Latest Offenders Chester

Description

A teenager who tied up and 'bound' a boy on vile YouTube videos was caught out by a school after the headteacher recognised the victim as one of their pupils.

Romeo Smalley has been jailed after sexually assaulting the boy having posted two videos of him online while he was restrained, Manchester Evening News reports.

The 20-year-old's barrister tried to claim that it was a 'game that young people play', but Smalley, who was 18 at the time of the offence, admitted his actions were sexually motivated, at Manchester Crown Court.

The two videos lasted a little over six minutes and just over five minutes. In one the boy was tied up with tape and was seen trying to escape. Officers also found 'other videos of concern', which he was not prosecuted for.

Smalley can be heard asking viewers to 'like and subscribe' in one video. A judge said it was clear that he was 'sexually aroused' in one of the clips.

Prosecutor Peter Wilson said Smalley had an interest in 'restraint' and 'bondage'. The 20-year-old from Oldham said he was 'aroused by the thought of people being tied up', rather than being interested in children sexually.

The abuse happened after he gave the boy a mobile phone so they could message each other on Snapchat. In one video he said he would be paid money if he completed the 'activity'. The boy said he 'didn't like' being tied up.

The court heard how the boy was told not to tell his parents. Smalley was arrested and denied sexually assaulting him. He claimed it was the boy's idea to film the videos and that the child had suggested posting them on YouTube 'for a laugh'.The boy said Smalley 'never did anything funny'.

"What you did was very serious," Smalley was told by Judge Tom Gilbart. "You have taken advantage of a much younger person.

"You sexually assaulted him on two occasions. There was evidence of grooming and manipulation in what you did."

The boy's mother said the crime had affected him 'hugely'. "Romeo was devious in how he did this," she said. "He [the victim] thought it was him that had done something wrong." Defending, Howard Bernstein claimed it was part of a 'game'.

"This was a game that young people play," he said. He said Smalley's sexual motivation 'raised it from an innocuous game to a sexual offence'.

Mr Bernstein said Smalley, who has no previous convictions, has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is 'lacking in maturity'. He said Smalley has been in custody for the past eight months.

"He has been bullied in prison, he is finding prison extremely difficult," he said. Smalley, of Longfellow Crescent, Oldham, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.

He was sentenced to three years and three months in prison, and ordered to sign the sex offender register for life.

Description

A convicted sex offender who pretended to be a teenager and sent sexually explicit messages to children on social media has been jailed.

Tom Brown created two accounts on Snapchat, including one he used to pose as his ‘older brother’ and messaged what he thought were girls aged 12 and 13. However he was actually speaking to undercover police officers.

The 34-year-old committed the offences while subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from using any messaging service to contact anyone under the age of 16.

Brown, who has a number of previous convictions for similar offences, set up an account on Snapchat and began messaging an account he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl in June 2023. He claimed to be a 14-year-old boy from Sheffield who had an older brother and asked the girl if she would travel to meet them both for sexual activity.

On the same date, Brown also started messaging another account, which he believed to belong to a 12-year-old girl. He initially said he was a 14-year-old from Sheffield but then later claimed to be a 12-year-old from Derby. 

Brown continued messaging this account for several days, asking the girl to send pictures of herself. He also sent pictures and videos to her showing him performing a sex act.

Investigations found the Snapchat account was being accessed via an IP address linked to registered sex offender Brown’s home in Lower Grove Road, Chesterfield.

He was arrested on 19 June 2023 and subsequently charged with:

• attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child
• causing a child aged 13 to 15 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity,
• arrange/facilitate commission of child sex offence – sexual activity – no penetration
• attempt to cause/incite a female child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity – no penetration
• attempt to cause a female aged 13 or over to engage in sexual activity – no penetration
• five counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He admitted the charges and appeared at Derby Crown Court for sentencing on Monday 8 January when he was jailed for three years and eight months with an extended licence period of three years. He must also sign the sex offender’s register and was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A man raped a woman after spraying her with his aftershave, telling her: "I want you to smell like me." Abdul Qadir, 21, met the woman on a social media dating site.

After exchanging details, he invited her to his flat. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told her friends and family where she was going, before getting a taxi to the property in Stockport.

Qadir and the woman chatted and kissed on the sofa, before he sprayed her with his aftershave. She said it was 'weird behaviour'. He then took her to his bedroom, before touching her intimately.

The woman said he was rushing and that it was 'too much', Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Qadir pulled off her leggings and underwear before raping her.

"You said no, I should have listened," he told her after the attack. After the woman reported Qadir to the police, he told them: "I met the girl on social media, I asked her to take her leggings off, she said 'no', I had sex with her... I got carried away."

Qadir, of Buxton Road, Great Moor, was jailed for three years and two months. He earlier pleaded guilty to rape.

Daniel Calder, prosecuting, told the court Qadir met the woman online last year. They exchanged numbers and chatted on WhatsApp. They then arranged to meet at his flat.

"They kissed and then the defendant sprayed her with aftershave, telling her 'I want you to smell like me'," Mr Calder said.

"He then gave her a tour before they sat on his bed and kissed again. He then attempted to remove her clothes before she told him it was too much and that he was rushing."

Qadir asked the woman if she was on the pill before taking his clothes on and getting a condom. "She told him they were not going to have sex," the prosecutor continued.

He told her he was 'horny' and climbed on top of her. After being raped, the woman went to the bathroom and told her family what had happened.

The woman recorded Qadir on her phone admitting he had raped her and apologised. He later sent her messages asking if she was okay.

Qadir was arrested that afternoon. He told police what he had done, saying he got 'carried away'.

'What happened to me will always be with me'

In a statement, the woman said the incident is always on her mind, adding: "I keep thinking about how I could have stopped it. I just want to forget about it and move on with my life.

"I was looking forward to the date. Now it takes me back to what happened and I relive the trauma all over again. My sleeping pattern is all over the place, for a while I struggled to eat and I worry about strangers.

"Something so private and personal was taken from me and I will never get it back. What happened to me will always be with me - it feels like a physical scar."

David Bruce, for Qadir, said the fact his client pleaded guilty showed 'courage rarely seen in cases such as this'. "This is a relatively young man with no previous convictions," he said.

"He made a mistake, a bad mistake... an unlawful mistake. He acted out of character and he does show remorse."

Mr Bruce said Qadir came to the UK Kingdom from Iraq when he was 16, before going into the care system. His application for asylum was turned down and he was planning to rea-appeal before he was remanded into custody.

Judge Angela Nield told him: "She did not wish to engage in intimate sexual relations with you. She told you 'no' on a number of occasions. She was a stranger and vulnerable. It's clear that you fully understood what she was saying because you subsequently, and very quickly, apologised to her.

"There is no doubt what happened to her. You told the police you would tell them the truth - that you had raped her."

Qadir was jailed for three years and two months; ordered to sign to the sex offender register for life and banned from contacting the woman. The case will be referred to the Home Secretary who will decide if and when he is deported.

Description

A Chesterfield rapist who left a woman suffering nightmares and anxiety has been jailed.

Rys Turner’s vile actions were uncovered after the woman came forward and told officers of the rape after he assaulted her in March 2023.

In a statement read out at court, she explained the devastating impact that the crimes had on her. She said: ”I’ve been taking sleeping tablets because my thoughts keep me awake at night and I don’t want to fall to sleep and have anymore nightmares about everything.

“I don’t think my life will ever be the same after this.

“I just want to be left alone, I don’t want to see anyone and I don’t want to speak to anyone either.

“I’m so closed off from the outside world it’s affecting my anxiety even more.

“Sleeping is still a massive struggle, the nightmares put me right back in those traumatic moments, they feel so real I’m waking up in a panic.”

The 26-year-old, of Littlemoor, Newbold, appeared at Derby Crown Court on 15 December when he was jailed for six years after admitting rape.

He was also handed a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with the victim for 16 years and was ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

Description

A man who poured boiling water over a fellow inmate before beating and raping him has been sentenced.

Robert Reynolds, 29, had denied grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of rape and a sexual assault.

A jury at Salisbury Crown Court found him guilty of all offences following a five-day trial.

The court heard that Reynolds attacked the victim, a man who was in his 20s at the time, in July 2021, when they were prisoners at HMP Winchester, in Romsey Road.

Reynolds threw boiling water from a kettle at the victim, causing burns to his back and face.

He then punched and kicked the victim before raping and sexually assaulting him, the jury was told.

The victim was initially treated at the prison before being taken for treatment at a specialist burns unit in hospital. He later disclosed the sexual offences.

On Wednesday 13 December, Reynolds, currently of HMP Bullingdon, was jailed for 12 years following a hearing at Winchester Crown Court.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Sergeant Harry Wilson said: This was a horrific attack on a vulnerable man in a prison.

While the victim has since left prison, he continues to deal with the physical and mental impact of what happened to him.

This was a difficult and long investigation and I hope this shows that we will work closely with the prison to investigate any criminal offences that occur there.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE teacher who was jailed after molesting children at a Wirral school has been banned from returning to the classroom for good.

Charles Ellis was jailed for three years in December 2019 after being found guilty of 10 sexual assaults on girls aged eight to nine over a period of 17 years. This led to four more victims coming forward two of whom Ellis abused while working at a Liverpool primary school.

A Teacher Regulation Hearing (TRA) has now banned Ellis a former Chester Zoo keeper from the classroom permanently.

A report from a hearing held by the TRA in September, said Ellis chose not to attend and said in writing: My position is that following my three convictions, I do not plan to return to teaching and so do not understand what else there is to discuss? Continuing in his absence, the panel were told how Ellis began his stint in the Wirral in 2002.

In June 2017, the school became aware of a serious allegation in respect of his conduct, which was being investigated by the police. He was dismissed for gross misconduct a year later.

He was subsequently jailed in 2019 for three years, prompting new victims to come forward. Having pleaded not guilty to his first offences, forcing the victims and their families through the ordeal of a trial, Ellis admitted to six counts of indecent assault and five counts of sexual assault.

Judge Thomas Teague, QC, said Ellis, targeted one victim in Liverpool under the guise of helping her with her work. He rubbed the childs legs and bottom and sometimes touched her bottom under clothing.

Ellis behaved in a similar way to a second girl in Liverpool, but didnt touch her under clothing. He touched one girl at the Wirral school on her legs, lower back and bottom, again after she sought help.

He must sign on the Sex Offenders Register and obey a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.

The TRA panel found that the seriousness of the offending behaviour that led to the conviction was clearly relevant to Ellis ongoing suitability to teach given the nature of the conviction and the fact that the victims were pupils. The panel considered that a finding that these convictions were relevant offences was necessary to reaffirm clear standards of conduct and maintain public confidence in the teaching profession.

In deciding to ban Ellis from the classroom for life, officials said they had considered the very serious nature of his offences, including the sexual assault of children that he taught, and the absence of any evidence that he had demonstrated any insight into his behaviour and its impact on his victims.

This means Ellis is prohibited from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or childrens home in England.

Description

A man has been sentenced to more than nine years for multiple counts of sexual offences against underage girls, including rape and sexual assault.

Harry Dobson, of Village Road, Waverton, Chester, was given a sentence of nine years and six months at Chester Crown Court on Friday 8 December.

The 19-year-old was previously found guilty of nine counts of sexual offences against children, including rape, sexual activity with a child, sexual assault, and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Dobson was 18 when he committed the offences, which span from November 2022 – April 2023.

The first victim was 15 years old when she was sexually assaulted by Dobson at the Mercure Hotel, Chester, on 20 November 2022. Dobson had pressured her into a sexual act. This was reported to police on 29 November after the victim disclosed what had happened to her teacher.

The second victim was a 14-year-old girl who was pressured into sexual activity with Dobson, despite him knowing her age, after they started speaking to each other on SnapChat.

This was documented on text messages where Dobson used emotional blackmail to manipulate her into complying with his demands. On two occasions Dobson raped the victim. This was reported to police in May 2023 after occurring earlier in the year.

Dobson was charged and remanded in May 2023.

He was found guilty following a two-week trial which took place in October 2023.

On top of his sentence, Dobson must sign onto the Sex Offender Register for life and is subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. Dobson was also handed a restraining order in relation to both victims in the case.

Description

A predatory transgender woman who incited a man to sexually abuse a "vulnerable and innocent" young child has been jailed.

An investigation found Naomi O'Brien, of Tameside, had directed a man from Wales to abuse the four-year-old in March 2023.

The 31-year-old was convicted of five offences and jailed for four years and three months at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.

Greater Manchester Police said the child had suffered a "terrible ordeal".

O'Brien's crimes were uncovered through what the force described as a "tenacious and lengthy investigation of 1,865 messages" which proved her conversations with the man were "not simply a case of role play or fantasy".

In July, "calculating and deviant" Jonathan Walker, of Merthyr Tydfil, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for sexually abusing the 4-year-old, along with engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and possession of indecent images, South Wales Police said.

'Significant result'

O'Brien, of Ashton-under-Lyne, knew Walker had "an interest in sexually abusing a young boy on the direction of her," Det Insp Zoe Marsden, of GMP's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team said.

She was convicted of three counts of intentionally encouraging and assisting another to commit a sexual assault against a child, and two counts of intentionally encouraging and assisting another to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

O'Brien was also given a sexual harm prevention order for four years and four months, and placed on the sex offenders register for life when she was sentenced.

Det Insp Marsden said it was a "significant result" for this case and also "other children in the community who could have been subject to similar offending by a predatory female who was inciting others to commit acts of sexual harm".

Description

Multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur Lawrence Jones has been found guilty of raping two women in Manchester in the 1990s.

The former UKFast chief executive was convicted in January this year of sexually assaulting another woman in 2013, which could not be reported until today because of court restrictions.

He has already spent 10 months behind bars after being remanded in custody earlier this year following that conviction.

But the 55-year-old is expected to be sentenced for all three offences on 1 December following the conclusion of a second trial.

Jones, who set up the web hosting provider with his wife Gail in 1999, was once considered one of the most influential technology magnates in the UK with an estimated wealth of about £700m, according to the Financial Times.

UKFast employed around 500 staff and had more than 5,000 clients including the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet Office, earning Jones an MBE in 2015 for services to the digital economy.

Allegations against him were first made in 2019, when a former employee told police he had sexually assaulted her during a business trip to London.

In May 2019 Jones was investigated under caution where he answered "no comment" to all questions.

'Let me see your knickers'

During a trial in January this year, prosecutor Eloise Marshall KC told jurors Jones and his former employee - a victim referred to by police as Woman A - had gone up to a penthouse suite which had two separate bedrooms but a shared seating area.

Ms Marshall described how Jones made numerous advances on the woman.

At one point, he said to her "let me see your knickers" and placed his hands on her body, the trial heard.

"This caused her dress to ride up and as she was trying to pull it down and get away, he was trying to get on top of her," Ms Marshall said.

The woman managed to free herself from Jones and lock herself in one of the rooms, according to the prosecutor.

She later left UKFast and was reportedly paid a £13,000 settlement "for her silence", Ms Marshall said, and was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Jones had denied the accusation and claimed the woman had become drunk in the hotel bar and was "flirtatious".

"I put my hands on people's shoulders but only people I thought I had a really good relationship with. There's nothing sexual about what I was doing," he told the court in January.

"I gave hugs to people, that's the sort of person I am."

Jones was found guilty of sexual assault but was acquitted of sexually assaulting and raping a fourth woman at Manchester Crown Court.

Women reported feeling 'woozy' and 'floaty'

In 2021, a second woman (Woman B) came forward and accused Jones of raping and sexually assaulting her in 1993, when she was a student at the University of Manchester and Jones was in a relationship with her friend.

She told the court that her body felt "floaty" after having one glass of wine that Jones had poured while the pair were at his flat.

In the years after the assault, she said she had told friends what had happened to her, but did not feel able to report it to police at the time.

A year later, a third woman (Woman C) - who did not know the other complainant - told police she and her partner had become friends with Jones in 1993, when he played music in pubs and bars across Manchester.

She accused Jones of rape after she had felt woozy and laid on her bed after he told her to smell a bottle of liquid he was holding.

In 2019, she told her husband and a friend about the offence and three years later in 2022, she reported the incident to Greater Manchester Police.

Jones was convicted of raping Woman B and Woman C after pleading not guilty at a trial which lasted three weeks.

Jurors were not told about his previous sexual assault conviction.

Mrs Jones held her hand over her mouth as the unanimous verdicts were read out in court, and two of the defendant's daughters were in tears in the public gallery.

Description

Jordan Morgan, 29, spoke to the girl on the social media app and told her he was 15.

He then arranged to meet her in Preston, Lancashire, on 14 May before taking her to woods off Banbury Drive and raping her.

Morgan, from Murray Street, Salford, was jailed at Preston Crown Court after admitting rape and grooming.

Lancashire Police said Morgan was identified following mobile phone and social media analysis and arrested at his home.
CCTV and clothing recovered from his home placed him at the scene and his DNA was present on an apple juice bottle officers found in the woods.

PC Koryann Stevens said: "He is clearly someone who presents a very real danger to children by his perverted sexual interests and calculated and planned behaviour.

"He lied to the victim in this case as part of his grooming behaviour, with the ultimate aim of carrying out a serious sexual assault on her.

"This is clearly an offence which has had a profound impact on the young victim and her family."

Morgan was also made subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which prevents him from having any unsupervised contact with any child under 16, and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A man has been jailed for seven years after breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and striking up a "friendship" with a 13-year-old boy.

Luke Tucker, 23, was convicted of a sexual offence in October 2022 and given an SHPO in February 2023, which required him to notify police if he is going to stay at any address where someone under 18 lives or stays and tell them if he is using any aliases.

He also had his access to the internet significantly limited, as well as his ability to store images and videos. 

Just after he was given his SHPO in February, police have discovered that Tucker struck up a "friendship" with a 13-year-old boy, having told him that he was 16.

Tucker gave the boy gifts, stayed at his home address, and had him back to stay at his own address in Eight Acre Lane in Colchester.

While officers were investigating him, they discovered that Tucker had also been messaging a 15-year-old boy and trying to encourage sexual activity.

They searched his house on March 25 this year and discovered several memory cards, USB sticks and hard drives, all in breach of his SHPO.

He was charged with a range of offences and convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, breaching a sexual harm prevention order, and failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders register.

He was jailed for a total of seven years at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday.

PC Graeme Braby, who led the investigation, said: "Luke Tucker poses a very real danger to young people.

"The fact he defied the significant constraints on his contact with children, access to the internet, and access to storage devices highlights the lengths he was prepared to go to.

"Many people around the county will not think, or want to think, about the possibility of a registered sex offender living in their community but I hope the fact there is a professional, specially trained, and dedicated set of officers and staff managing the risk they pose will be reassuring."

Description

A rapist held a gun to his victim's head and threatened to 'smoke' him if he dared to report his horrendous ordeal. Ashley Cleary abducted the man and repeatedly raped him in the street, before forcing him into his home where he raped him again.

Before fleeing, remorseless Cleary, 39, put a gun to the man's head and told him: "If you tell anyone, I'll smoke you." His DNA was found on the man's underwear and when police went to arrest him, Cleary was discovered hiding in a loft, Bolton Crown Court heard.

Now Cleary, a dad from Salford, has been jailed for 21 years after being found guilty of a catalogue of crimes, including rape and kidnap. Prosecutors told how the victim knew Cleary as he was a regular customer at his place of work.

In December last year Cleary arrived at his work in Salford and was behaving in an ‘intimidating and threatening manner’, prosecutor Daniel Calder said. At one point Cleary opened up his coat to ‘expose what appeared to be a handgun’, the prosecutor said.

The victim stayed at work with colleagues for a time after Cleary had left, to try and allow time for him to leave. But when he went outside, Cleary was still there.

At one point Cleary took hold of the man’s arm and told him: “You’re going to drive my car home.” He ‘felt compelled’ to go with Cleary, due to what had happened earlier but the ‘car’ was a ruse.

Cleary, who was also armed with a hammer, led the man down an alleyway and repeatedly raped him during several incidents. He launched a barrage of homophobic abuse as he committed the sickening crimes, labelling his victim a ‘f****** dirty little queer’.

At one point, Cleary told the terrified man: “Come on, we’re going to yours.” They made their way to the victim’s home, where Cleary placed the handgun on a side table.

Cleary then proceeded to rape the man in his own bed, as he continued to subject him to homophobic abuse. He then forced his victim to ‘reassure’ him ‘that he wasn’t gay’, Mr Calder said.

After committing another rape, Cleary got up and retrieved his gun, before putting the barrel to the man’s head. “If you tell anyone, I’ll smoke you,” he told him, before he left the property.

The victim left his home in his bare feet, wearing only a dressing gown, and visited a friend to tell them what had happened. The police were alerted and Cleary was arrested at his home on Christmas Eve, where he was found hiding in a loft.

Tests revealed the presence of Cleary’s DNA on his victim’s underwear. Cleary, of no fixed address, denied all wrongdoing, and at trial claimed he and the man had engaged in consensual sex.

But a jury rejected his lies and found him guilty of seven counts of rape, one count of kidnap, one count of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and one count of threatening with an offensive weapon. Cleary said 'I'm innocent by the way' as he was sent down to begin his sentence.

In a statement read on his behalf, the victim said: "I felt like it was never going to end. He used and abused me for his own benefit, for reasons of his own that I will never understand."

The court heard how Cleary has racked up 34 previous criminal offences. He was once hauled before the courts following an incident where he turned up at a pub armed with an axe.

Defending, Rachel Shenton said Cleary still maintains his innocence. She said he had been due to work on the day of the incident as a labourer but that his shift was cancelled due to bad weather and he instead went on a ‘drinking binge’.

Ms Shenton said Cleary has suffered from a number of ‘long standing’ issues, including anxiety and depression and ‘intellectual difficulties’. She said Cleary, who has a female partner who stands by him, would find prison ‘particularly difficult’.

Judge Nick Clarke KC handed Cleary a 25 year extended sentence, after declaring him a 'dangerous' criminal. He will serve at least two-thirds of a 21 year prison sentence, before the Parole Board decide whether it is safe for him to be release.

He will then be monitored for a further four years on licence.

Description

A man "groomed" a girl and had a sexual relationship with her, leaving her with “persistent and longstanding” mental health problems.

Christopher White, from Radcliffe, began contacting his victim over the social media platform MySpace in 2006 when the girl was aged 13.

The two later began a relationship when she was 14 and he was 22.

Johnathan Savage, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court last week that White met with the girl in person in Radcliffe town centre where they drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes together, while her mother believed she was out with friends.

After the relationship became sexual, White and the girl began staying at his mother’s house, as well as in hotel rooms in Manchester. They also bought a tent so they could spend time camping out, the court heard.

Mr Savage explained that White tried to prevent the girl from developing friendships outside the relationship by sending messages to those she knew “to put her distance between her and friends".

The relationship came to an end after her 16th birthday.

White was charged with having a sexual relationship with a girl under the age of 16 after being interviewed by police in 2020 after the victim came forward.

Mr Savage added: “She felt like she had been groomed into a relationship by him, that relationship had damaged her.”

A victim impact statement read to the court by the prosecution said the victim had suffered “persistent and longstanding” damage to her mental health.

In her statement, the victim, who is now an adult, wrote that she had “spent the last 10 years in the deepest depression".

However, Mr Savage added, she felt she had been able to rebuild her life.

Colin Buckle, defending, described White as being “childlike” and “presenting like a teenager” despite now being aged 39.

"He was operating in a child like state", Mr Buckle said.

"To send him to custody now would be an unmitigated disaster for Christopher White."

Addressing White, of Redbank Road, Radcliffe, Judge Abigail Hudson said he was an “isolated and lonely man” whose employment was “a vital link between you and the outside world".

She added: “Your attraction to the victim was connected to her availability rather than her youth.

“I don’t accept that you were in any doubt of her age.”

Judge Hudson sentenced White to two years and eight months and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register.

Description

A paedophile sexually assaulted a 12-year-old boy as he played out on his bike. The child was approached by 21-year-old Kai Huston, while he was out near his home in Salford on a summer’s afternoon.

The boy’s bike had broken and Huston offered to help, Manchester Crown Court heard. He asked the child "if I fix this for you, will you do something for me?" before sexually assaulting him.

Now Huston has been declared ‘dangerous’ and locked up. Prosecutors told how Huston had previously been arrested by police after he was found to have uploaded a category A indecent image of a child - the most serious type - on Snapchat in July 2021.

He was caught but then released under investigation. Then two years later he sexually assaulted the boy, aged 12 at the time.

The child was playing out on a residential street in Salford, on a Thursday afternoon in July. It was a school day, but he was at home because teachers were on strike, prosecutor David Toal said.

He had been riding his bike, but the chain had broken and he was trying to fix it. Huston got out of an Uber nearby.

He then 'ushered' the child to a 'more secluded location' in a nearby alleyway, and offered to help fix the bike. Huston then crouched and put his arms around the child.

He touched the boy on the 'bottom area' and his lower back. Huston told him 'don't go anywhere' and said 'if I help you with this chain, will I get something back?'

He also asked: "If I fix this for you, will you do something for me?" During the incident Huston had asked the boy how old he was, and he told him he was just 12.

The boy was 'frightened' during the assault and at one point tried to leave. As he tried to run away, Huston 'grabbed' him by his T-shirt, but he was able to break free and escape.

The police were alerted, and Huston was caught. Defending, Hugh Barton said Huston's motivations in approaching the boy had initially been 'entirely innocent'.

"This was not him out looking for someone or targeting an individual in that way," he said. Huston has been diagnosed with autism and experienced a 'desperately difficult' childhood, Mr Barton told the court.

He said Huston was a 'vulnerable figure' and 'in many ways a damaged one'. Huston, from, Salford, pleaded guilty to distributing an indecent image of a child, and sexually assaulting a child.

Sentencing, Judge Alan Conrad KC declared Huston a ‘dangerous’ offender. It means he will serve two-thirds of a four year sentence in prison, before he will be monitored for an additional two years on licence.

Huston was ordered to sign the sex offender's register for life.

Description

A 'dangerous offender' who plotted to sexually abuse a 12 week-old baby at a Manchester city centre hotel has been locked up.

Mark Whalley, 71, who was also found in possession of a sickening library of child abuse images, was brought to justice after a National Crime Agency investigation was launched following intelligence received from law enforcement agencies thousands of miles away in Norway.

The NCA said Whalley was arrested before he could even get into the lift in a foyer area of the hotel during an undercover operation. No baby was at the hotel.

He told officers who swooped on him that he was at the unnamed hotel because he was having an affair, but went on to plead guilty to a raft of charges. Whalley, of Wharf Close in Manchester city centre, has now been jailed for six years and eight months.

The NCA said after receiving intelligence from Norwegian law enforcement partners, agency investigators found Whalley had discussed his sexual interest in children under 12 years of age on an encrypted online platform.

He had shared indecent images of children with other users on the site, and described the extreme abuse he wanted to engage in, said the NCA in a statement.

It was discovered Whalley used the platform to message an individual who said they had access to a baby, and discussed a meeting, said the agency.

The NCA said in a statement: "Whalley was arrested by NCA officers on suspicion of child abuse offences before he could get in the lift at the hotel. At this point, he told officers they were mistaken and attempted to pass the meeting off as an affair.

"After initially pleading guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children, he later pleaded guilty to an additional count of arranging a child sex offence.

"Whalley had arranged to abuse the baby while subject to a separate investigation in which indecent images of children had been recovered from his devices in 2021."

Whalley pleaded guilty to arranging a child sex offence; two counts of making indecent images of children; possession of extreme pornographic images and three counts of distribution of an indecent image of children. He was sentenced for all of the offences at Manchester Crown Court on 23 October 2023.

Daniel Waywell, NCA Operations Manager, said Whalley was 'a dangerous offender who had clear intentions'. "As a result of close collaboration with colleagues here in the UK and overseas, we were able to intervene and arrest him, and he will now spend years behind bars for his crimes," he said.

"The NCA works tirelessly to ensure that children are protected from sexual abuse, identifying the offenders who pose the highest risk and ensuring that they are held accountable."