Latest Offenders Chester

Description

A serial voyeur caught filming hundreds of men using public toilets has walked free from court after being given 'a last chance'.

Adrian Grace, from Salford, has a 'string' of previous convictions for the same offence and had been issued an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) 10 years ago following one of his voyeurism convictions.

However Manchester Crown Court heard the 54-year-old carried on regardless as he 'could not control himself'. He was caught with hundreds of videos on his phone he had recorded in public toilets.

Prosecuting, Tobias Collins described Grace as a 'known sex offender' who 'takes pictures and videos of men using the toilet without their consent'. His latest conviction follows an incident that unfolded last December 8 at Manchester Airport.

Mr Collins said Grace entered the toilets at Terminal 2 arrivals at around 11am that day with two mobile phones.

The court heard Grace positioned himself in a cubicle, waited for someone to arrive in one of the next cubicles, before placing his phone underneath the dividing wall to record his victims, the Manchester Evening News reports.

One of his victims noticed the phone and asked Grace 'are you taking pictures of me?', to which Grace replied 'no I'm not', Mr Collins said. The court heard Grace moved into a different cubicle while his victim 'searched the immediate surroundings' in a bid to find the offender.

After being unable to find Grace, the victim contacted the police, who arrested Grace at the scene and confiscated his phones. Mr Collins said officers examined the phones for evidence before finding 'hundreds of videos taken by the defendant in public places', dating between January 2019 and the day of his arrest.

Grace was arrested again at Manchester Airport on May 15 this year, at around 7.10am, for a further offence of voyeurism carried out while on bail. Mr Collins said the defendant admitted his offences to police. He said: "[Grace] explained he had gotten drunk on the evening of December 7 with a friend. He carried on drinking and was not sure how he got to the airport."

The court heard Grace told police he carried out the offences 'for his own sexual gratification' and that he 'knew what he was doing was wrong'. Mr Collins told the court Grace 'felt disgusted by himself' and that he 'could not control himself'. "This was for his own gratification and he watched the videos afterwards," he said. Mr Collins said that of the videos found on Grace's phone, 'hundreds' were shot at Manchester Airport, while a small number were filmed on trips to Romania and Belgium.

A statement from one of Grace's victims, read by Mr Collins, said: "I will now feel nervous and have to check the toilets every time I use them. I will be very wary from now on. I don't know who this person is." The victim added: "It's very disturbing that this person could have intimate photos of me which he has no right to have."

Grace admitted three offences of voyeurism at Manchester Magistrates Court on May 16, dating between January 23, 2019, and May 15 this year, before his case was moved to Manchester Crown Court. The court heard Grace had eight previous convictions following 14 offences. They included two voyeurism convictions in 2007, one in October 2013 when he was issued an ASBO related to his behaviour, and further convictions in November 2014 and May 2018. Mr Collins said 'all these cases' involved Grace entering public bathrooms and recording people.

Reflecting on Grace's criminal past, defence counsel Hannah Forsyth told His Honour Judge Field KC: "The defendant could have no complaint if your honour were minded to sentence him to custody." She explained how her client had sought counselling and psychotherapy since being released on bail at a previous court appearance, while he works two jobs and volunteers at a soup kitchen. She also handed Judge Field KC a handwritten letter from her client, which he read silently in court. The judge admitted Grace's latest offending followed 'a string of previous convictions for the same offence' and breached his ASBO.

He described Grace, of Fram Street, Salford, as a voyeur who 'does not appear to respect the privacy of fellow human beings' and someone who 'does not appear to understand the seriousness of court orders'. But the judge praised the 'positive steps' Grace had been taking since his previous court appearance, and suggested there was a 'reasonable prospect of rehabilitation' for him.

Grace, wearing a grey suit with red tie and his short hair spiked up, wept as he told the judge 'thank you' after being told he would not be going to prison today. Judge Field KC told the court there were '400 videos on the phone' and reflecting on Grace's previous convictions, he said: "There are far too many of them." "This must be regarded as your last chance," said Judge Field KC. "All of the offences that you committed were in some way using a mobile telephone to take pictures and videos of men using public toilets, all for your own gratification."

The judge added: "I have to have regard to the fact that since I released you on bail you have taken positive steps to address your offensive behaviour because, quite frankly Mr Grace, it has got to stop - and it has got to stop here." Grace replied: "I know, your honour." Judge Field KC continued: "I hope you do, because I repeat: this is your last chance." He issued Grace with a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Grace must also attend an accredited programme for sex offenders and 30 rehabilitation days. He will sign the sex offenders' register for seven years and was issued a new sexual harm prevention order banning him from airports, except for pre-arranged travel, and with restrictions on being able to use devices.

Grace was also ordered to pay costs of £510 and required to be monitored for alcohol abstinence for 60 days. As he told Grace he was free to leave, Judge Field KC said: "I sincerely hope that we never meet again, at least not in these circumstances."

Description

A comedian who has appeared on Channel 4’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown has been sentenced after being found with more than 35,000 indecent images of children.

Christopher Thomas Binns, whose character is hospital DJ Ivan Brackenbury, pleaded guilty last November to five counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing a prohibited image.

Derby Crown Court heard the 53-year-old was found to have thousands of images on multiple devices.

Binns, who has no previous convictions, was spared jail on Thursday, with Judge Shaun Smith KC handing him a suspended sentence.

Lauren Fisher, prosecuting, said 104 category A indecent images – the most serious – were found, along with 411 in category B and 34,946 in category C.

Ms Fisher also said three prohibited images were found, along with one category B and one C moving image.

However, Judge Smith warned that some of the images may have been duplicates.

Ms Fisher said all the images were downloaded between March 26 and November 21, 2020.

She said: “Between October 14 and 15, 2020 the National Crime Agency received information that the user of [the defendant’s email] had uploaded multiple category C indecent images of children.”

A warrant was executed at Binns’s address at Bole Hill, Calow, Derbyshire, and he was arrested, with 39 devices seized including a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and an iPad.

Ms Fisher said: “During the investigation, it was established that a third party of Mr Binns’s partner had been asked to sell several devices on behalf of Mr Binns.

“Those devices were also checked.”

The devices, including two hard drives, were found to also include thousands of accessible and inaccessible images, including 25,000 inaccessible category C images.

Matthew Hayes, mitigating, said Binns had not committed any other offences since this incident and referenced the impact of prescribed medication his client was taking at the time, but did not fully elaborate in court.

In an earlier statement to the comedy news website Chortle, Binns said: “Over two years ago, while under the influence of an overdose of prescription drugs for ADHD, which induced obsessive-compulsive disorder, I downloaded and deleted a very large amount of adult pornography over a short period of time.

“Within those downloads, it appears there was some child pornography which I had not sought out nor wanted.

“I have no sexual interest in children. I have taken and passed a polygraph stating I have no sexual interest in children.

“I am bitterly upset at the hurt this has caused my family, for which I take full responsibility.

“I will take my punishment for this and hope that my family are not further harmed by my actions.”

Judge Smith said Binns’s offending was “simply unacceptable” but deemed he does not pose a risk to the public, and is unlikely to re-offend.

He gave Binns a combined 10-month sentence, suspended for 15 months, made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, and ordered him to sign the sex offender register, both for 10 years.

He said: “You are sickened by what it was that you were downloading and looking at and, quite frankly, you don’t need me to tell you that you should be, because this kind of offending has real victims.

“It is right to say that had it not been for Covid, had it not been for the medication you were taking at that period of time, you would not be before the court, but the fact is that you are.

“You have returned to the law-abiding life that you were living before these offences.”

Binns’s character Ivan Brackenbury was nominated at the Edinburgh Festival for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2007, and he has also appeared on BBC drama Spooks and Channel 4’s IT Crowd.

Following sentencing, Holly Triggs, operations manager at the National Crime Agency, said: “Tom Binns deliberately collected a huge number of indecent images of children.

“Behind each one is an abused child who has had their wellbeing, innocence and privacy violated.

“Demand for images is a major driver of child sexual abuse globally, so we at the NCA are unrelenting in our commitment to protecting children from sexual abuse and bringing serious offenders to justice.”

Description

Shamus Harte (07/06/1996) of Lower Broughton, was today (Wednesday 16 August 2023) jailed for 12 years at Manchester Crown Court, after pleading guilty to the following offences:

• Meeting a child following sexual grooming
• Four counts of making indecent photographs of a child
• Two counts of rape of a child under 13 years of age
• Abduction of a child
• Possession of a bladed article
• Harte was also sentenced for theft and handling stolen goods offences completely unrelated to this case.

The court heard how, over a period of time, after engaging with the youngster via social media platforms, Harte obtained indecent images of her. He would also then regularly meet her in Broughton Park, where Harte would capture some of their encounters on his mobile phone.

Harte was arrested in March 2022 on suspicion of meeting a female child under 16 following sexual grooming and subsequently arrested in October 2022 for child abduction and possession of a bladed article. After reviewing his mobile devices, which contained child sexual abuse images and videos, Harte was charged with further offences of rape of a child under 13 years old and remanded in custody.

Welcoming in the sentence, DS Hannah Rudd and PS Camron Pierre, who were with the Complex Safeguarding Hub at the time of the investigation, said: "First of all, we would like to thank the victim and survivor in this case, and her family, who have shown dignity, bravery and strength in seeing this through to conviction and sentencing.

"We know that no amount of time is going to erase what Harte subjected her to, but we hope that today's result goes some way in allowing them to process what has happened and to begin to heal.

"This investigation was a long and complex one, in which the City of Manchester Complex Safeguarding Hub (CSH) worked tirelessly to gather evidence against Harte and see him subsequently locked up.

"This result showcases the multi-agency work between the CSH, social workers and local council, and we are happy that Harte is off the streets and no longer a threat to young girls.

Description

A former well-known Manchester DJ has avoided jail after being caught with indecent images of children breaching a court order. Scot Reedy, 36, had previously been before the courts for similar offences when he was sentenced to a suspended prison term in February 2021.

Along with the sentence, he was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which stated he must inform his offender manager of any devices he owns that are capable of accessing the internet.

However, during an unannounced visit from Greater Manchester Police, officers found twelve devices, with one containing computer-generated indecent images of young children.

Appearing at Manchester Crown Court today (August 14), Reedy admitted to breaching the order and was sentenced to a community order.

Brendan O’Leary, prosecuting, told the court that on September 5 2020, Reedy appeared before Tameside Magistrates in relation to offences of possession of indecent images of children. He was sentenced for those crimes on February 15, 2021, to a 16 month jail term which was suspended for two years, and ordered to complete the Horizon programme, which is delivered to male sex offenders who are at risk of reoffending.

He was also handed a SHPO to run until February 2031, with a number of conditions including that he must inform his offender manager of any devices that can connect to the internet.

“On March 23 of last year, the offender manager from GMP’s Sex Offender Manager Unit along with another officer attended his home address to conduct an unannounced visit to assess the defendant’s behaviour in the community,” the prosecutor said.

“Found on the defendant’s phone were photos which were prohibited. As the phone was seized, the defendant said: ‘I can prove to you I didn’t download them on purpose’.”

The phone was examined, and officers found 330 inaccessible prohibited images of children, along with social media searches for indecent images which took place on one day in December 2021.

The searches included ‘paedo bait’, ‘minor NSFW’, ‘incest’ and ‘IRL shota’. The court heard that ‘shota’ is a term used to describe sex between a child and an adult.

Reedy was arrested, and a further 12 devices were recovered, each capable of accessing the internet. They also found a ‘childlike’ sex doll in his possession, for which he was not subject to prosecution.

He was said to have three previous convictions for 16 offences including for making indecent images of children.

In mitigation, Joshua Bowker said the 12 devices found did not have any criminality on them. Of the images recovered, he said they were 3D generated images, and so no actual children were pictured.

“There is significantly more harm in actual images of children, rather than computer generated ones,” he said.

He said his client had a ‘lax attitude’ towards the court order and said there was a degree of ‘forgetfulness’ in his compliance with it.

Mr Bowker added that Reedy has an autism diagnosis, of which he is still coming to terms with, and is willing to work with probation to assist him. “He is ashamed of himself,” he said.

Sentencing, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said Reedy had served the equivalent of a 10 month sentence in custody whilst waiting to be sentenced, and there would be ‘greater protection to the public’ if dealt he was with in the community.

“It will be hard to find anyone who will take a risk that I have today, in the hope that you will be rehabilitated or that you will be able to manage the addiction that you currently have,” she said.

“You have cooperated well with the course in the past, and the probation service are satisfied you can be sentenced in the community.”

Reedy, of Meadowgate Road, in Salford, was sentenced to an 18 month community order, 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 130 hours of unpaid work. He previously pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited image of a child, failure to notify with the requirements of the Sex Offences Act and breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He remains under the terms of the Sex Offenders Register and Sexual Harm Prevention order for 10 years.

Description

A mother sexually abused a 14-year-old boy after teenagers used her "doss house" to drink and smoke cannabis.

Deborah Taylor, then 33, had a relationship with one of the kids, who was 14 and cannot be named for legal reasons; an abuse that went on for eight years during the 1990s and early 2000s.

A court heard they split for undisclosed reasons when the victim was in his 20s and he initially kept quiet about the abuse until, in January 2020, nearly two decades after the fling started, he went to the police.

Taylor, now 62, was arrested and jailed for two years after admitting indecent assault. A victim impact statement, read at Bolton Crown Court, heard the man was "robbed of a childhood".

Judge Martin Walsh told Taylor: "You effectively groomed the complainant into a sexual relationship. He was extremely vulnerable by virtue of the neglect he endured as a child. Unquestionably, you took advantage of him at that time. Although I do not deem you to be a risk to the public I cannot ignore the harm that was done by the offending. It was not isolated but rather occurred across a long period of time."

The victim, now in his 40s, continued: "Everyone would hang out with Deb because we could do what we wanted at her home. At the time I felt comfortable and stable there, I felt like everything was going good for me.

"Now I can't understand why she would be interested in a relationship with an under-18-year-old. I have spent the last few years regretting everything that happened to me. I was robbed of a childhood.

"I feel depressed and question myself all the time now. I was just a boy, and she knew it was wrong. I was vulnerable and she took full advantage of this. This has taken such a long time to get to this point. Now I feel I can finally move past it and put a lid on this nasty box. I am walking away with my head held high."

During the hearing, it emerged one of Taylor's own children was the same age as the lad she "effectively groomed". Taylor, now a grandmother, had previous convictions for assault, shoplifting and supplying cannabis, the court was also told.

She was issued with an indefinite restraining order banning her from contacting the victim and was ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for 10 years.

Nicholas Clarke, prosecuting told the hearing: "The boy lived with his father whose parenting left much to be desired as he was usually in the pub.

"School attendance was sporadic and basic amenities were almost as sparse as the presence of his father at home. The complainant often had no heating and food was a rarity in the house and this inevitably led him to develop a habit for drinking and smoking cannabis.

"He and other children of his age would also often attend Deborah Taylor's address. According to them it was 'doss house.' When the complainant was 14, he was persuaded to stay the night by the defendant. This inevitably meant sleeping with her in her bed. This led to the pair developing a relationship with each other, acting as partners and having regular sexual intercourse.

"At the start of their relationship the defendant would have been 33 years old. She had five children at the time, one of which was the same age as the complainant. At the time, social services were aware that he was living at the house, but they did not realise that the only place he could have been sleeping was her bed.

"He said there was always food and heating available at the defendant's house and he had a sense of stability there. However, by being in the relationship he was deprived of his childhood, of making friends and exploring the world.

"In January 2020 the complainant reported the defendant to the police. She went for interview with Greater Manchester Police in February of that year and admitted to being in a relationship with him. She described it as a perfectly normal relationship and that he would come round to play with her son who was the same age. She never admitted to having sexual intercourse with him before the age of 18."

Taylor, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, changed her plea to guilty in June of this year. Her lawyer, Jon Close, said she felt "deep shame, disgust and anger" at the offence.

In mitigation, Mr Close said: "The defendant feels deep shame, disgust and anger at herself. She had a difficult childhood herself, left school at a young age, unable to read and write. She then went to a factory and shortly after that became pregnant and had five children.

"She then entered an utterly damaging relationship, which involved violence, manipulation and sexual abuse. The scars were writ large, and she still suffers from panic attacks today. The only explanation she can proffer for why these offences were committed was that she was alone and frighten and this new relationship made her feel safe. She is not the person now that she was then.

"For the last nine years she has been in a stable relationship with a supportive partner. Although she has never properly worked, she has done voluntary work with hospices, homelessness charities and the church."

Description

A convicted paedophile has admitted 21 further offences of sexually abusing young boys while overseas.

Christopher Behn, 68, from Colchester, is already serving a nine-year prison term for abusing 11 children in Myanmar in 2016.

The new charges related to the abuse of boys, aged six to 11, in Vietnam.

Behn, who police described as a "committed and prolific transnational child sex offender", is due to be sentenced next month.

The retired engineer appeared in Chelmsford Crown Court by video link from HMP Albany on the Isle of Wight.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency (NCA), Europol and Dutch authorities identified Behn as a member of a Europe-wide network who travelled together to abuse children across the globe.

He was arrested at Gatwick Airport in February 2020, after investigators identified him as appearing in images with another member of the network - a Dutch national who was convicted in the Netherlands.

Behn was detained by officers before he could board a flight to Vietnam.

Photographs taken by Behn, showing him abusing children, were recovered from encrypted electronic devices.

His travel history showed he had visited Vietnam 18 times since 2006, along with trips to Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, India, and Myanmar, the NCA said.

He and the Dutch national had also written diaries that described in graphic detail the abuse committed by the pair on many of these trips.

In June this year, Behn was further charged with 23 counts of sexually assaulting a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity between 2008 and 2018.

He denied two of the charges, but will not face trial on those counts.

Phil Eccles, NCA operations manager, said Behn was "a committed and prolific transnational child sex offender, who dedicated years of his life to this criminal network".

"Behn and his like-minded friends conducted their offending in remote parts of the world and conspired together via encrypted chats in the hope of hiding their horrific offending from law enforcement," he said.

The agency said it had identified a further five men based in the UK believed to have links to the network and investigations were ongoing in a number of countries across Europe.

Description

A vile sex offender used the online alias 'Daddy Dominant Little Girls' to target children all over the world. Benjamin Lancaster claimed to be in polyamorous relationship and would scour the internet for victims.

He would give them a list of rules they had to abide by - including times to go to bed; what they could wear; who they could go out with; and which sexual acts they would partake in.

Lancaster, 33, would target extremely vulnerable children promise them a better life, cops said. He made them call him 'Daddy'.

He used the nickname 'Daddy Dominant Little Girls'. His sickening crimes were discovered when a carer of one of the children checked her online logs and uncovered indecent images and videos.

Lancaster was arrested in October 2021. Analysis of his phone and devices revealed he was communicating inappropriately with children all over the world.

Detectives suspect there may be other victims and have urged them to come forward after he was jailed. Lancaster, of Charles Street, Swinton, Salford, has been locked up for 10 years and six months at Manchester Crown Court for rape; possession of indecent images; and arranging/facilitating travel for sexual purposes in relation to two under-16 victims.

He will be on the sex offender register for life and has been made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

Det Con Emma Puckering, of Greater Manchester Police's Salford Connect Team, said: "Lancaster is going to be behind bars, and away from children, for many years to come. We would like to commend the strength and bravery of the victims and their support systems, who have supported the prosecution to conclusion.

"We know that the sentencing will never erase what they experienced at the hands of Lancaster, but we hope that it signifies the beginning of the rest of their lives, allowing them to start to heal and come to terms with what's happened."

Description

A man who broke into an Oldham care home and tried to rape an elderly woman has been jailed.

Jake Astley, of Sharples Hall Street, Oldham, appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday (July 31) after pleading guilty to attempted rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in May.

Prosecution counsel Rachel Faux told the court that in the early hours of January 1 this year, Astley, 22, tried to gain entry into a care home in Oldham care home by kicking a door, before eventually entering through a faulty door at around 2.30am.

Three employees became aware of Astley's trespassing but he began shouting and threatening them while holding a butter knife, forcing the staff to hide and call the police.

When police arrived, Astley had locked himself inside a resident's room, but police managed to gain access through a master key.

When they entered, Astley was found half-naked while his elderly victim was lying in bed with significant injuries to her head and face, including bruising and a cut which had caused bleeding.

The victim is not able to verbally communicate and suffers with dementia and partial paralysis, the court heard.

During bodycam footage of the arrest, which was played in court, Astley could be heard screaming that he had been "forced to do it" by the victim.

In a police interview, Astley said he had been drinking from 5am the previous day and had taken cocaine, causing him to have no recollection of the incident.

The victim's granddaughter read out a victim impact statement to the court, saying the victim used to be "happy" but has now become "withdrawn" and no longer eats food, causing her to be hospitalised.

The woman said she will "remember the trauma" of the day she visited the victim in the hospital for the rest of her life.

She added: "Jake Astley has not just destroyed my grandma's life but mine and my family's lives.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to get over the trauma of this."

Defending, Stuart Neale, said it appeared that Astley was "in the midst of a psychotic episode" at the time of the incident and that he had no recollection of the events having been "off his head".

He said Astley feels deep and genuine remorse and now "hates himself" for his actions which he described as "horrible", before adding that Astley has expressed suicidal thoughts.

Mr Neale said Astley's history of drinking and taking drugs had begun during his teenage years, saying it is "difficult to imagine a worse adolescence" than the one Astley experienced.

A psychiatric report said that Astley had a history of mental illness.

When passing sentence, Judge Bernadette Baxter said the report had ruled out that Astley was having a psychotic episode at the time of the incident.

Judge Baxter said to Astley: "You have quite simply devastated [the victim's] final years and these years for her whole family.

"The consequences of your offending will stay with them forever."

Judge Baxter sentenced Astley to 10-and-a-half years in prison, which he will serve at least two thirds of before he can be referred to a parole board for release, as well as an extended licence period of three years.

Astley was also placed on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

Detective Constable Sharon Harper of GMP’s Oldham district said: “The crimes that Jake Astley committed that night were horrific and we would like to thank the victim, her loved ones and the care home staff for their continued support throughout our investigations. This was no doubt a long and distressing investigation for the victim and her loved ones.

“Jake Astley – whilst under the influence of drugs and alcohol - was able to gain access to the premises and arrogantly and knowingly walk through the care home to commit crime where vulnerable adults resided whilst he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

“He not only put the care home’s residents and staff through danger by threatening them with a knife and chasing them through their place of work or their home with a knife, but he then committed further atrocious crimes to a vulnerable elderly woman.

“Astley knowingly entered the victim’s bedroom, preyed upon her vulnerabilities, and began to assault and sexually assault her. His crimes are horrific and his lack of remorse for the victim and her welfare is despicable. Astley is a dangerous individual who fully deserves the sentence imposed on him.

“We also completely understand that this case taking place in an assisted living/care home environment will cause some concern within the local community.

“We would like to assure members of the public that incidents like these are extremely rare, and we are working in collaboration with local authorities, care homes and support organisations to ensure that vulnerable people and residents are better protected and supported from all partners including GMP.

“This case demonstrates the seriousness with which Greater Manchester Police deal with report of sexual assaults, including those committed against women and girls. We will believe you; we will support you and we will do everything we can to bring an offender to justice.”

Description

A SEX offender caught out by a police team dedicated to protecting vulnerable children online has been jailed.

Liam l’Anson North, 29, was sentenced to three years and four months yesterday (Monday, July 24) at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty by a jury of three online child sex offences.

He thought he was in contact with a young child but was in fact speaking with undercover West Yorkshire Police staff.

He was found guilty of offences of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and two offences of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

His activity first came to light in mid-2021 when an account using an alias created by l’Anson North, from Middleton in Rochdale, made contact via social media with a West Yorkshire Police-controlled account.

Thinking the person he was speaking with was a 13-year-old female, the male engaged the account holder in conversation which quickly became sexual.

He was arrested by officers in June 2021 and charged on February 18, 2022, to appear before magistrates.

Investigations in the case were carried out by the Kirklees Online Investigation Team and the West Yorkshire Police Digital Forensics Unit.

Working together the teams were able to uncover a number of messages from l’Anson’s devices - despite the attempts he made to delete them and hide his activity.

PC James Hackman of the Online Investigation Team, said: “We welcome the sentencing of L’Anson North and believe he poses a real risk to young children.

“In his conversations, he demonstrated clear intent to commit serious sexual offending against young children, and it is fortunate the person he thought he was speaking with was actually a police officer.”

He added: “A key part of this investigation was the very close working between Kirklees officers and our specialist colleagues at the Digital Forensics Unit which provided us with a full picture of activity L’Anson North would rather have stayed hidden.

“This case should also make very clear to those who think they can ‘cover their tracks’ when engaging in child sexual offending that force specialists are extremely skilled at retrieving deleted evidence from phones and computer equipment.”

Description

Clive McCleester, 77, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

A former cathedral verger has been jailed for sexually assaulting two teenage boys.

Clive McCleester, 77, was sentenced to 16 years on Thursday after pleading guilty to 10 counts of sexual abuse.

The first victim was assaulted between 1969 and 1970, when McCleester was a child welfare supervisor at a Hampshire boarding school.

The second victim was sexually abused when he was the head verger at Southwark Cathedral in the 1980s.

He abused the victim, who was a chorister, at his flat, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The victims came forward in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

'Lifelong trauma'

McCleester pleaded guilty to carrying out sexual abuse between 1968 and 1987 on 26 June at Inner London Crown Court.

Momata Matin, senior crown prosecutor from the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit in London South, said: "McCleester flagrantly abused his position of authority and trust within the communities he served to commit vile offences against young boys, leaving lifelong trauma.

"The abuse has clearly had a profound impact on the victims.

"I would like to highlight the bravery of the victims and thank them, the witnesses, and the prosecution team, for helping bring McCleester to justice.

"The first victim sadly passed away after giving police his evidence, so was unable to hear the guilty verdict.

"I hope his family can have a sense of peace knowing that justice has been finally served."

Description

A thug who sexually assaulted one ex-girlfriend and attacked another has walked free after a judge told him that she was giving him a final chance to 'learn his lesson'.

Luke Madeley Bell, 24, described as a real life 'Jekyll and Hyde' forced himself on one victim whilst they lay in bed together saying: 'I have not had sex in a long time.' 

Another woman he subsequently dated was throttled until she passed out during an argument about her ex-boyfriend.

Madeley-Bell, from Manchester, admitted to sexual assault, intentional strangulation, three counts of assault and two of criminal damage at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.

However, he avoided jail after a judge decided to give him a final change to learn his lesson. 

He was subsequently sentenced to 19 months jail, suspended for 24 months and ordered to complete the 'Building Better Relationships' programme, 20 rehabilitation activity hours and 120 hours of unpaid work. 

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for seven years.

Police who arrested Madeley-Bell last March over the attacks discovered he had a previous conviction for assaulting, harassing and intimidating a third ex-girlfriend who reported him to police. He later blamed his behaviour on his heavy drinking.

In a statement the second victim said: 'I still love Luke but I hate what he has done to me. I struggle to sleep because I know what he is capable of doing to me. It left me shamed, embarrassed and afraid.'

The court heard the first victim met Madeley-Bell in a work setting and they began a relationship shortly afterwards.

Mr Ben Lawrence, prosecuting, said: 'All was well for the first month, but soon after that the defendant began to get paranoid and jealous of the complainant. He kept checking her phone and asking her if she had been with any other men.

'The defendant had anger management issues that the complainant was aware of, however he did not attend the anger management sessions scheduled for him. These issues were exacerbated when he refused to take his medication and began drinking more and in one incident he lashed out at her, hurting her back in the process.

'She reported this incident to the police, but it was not taken further. She did however get a domestic violence protection order against him. After the order expired, the defendant rang the complainant, saying he wanted to resume the relationship.

'They agreed to get back together, but shortly after this his behaviour resumed. There were a number of other incidents between the two, which the complainant did not report to the police. Later both parties were lying in bed and were wearing pyjamas with no underwear on.

'The defendant slid his hand inside of her pyjama bottoms, to which the complainant slapped his hand away, saying, 'I'm tired'. He then tried to plea with her, saying he hadn't had sex in a long time and persistently tried to engage in sex. Later that night, the complainant was awoken by the feeling of the defendant's fingers attempting to penetrate her. He was persistent and continued to beg for sex.

'In another incident the pair were out together. The defendant had been drinking heavily and had become aggressive. In response, the complaint left him in the venue. The defendant then sent seven abusive messages to her, including one asking her to meet him at Tesco.

'They met up in the Tesco car park and went into the supermarket. An argument ensued and the defendant threw a box of dog food at her head. The store security came over and told them to leave but outside the store, the defendant threw the dog food into a nearby field and began to threaten the complainant, saying, 'I am going to punch and kick the life out of you.'

'A passer-by came over to the complaint and asked if she was alright, to which she replied, 'No, I'm not alright.' The defendant then approached the passerby and asked if he wanted to fight with him. The complainant walked towards her car and sat inside but the defendant then forced his way in.

'She grabbed her dog, which was with her, and left for a family member's house, where she stayed the night but when she got back home the next day, she found that the defendant had got into her house and made £100 worth of damage to her wardrobe. The relationship ended after this incident.'

Mr Lawrence added: 'A month later the defendant began a relationship with another woman. Similar to the previous relationship, it was good at first, but then the defendant began to get paranoid, and this was aggravated by drinking and drugs. The police were called after an incident where the complainant had to lock herself in the bathroom to hide herself from the defendant.

'Later the pair had participated in a pub quiz before returning home. At home, they began to argue about the complainant's ex-partner. The complainant was recording him during the argument, but her grabbed the phone and called her 'pathetic' and a 'slag'.

'He then began laughing at her but when he asked if she would get back her ex, she said she would. At this point, the defendant grabbed her by the throat and began to strangle her. After initially resisting, she began to lose consciousness. She thought she was going to pass out and die. When she passed out, the defendant began shouting 'no, no, no' in panic and they both fell off the bed.'

'The complainant came to and shouted, ''you psycho, you just tried to kill me. Why don't you just kill me then?'' He then tried to grab her again, but she ran home and stayed with her mother that night. The next day, co-workers noticed her behaviour was strange, and she was sent home early from work. The next day, her neck was hurting and she had consistent headaches. She went to hospital and found she had swollen lymph nodes and scratches on the back of her neck.

'In the time she was away, the defendant had gone to her flat and smashed her TV and turned the fridge off. The defendant was arrested on the 29th of March and gave no comment in interview. He has remained in custody since the 31st of March.'

Madeley-Bell had one previous offence for an assault on another former girlfriend in 2021. 

He also harassed her calling her up and issued threats not to take her case to trial otherwise her children would be taken away. 

He was handed a six-month community at the time and was ordered to have treatment for addiction issues.

In mitigation, his counsel Nicola Carroll said: 'Unfortunately, this is a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde situation, and there is a clear escalation of his behaviour when he has been drinking. He is still a young man, and men don't often reach emotional and neurological maturity until much older. It is clear that the defendant needs more help.'

'He is somebody who is fully aware of the punishment he will receive, but he wants to make himself a better man, not only for him but the others he has a relationship with in the future.

Judge Stephen Davies told Madeley-Bell: 'These are serious offences, especially considering your previous offences. However, I believe it is better for you and the community that you get constructive rehab work alongside appropriate punishment -although you will have a proverbial guillotine hanging over you for the next two years.

'I hope you will understand you have been given a final chance today. You will take that, learn your lesson, and not come back to these courts again.'

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A Heywood man has been sentenced to nine years in prison with a two-year extended licence after being convicted of rape and sexual assault.

The court heard that Francis Henshaw aged 42, of Bury New Road,pressured the victim to join him in a back street, he proceeded to sexually assault her. A member of the public intervened in the incident and led the victim away.

Henshaw committed a further offence in December 2022, when he approached a woman on a night out in Rochdale Town Centre. A short time later, he sexually assaulted and raped her in a secluded area.

In addition to his imprisonment, Henshaw has been placed on the sex offender’s register for an indefinite period of time, to be reviewed regularly.

Detective Sergeant Steven Gilliland, of GMP’s Rochdale district, said: “Firstly I would like to thank the victims in these awful incidents for their bravery throughout this process. I would also like to thank all of the witnesses who came forward to help us bring about this result.

“Multiple officers and detectives have worked hard on this case and their efforts have ensured that the victims of this case received the justice that they deserved.

“Francis’ actions were abhorrent, and we welcome this sentence. This is a stark warning to offenders in Greater Manchester – this sort of behaviour will be treated with zero tolerance.”

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A paedophile who plied a schoolgirl with cannabis and repeatedly sexually abused her after meeting on Snapchat has been jailed.

Faisal Khan, 20, met up with the girl ‘nearly every day’ and had an ‘intense sexual relationship’ with her, Manchester Crown Court previously heard.

The pair initially met on Snapchat via one of the girl’s friends. Khan complimented her and told her she was ‘pretty’, before meeting up with her in person and giving her cannabis.

He would tell her to meet him in a nearby park because he was ‘clearly concerned her mum would find out’, prosecutor Ben Lawrence said.

They shared more than 3,000 messages on the social media platform and Khan 'made her feel special'. He told the schoolgirl that he loved her and they shared kisses and heart emojis on Snapchat. He also provided her with cannabis, alcohol and nitrus oxide balloons.

The victim described not knowing whether he was her boyfriend or not but that the relationship had turned from something “cute” to “sour”.

At one stage he suggested they could spend time in a hotel room together, and said he would 'f*** her hard'. "He knew full well she was a schoolgirl," Mr Lawrence said.

Prosecutors said that he would have known she was still at school because she told him about incidents in her education, and even picked her up from school.

On one occasion the girl went to Khan's home and they had sex while his father was asleep in another room in the house.

And on another occasion, he picked up the girl and her younger brother, giving them both alcohol and drugs to ‘stop the brother from snitching’.

The court heard that during one incident when she became jealous of him picking another girl up in his car, she called him a ‘paedophile’ and in response he slapped her.

In a message to her, he said: “...so you can stay with me and no one gets caught.”

The police became involved after a teacher at the girl's school noticed a 'sexual image' on her phone.

At trial, Khan denied having any sexual contact with the girl. He admitted he'd met up with her three times, but said at most he had kissed her on the cheek. He told police the girl had never mentioned being at school and claimed he thought she was in college.

In April this year, following a trial at Manchester Crown Court, he was convicted of three counts of having sexual activity with a child and another count of supplying her with cannabis.

A number of messages from Khan to the girl were read to the court, including: “I’ll come give you the spliff. We’ll go on a little drive, we'll do our stuff.”

Another read: “We can do what we want, weed, drinks, everything, all on me baby, do what you want with me because I know you wanna do stuff proper together.” It was also said that he told her he was 17, when he was actually 19 at the time.

In sentencing, Judge Timothy Smith said the victim described meeting Khan on an ‘almost daily basis’, and said he took her out in ‘different cars’.

“On occasions you would collect her from school in your car. You would also collect her brother, and he would help her sneak in and out,” Judge Smith said.

“You gave him alcohol and cannabis in part to keep him on side so he would not tell others of your relationship.”

The judge said Khan showed an ‘unwillingness’ to accept responsibility, adding that he ‘lied to the police, the jury and in his interview with a probation officer’.

He said the victim was unable to recognise if situations were unsafe, and said she had limited understanding of intimate relationship dynamics. “She describes how you made her feel ‘special’, in her words ‘by an older boy giving her love’,” he said.

“I am entirely satisfied you knew the relationship was wrong but you persisted in it for your sexual needs.”

Khan, of Milne Street, Oldham, was jailed for four years and ten months. He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, and handed a restraining order, banning him from contacting the girl indefinitely.

He was also placed onto the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

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A CHILD abuser is beginning a four-year jail sentence for sexual offences committed against a teenage child in Bradford.

Andrew Carroll, 58, had denied two allegations of non-recent indecent assault, but a jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty on both charges following a trial.

Carroll, now of Northumberland Street, Salford, appeared before Recorder Christopher Rose and was jailed for his abuse of the teenager, who must not be identified for legal reasons.

In a victim impact statement summarised by prosecutor Camille Morland, the complainant described how the abuse had always been in their mind, but they were finally able to report the allegations because they felt more likely to be believed now.

Barrister Clare Walsh, for Carroll, said he had suffered brain haemorrhages in 2021 and he now had significant mental health and physical difficulties.

She said her client also suffered from claustrophobia and described him as a very unwell man with complex needs.

Recorder Rose said the complainant had been particularly vulnerable and had concealed the abuse for many years before finding the courage to make a complaint.

“The victim impact statement speaks of the lifelong effect that your abuse has had,” said the judge.

Carroll will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

Description

A paedophile who had been performing sex acts outside the home of a woman he had become 'obsessed' with was snared after she set up a 'makeshift trap' using a bucket and a fishing line.

His victim turned detective when she suspected something was amiss. It later emerged Farhan Zafar, 22, had been seen standing naked in the woman's garden illuminating himself with a phone torch whilst performing the disgusting acts.

When he was arrested he was found with dozens of indecent images of children on his phone. Zafar had, a year earlier, had sex with a 14-year-old girl on multiple occasions during four months of abuse. He has now been jailed for over four years. He met the girl in the summer of 2021, the court was told.

"They began a relationship at the defendant’s suggestion about two weeks afterwards," John Close, prosecuting said. He said Zafar invited her to her his house to 'do what grown-ups do' and in August they had sex at his house, this was one of six occasions he sexually abused her with other encounters taking place in his car.

The girl told her mother what had happened in November that year and he was arrested. During his police interview he said he said he did not know it was a crime to have sex with a 14-year-old if both consented. However, a judge said he 'clearly knew' it was a crime as Spain has the same age of consent.

Zafar was released on bail and moved to Nelson in Lancashire. And it was in September 2022 that he became 'fixated' with an adult woman he met there. Several days after first meeting her, he knocked on her door and asked via Google translate if she would teach him English. The woman declined and thought this was a 'little strange', Mr Close said.

A few days later he returned and again using the translation app asked if she would go out with him. Despite her saying no he came back on numerous occasions, asking her to borrow things and asking her out again. She also saw him on numerous occasions near her back door.

"On several occasions, (the victim) had noticed residue on her back door which she initially thought was bird faeces but which she began to believe was semen," Mr Close said. "Such was her concern and suspicion, she set up a makeshift trap of a fishing line and a metal bucket which meant that any intruder to her backyard would cause a noise when entering.

"On one occasion in early November, she heard the bucket clatter late at night when she was in the bath and heard a male voice which sounded disgruntled. The backyard was walled and accessible only through a locked gate, so she thought the intruder must have come over the wall." She reported the incident to the police.

Police investigations found that during this period neighbours had seen Zafar wiping something on the woman's front window. "They had also seen him stood at the window in the early hours of the morning, completely naked, illuminating himself with a phone torch whilst masturbating," Mr Close said.

Police arrested him at his home on November 23 last year. His phone was seized and 384 indecent images of children as young as 12 were discovered. 137 of these were classed as most serious in nature. In a victim impact statement his adult victim, who lives alone, said he had left her feeling 'anxious and uncomfortable.'

Zafar, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 16 offences; five counts of sexual activity with a child, one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of outraging public decency, three counts of making indecent images of children, one of possessing a prohibited image of a child, one of possessing an extreme pornographic image, and stalking.

Sonya O'Brien, defending, said that Zafar came to the UK from Spain six years ago after his father discovered his cannabis habit. However, she said he had continued smoking strong variants of the drug here in the UK prior to and whilst committing the 'very peculiar set of offences.'

She said Zafar had now disclosed to a professional that he was the victim of a 'very serious sexual assault' himself as a youngster and that he 'carries a great degree of shame' regarding it. The offences were, she said, 'born out of isolation and drug misuse and his childhood trauma that he's carried into adulthood and that he's not yet addressed.'

Judge Maurice Greene told him: "You are still young, and were only 20 at the time of the sexual offences."

The judge added: "You were isolated at the time because of the fact your English was so poor. You have had a traumatic time in your youth. Perhaps as a result of that, you started using cannabis regularly, and to extremes, so much so it's clear from the psychiatric report that it has affected you.

"Although I don't accept that it reduces your culpability in any significant way as it was self-induced over a prolonged period of time. There's some remorse but I do note you seek to blame the taking of cannabis."

He jailed Zafar for four years and two months. He was also ordered to sign the sex offender's register and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years. A 10-year restraining order was also put in place preventing him from contacting in any way his adult victim.