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Stephen Morgan, of North Cliff Road, Doncaster was caught when a police operation was carried out, resulting in the suspect believing he was speaking to a 12-year-old and wanting to meet up with them.

In February 2024, the 38-year-old engaged in conversation online with a child profile. During their communications Morgan asked for photos and made explicit comments about engaging in sex acts.

Morgan attempted to arrange a meeting, offering to pick them up from school, he also suggested going swimming with him in a pond.

He was arrested from his vehicle on 29 February 2024 as he arrived at his home.

Morgan, a registered sex offender, was found guilty of one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child, and one count of attempting to arrange or facilitate commission of sexual activity with child, at Sheffield Crown Court on 25 March 2024.

On Friday (5 April) he was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment and given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Please remember victims of sexual offences are granted anonymity for life. Identifying them is a criminal offence and police will take action.

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A Doncaster man who sexually assaulted a child while they were asleep and bragged about it in texts to another convicted paedophile has been jailed for over a decade.

Ryan Madine subjected his victim to multiple sexual attacks which he filmed and sent to James Mitchell, who has also been put behind bars after admitting child sexual offences. Mitchell encouraged Madine to commit the offences and both shared child abuse images with each other.

Madine was charged in April 2023 following a thorough 18-month investigation by officers from Doncaster's Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) Team who worked closely with our Digital Forensics Unit and colleagues at Nottinghamshire Police.

The investigation revealed video messages of Madine including him sexually assaulting and performing oral sex on a vulnerable young child with officers also finding over 700 indecent images of children on a digital device.

Madine initially denied having any sexual interest in children but later pleaded guilty to an array of offences, including assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, sexually assaulting a child, voyeurism and sexual communication with a child. He also admitted five counts of making indecent photographs of a child and two counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child.

Madine, 24, who is from the Edlington area, and Mitchell, 31, who is from Retford in Nottinghamshire, were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court earlier today (2 February), with both of them jailed for 11-and-a-half years. Both will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and there is a restraining order in place for life.

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A registered child sex offender has been put behind bars after breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Leslie Thornton, 30, formerly of the Balby area of Doncaster, was convicted of multiple child sexual offences and child abduction in 2015.

He was jailed for three years and made subject to a SHPO and notification requirements that ordered him to notify his personal details with the police every 12 months.

The terms of Thornton's SHPO prevented him from having contact with any children, but an investigation into his phone records found evidence of him making contact with a young girl - something he had failed to disclose to officers from Doncaster's Violent Sexual Offender Registrar (ViSOR) unit.

He later pleaded guilty to breaching his SHPO and two counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.

Over the course of 2022, Thornton failed to comply with the notification requirements given upon his previous sentences.

Last Wednesday (24 January), Thornton was jailed for three years and seven months at Sheffield Crown Court.

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A sick rapist who sexually attacked two young girls and then admitted it in a note, is now behind bars.

Demetrios Patsalides, 73, of Carr House Road in Doncaster, has been jailed for 12 years after he admitted a sick catalogue of sexual offences. Patsalides sexually assaulted the two young girls and performed sexual acts in front of them before warning one "not to tell her friends at school".

He was interviewed by police in March this year and admitted to officers that he had written a note confessing to sexual activity with a child. He went on to plead guilty to two counts of raping a girl under the age of 13, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assaulting a girl under the age of 13 by touching and four counts of causing or inciting a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Patsalides was interviewed by officers on March 13, 2023, during which he admitted writing a note confessing to sexual activity with a child. Assistant Detective Sergeant Christopher Beaumont, who led the investigation into Patsalides for South Yorkshire Police, said: I want to personally commend the two victims for coming forward after several years to report this information to us.

It is difficult to put into the words the trauma and suffering they endured and their bravery must be recognised in disclosing the sexual abuse that took place at such a young age.

"Patsalides is now behind bars and facing up to the consequences of his heinous actions, and I hope this is justice served for his two victims who can now move forward with their lives.

I really hope this harrowing case shows that we will not stop to seek justice for all victims of sexual offences, regardless of when the abuse took place. It is never too late to report your concerns to us. We want you to know that we are here and we are ready to listen.

Patsalides was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

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A paedophile has been jailed after pleading guilty to raping two schoolchildren over a number of years.

Demetrios Patsalides, 73, of Carr House Road, Doncaster, warned one of his victims to not tell her friends about what he had done.

He has now been locked up for 12 years after admitting several sexual offences against two young girls.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of raping a girl under 13, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, and four counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Patsalides was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Sheffield Crown Court heard how Patsalides sexually assaulted his victims and performed sexual acts in front of them, before warning one of the girls to "not tell her friends at school" about the abuse she had suffered.

Patsalides was interviewed by officers on 13 March 2023, during which he admitted writing a note confessing to sexual activity with a child.

Asst Det Sgt Christopher Beaumont, who led the investigation, personally commended the two victims for their courage in coming forward.

He said: "It is difficult to put into the words the trauma and suffering they endured, and their bravery must be recognised in disclosing the sexual abuse that took place at such a young age.

"Patsalides is now behind bars and facing up to the consequences of his heinous actions, and I hope this is justice served for his two victims who can now move forward with their lives.

"I really hope this harrowing case shows that we will not stop to seek justice for all victims of sexual offences, regardless of when the abuse took"

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A Doncaster paedophile who sexually abused multiple children, including a vulnerable boy with significant learning difficulties, has been jailed for over 14 years.

Nicholas Powers, 56, of Belmont Avenue, pleaded guilty to numerous offences spanning 20 years, including four counts of sexual activity with a child and three counts of indecent assault.

Powers was arrested in December 2021 after he picked up a teenage boy in his car and drove him to his home where he sexually assaulted him.

He made his victim, who he had met online, perform a sexual act on him and touch him inappropriately before driving him back home. Before he got out of the car, he warned the boy to stay quiet and said that if he told anyone he would “get done”.

His victim says he was left disgusted, ashamed and terrified by what had happened, and admitted he had experienced suicidal thoughts. That same evening, he told his mum who reported the incident to police after she found his phone in a bin.

Powers also admitted sexually abusing a teenage girl in September 2001 after plying her with alcohol. He gave her home brew wine before kissing her and sexually assaulting her.

His victim recalled how she also felt disgusted and Powers told her to not tell anyone. She began to self-harm after struggling to come to terms with the abuse she had been subjected to.

Investigating Officer Alexandra Storey said: “Powers knew his victims were underage but completely ignored this and subjected them to unimaginable abuse which saw them contemplate suicide and resort to self-harming.

“In another act of cruelty and dominance over them, he then threatened them to keep quiet about what had happened.”

Powers also agreed to meet an online decoy posing as a 15-year-old boy after sending explicit messages on a mobile phone app.

As well as pleading guilty to three counts of indecent assault and four counts of sexual activity with a child, Powers also admitted two counts of making indecent photographs of a child as well as offences of attempting to communicate sexually with a child and attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming.

Powers was sentenced to 14 years and five months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday 31 August. He has also been put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and issued with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and a lifetime restraining order.

IO Storey said: “This has been a lengthy investigation involving two young victims who endured unthinkable abuse and were left with significant mental health problems.

“I want to commend their bravery in coming forward and helping us put Powers behind bars. He is now facing the consequences of his actions and justice has now been served.

“I hope this sentence brings his victims closure as they begin to move forward with their lives.

“We will not tolerate crimes of this nature and our teams are working hard to identify those taking advantage of young people online. We want people to know that we are here, and we are always ready to listen.

“If you want to report someone or have concerns that someone is being exploited for sexual gain online, then please contact us immediately.”

Please remember that victims of sexual offences are granted lifelong anonymity under the Sexual Offences Act. It is against the law to identify a victim of a sexual offence, or to post any information that could lead to the identification of a victim of a sexual offence.

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A 51-year-old man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being caught sending sexually explicit messages to a teenager.

Paul Singleton was arrested on 25 July this year, after officers working in our specialist Internet Sexual Offences Team (ISOT) received reports that he was sending messages of a sexual nature to a child on social media.

He started to speak to the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, online and quickly, the messages became sexually explicit.

Detective Constable Michelle Jameson, who led the investigation into Singleton, said: “Despite establishing early on in his communication that his victim was 13-years-old, Singleton continued to engage in highly inappropriate and sexualised conversation, including sending explicit images to the victim.”

Singleton, formerly Bessacarr, Doncaster, was charged and pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual communication with a child and one count of attempting to cause/incite a girl to engage in sexual activity. On Thursday 24 August, at Sheffield Crown Court, he was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Detective Inspector Lee Wilson, who leads the ISOT said: “Within a month, this dangerous and predatory offender was identified, arrested, charged and convicted, which I hope demonstrates to the public of South Yorkshire how robust our response to this crime is, and how seriously we take reports of this type of offending.

“We know that there are others out there engaging in similar horrific crimes, targeting vulnerable children and young people, and our work will not stop to identify those individuals and bring them before the courts.”

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A 72-year-old man has been jailed after being found guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing a child.

Michael Peter Wilson, from the Kirk Sandall area of Doncaster, attacked the girl on a number of occasions while she was under the age of 13.

She eventually reported the abuse to police.

Wilson was convicted of rape, sexual assault of a child, sexual activity with a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was sentenced to 21 years in prison following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Det Con Rachael Ellis, South Yorkshire Police, praised the victim's "courage".

She said: "She has been so incredibly brave over the course of our investigation, sharing with us and the court the shocking and horrific details of Wilsons abuse.

"She recalled how he would groom her with treats in a bid to further his manipulation and control over her, a young child, as well as telling her how to behave in order to keep his sick crimes hidden from others.

"Wilson has shown absolutely no remorse for the harm he has caused, refusing to acknowledge his exploitative sexual offending. While I am pleased he has received a significant custodial sentence for his crimes and will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, it does not diminish the damage he caused to an innocent child.

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A paedophile who sent his victims Valentine's Day cards and chocolates has been jailed for 10 years.

Peter Horsfield, 82, of Meadow Rise, Barnby Dun, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of seven counts of sexual assault against children under 13 between 2004 and 2021.

His offending came to light when one of his victims confided in her mother.

After sentencing on Friday, Det Sgt Lucy Garside praised the victims' "exceptional courage and strength".

Ms Garside said Horsfield had "sought opportunities" to get the children alone before "taking advantage of their innocence".

"He subjected his victims to awful sexual abuse, which has had a devastating impact on their lives and wellbeing," she added.

In addition to imprisonment, Horsfield was placed on the sex offenders' register for life and will be made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order on his release.

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A CONVICTED sex offender was jailed for 18 months for breaching multiple sexual harm prevention orders and possessing extreme pornographic images of sex with animals.

In Bradford Crown Court, Philip Robst, 40, of HMP and YOI Moorland, Bawtry Road, Lindholme, Doncaster, was sent to prison for 18 months after pleading guilty to five offences, including possessing extreme pornographic images depicting sex with animals, an offence committed in Bradford on September 24, 2021.

On May 19, 2021, he was charged with breaching sexual harm prevention orders including subscribing to Snapchat which includes file-based storage, refusing to allow access to inspect any device or electronic data and deleting history from hardware or a device.

On May 19, 2021, he was also charged with failing to comply with requirements in relation to the sex offender's register.

Prosecutor David Ward said Robst was previously convicted of offences of sexual activity with a child.

Mr Ward said: "This is clearly a deliberate breach and it's all aggravated by his previous conviction."

Robst's defence solicitor said: "Mr Robst found himself isolated because of Covid and found solace in pornography."

But he added that the defendant had admitted his "stupidity" and "accepted his behaviour at the earliest opportunity".

In sentencing Robst to 18 months, Recorder Alex Menary, said: "The police found eight extreme images of sex with animals, seven still and one moving, on your device and there were many other images deleted." 

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A predatory sex offender has been branded a "monster" after he targeted a young girl and did "horrendous" things to her that would cause lasting harm to her in the future.

James Andrew brazenly took advantage of the youngster and then tried to blame TikTok, the internet and her new mobile phone for any knowledge that she might have about sexual matters, Hull Crown Court heard. Andrew, 39, formerly of Goole, denied four offences, including three of sexual assault and another of assault by penetration, in October 2019 but he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

Judge Mark Bury said that, on two occasions, Andrew intimately touched and kissed the girl. Andrew exposed himself and made her touch him before he intimately touched her again. "You told her as you were leaving that you were sorry and shouldn't have done it," said Judge Bury. "She said nothing about what you had done for a year. You denied doing anything wrong and you deflected blame."

Andrew had claimed that the girl gained any knowledge of sexual matters from TikTok and the internet after she had recently been given a mobile phone. "The fact that you were searching for other people to blame does you no credit," said Judge Bury.

"It's impossible to tell what harm this is going to do to her. What you did has long-lasting and very real implications. You told her to keep it a secret."

A woman who knew the girl said in a statement that the offences had "broken" the girl and those who knew her. Andrew was a "monster" who had done "these horrendous things to her". She added that she had not regarded Andrew as a monster at the time.

"You never truly know what someone is capable of until it's too late," she said. The girl now struggled to trust people.

"He has taken her innocence and that's something you can never change," said the woman. "It's so hard to see the pain in her eyes every day." The girl faced a daily "trauma" because of her ordeal.

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that there were two separate incidents of sexual behaviour towards the girl. Andrew had suffered problems while remanded in custody after being convicted of the offences.

Andrew, recently of King Street, Thorne, near Doncaster, was jailed for six years and was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

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A courageous girl stood up in court to tell the depraved monster who sexually abused her about the heartbreaking impact of his actions.

She added that she wanted to see the 39-year-old, of Doncaster, ‘get what he deserves’.

During a May 10 sentencing hearing, Sheffield Crown Court heard how jurors found David Catherall guilty of a string of child sex offences including rape; attempted rape; sexual activity with a child; and making indecent photographs and videos of his two victims.

Catherall, of Urban Road, Hexthorpe, Doncaster, also pleaded guilty to additional offences of making indecent photographs prior to his trial, which took place last month.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on seven counts involving sex offences including rape, and the Crown Prosecution Service has subsequently offered no evidence on those counts.

One of the girls Catherall sexually abused chose to read her victim impact statement to the court, forcing Catherall to hear exactly what she had to say in her own words.

She described how she has previously self-harmed, and still continues to; and told the court how her continued distress over the sickening abuse she suffered at Catherall’s hands has even led to her attempting to take her own life.

But the valiant victim added: “I have come to my senses, and have realised he does not deserve it… I want to be here to see him get what he deserves.”

The statement from Catherall’s second victim was read to the court on her behalf by prosecution barrister Matthew Allen Bean, and detailed the prolonged and destructive impact his abuse continues to have on her life.

The inspiring survivor described how she worries about how the psychological effects of Catherall’s abuse will affect her ‘future prospects’.

Judge David Dixon praised the bravery of both girls.

He told them: “The bravery to come forward and make allegations like this can never be under-estimated.”

“Coming into a room where people are wearing funny hats and there are 12 jurors judging you – and that’s what they are doing – takes a great deal of bravery.”

“No-one can take away what's happened, no matter what we would like to do – that simply isn’t possible,” added Judge Dixon.

Summarising the facts of the case, Judge Dixon described Catherall as someone with a ‘fascination for pre-pubescent girls’, who employed a range of manipulative tactics such as crying and even holding a knife to his own throat to ‘get what he wanted’ from the girls he sexually abused, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons.

“You are a horrible, horrible man who has ruined the start of life for two young women who deserved much, much better,” said Judge Dixon.

Judge Dixon said he also deemed Catherall to be ‘dangerous’ and said he believes Catherall will commit further serious sexual crimes against pre-pubescent girls, if given the opportunity.

Defending, Katy Rafter said Catherall has no previous convictions, and told her he has ‘nothing and no-one’ since his offending was uncovered.

She added that Catherall has mental health difficulties which will inevitably be exacerbated during his time in prison.
Judge Dixon jailed Catherall for 24 years, with an extended licence period of five years due to the danger he poses to the public, bringing his total sentence to 29 years.

Catherall will have to serve at least two-thirds of his custodial sentence, or 16 years, before he can be considered for release as a consequence of his extended licence.

Most offenders are usually only required to serve half.

He also made Catherall the subject of a life-long sexual harm prevention order.

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