told to leave, but he refused.

Instead, he asked her for sex a number of times, but she refused and made it clear that she was not interested.

However, Hazeley refused to take no for an answer, grabbing her by the hair, removing her jeans and underwear, and pushing her head down on the cooker, preventing her from moving away.

“She told him to stop and that she did not want to have sex, but this was to no avail,” Mr Birrell said.

It was said that she was crying during the incident and repeatedly told Hazeley to stop, but he ‘laughed wickedly and carried on’.

The court heard that he became rougher each time she told him to stop, that the victim felt that the incident ‘carried on for ages’, and that the defendant only stopped when he said that he ‘couldn’t carry on as her crying was putting him off’.

The assault occasioning actual bodily harm involved him pushing her into the kitchen units and kicking her, causing scratches and bruising.

Kyle Hazeley was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court

In terms of grievous bodily harm, this was caused by Hazeley after he threatened to ‘teach her a lesson’.

He ‘smashed’ her head on kitchen units a number of times, stood over her after she fell to the floor, and said: “Stay on the floor like the dog you are.”

The defendant then boiled the kettle, made himself a cup of tea with sugar in it, did another ‘wicked laugh’ and threw the scalding tea over her.

This caused scalding and burning through her jacket, which she instantly tried to remove, but he stopped her from doing so and ‘pushed the jacket down to make it stick to her skin’.

“He said that she deserved it and that it was not his fault, but hers,” Mr Birrell said, adding that Hazeley stopped her from seeking immediate medical attention.

When she did later attend A&E at Warrington Hospital, a doctor observed her 2” by 3” burn and referred her to the plastic surgery burn clinic at Whiston Hospital.

Here, her wound was cleaned and treated, and she was prescribed antibiotics.

In an impact statement, the victim said that she could not move her arm to brush her hair or have a shower after the tea incident, and that she did not want to go out in case anyone saw her injuries from the assault – or the defendant again.

She said that she was left fearful and anxious, has trouble sleeping still and has flashbacks, and is still uncomfortable when she hears the kettle.

“I feel like my life will not be the same again,” she said.

When Hazeley was arrested by Cheshire Police, he was interviewed twice and answered ‘no comment’ to questions put to him.

Mr Birrell revealed to the court that the defendant has nine previous convictions for 13 offences, with his most recent being for battery in 2009.

The court heard that the offences caused ‘severe psychological harm’ and permanent injury or scarring through the use of a weapon in the boiling tea.

Description

A PREDATOR sexually abused an underage girl before storing indecent images of her for his 'perverse pleasure', a court has heard.

William Booth, of Northwich, sexually abused the young girl under the age of 10 over a period of around three years up until 2020.

Chester Crown Court has heard how she told no-one what had happened until she told a therapist in the summer of last year. 

Prosecuting, Ember-Jade Wong read a statement by the now teenager about the psychological impact of the sexual abuse and of the trial process.

The statement said: "From the time of the abuse until recently I did not realise what he was doing was abuse."

The statement added: "I had a month off school because I could not cope. I started self-harming to try to cope."

At the time of the arrest, police seized a phone on which there were indecent images of the young girl, including images from a concealed camera of her getting dressed, getting undressed and going to the toilet.

There were also indecent images of another young girl as well as of an adult woman with a dog.

Booth pleaded guilty to voyeurism as well as making and possessing indecent images, but denied charges of sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by touching.

However it took a jury of 12 men and women no longer than an hour to find him guilty following a trial for all of the other offences this year.

Mitigating, Mark Le Brocq said he has no previous convictions and he is no longer a high risk after stopping the sexual abuse several years ago.

Mr Le Brocq said: "There came a time when he asked 'do you like what I am doing?' and she said no.

"He is able to control himself and he has demonstrated this for around five years after the last one."

On Wednesday, July 9, at Chester Crown Court, the 29-year-old was sentenced to 15 years in prison with a three-year extended licence period.

Recorder Philip Grundy said he is to be subject to a restraining order, a sexual harm prevention order and the sex offenders register for life.

Recorder Grundy said: "I considered your manner in court to have sinister undertones."

He added: "You have a preoccupation with sex and you were seeking thrills."

Description

A RAPIST who attacked a young woman trying to help him on a bridge in Warrington has been jailed.

Rhys Fowler, of Grangemoor in Runcorn, hung his head as he sat in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday.

Wearing a grey t-shirt and glasses, the 26-year-old only occasionally looked up to glance at proceedings and the public gallery.

Prosecuting, Frances Willmott told the court that Fowler was found guilty of two counts of rape following his trial in June.

It was heard that in 2017, the then 17-year-old was drunk when he committed the first rape.

His victim told him that she didn’t want to perform an intimate act with him when he told her ‘tough s**t’ and raped her.

The court heard how his victim was pinned down by him as she tried to push him away before he stopped.

Then, on October 15, 2018, Fowler was on a bridge in Warrington when he threatened to commit suicide.

A woman tried to assist Fowler, who had climbed over the bridge and told her not to touch him.

After 10 minutes, the then 19-year-old climbed back before he demanded she give him her hoodie.

Fowler told the young woman she could only have it back if she performed oral sex on him, which she refused.

The victim, who was also a teenager, gave him the hoodie but wasn’t wearing a t-shirt, so was left standing half naked on the bridge before he then proceeded to rape her.

Fowler was later arrested in 2023 after he distributed an indecent image of a child and was found with further indecent images and extreme pornography on his mobile phone.

This included one category A video, 18 category C images and one video, three extreme pornographic images and evidence of 17 prohibited images. These images included children aged between five to 15 years old.

Some images were not accessible to police upon investigation, as Fowler has been attempting to delete them and wipe his phone shortly before his arrest.

Fowler pleaded guilty to distributing, making and possessing indecent images of children, but denied the two counts of rape.

At his trial, Fowler continued to deny the charges but was later found guilty by a jury.

On Friday, the 26-year-old appeared before Liverpool Crown Court once again for his sentencing.

Bravely, an impact statement was read to the court by a victim.

“For a long time, I was angry at myself and felt like I’d let myself down,” she told the court.

“I felt who I had been was stolen from me. I constantly felt dirty and unclean.

“It’s been hard to build a life as normal girls my age have done. I now, as a woman, feel as if that has been taken from me.

“It happened to me, it will never go away.”

Defending, Philip Clemo began by speaking openly to the court that he did not seek to dimmish what a victim had bravely told the court.

He told the court that Fowler displays a level of immaturity, even aged 26, and so his immaturity as a teenager when he committed these offences should be taken into account.

It was also heard that Fowler has been seeking therapy and employment while on remand in custody.

“He is using what is about to happen to him as an opportunity to better himself and come out a better man than when he went in,” said Mr Clemo.

Judge Gary Woodhall spoke of the ‘degradation’ of Fowler’s victim on the bridge in Warrington, and the fact that the victim of the first rape ‘didn’t have time to react’.

It was also noted by Judge Woodhall that Fowler was deemed ‘immature’ at 26, and that therefore he would have been even more so when he committed the offences.

Fowler glanced at the floor as he stood in the dock and was sentenced to a total of six years and five months immediate imprisonment.

The 26-year-old must abide by a sexual harm prevention order until further notice and sign the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A man has been convicted of raping a woman at a home in Chester.

Paul Rowlands was found guilty of rape and assault by penetration following a trial at Chester Crown Court which concluded on Wednesday 2 July.

The 55-year-old of York Street, Chester, has since been remanded in custody and is set to appear at Chester Crown Court on Thursday 24 July where he will be sentenced.

During the trial, the court heard how the victim met Rowlands while she was at a friend’s house in Chester on Wednesday 3 May 2023.

Later that evening, the victim and a friend attended Rowland’s then address, on Saint Anne Street, Chester. The victim later fell asleep on the sofa.

She was woken by Rowlands who had grabbed the collar of her coat to drag her onto the floor.

He then raped and sexually assaulted her multiple times over the course of an hour. He also threatened to kill her unless she was quiet.

The victim managed to free herself from the address and eventually made her way to Chester Railway Station. There, she told two on duty officers what had happened to her.

Rowlands was later arrested on Friday 5 May 2023. During his interview, he stated he couldn’t remember any sexual activity and specifically denied having anal sex with the victim.

However, forensic enquiries later proved otherwise.

Rowlands was subsequently charged with the offences. Despite pleading not guilty, the overwhelming amount of evidence meant he was found guilty on all counts by a jury following a 7-day trial.

Following the verdict, Detective Sergeant Chester Ward said:

“Firstly, I would like to commend the victim for the courage and bravery that she has shown throughout this investigation.

“Rowlands is a sexual predator who took advantage of the victim while she was in a vulnerable and disoriented state, and what he subjected her to was nothing short of sickening.

“While the victim will never be able to forget what happened that night, I hope that the verdict reached will provide her with some reassurance and help her to move forward.”

DS Ward added:

“Nobody should have to experience what the victim has been through and if anything can come from this case, I hope that it encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to us.

“Cheshire Constabulary takes any allegation of sexual offences extremely seriously, and any allegation will be thoroughly investigated, with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority."

Description

A man who described himself as Cheshire’s very own Kardashian has been pleaded guilty to fraud and theft.

Jack Watkin, 26, formerly of Wilmslow Road, Alderley Edge funded his fantasy Instagram influencer lifestyle by defrauding businesses and individuals to a total value of more than £200,000.

Watkin appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 24 June where he pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud by false representation.

He has been remanded in custody and is set to be sentenced for the fraud and indecent images offences on Wednesday 3 September at Chester Crown Court.

The court heard how Watkin used the lure of designer handbag brand Hermes as a ruse to trick people into giving him the money he needed to afford his extravagant lifestyle.

The sought-after handbags can’t be purchased over the counter. You must be invited to buy a Hermes handbag which makes it a lucrative investment as the resale value can be much higher than the original price.

The victims were told by Watkin that he had the contacts that could give them access to the handbags and that they could split the profits made on resale. They handed over their money in good faith, but when no bag or sign of any money from the investment opportunity arose, they would begin to ask for their money back, but he always had excuses.

He duped one woman into handing over thousands thinking she was investing in the much sought after luxury handbag when she was in fact paying his bills at the Dorchester Hotel in London.

She, like the others never received the handbags or their share in the profits of their resale.

The investigation was launched after the woman who inadvertently paid for his luxury hotel bill contacted the Metropolitan Police back in 2022 when she became suspicious of Watkin’s continued excuses.

The case was subsequently referred to Cheshire Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit, who launched a full investigation.

Their enquiries unearthed a string of victims and a breath-taking amount of luxury goods, and hotel bills that Watkin's afforded by swindling his six victims.

During the investigation detectives also found indecent images on his mobile phone for which he was found guilty at a previous hearing for possession of indecent images, extreme pornography and prohibited images.

Description

William Woods was found guilty of 57 offences at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 24  June, including inciting children under the age of 14 to commit an act of gross indecency, incite boys aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and attempted rape.

In addition, he was found not guilty of one count of sexual assault and one count of neglect.

The 67-year-old of Lawton Street, Congleton, has been remanded in custody and is to be sentenced for his crimes on Friday 15 August.

During the course of his eight-week trial, it was heard that between 1976 and 2006, Woods had sexually abused eight children across the Northwich and Crewe areas of Cheshire.

Woods was football coach over the course of his offending and used his connections with family friends to build a position of trust and influence over the children, isolating them from their loved ones before sexually abusing them.

Woods also encouraged the young people to abuse one another, bringing multiple children together at his home to act out his warped sexual fantasisies.

Alongside his campaign of sexual abuse against these children, Woods was also physically abusive, with the court hearing how he had locked one of his victims in a cupboard for a prolonged period and burnt them with cigarettes and a pan that was being used for cooking.

In 2018, officers from Cheshire Police were approached by one of Woods’ victims. Subsequent enquiries into this victim’s case resulted in officers uncovering seven more victims, all of whom had been sexually and physically abused by Woods between the late 1970s and early 2000s.

Woods was interviewed on several occasions throughout the entire investigation before being formally arrested in 2022, outright denying any abuse - going so far as to tell interviewing officers that he had never even met several of the victims and that the ones he had previously met were lying about being abused.

The 67-year-old would be charged with 59 offences in January 2024.

Police Constable Emma Hughes, who oversaw the investigation, said:

"While on the outside William Woods looked to be a respectable member of the community; a coach of the local youth football team who had a good relationship with the children of family friends, he is, in reality, a malignant and opportunistic sexual predator who has already served a six-year sentence for sexual offences against young people in his care prior to our investigation into him in 2018.

“Being taken on holidays and camping trips are meant to be experiences that children should look back on with positive memories, but instead, Woods used the trust instilled in him to abuse the young people in his care, isolate them from their families and force them to act out his warped sexual fantasies over a period of 30 years.

“Despite the overwhelming amount of evidence against him, Woods refused to accept any responsibility for his own horrific actions. However, their abuser has now, at long last, been served justice and I hope that today marks the end of a very turbulent chapter in their lives that will allow them to find some sense of closure and begin to heal.

"Today's result is the culmination of over seven years policework and working alongside Woods' eight victims in bringing almost three decades of horrific abuse to a conclusion.

“Coming forward to disclose offences of this nature takes a huge amount of bravery. So, I would like to take this opportunity to commend each of the victims in this case whose evidence was vital in helping us build a case against William Woods, as I know it will not have been easy for them or their families to process.

“I would like to stress that, as this case has shown today, we take all reports of historic sexual abuse extremely seriously and we thoroughly investigate every report we receive, placing the victim's needs at the heart of the case, regardless of how long ago the offence occurred.”

Description

A man from Northwich has been found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing a young boy in the 1990s.

Trevor Leach was unanimously found guilty of 19 counts of gross indecency following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

The 65-year-old, of Verdin Avenue, Northwich, has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Friday 8 August.

The court heard Leach groomed and sexually abused the victim between 1992 and 1996, starting when the boy was just 12 years old.

The pair initially met while Leach was working at the former Elf garage, which was located opposite Hartford High School.

The victim recalled how Leach would regularly take him out in his car and back to his home, where he would sexually abuse him.

The victim initially chose not to report the incidents to police. However, in 2022 they had a chance encounter with Leach which triggered a number of memories and led them to report the allegations.

Following the reports an investigation was launched by detectives and Leach was questioned in relation to the allegations. Leach admitted that he knew the victim but denied any wrongdoing.

Despite his denial, he was later charged in relation to the allegations.

Description

A 45-year-old man has been jailed after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a child.

Giedrius Arcisauscas from Downing Close in Ellesmere Port appeared at Chester Crown Court on 22 April for a four-day trial. He was found guilty on 25 April of sexual assault of a girl under 13, sexual assault of a girl under 13 by penetration, and three counts of making an indecent image/pseudo image of a child.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Chester Crown Court on 12 June where he was sentenced to 13 years in prison and one year on licence.

He was handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

The court heard how on 27 February a mother and daughter attended his address for a party.

At one point Arcisauscas was upstairs in a bedroom with three children when two left the room leaving him alone with the victim, who was four at the time.

The mother heard a scream and went to the aid of her daughter who told her what had happened. She found Arcisauscas in the bedroom and slapped him before leaving.

It was reported to police and Arcisauscas was arrested. His mobile phone was seized and officers subsequently found six indecent images of children. He was arrested again regarding the images found on his phone.

Description

A man has been found guilty of sexual offences against children in the Winsford area more than 20 years ago.

Graham Lightfoot, of Hartwell Grove, Winsford, was found guilty of 11 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault on children on Tuesday 10 June at Liverpool Crown Court following a seven-day trial.

The 57-year-old will appear back at court on Friday 11 July for sentence.

The investigation commenced in June 2023 when Cheshire Police received reports of abuse that two victims had suffered as children between the year 2000 and 2004.

It was described how Lightfoot had indecently assaulted them when they were aged as young as 11. One of the victims was also sexually assaulted by him.

Following a thorough investigation, Lightfoot was later charged with the offences. He denied the charges but was found guilty following a trial.

Detective Constable Kelly Mitchell said:

“Firstly, I would like to thank the victims in this case for their courage throughout this investigation.

“Their brave disclosures detailed how Lightfoot had assaulted them on numerous occasions across many years, and they spoke about how these events had significantly impacted upon their lives.

“It is thanks to them that this predator has now been convicted of some horrendous crimes and will face the consequences of his actions.

“Lightfoot took advantage of two young girls and subjected them to prolonged abuse, demonstrating his absolute disregard for anyone other than himself and his own twisted sexual gratification.

“To report any sexual offence, no matter how long ago it took place, please call 101 or report online via our website. In an emergency, always call 999.”

Description

A DANGEROUS drug-driver is to spend longer behind bars after police found his stash of sickening child abuse images.

Craig Pryor, 46 and of of Robinson Road in Ellesmere Port, was jailed for four years in October after a motorcyclist was left with 'truly life-changing' injuries after being knocked off his bike. 

The victim was smashed into by Pryor in Winwick Lane, near to junction 22 of the M6 near Croft.

The day after the serious crash, when Cheshire Police were investigating the defendant, they rumbled his collection of images of children being sexually abused.

He was later charged with possessing indecent images of children, three counts of making them, and one of possessing prohibited images of children.

Having pleaded not guilty, matters went to trial, and he was convicted by a jury on all counts at Chester Crown Court.

He appeared back before the court recently to be sentenced, where Nicholas Williams, prosecuting, explained the nature of the offending.

Pryor was driving his grey Mercedes C350 erratically at around 9.20pm on Friday, May 26, 2023, when he caused the horrific collision in Winwick Lane.

He had gone to overtake the vehicle in front of him when he collided with a black Yamaha motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction.

The motorcyclist, a 42-year-old man from Woolston, suffered life-changing injuries, including the loss of an arm.

The extent of the victim’s injuries left the motorcyclist still receiving treatment more than 18 months after the collision, and it was said then that he could yet lose his leg.

Following roadside tests, Pryor was found to have delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and benzoylecgonine, the by-products of cocaine and cannabis use, in his system.

He was subsequently charged with two counts of drug driving and one of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, which he admitted at the last minute before his trial was due to start.

For the driving matters, Pryor was sentenced in October at Liverpool Crown Court to four years in prison and disqualified from driving for six years.

When investigating the defendant, police also came across 435 indecent images in his possession of children being sexually abused.

Of these, 255 were graded as category A – the most severe form of abuse involving child rape – while 100 were category B, and 80 were category C.

In addition, officers discovered 60 prohibited images of children, which are sexually explicit and generally in the form of sketches, paintings, and cartoons.

The particulars of the charges state that he possessed them in Ellesmere Port, where he lived, between February 2020 and May 2023.

For the abuse image charges, judge Steven Everett sentenced Pryor to an additional nine months in prison.

He must also sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for a period of 10 years.

In addition, the court approved an order to deprive him of his electronic device on which the images were stored.

Speaking after Pryor’s driving sentence, inspector Steve Griffiths, of Cheshire Police, said: “When you get behind the wheel of a vehicle, you are in control of a powerful machine, easily capable of causing serious injury or even death.

“Pryor completely ignored this, not abiding by the rules of the road or considering the safety of others, ultimately colliding with a vulnerable road user who had been travelling on the same stretch of road.

“The victim has suffered tremendously, both psychologically and physically, as a result of Pryor’s reckless choices.

“I welcome the sentence handed to Pryor, and I hope he truly considers how his actions have permanently changed the victim’s life.

“I also hope this case can serve as a reminder of the long-lasting impact of dangerous driving, deterring others from the same fate.”

Description

A REGISTERED sex offender is behind bars after being found lying naked next to a towpath on the Trent and Mersey Canal in Middlewich.

Christopher Higgins was in the nude next to the towpath near to Leadsmithy Street in the town on May 21.

Cheshire Police attended and arrested the 49-year-old, of Holmes Chapel Road, Middlewich, advising him to put on clothes while officers conducted their checks.

At Chester Magistrates Court the following day he pleaded guilty to one count of exposure and one count of outraging public decency.

He was sentenced to eight months in prison as, according to court documents, he is a 'repeat offender' causing 'anxiety against women'.

He is to be subject to the requirements of the sex offenders register for another decade.

Description

A man has been jailed after he pleaded guilty to child sexual offences.

Jake Knight, 37, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment at Stafford Crown Court on Wednesday 21 May.

He pleaded guilty to sexual assault, two counts of assault a girl under 13 by touching and cause/incite a girl under 13 to engagement in sexual activity at an earlier hearing at the same court last month.

The allegations against Knight were reported to us last year and our child protection team launched an investigation.

Knight was already on the Sex Offenders Register following previous offences.

Description

A CONVICTED sex offender has been locked up after being caught with depraved images of children being sexually abused.

Michael Mitchell was previously handed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and ordered to sign the sex offender register, in a bid to limit his ability to reoffend.

However, Cheshire Police found the vile material on the 34-year-old’s devices in Runcorn, and he was hauled before the courts.

The defendant was subsequently charged with three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and one of possessing prohibited images of children

He was also charged with two counts of failing to comply with the terms of his sex offender register notification requirements, and one of breaching a SHPO.

Mitchell admitted each offence at a previous hearing, with sentencing at Chester Crown Court adjourned until recently to allow for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Laura Knightly, prosecuting, explained that the authorities found 437 indecent images of children being sexually abused on Mitchell’s devices.

Of these, 49 were graded as category A – the most severe form involving child rape – while 48 were category B and 340 were category C.

A forensic examination also uncovered 671 prohibited images of children. These are not photographs and are often of an animated or cartoon nature.

Further offences uncovered included Mitchell failing to notify the police of a number of usernames and emails that he was using – in breach of the terms of his sex offender register requirements.

In addition, the defendant installed software on his computer that masked his internet search history, such as secure browsers and clean-up programmes, and had cloud-based storage – all in breach of the terms of his SHPO.

In sentencing, judge Simon Berkson concluded that appropriate punishment could only be achieved by way of immediate custody.

Mitchell, of Speakman Street in Runcorn, was sentenced to three years in prison.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offender register indefinitely, while an order to deprive him of his electronic devices seized by police was approved.