Search results for Chester

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A MAN from Chester has been locked up after being caught trying to film a girl using the women’s toilets at a busy shopping centre.

Dorniel Nica, who is already a registered sex offender, was spotted using his phone camera to look under the next cubical, with the girl believing he was performing a sex act on himself.

The 28-year-old tried to claim innocence, despite being identified by police using facial recognition technology.

But the courts saw through the creep’s lies, and he is now in jail for the disturbing offence.

Nica was sentenced at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Monday, November 21, having been convicted after trial following his not guilty pleas.

These were to charges of voyeurism and attempt to observe a person doing a private act, while he conviction put him in breach of a suspended sentence order.

Vincent Yip, prosecuting, explained how on October 2, a teenage girl had been in a cubicle of the public toilets in Golden Square Shopping Centre after feeling sick.

While in a cubicle, she saw a hand holding a black iPhone coming from the underneath the cubicle next to her.

She believed the phone was recording and that there had been a man in the cubicle next to her as she could hear what she thought to be a man masturbating. 

 The girl’s friend had gone to get her a drink of water, and when she returned they both left the toilet area, but they did not see the man.

They then approached two police officers at Warrington Bus Station and told them what had happened. The officers went to the toilets and searched the area but found no trace of the man.

After making further enquiries, the officers checked CCTV at the shopping centre. It showed a man entering the female toilets at 5.12pm and leaving at 5.55pm.

The man was then seen wandering around the shopping centre before leaving.

Officers took an image of the man from the CCTV and submitted it through Retrospective Facial Recognition software.

The search returned a match for Nica, and officers set about making enquiries as to his whereabouts.

Nica was arrested the following morning at an address in Warrington on suspicion of voyeurism, with officers seizing a mobile phone in his possession.

According to the charges he was convicted of, the defendant’s offences were ‘for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification’.

His previous suspended sentence order was imposed on September 21 for intentionally exposing his genitals so that someone would see them in Chester, as well as for stealing £329.94 worth of men’s clothing from TK Maxx in Solihull. 

 Magistrates in Warrington said that the offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified.

This was due to the victim’s young age, his ‘similar previous offending’ and that fact that the offences took place in a public location.

Nica, of Cherry Road in Chester, was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison and ordered to comply with sex offender notification and registration requirements for 10 years.

He was also handed two restraining orders prohibiting him from contacting two girls for five years and ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £187.

Following the sentence, PC Wendy Whitehead said: “If it was not for the bravery of the victim for approaching the first police officers she had seen, we may not have been able to achieve the result we have done.

“Thanks to the new technology available to us, we were able to identify Nica quickly and effectively, allowing us to make further enquiries and ascertain his whereabouts.

“This led us to get justice for Nica’s victims and put a prolific offender behind bars and off the streets of Cheshire.

“This result reinforces our commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. We will prevent, deter and take action against anyone who preys on women and girls.

“I hope this result will provide reassurance to the public, and perhaps it will allow others to have the courage and report incidents such as this to us.” 

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A man kidnapped and sexually attacked a teenager after spotting her outside a nightclub.

Michael Owen, 34, saw the 16-year-old girl outside a club in Leigh at 5am on March 13, 2022. Owen approached the girl, who was drunk, and helped her back on her feet, under the premise that he was looking out for her.

He then helped her into a taxi, telling the driver to drop them off at his home on Bridgewater Street in Hindley. Once there, the girl said she remembered waking up in Owen’s bed partially clothed and screaming to go home, but was told by Owen he was just looking after her.

Giving evidence to Manchester Crown Court via video link, she reported her memory was very patchy but she remembered someone banging on Owen’s front door. This was her father, who had obtained Owen's address from the taxi driver, who had answered the phone the teen dropped in his taxi when her father rang it.

The court heard how Owen had called 999 to report someone banging on his front door, while at the same time the father was ringing the police to report his daughter was being kept against her will. When police attended a few minutes later and the circumstances were determined, Owen was immediately arrested and taken into custody for questioning.

The teenager was taken to hospital for examination. Owen pleaded guilty to the kidnap and assault of the 16-year-old and was jailed for seven years and six months at Manchester Crown Court.

Jailing Owen, the Judge deemed him to be a dangerous offender and handed down an extended licence period of four years, with a lifetime restraining order against the victim. He was additionally subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), with the conditions to be agreed by the prosecution, defence and probation at a later date.

Detective Sergeant Chris Preston from Wigan CID said: “We are very pleased with today’s result. Owen is a dangerous individual who preyed on this young girl for his own use, under the guise of being helpful and looking out for her.

“We are extremely grateful to the victim and her family, for the support they have given GMP throughout this investigation, which has led to this successful conviction. We would encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual assault, to dial 999 and speak to one of our team. We will listen to you and we will do everything we can to bring the perpetrator(s) to justice.

“If you commit these crimes, we will find you and we will ensure that you are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

If you or someone you know has been raped or sexually assaulted, Greater Manchester Police is encouraging people to not to suffer in silence and report it to the police, or a support agency.

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A former labourer who posed as young girls to two self-styled paedophile hunters was caught and confronted live on Facebook.

Father-of-one Regan Lee sent a picture of his genitals to one decoy, posing as a 13-year-old girl named Blossom, as well as talking to another purporting to be a 12-year-old girl named Sophie.

Lee was later confronted by the vigilante group, which was streamed live on Facebook. The 25-year-old, who was 24 at the time, was arrested in Sutton-in-Ashfield and bailed, but then went on the run for several months before being caught by police.

Lee, of Manor Court Road, Bolsover, has previously lived in Chesterfield. He later said that he did not have a sexual interest in children, but that excuse was later dismissed as "ridiculous" by a judge, who went on to give him a two-and-a-half-year jail term.

Derby Crown Court heard that on Friday, November 4, Lee first sent a message to 'Blossom' saying "Hi" on April 23, and early in the conversation, she said she was 13 and from Northampton. After asking for photos of her face and body, to which he responded "wow, just wow", Lee said he found it "cute" when the decoy said she was "shy" and that "if you were older, I would kiss you".

The conversation continued over days to the point where Lee asked for sexual photographs, and sent one of his own genitals. These requests were refused by the decoy, to which Lee responded "no one is in the house with you so no one will know". During the conversation, he also attempted to incite the decoy to masturbate.

Lee messaged 'Sophie' on April 24, again starting the conversation with "Hi". The conversations were similar in nature to those with Blossom, prosecutors said, before he was confronted by the group a few days later and said to the vigilantes that while he didn't groom children, he was "disgusted with himself".

Lee, who has a young daughter, gave no comment in a police interview but later pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, and another of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of cannabis which was found upon arrest, but not guilty to a count of assaulting an emergency worker, for which the prosecution offered no evidence.

Chris Brewin, mitigating, said: "There is some suggestion of trauma, with a fractured family background. A series of events were behind the commission of these offences. He was last in prison in 2017 and he decided he would try and make a new life for himself. He got work as a labourer but his motorbike was stolen, so he lost his job and was evicted. He found himself at the YMCA.

"He is ashamed. He describes his own behaviour as quite horrific. I can only express his willingness to engage with the probation service. If it has to be an immediate prison sentence he will serve it and do his best to avoid getting into any trouble of any kind again."

Sentencing Lee, Recorder Adrian Reynolds said that it would have been "inappropriate" to suspend the prison sentence handed down due to the nature of the offences. He said: "What you said about not having a sexual interest in young girls is ridiculous and I can only assume it is your sense of shame that makes you hide from what you have done."

Lee was handed a sentence of two years and three months for the count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, with a concurrent 12-month sentence for the other two counts. He was also given a consecutive three-month sentence for going on the run, meaning his total sentence was two-and-a-half years in prison.

He will serve half in custody, and the rest on licence, but is the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offender register for the next 10 years. The items he used to communicate with the decoys are also to be destroyed.

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 Christopher Kelly 56 of Cranbook Street, Radcliffe was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday 28 October 2022 to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and using the internet to contact girls under the age of 18.

Christopher Kelly was arrested in September following multiple online vigilante groups who reported that they had been communicating with Kelly using fake profiles of different 13-year-old girls.

Detective Constable Adam Gosling of the Complex Safeguarding Team, Bury division, commented: “Kelly’s actions are deplorable and completely unacceptable. The safety of our children is a top priority of GMP, and I hope this result sends a stark warning to offenders that these behaviours will not be tolerated.

“I would encourage anyone who has been affected by this case to please come forward and tell us what happened to you. We will listen and take your allegations seriously. Victims should not feel they are at fault when they are preyed on by offenders.

“GMP will do their utmost to thoroughly investigate all reports of this type of crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Description

A brave teen who was raped by her father at just nine years old has decided to share her ordeal as she braces herself for the possibility that he could be released from jail next month.

Danielle Keenan, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, courageously waived her right to lifelong anonymity at the age of 18, so she can tell her story for the first time and warn others about child abuse.

Michael Keenan sickeningly started to abuse his daughter at the age of seven, which was just a year after they had moved to Germany where he had been stationed in the military.

“He said if I told anyone, I would have to shoot him and the Army would make me watch," Danielle told the Manchester Evening News.

"But I just knew he was my dad and I loved him because he was my dad.”

Danielle recalls feeling ill after catching a stomach bug and said she was sick into a bucket when her father sexually assaulted her for the first time around Christmas.

She said: "I had underwear on but he would grind up against the back of me. A couple of weeks later, he came back into my room and did it again.”

Danielle says the abuse worsened when her mother, who has asked to remain anonymous, went into labour with twins. She caught an infection and was in hospital for several weeks, meaning Danielle was left alone with him at home.

“He said he was lonely because mum wasn’t there and it started properly every night," Danielle added.

"Mum went into labour and got quite ill. Before he went to work, he would start doing it every morning and night. He would come into my room and ask me to get into bed with him.

“We lived in Germany and I was away from all my family and friends. We were constantly moving all the time, and that’s one of the things he was banking on. I didn’t have anyone else permanent other than my mum.”

Danielle's dad raped her when she was nine. The horrific attack happened in the basement when Danielle was asked to clean out the rabbit hutch.

She said: “He followed me downstairs. We had a pull-out sofa because it was a kids’ room. I didn’t know what it was, it just hurt. He said if I told anyone, no one would believe me and I would ruin the family.”

Danielle, who now studies health and social care at college, says she tried to tell others about the abuse but “couldn’t find the words” to describe what had happened to her.

It wasn’t until her mother, 38, noticed she had become withdrawn that Danielle was finally able to tell her everything – using teddy bears to show what her dad had done.

Danielle said: “One night, he was in my room and in bed with me as normal. My mum came upstairs to check on me and she looked at me and could see on my face that something wasn’t right.

“I had to use two teddies to show her. I told her everything after showing her. After that, I knew he was lying and they would believe me.

“He denied it. He kept saying it never happened and that I was lying. But when my mum looked at me, he turned and said: ‘She’s telling the truth’.”

Danielle‘s mother can recall the moment she found out what had been happening to her daughter – just by looking into her terrified eyes.

She said: “Leading up to this, I had already been concerned about Danielle. I had spoken to him about it and he said she was probably just adjusting to the move and missing her friends.

“I went upstairs to find him and Danielle’s door was cracked open. He was lay down with her and I didn’t see anything, but I saw Danielle’s face and she wasn't there. It wasn’t my little girl there. There was no life – nothing.”

Danielle‘s mother hesitated in the doorway for a second before the harrowing realisation set in.

She continued: “I swear to God, for two seconds, I don’t even know how long it was, I was arguing with myself in my head. I thought: ‘This can’t be it.’

“He started play-fighting with her because she sat up on her knees and pointed at me. She kept looking from me to him while he tried to play fight with her. It was so staged; I’m not stupid.

“He was waiting for me to leave first, and obviously I wasn’t going to. As he walked out of the room, I shut the door behind him.

“I looked at Danielle and said: ‘Has daddy done something?’ and she said: ‘Yes’. I asked her to tell me and she said she didn’t know how.

“I gave her two teddies and asked her to show me. She put them together and I knew. She touched my face and said: ‘Are you okay mum? Is daddy going to get shot?’“

Keenan, who was 34 at the time, was arrested that night after Danielle‘s mother alerted military police. Keenan walked out of their home, which sparked a police search, before he eventually handed himself into a barracks.

In court, he admitted 10 child sex offences and was sentenced to five years imprisonment in July 2015.

Then, on New Year's Eve of that year, Danielle messaged her grandmother on an iPad and told her she had been raped by her father. The police were immediately alerted.

Following a trial at the Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester, Essex, Keenan was found guilty of rape of a child under 13.

In 2017, he was sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison. But the dad-of-six, who served with the Royal Logistics Corps, could be released on parole next month.

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A man woke to find another man performing a sex act on him after being offered somewhere to stay after a night out.

Bar manager David Madeley, 34, admitted sexually assaulting the man. Liverpool Crown Court was told Madeley, of Egerton Street, Chester, had gone out for drinks and later offered the victim a place to sleep.

Prosecutor Simon Mintz told the court Madeley offered to share his bed, with the victim sleeping at one end. Sleeping fully clothed, the victim then woke in the night to find that Madeley had pulled down his trousers and underwear and was performing a sex act, the court was told.

A scuffle broke out between the two which saw bottles broken as the victim tried to recover his clothes.

The victim fled the property and then flagged down a police car to explain what had happened. Madeley was said to have asked his housemates why the victim was trying to glass me during the altercation.

Madeley initially protested that the act was consensual, but Anna Price, defending, said he took full responsibility for the incident and felt sincere regret and remorse. It was noted that he complied fully with police, entering a guilty plea at the earliest stage - showing real signs of victim sympathy

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said Madeley accepted blame, but noted the man he performed the sexual act on was defenceless in the incident. He added: Its quite clear there is a real and enduring impact on the victim.

Madeley was sentenced to 12 months in prison, handed a restraining order for five years and placed on the sexual offenders register for seven years.

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A reign of terror aided by criminal brothers saw Dominic Noonan intimidate the public and police alike as his family made £50,000 a night from the the late 80s and early 90s clubbing drug scene.

An infamous paedo gangster who preyed on young boys got away with his sexual offences for years because police turned a blind eye, according to a former detective.

Rick Mortimer has told an employment tribunal that once, when he suggested his Greater Manchester Police colleagues intervened after spotting a suspected paedophile was leading a boy into a house, he was told: "What we can't see, we don't know about."

It is believed that man was Dominic Noonan who was, eventually, at the age of 53, found guilty of 13 historical sex offences against four boys as young as 10 and handed an 11-year sentence, Manchester Evening News reports.

But who was Noonan and why did the police fail to bring him to justice sooner?

Born to Irish parents and raised in the Manchester's Whalley Range suburb, Noonan was one of 14 siblings whose names all began with the letter D.

He and his brothers Damien and Dessie quickly developed reputations for armed robbery.

In the late 80s and early 90s, they also ran the city's doors including at the famous Hacienda night club, controlling who could sell drugs inside, while taking their own cut of around £50,000 a night.

Dessie was the enforcer and hitman, Dominic the cunning and charismatic entrepreneur and Damien cemented loyalties with donations to community causes. 

Their empire was rocked in 1991 when Dessie was accused of shooting rival gang leader "White Tony" Johnson dead in a pub car park.

But the trial collapsed amid rumours of jury tampering and Dessie was acquitted at a retrial.

Dominic, meanwhile, did his bit to deter pretenders to the Noonan's gangster crown in Manchester – using a machete to decapitate a rival gang's dog outside a pub before placing its head on a pool table inside.

His fear factor would diminish, though, when Damien and Dessie died in consecutive years – the former following a motorcycle crash in the Dominican Republic in 2004 and the latter, by then an alcoholic crack addict, when he was stabbed to death by a crack dealer.

Their brother's predatory sexual ways did not cease, though, nor did his criminal tendencies.

In 2005, he was jailed after a revolver and ammunition were found in his Jaguar.

He was freed on licence in 2010, claiming to have found God and even had a crack at stand-up comedy, but was soon back in prison after going berserk at a woman motorist who beeped at him as he crossed a road.

He reportedly tapped her car window with a copy of the a newspaper, which featured a story about him, and shouted: "Do you know who I am?"

Having been let out again, he was back inside for being a suspected ringleader during the 2011 Manchester riots. 

Then, while out of prison on licence in 2014, Noonan climbed 100ft up the city's Big Wheel in protest at the latest efforts to recall him.

Up there for six hours, he drew a 1,000-strong crowd, with some shouting "nonce", suggesting that fewer people were now as intimidated by him.

But Noonan escaped prison on that occasion and in 2016 he was found not guilty of engaging in a sex act in front of a minor, although he was convicted of perverting the course of justice by offering £5,000 to the boy’s family to get the charge dropped.

Two years later, though, police had compiled enough evidence to convict him for his sex crimes and Noonan could be locked up for most of his remaining life, having been handed a separate 11-year sentence for other crimes such as arson and blackmail. 

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A ‘sexual predator’ has today been sent to jail with life in prison (Thursday 6 October 2022) for raping two teenage girls.

Faizan Dogar (22/01/2003) of Bolton Road, Bury, pleaded guilty to 12 offences, including five counts of rape, and was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.

He also previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual communication with a child, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of possession of indecent images.

Detective Constable Nathan Lilley, of Bury CID, said: “Dogar is a calculating sexual predator who has subjected two young girls to horrific attacks.

“He is a fantasist with an unhealthy interest in the abuse of woman and young girls.

“Both victims continue to be supported by specialist GMP officers and showed extreme bravery in providing evidence against Dogar.

“He is a dangerous individual and it’s a relief that he is off the streets and behind bars.”

Dogar contacted his first victim via Facebook and Snapchat in August 2021, and they agreed to meet.

Later that evening, the victim told Dogar she needed to go home but he became aggressive and put her in a headlock while also fondling her.

Dogar threatened to choke the girl until she was unconscious if she didn’t do what he said, and then raped her.

Officers later identified Dogar on CCTV with the victim and found clothes he was wearing at his house when he was arrested.

Officers seized his mobile phone containing indecent images during a search of his house and evidence linking him to the victim.

In May 2022, Dogar approached his second victim via Snapchat and, after discussing gaming, they agreed to meet, and he raped her.

Officers linked a mobile phone number used to contact the victim to Dogar and arrested him, later charging him with the 12 offences following the investigation by detectives from GMP’s Bury and Salford districts.

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A paedophile has been jailed for a string of vile acts of sex abuse against animals and children after police discovered video footage of him abusing his dog.

Douglas Moore, 34, was convicted of 24 counts of multiple sex offences, including having intercourse with an animal, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court last Wednesday after Met Police found 'sickening video' of him physically and sexually abusing a dog.

Analysis of his electronic devices revealed Moore also tried to set up meetings to abuse dogs and children and searched for opportunities to swap and share material with other abusers. There was no evidence the attempted meetings came to fruition.

He was also found with cannabis and to be writing obscene articles online.

Moore is now banned from owning animals and will be on the sex offenders register for life.

While investigating another offence last year, Met police discovered footage of a dog being subjected to physical and sexual abuse. 

The video was so distressing that senior officers had to be called in and a warrant was sought to rescue the animal, as well as arrest the offender.

Moore, of Manchester, was taken into custody at his Stockport home on November 8 2021, on suspicion of bestiality, possession of extreme pornography and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

The dog was dicovered at the property and removed. Officers also seized cannabis from the scene and a number of devices, including his mobile phone and computer.

By analysing his phone and computer, specialists revealed Moore had been committing abhorrent sex acts on the dog for a long period of time and used the dark web to view even more extreme content of animals and humans.

Moore had also gone to great lengths to erase chat logs and website histories to conceal his gross offending.

The evidence against Moore was so extensive he had no option but to plead guilty, officials allege.

The paedophile was convicted for intercourse with an animal, causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and oral sex with a dead or alive animal.

He was further convicted for possession of an extreme pornographic image or images portraying an act of intercourse, and intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence of intercourse with an animal.

He was also convicted of child sex offences including making indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child and attempting to arrange the commission of child sex offences.

Lastly, he was convicted for possession of a controlled Class B drug - cannabis or cannabis resin - and publishing an obscene online article.

PC Pete Howes, from the Online Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation Command, said: 'Upon discovery of the original video we took immediate and decisive action to identify Moore and save the dog.

'I am happy to say the dog is now safe and well and being cared for.

'The scale of evidence compiled meant Moore was left with no option but to plead guilty. I'm pleased he is now in jail where he belongs.

'It is no exaggeration to say that this investigation may well have spared more animals, and humans, from coming to incredibly serious harm.'

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The court heard how the incident occurred on August 5, 2020, after the victim had been out with friends at Tribeca bar on Sackville Street, Manchester and they stayed chatting until 6am. 

The victim, who is in her 20s, had logged onto the Uber app at the end of a night out to get her back to her home.

She ordered an Uber as her friends believed she would be safer inside a cab, after she was raped by a stranger in 2019.

But when Mahamud arrived to pick her up to take her to her apartment on the outskirts of Manchester city centre, he forced himself on the woman.

He refused to let her out of his taxi and instead subjected her to a 12 mile terror trip to his own home whilst he repeatedly molested her at the wheel.

The victim, who has since moved away from the UK, later told police: 'What happened to me in 2019 changed the way I lived my life on a regular basis in that I no longer felt safe to walk home alone.

'I put my trust in a company like Uber who I thought would keep me safe from harm, but this man did the opposite of that.

'Now I don't feel safe walking and I don't feel safe getting taxis. He has completely broken my trust in what should be a safe method for everyone to get where they're going.

'I feel like it's basically taken away my freedom of choice as I am always relying on the fact that someone else is available to come home with me, I don't feel safe going anywhere alone anymore.

'I now only used three Ubers a week to get around, whereas I used to book one a day. Whenever drivers do something unexpected, even something innocent, it still scares me.'

Mark Kellet, prosecuting, said that in 2019 the complainant was the victim of a violent rape by a stranger as she walked home through the city centre.

He told the court: 'That offence has nothing to do with the defendant in this case but it was present in the mind of the complainant's friend who enjoined her not to walk home but to book an Uber for her safety - serving to illustrate the trust placed in taxi drivers.

'And it was present in the mind of the complainant during the defendant's offending and afterwards, as she feared she was going to be raped again - such that the previous offence is, it is submitted, relevant to the harm which he caused to her.'

Speaking about the incident, Mr Kellett said: 'Whilst driving, he (Mahamud) began to make conversation with her and started talking about his girlfriend, saying she wouldn't have sex with him and this naturally made the complainant feel uncomfortable.

'But whilst thinking she would be home in a few minutes, she humoured the defendant by saying such a state of affairs was regrettable.

'The defendant stopped the car near to where the complainant lived but then told her she was lovely, asked her for her telephone number, and demanded a kiss.'

Mr Kellett told the court that Mahamud grabbed the victim by the the shirt and pulled her towards him, removing both their Covid-masks before kissing her on the lips.

He said Mahamud then asked her to come back to his house. He told the court: 'She replied by telling him that she needed to go home but he ignored her and wouldn't take no for an answer. 

'Instead, he began to drive, making no effort to take her home. She tried to open the rear passenger door but it had evidently been locked.

'She felt unsafe being driven to an unknown location against her will and used her phone to send messages and images to her friend repeatedly expressing her fear, she was being taken against her will, that she couldn't get out of the car because it had been locked, that the defendant was sexually touching her.

'She said she needed help and that she feared being raped again.

'The friend called police whilst the complainant was still in the car and during that call he disclosed "She was attacked last year as well and it is bringing all that up". 

The court heard the victim used her phone to take pictures and video of Mahamud, including some clips in which he can be seen sexually assaulting her. In one video, she is heard asking Mahamud to let her out.

Mahamud was heard replying: 'You enjoy and then I drop you' before eventually pulling over and getting to open the passenger door. She managed to slip passed him and sought help from a passer-by.

Mahamud was later arrested but initially denied any incident took place until shown the video footage but claimed any sexual activity was instigated by his passenger.

The court heard his wife was currently six months pregnant with their child and she had been unaware of the charges against him until the day of his sentencing.

His lawyer Mark Fireman said in mitigation: 'He had misjudged the situation entirely.'

Sentencing Mahamud, Judge Angela Nield said: 'Those who use taxi services like Uber are entitled to feel safe in their cabs and this was a clear abuse of trust.

'Whilst it is clear the defendant could not have known about the victim's history it is clear her previous trauma has magnified this incident significantly. If it wasn't for the victim's accompanying videos and images we might not be here today.

'What happened to her strikes against the principle that many women hold in that in order to keep themselves safe they must take a taxi home rather than walk. One does not bear to think about the anguish and fear she suffered during the period she was in that car.'

Mahamud was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register and was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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A teacher from Oldham has been jailed for a decade after being found guilty of a series of non-recent sexual assaults on students.

Christopher Pickup (76), Underwood Way, Shaw was today (2 September), sentenced to 10 years after being found guilty at trial of 37 counts of sexual assault against 19 victims.

The offences occurred whilst he was a teacher at two primary schools in Oldham between the years 1971 and 1983.

Detective Constables Craig Rice and Natalie Sykes, of Oldhams Non-Recent Sexual Offences Team, said: Experiencing sexual abuse at any stage in life can have a devastating and long lasting impact on an individuals life, but to experience it as a child by someone who you respect and trust is unfathomable. This investigation demonstrates our ongoing and determined commitment to ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice.

We would like commend and thank the victims for the courage, strength and dignity they have all demonstrated in coming forward to the police and supporting an investigation into Christopher Pickup. We hope that the unanimous guilty verdicts by an independent jury and todays sentencing offers closure to them knowing that he is finally facing the consequences of his actions.

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A FORMER Tesco Haddington worker has been the target of an undercover police sting after he was caught sending indecent images of himself to people he believed were young schoolgirls.

Stephen Bennett, 63, contacted two online accounts which had been set up in the name of the children by police officers who were operating in a bid to catch online paedophiles.

Bennett began the contact by sending sexual messages to the children before his behaviour soon escalated and he sent images of his erect penis to the accounts.

But instead of him contacting children as Bennett believed, he was in fact in communication with two undercover police officers.

Following the contact, police officers raided Bennetts former home at Aberlady Road in Haddington in September last year.

It is believed that Bennett was working at the Tesco supermarket within the town at the time of his offending.

He appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year to admit two charges of attempting to indecently communicate with two children aged 12 years old between December 2020 and September last year.

Bennett was back in the dock for sentencing last Wednesday and avoided a custodial sentence; he was instead handed a community payback order as a direct alternative.

Sheriff John Cook placed Bennett on the sex offenders' register for three years, as well as imposing a supervision requirement for the same length of time.

Bennett was also ordered to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work in the community and issued with a conduct requirement, meaning he will have his mobile phone use and internet history monitored on a regular basis.

The court was told that Bennett had split up from his partner following his arrest and had since moved to an address in Leeswood in Wales.

Sheriff Cook said that the court order would be transferred to the authorities in Wales.

Bennett pleaded guilty to two offences of attempting to communicate with 12-year-old girls, who were in fact undercover police officers, by sending them written sexual communication and repeatedly sending images of his erect penis between December 19, 2020, and September 6 last year.

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A Portsmouth man has been sentenced to ten years in prison for a string of online sexual abuse offences.

Travis Koffi Alden, 24, of St Faiths Road, appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 25 August) having pleaded guilty to 39 counts of online sexual abuse offences involving ten victims across the country and internationally, all aged between 9 and 13 at the time the offences took place.

The court heard how police were first made aware of the case when a report was made in August 2019 to officers in Wales that an 11-year-old girl had been receiving sexually explicit messages. An investigation was launched and the mobile phone sending the messages was found to belong to Alden, who lived in Portsmouth. Officers from the Internet Child Abuse Team (ICAT)  arrested him and seized his mobile phone and laptop for examination, which revealed a number of further victims.

Between these devices, officers discovered hundreds of indecent images, which included the most serious, category A images.

Alden was charged with inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, taking/making indecent images of children (category A, B and C), distributing indecent images of children (category A) and possessing extreme pornography.

He has now been sentenced to ten years in prison with a five year extended licence, a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has had to forfeit his devices.

Detective Constable Stephen Hill of Hampshire Constabulary’s ICAT team, who led the investigation, said: “Behind every indecent image or message of or to a child is a vulnerable victim and these crimes are among the most appalling that we investigate.

“This was a long and complex investigation requiring a great deal of effort to identify numerous victims across the United Kingdom and beyond and seek justice for them.

“Alden preyed on young girls on various chat sites, encouraging them to engage in sexualised conversations or acts. The impact that such abuse has on these young victims is immeasurable and we are pleased that we have been able to support them and bring Alden to justice.

“Tacking online abuse of this nature and supporting children online is a priority for us and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”

Anyone who has any concerns about child abuse should contact Hampshire Constabulary on 101 or via our online reporting tool.

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For more than 30 years evil Ronald Castree thought he'd got away with murder. He'd stood by as Stefan Kiszko, an innocent and vulnerable man, was jailed for a crime he didn't commit.

And when even that horrendous miscarriage of justice was eventually overturned, arrogant Castree sat back and carried on living a lie. But advances in DNA technology would eventually mean his terrible past would catch up with him.

Lesley Molseed was just 11-years-old when, on October 5, 1975, wearing a a blue coat, pleated skirt and stripey Bay City Rollers socks, she was sent to the shop close to her home in Turf Hill, Rochdale to buy a loaf of bread for her mum. Known as 'Lel' to her family, Lesley had learning difficulties and attended a nearby special school, while a congenital heart condition meant she was small for her age.

Tragically she never made it home. Castree, thought to have been on the way to visit his wife and new born son in hospital, snatched her off street in his taxi. Her body was found three days later face down on moorland between Oldham and Ripponden, around 40 yards off the A672.

She had been stabbed 12 times and sexually assaulted. Her death sent shockwaves through the community and sparked a huge manhunt, led by West Yorkshire Police.

Soon, the finger of suspicion fell on Stefan Kiszko, a 23-year-old man with learning difficulties. He lived near Lesley and, in the minds of detectives, was the kind of man who might fit the profile of the killer.

A timid and teetotal tax clerk and church-goer, Mr Kiszko was arrested after three girls told police he had indecently exposed himself to them just days before Lesley was found dead. It was the start of one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK history.

Mr Kiszko had never been in trouble with police before. But his unusual hobby of noting down number plates - he had jotted down the number of one car which had been seen near the crime scene - roused further suspicion of this 'odd' man.

After two days of relentless questioning by West Yorkshire detectives with no solicitor present to help him, Mr Kiszko, who had the mental age of a 12-year-old, 'confessed' to Lesley's murder. He had been told he could go home if he did.

He later claimed he had been bullied into making the confession. On Christmas Eve 1975 he was charged with Lesley's murder.

He was convicted after a trial at Leeds Crown Court in which his defence team, led by David Waddington QC, who would later become Home Secretary under Margaret Thatcher, made a string of mistakes. Mr Waddington pursued a diminished responsibility defence which wasn't authorised by Mr Kiszko, who maintained his innocence throughout and said he had never even met Lesley.

The defence also failed to call key witnesses and failed to call for an adjournment when thousands of pages of additional material were submitted on the first morning of the trial. Meanwhile evidence was also suppressed by police and not disclosed to the defence or the jury.

On July 21, 1976, after five hours and 32 minutes deliberation, the jury found Mr Kiszko guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to two. He was given a life sentence and went on to serve 16 years in prison, during which time he was repeatedly attacked by other inmates who saw him as a convicted sex offender.

On one occasion he needed 17 stitches for a head wound and he went on to develop schizophrenia. But throughout his incarceration, Mr Kiszko's remarkable mother Charlotte protested his innocence and fought for his release.

Her campaign was to be successful, although it took 16 long and lonely years before her son walked free. It was, according to Tory MP Anthony Beaumont-Dark, 'the worst miscarriage of all time'.

In March 1991, a police investigation into the original trial began, which discovered errors in the case. Evidence which might have established Mr Kiszko's innocence at the outset was uncovered.

It was established that Mr Kiszko could not have been the killer as he was infertile. Semen discovered on Lesley's clothing had contained heads of sperm. The girls who had told the trial that Mr Kiszko had exposed himself to them finally admitted they had lied.

In February 1992 Mr Kiszko was cleared and released from prison. Speaking after his release, he said he was enjoying 'sleeping in in the mornings' and catching up with friends.

He was told he would receive 500,000 in compensation for the time he had spent in prison and revealed he wanted to visit Australia and America and 'have a good time'. In an interview with theManchester Evening News at the time Mrs Kiszko spoke of her unstinting belief in her son's innocence.

"When you are 100 per cent sure your son is innocent you fight to the very end," she said. "It is the only thing that has kept me going.

Looking back on the years she said: "There was prejudice against us because we were foreign. Ever since Stefan was taken away I have felt sick when I have seen children murdered.

"There have been many since he went away, but some murderers have been walking the streets again, while my Stefan has been held in jail. Where is the justice in that?"

But tragically none of Mr Kiszko's dreams came to pass. He died the following year of a massive heart attack aged just 41.

He had received an interim compensation payment but not the full sum. Four months later his mother died and the pair are buried together in Rochdale Cemetery.

In 1994, a surviving senior West Yorkshire officer, who worked on the original investigation, along with a retired forensic scientist, were charged with perverting the course of justice by allegedly suppressing evidence relating to the results of tests on semen taken from the victim's body and from the accused. The case did not reach a jury after it was challenged by defence barristers who argued that the passage of time had made a fair trial impossible.

And it was to be another 12 years before justice finally caught up with the real killer, Ronald Castree. The father-of-three, who by this time ran a comic book shop on the outskirts of Rochdale town centre, was said to be a vain, abusive and arrogant bully, a serial philanderer.

In spite of the many mistakes made by police in the original investigation, the one thing they did do right was preserve evidence from the murder scene. A forensic scientist had used Sellotape on Lesley's underwear and acquired enough material for a DNA profile to eventually be done. It was to prove of little use at the time, but would be crucial more than 30 years later.

In October 2005 Castree was arrested after a sex worker, who said she met him in a hotel room, made a complaint of sexual assault. Even no though charges were ever brought against him, Castree's DNA was taken and placed in a national database.

It turned out to be a direct match to the DNA taken from Lesley's underwear. Police then knew they'd finally found the killer.

On Bonfire Night 2006, Castree was arrested at his home in Brandon Crescent, in Shaw, Oldham, on suspicion of murdering Lesley Molseed. As he was taken into police custody he was alleged to have told one police officer 'I've been expecting this for years,' something he later denied saying.

At the trial it emerged that Lesley was not the only vulnerable, young schoolgirl that Castree attacked in the mid-1970s. He also sexually assaulted a nine-year-old who he abducted in his taxi in Rochdale, the court heard.

Castree was convicted of the offence and fined, but not sent to jail. It was less than a year after Lesley's death, but detectives never questioned Castree because, by that point, Stefan Kiszko was already in jail.

Alongside the DNA match it was to prove to be a crucial part of the evidence that finally brought Castree to justice. On November 12, 2007 a jury at Bradford Crown Court convicted Castree of murder by a majority of 10 to two, coincidentally exactly the same majority as in Stefan's case.

In tears in the dock, Castree claimed he was the victim of a second miscarriage of justice. But the judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, cut him off telling him: "No, you have had your say; your past has now caught up with you."

Castree was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mr Justice Openshaw recommended that he serve at least 30 years before being considered for parole. By that time he would be 84-years-old.

As he was taken from the dock Castree called out, 'I did not do it'. Mr Kiszko's aunt Anne, the last surviving member of the family, said: "God knows how many other lives Castree has ruined. You are not telling me he's only done one murder in 32 years. If you are capable of doing such a despicable act then you just don't stop."

In a statement outside court Lesley's mother April said: "We are relieved that after so long our quest for justice for Lesley is now over."

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A Royton man used his knowledge as a computer repair technician to download images of children being sexually abused, a court has heard. Kevin Lane of Wendlebury Green pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of a child and downloading images of children over several years. The 53-year-old appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on Thursday (August 4), where he was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment suspended for 24 months, placed on the sex offender register for 10 years and subjected to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for 10 years. Lane was also given a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement. An internal inquiry by Lanes employers is meanwhile set for next week and will result in his dismissal. In mitigation, defence barrister Richard Orme said Lane had no previous convictions and had taken full responsibility for his actions and expressed genuine remorse. Mr Orme also called on Judge Hilary Manley to consider the effect of Lanes incarceration on his son who has severe medical issues. Judge Manley acknowledged Mr Ormes points in mitigation and discussed the sentencing guidelines with prosecutor John Kennerly. Turning to Lane, Judge Manley said: Over several years you downloaded images of children being sexually abused. Some of those images were of very young children. As a result of your work as a computer repair man you knew exactly what you were doing and the steps to take to cover your tracks. She added: Having been caught you lied and lied again. You couldnt bring yourself to own up to what you did and then finally pleaded guilty at trial before being convicted by a jury. Judge Manley however said she accepted Lane had expressed remorse, all be it late in the day and acknowledged he had no previous convictions. Addressing Lane while passing sentence, Judge Manley said: If you fail in any way to adhere to what the probation service set out for you to do over the next two years you will be back before me and regardless of the effect on your son, I will have no choice but to act on the suspended sentence.