Latest Offenders Chester

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A REGISTERED sex offender who was found to be living with a two-year-old child has been put behind bars.

Jason Bell, of Firs Chase, West Mersea, was being monitored by the police due to a sexual harm prevention order imposed upon him.

Essex Police said Bell posed a “serious risk to young girls” and the order was in place to protect vulnerable people.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard the sex offender was banned from owning internet enabled devices unless monitored by Essex Police and had to notify officers of changes to his address.

But the 33-year-old tried to evade detection by residing at a new property which officers were unaware of.

In November, Essex Police received a call informing constables of Bell’s whereabouts and that there was a two-year-old child at the address.

An officer was deployed to the scene and arrested Bell after spotting him returning to the property.

Appearing before the magistrates, Bell was sentenced to one years imprisonment.

Investigating Officer Harry Callaghan said the defendant “genuinely believed” he wouldn’t go to prison.

“I acted quickly on the intelligence received and was able to attend the address," he said.

“Bell had unfortunately run away from the address after seeing the police but after a short wait around the corner, I was able to witness him return to the address I knew he shouldn’t have been at.

“Bell thought that he could continue to breach the order which we’d placed upon him to keep vulnerable people safe. He genuinely believed that he wouldn’t go to prison.

“I made sure that the courts were fully briefed about the risk he presented and am pleased that he received a custodial sentence.”

Mr Callaghan, is part of the team which manages sexual offenders and violent offenders.

He continued: “Essex Police is constantly looking at the measures we can use to keep everyone, especially young women and girls safe.

“Anyone on the Sex Offenders Register and who poses a risk will be monitored by my team.”

Description

A "sexual predator" who raped a vulnerable"" young girl after isolating her from her friend in a city centre and luring her back to his home has been jailed.

Girmay Andes, 28, of Droylsden, approached the girl, who was under 16, in Piccadilly in Manchester in July, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

He took her back to his home and attacked her.

Andes, who admitted rape, was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for eight years.

He also pleaded guilty to two separate counts of sexual assault of a woman and was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.

GMP said Andes managed to separate the girl from her friend and persuaded her to go back to his home - where the offence took place.

The victim contacted people she knew, who informed police.

Andes took the girl out of his home before officers arrived but they tracked her down a short distance away and she told them what she had been through.

Andes was arrested a short time later.

Det Con Mike Allen praised the victim for "finding the strength" to report the rape and go through the court process to ensure "this sexual predator has been removed from the streets of Manchester and jailed".

He told other victims: "You will be believed and you will be supported throughout every stage of the process, to bring offenders to justice and prevent them from harming anyone else."

Description

A man has been jailed after he was seen attempting to rape another man in a busy local park before battering him in a 'prolonged' attack.

Connor Farren-Bell, 25, met the victim while he was sitting alone on a bench in Alkrington Woods ‘watching the world go by’. After drinking a bottle of vodka together, Farren-Bell was later seen standing in front of the man, with his trousers down and ‘thrusting’ whilst the man appeared unresponsive, Manchester Crown Court heard.

As two witnesses walked past, one coughed to alert them to their presence, causing Farren-Bell to stop. They then heard Farren-Bell shouting: “If you were a woman”.

The man was then attacked by him, ‘raining’ punches on his head, face and body. He was later found huddled by the entrance to the park, bleeding and confused.

Farren-Bell then returned to the park and walked past the victim, who shouted: “That’s him.” When the witnesses told him what they had seen he said: “Oh no, he hasn’t done that to me” and vomited.

On the day of his trial, Farren-Bell pleaded guilty to attempted rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Last Friday, (January 20) he was jailed for seven years and eight months, with an extended period of four years on licence.

Opening the case, prosecutor Daniel Calder said that on July 17 last year, the man had gone for a walk and was sat on a bench by a lake when he was approached by Farren-Bell. The pair began chatting before Farren-Bell asked if he wanted to go for a pint, at which the man said he had no money, so instead the pair went to a local shop and bought a bottle of vodka.

After sharing the whole bottle, the man began feeling ‘funny’ and was described by eyewitnesses as looking ‘insensible’ and ‘incapacitated’. As the two people, out on an evening walk, went past Farren-Bell and the man, they saw Farren-Bell stood up directly in front of the man engaging in a sex act.

Mr Calder said: “The witnesses coughed loud to alert him and noticed the victim had slumped to the left side of the defendant. They then heard him shouting aggressively, saying: “If you were a woman”.

“The couple walked on and could hear the defendant shouting as they made their way round.”

He said this later manifested into the violent assault. The victim, who’s last memory of the incident was drinking from the bottle, said his next memory was walking away from the bench before he was punched by Farren-Bell, knocking him to the floor.

During the attack Farren-Bell, who had ridden his bike to the park, used the bicycle to ‘pin’ the man to the floor. He was later found by the entrance to the park in a confused state.

After a couple of days he was taken to hospital where he was found with extensive bruising and cuts to his body. Farren-Bell was arrested after his phone was found at the scene, and initially denied the attack in his police interview. He has since pleaded guilty.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the man said he has experienced anxiety and suicidal thoughts. He said he felt ‘ashamed and embarrassed’ and has since had his sexuality questioned. He added he has a hard time trusting people and lost a year of his life because of the court proceedings.

Farren-Bell was said to have previous convictions, including two offences of battery on his record.

Mitigating, David Bruce said it was a ‘tragic case’. He said no force was used to engage in the sex act and that his client had not deliberately used drink or drugs.

“This isn’t a situation where there was violence used in order to facilitate the sexual abuse,” Mr Bruce said.

“It’s clear he has accepted a degree of responsibility, though he had very little recollection. He has expressed remorse.”

Sentencing, Judge Timothy Smith said: “The witnesses, and his family, said he was incapacitated and rendered insensible. There is no indication you were responsible for that, but you were responsible for taking advantage of him in that situation.

“This was sustained, prolonged and you were out of control. He was fortunate to not have received more serious injuries.”

He said Farren-Bell was described as having a ‘high risk’ of serious harm in a presentence report, and that the trigger of the attack was not clear.

Finding him to be a dangerous offender under the sentencing provisions, Farren-Bell, of no fixed abode, was jailed for seven years and eight months with an extended licence period of four years. He must serve at least two thirds of his sentence before he is considered for release by the parole board.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

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An NHS worker who travelled to Southampton to have sex with a teenage boy fainted when he was met by police, a court heard.

Robin Hains was arrested during a police sting in Shirley.

The 47-year-old had travelled along the south coast, from Bognor Regis, in the hope of abusing a 13-year-old.

According to police, he used an online messaging platform to brag about his plans to another man in March last year.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and making indecent images of children.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Colin Haynes, of SEROCU, said: “Hains travelled a significant distance expecting to carry out sexual abuse against a child.

“Upon meeting police officers instead of the child, he had travelled expecting to see for sexual activity to take place, Hains fainted, demonstrating how shocked he was to have been ‘found out’ for his offending.

“Through his professional life, he would have been aware of what constitutes an offence of this nature and will now have time in prison to reflect upon this.

“SEROCU officers continue to work tirelessly to protect children and to bring those who commit offences against them before the courts to be held accountable for their actions.”

Hains, who worked at the urology department of University Hospitals Sussex, was jailed for three years and two months.

The defendant, of St Mary’s Close, Lavant, Chichester, must register as a sex offender for ten years and has been made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for the same time.

Anyone concerned about their thoughts or behaviour towards children or those of someone else can seek help and support via the Stop it Now! helpline on 0808 1000 900.

Further support is available from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

Victims of sexual offences or anyone who has information about them should contact police by calling the non-emergency number 101 or 999 in an emergency.

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A convicted paedophile arranged to meet a 13-year-old ‘boy’ in a park after telling him he was looking for a ‘regular f*** buddy’.

David Cox, 57, began chatting with the ‘child’ online and immediately asked his age, where he was from and his sexual preferences. When the ‘boy’ said he was 13, from Manchester and didn’t like girls, Cox suggested they meet at Queens Park, off Rochdale Road, before adding that he was ‘looking for a regular f*** buddy’.

Over the next few days he sent vile sexual messages asking if the boy was “horny” and said he would teach him how to commit sexual acts. In July this year, Cox went to the park but was met by a vigilante group, and it became clear he had actually been speaking to an adult decoy.

The police were called and his bag was searched. It was found to contain lube and a torch, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Cox, of Monsall, had previously been stung in 2017, when he arranged to meet a 12-year-old boy in a children’s park, but again was met by a paedophile hunter group. Today (December 22), after pleading guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a boy following grooming, he has been jailed.

Prosecuting, Charlotte Rimmer said Cox began chatting with the ‘boy’, who was actually a member of the group, Saving Our Children.

After contacting the boy on July 22 this year, he queried his sexual preferences and told him he was 45. He then suggested meeting up.

He gave the boy his number and suggested messaging him on WhatsApp, before telling him he was ‘very handsome’, and asking if he smoked or drank.

“At around midnight, the defendant asked whether he felt horny, whether he was erect and said he would show him how to get [an erection],” Ms Rimmer said.

Cox then told the boy he would show him how to carry out sexual acts before telling him to ‘keep it a secret’.

“He also said he got caught out before with a younger guy. When asked what happened, he said he got away with it and said the other person was 12 and was about to [perform a sex act upon him] when he left,” the prosecutor said.

“The conversation continued and the defendant suggested they could be boyfriends. He also asked if his mum had put a tracker in his phone.”

On July 25, Cox agreed to meet the boy at Queens Park, in Harpurhey, but when he arrived he tried to run away after seeing members of the group waiting for him. It was then he was caught.

The court heard he had 19 previous convictions, one of which included similar offences of attempting to meet a boy following grooming.

“The defendant engaged in conversation on Grindr - this was with another decoy. He said he wanted to have sex and said he brought alcohol, poppers and lubricant,” Mr Rimmer said.

It was said he was HIV positive at the time.

Defending, Adrian Palmer said his client was expecting to get more time in prison for the offences. He said he was on medication which has seen the HIV become ‘undetectable’, meaning it cannot be passed on, and added that Cox had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In sentencing, Recorder Neil Usher said his only mitigation was his early guilty plea.

“You thought you were communicating with a 13-year-old boy, and you attended the meeting with lubricant,” he said.

“I am satisfied that you took that with you because you were intending to engage in sexual acts with the child.”

Cox, of Keyhaven Walk, was jailed for 28 months with an extended period of three years on licence after the judge found him to be a dangerous offender under the sentencing provisions. That means he must serve a full seven months in prison, then two thirds of the 28 month sentence before he is considered for release by the parole board.

He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign onto the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

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Police have asked for help tracking down a convicted sex offender who wore a Greggs branded jumper in his mugshot.

Shaun Aver, 36, is wanted on recall to prison after repeatedly breaching his sex offender notification requirements after being convicted of sexual activity with a boy.

Aver, of Greater Manchester, has links to Preston, Blackpool, Blackburn and Fleetwood. He is of no fixed address and is required to register at the police station every seven days as part of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He failed to do so and a warrant has now been issued for his arrest. Police have now issued an appeal on Facebook, urging anyone who knows of his whereabouts to contact them.

'Police are appealing for the public's help to trace a wanted man from the Bury area,' a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said today.

'Shaun Aver is wanted on recall to prison. He is known to have links to the city centre, north Manchester, Preston and Cumbria areas.' 

Aver had previously been classed by police as a 'risk to women and children' when he went on the run earlier in the year.

He is described as being 5ft 6in tall, of medium build and having short, brown hair.

However, the force's appeal to find Aver has prompted mocking remarks from social media users who are seemingly amused by his mugshot - which shows him wearing a sweater littered with logos of the bakery giant Greggs.  

'The fashion police may have him. That jumper is a crime in itself,' wrote Vanessa Knight.

One said: 'Wanted for baking and entering and possession of an offensive jumper.' 

Tom Goulden joked: 'Wanted for baking and entering & possession of an offensive jumper.' 

'He's behind the counter at Bury Greggs! You'll catch him if you park up outside and wait. We'll call it a Steak Bake out,' Aaron Lee replied. 

'Just proves, beyond a reasonable doubt, some people will wear anything,' Lynne Rohmann added.

Emily Robinson joked: 'Imagine getting lifted wearing that jumper.'  

Maria Carty said: 'If he's not wearing the matching leggings I'll be disappointed.'

'Best publicity Greggs and Primark have had,' echoed Vanessa JS.

'He's never going to live that mugshot down. If he's not arrested for his crimes against fashion he'll want to be arrested to hide his humiliation.' 

Greater Manchester Police reposted the Facebook plea, adding: 'Other bakery chains are available.'

Greggs joined with Primark to release a collection of pastry-themed clothing, including jumpers, shoes and tracksuits.

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A SEXUAL predator who groped and kissed children walking through Colchester’s city centre has been locked up.

Stefan Pritchard’s disturbing attacks saw four girls, aged between 11 and 14, targeted on different dates between July 2021 and June this year.

A 14-year-old girl whose bottom was groped from underneath her skirt by Pritchard, 32, said she now suffers panic attacks due to flashbacks.

Judge David Turner KC told Chelmsford Crown Court he feared the sexually-charged incidents were a “manifestation of his inner loneliness and turmoil”. 

 Pritchard, of Fingringhoe Road, Colchester, admitted four counts of sexual assault on a child, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and one count of sexual assault of a child aged under 13.

He has been jailed for two years and nine months.

Emma Kutner, prosecuting, said Pritchard’s offending started when he reached up the 14-year-old’s skirt in Queen Street and grabbed her bottom in July 2021.

He then stroked the hair of an 11-year-old and told her she was beautiful as she walked with her mother in September last year. 

The following month he hugged a 14-year-old girl from behind and kissed her on the neck, cheek and lips before touching her breast.

Ms Kutner said: “Her friend said she was in shock and was crying. She said she felt anxious and didn’t want to go out.”

Another girl, 13, had her breasts and thighs stroked in North Hill by Pritchard in November 2021.

The sex attacker’s final offence, in June of this year, saw him ask a girl wearing school uniform if she wanted to spend some alone time together, before grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her closer. 

 The court heard Pritchard lives with a mild disorder impacting his intellectual development, but Judge Turner said: “It is not of an order which could possibly excuse this sort of behaviour.”

He added: “These were unprovoked, gratuitous public gropings and sexual assaults of young women.”

Donal Lawler, mitigating, said: “Given everything he was born into he stood little chance; he is an immensely damaged individual.”

Pritchard was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years. 

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A PERVERTED dad bragged about having a threesome during vile online sex chats with someone he believed was a ’12-year-old girl’.

Andrew Teale called the child, who was in fact an undercover police officer, ‘beautiful and sexy’ after setting up a profile with the username ‘Andy4Fun’.

The bumbling 43-year-old pervert also showed face while performing a sex act via webcam to the ’girl’, before apologising as he only wanted to give her a ‘quick flash’.

He was arrested however and charged with attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday, December 8, how Teale has since changed his name, however his new identity was not stated, and he was allowed to walk free from the building.

Neil Bisarya, prosecuting, explained how the offences occurred between January 10 and 14 this year, with the defendant being ‘aware he was engaging in sexual communications with someone he believed was a child for his own sexual gratification’.

He was caught as part of Operation Meteor – an undercover operation to combat online child sex exploitation and identify offenders posing a serious risk to children.

The court heard how Teale was engaging in chats with an undercover officer from North West Regional Organised Crime Unit purporting to be a 12-year-old called Izzy.

The offender used usernames such as Andy4Fun and AndyMark89 on a number of different platforms, initiating the conversation by telling ‘Izzy’ he was called Andy and from Warrington.

He asked her what she was looking for and why she was not in school, and when she told him from the outset that she was only aged 12, he said she made him ‘feel old’.

During the offence period, mainly talking on Skype, he asked her about her sexual experience and what ‘naughty things’ she had done.

He then asked for photos of her to perform sex acts on himself to, and he did so in a private video chat to her, accidentally showing his face and then apologising for showing her more than a ‘quick flash’.

He would often apologise for being ‘horny’ and for his sexualised questions, and he would change the subject to cars or theme parks.

The conversation would revert back to type however, with Teale bragging to her that he had once had a threesome.

He also asked her for photos, called her beautiful, asked what colour her knickers were and said he was imagining her naked. 

 Teale described himself as ‘nice looking but a bit overweight after Christmas’, before calling her sexy and saying he wished he was younger so he could be with her.

The defendant told the girl he was on a video call with a woman who was performing a sex act using a carrot, but said that he ‘preferred’ the youngster.

On January 28, officers from the online child abuse investigation team executed a warrant at Teale’s Warrington home to arrest him, where he promptly handed over his Samsung Galaxy phone and told police: “It’s all on there.”

He gave a mainly no comment police interview except confirming he was married, despite telling ‘Izzy’ otherwise, with children, while he also handed over his device passwords.

The phone was analysed and did not contain any ‘illegal images’, however police found material which ‘indicated an interest in indecent images of children’, alongside around 200 pictures of him ‘in sexual poses in various states of undress’.

In defence of Teale, who has no previous convictions and pleaded guilty to both offences, Simon Christie said: “He is a man of previous good character with a good family life, that was all going well until over a very short space of time it all came to grief.”

He said that the defendant stopped the conversation himself, has sought treatment by referring himself to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation – a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse – and has not sought to be evasive or minimising.

“The defendant knows what he did was very wrong and quite vile, but there is an abundance of material showing his rehabilitation is entirely practical,” Mr Christie added.

The court was told that Teale had lost an ‘exceptionally well-paid job’ as head of innovation for a prominent financial firm, and that ‘boredom and self-stimulation was the motivation behind the offending rather than a sexual interest in children’.

Before sentencing, recorder Tania Griffiths said: “Your shame and remorse seems to be genuine. You stopped yourself and recognised the severity of what you had done.

“You also lost a very well-paid job, and no doubt this has caused major disruption to your family life. I consider it highly unlikely you will ever come back before these courts again.”

Teale, now of Abbey Road in Tyldesley, was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and up to 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days, as well as abide by a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification and registration requirements, both for 10 years.

In addition, the court approved an order for the forfeiture and destruction of the defendant’s mobile phone seized by police. 

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A Manchester man has been jailed for 12 months after being caught in possession of an indecent image of children and four counts of sexual communications with a child under the age of 16 years.

Paul Michael Buckley aged 50 of Church Street was initially arrested on Monday 5 December 2022 and charged on Tuesday 6 December 2022, for the offences he carried out between June and August this year and in March 2021.

He also recorded himself following a schoolgirl for several minutes, at a close distance and in interview had openly admitted this was something that he has done.

The investigation was led by the Sex Offender Management Unit and District Intelligence Unit (DIU). Sergeant Richard Anderton said: “We are pleased that Paul Buckley is now off the streets and no longer a danger to girls in the area.

“We strongly urge anyone who is subject to this kind of attention to contact GMP and let us know. It’s important to us that the streets of Manchester and surrounding districts are safe for everyone, and we are committed to getting sex offenders arrested and charged for their crimes.

Description

A convicted sex offender was spotted in his car with two drunken teenagers high on nitrous oxide by an alert passer-by.

The woman spotted Mohammed Chaudry, 41, in his Vauxhall Astra in Liverpool city centre and saw the girls, one of whom was “foaming at the mouth.”

Liverpool Crown Court heard today (Friday, December 2) that her attention was drawn to them when Chaudry, of Stretford, called out to her, “My friends fancy you, will you get in?"

She was so concerned that she called the police and after circulating its details they managed to spot the vehicle at 2.50 am on Edge Lane on July 15 this year heading out of the city towards the M62, said Michael Scholes, prosecuting.

He was stopped and found to be a convicted sex offender registered with Greater Manchester Police. The girls in the car were found to be one who was 15 that day and a 17-year-old.

Mr Scholes said that analysis of ANPR cameras showed they had been in and around Liverpool for three and a half hours.

Chaudry was breathalysed and found to be over the limit and a small amount of cocaine and cannabis and nitrous oxide canisters were also found in the vehicle. There were also empty alcohol bottles and both teenagers were intoxicated.

“They claimed they knew the defendant as ‘Mo’ but eventually admitted they did not know him at all,” said Mr Scholes.

They said they had been driving in the Eccles area when Chaudry pulled up in his car and asked them to get in, which they did. The older girl said she went to look after her friend.

All three of them consumed alcohol and nitrous oxide and he drove them to Liverpool. After driving around for a while in the city he started kissing the younger girl and touched the thigh of her friend.

Mr Scholes said that the defendant had previously shown them a knife and the older girl said she was frightened and wanted to go home but they did not know the area.

The court heard that it was when Chaudry stopped at a shop in London Road in Liverpool’s city centre that the woman passer-by saw him and became concerned.

The younger girl refused to co-operate with police but the 17-year-old said that they had all been inhaling gas from balloons.

In a victim impact statement the 17-year-old said if the car had not been stopped she worried about what would have happened as they did not know what he was capable of doing.

Chaudry, of Chester Road, Stretford, has previous convictions including causing or inciting under age girls into prostitution in June 2013.

He pleaded guilty to sexual assault and engaging in sexual activity, possessing cocaine and cannabis and driving with excess alcohol.

Jailing him for two and a half years Judge Denis Watson, KC , said, “You took advantage of the fact they had been drinking and were drunk in order to commit these two sexual offences.”

He banned Chaudry, who appeared via video link from prison, from driving for 23 months and ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

He also imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Behaviour Order and a restraining order. He commended the woman passer-by for her actions.

Matthew Stewart, defending, said, “He accepts his actions were totally inappropriate.”

He explained that the defendant had been badly affected by the death of his uncle, who was a father figure, and the break-up of a six year relationship.

He cares for his disabled mum “and started drinking heavily and using cocaine and cannabis to numb his feelings.”

Mr Stewart said Chaudry has been on remand for five months and has been using his time constructively.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said: “This was an extremely disturbing crime by Chaudry against two teenage girls which has caused them great psychological distress.

"I would like to thank the vigilant member of the public who brought this case to the attention of police, and the victims in this case for their bravery in supporting the criminal justice process. I would also like to thank our specialist officers who have supported them throughout this case.

"Thanks to their extensive investigations this despicable offender is behind bars where he will pose no further risk to other girls.

"Merseyside Police are completely committed to protecting victims from sexual assault or violence.

"If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, please come forward and report this to police.

"We have a specialist team committed to dealing with all forms of abuse, who will treat any information from you extremely seriously, and will follow up every report and any information that comes in, so please report this to us.

"I can assure anyone who reports such offences that you will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and fully supported through the entire process."

Description

A convicted sex offender was caught breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order TWELVE times by using a website designed for teenagers. Zulquarnain Rafique, 24, was previously before the courts in March this year when he admitted attempting to sexually communicate with a child online and attempting to incite them to engage in sexual activity.

He was handed a suspended sentence and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which stated that he must inform the police of any electronic device he had access to and register any new identity documents.

After a search at his home in June, Rafique volunteered a Lenovo laptop. Officers installed monitoring software, which later picked up on his ‘persistent’ access to a virtual world website aimed at teenagers.

A further search revealed he had other devices, and had also searched for sexually explicit content under ‘incognito’ mode on his laptop. He was arrested and has since pleaded guilty to 12 offences of breaching the SHPO.

Prosecuting, Peter Malone, said Rafique was found to have communicated using different logins on the website, Habbo. There were also multiple visits to Discord, he said.

“The website is described as a virtual world for teenagers, they can use avatars and meet new people online,” Mr Malone said.

“The information showing his regular access to the site came from the software installed on his devices by Greater Manchester Police.”

The prosecutor said on August 11, police visited his home and recovered the laptop, his phone, and other devices he had not registered with them. They also found a provisional driving licence, which he had also not registered.

Mr Malone added that Rafique was sentenced on March 18 this year to 12 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years, and the breaches of the order were committed shortly afterwards.

Defending, Hannah Forsyth said her client didn’t fully appreciate that he was not using incognito mode when he made the searches on his laptop.

She explained that in January 2019 he had an ‘unsuccessful surgery’ and was bed bound for five months, which left him ‘isolated and lonely’. He since suffers from a physical condition, she said.

“In the summer he was feeling isolated and was affected by being in the legal system for the first time. It was a seismic adjustment to his relationships,” she said.

“He has now breached that order. During the period of the suspended sentence, he did show considerable insight and progress. He put himself in a difficult position.”

Sentencing, Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones said: “You are before the court today having pleaded guilty to a number of offences of breaching a sexual harm prevention order on 12 occasions.

“Principally by accessing the same type of website used by teenagers to communicate with one another. You accessed that site over a number of days between 28 July and 8 August.

“You also made internet searches relating to a sexual context and used them on an incognito mode to prevent a record of your search.”

Rafique, of Hill Top Drive, Rochdale, was jailed for 12 months, and must sign onto the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

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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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 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.”

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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.