Search results for Durham

Description

A convicted sex offender has been jailed after he failed to declare he was using an online alias and had bought an internet enabled games console.

Gary Bushnall was found in possession of an Xbox with an online account attached and initially tried to claim it belonged to his daughter.

The 52-year-old also failed to disclose he was using an alias name, BEELZEBUB#3589, within three days of creating it, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He was made subject of a suspended prison sentence last summer after previous breaches of the terms of his sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements which were imposed in 2020.

Bushnall, of Leven Road, Norton, Stockton, pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of sexual harm prevention order and the condition of his sex offender registration requirements following his arrest on April 2.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said her client had admitted the offences at the earliest opportunity.

The defendant told the probation service that he had bought the Xbox to alleviate his boredom.

Following his arrest, he pleaded guilty to two charges of cause/incite a girl to engage in sex act and one of attempt to cause a child to watch a sex act.

Judge Richard Bennett said he accepted that was case as the defendant had limited contact with his family and friends following his conviction.

He said: “There were no child abuse images or search terms found on the devices or was there any evidence you used it to contact children.

“That said, you remain a high risk to children which is why you are subject to the court orders.”

Judge Bennett sentenced the defendant to a total of 12 months in custody for the latest breaches of the court orders and for the breach of his suspended sentence.

In 2019, Bushnall contacted a teenager called Amber without realising she was in fact a decoy working with the online paedophile hunter group Confronted and Caught.

He struck up highly-sexualised conversation despite the decoy telling him he was talking to a 13-year-old.

At the time, a judge heard how Bushnall sent the decoy a video of himself performing a sex act.

For those offences, a judge sentenced to four months in custody, suspended for two years.

Description

A persistent sex offender is back behind bars after he failed to tell a woman staying at his home about his perverted past.

Paul Luck had breached the terms of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which was imposed after he was convicted of sexual assault.

The 62-year-old’s home was visited by police after they were alerted about a female living at his home, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Nicci Horton, prosecuting, said the defendant was legally required to alert police to any relationship he formed with a female, and he was barred from allowing women to stay at his home unless they were aware of his past.

She added: “When they entered the property, they found a female asleep on a mattress in the rear bedroom. She said that she had stayed a couple of nights at the address she and her partner were homeless.

“She had no knowledge of the defendant being a registered sex offender.”

The court heard how Luck had six convictions on his record for sexual offences.

Luck, of Easington Road, Stockton, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching the terms of his indefinite SHPO following his arrest on March 28.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said her client had never been left alone with the woman as she was staying at his home with her partner and had been recalled on licence following his arrest.

Recorder Richard Wright KC jailed Luck for 12 months for breaching his court order.

“You are convicted sex offender with a history of committing sexual offences over a number of years,” he said.

“You have been subject to the terms of SHPO, and you know and understand full well what is required of you.

“You deliberately breached the order when you allowed a woman to stay in your house. She didn’t know that you were a sex offender or that she was placing herself at risk by being in your property.”

Description

Update

Repeat Child Sex Offender Andrew Parsons reportedly Breaching Sexual Harm Prevention Order

Andrew Parsons, 55, of Eastdene Road, Seaham, is reportedly breaching his court-imposed Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by advertising a glory hole on the Grindr app, potentially targeting unsuspecting victims, a local community group in the town has revealed.

Parsons, a convicted child sex offender, is banned from such activity under the terms of his order.

Parsons was originally snared in 2017 by Newcastle-based vigilante group Dark Justice, after attempting to meet what he believed was a 15-year-old boy for sex. The boy, in fact, was a decoy profile.

During their chats on Grindr, Parsons was told the boy was underage, yet still arranged a secret meeting, where he was intercepted by police.

He pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court for attempting to meet a child following grooming. The judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison, imposed a SHPO, and ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Parsons has a prior conviction for sexual activity in a public toilet and is considered a high-risk offender.

2021-02-01

The 51-year-old chatted to a "boy" called James on gay dating app Grindr, not realising it was a decoy profile set up by Dark Justice.

Despite being told James was only 15 and a virgin, Parsons asked if he was "discreet" after describing in detail the sexual acts they could do together.

When a meeting was arranged Parsons said it should be "kept a secret".

Prosecutor Lee Fish told Newcastle Crown Court: "The defendant asked if anyone knew that James was coming to his house and he said no.

"What then happened was members of Dark Justice and the police went to the agreed meeting point and the defendant was arrested."

Parsons admitted attempting to meet a child following grooming, in April 2017.

The court heard he has a previous conviction for sexual activity in a public lavatory.

Judge Robert Adams sentenced Parsons to 18 months behind bars. and imposed a sexual harm prevention order and told him he must sign the sex offenders register, both for ten years.

The judge told him: "James said he was a virgin and had never done this before.

"This did not deter you.

"You gave him your contact details, where you lived, well aware what you were doing was wrong.

"You asked if he was discreet and could keep a secret."

The court heard Parsons claimed he had "turned a blind eye" to the boy's age and was "disgusted" by child sex abuse.

Judge Adams added: "No sexual activity with a child did occur or in fact could have occurred. No child existed, it was a decoy.

"This is a sentence which cannot be appropriately suspended, although non-custodial options are available, it seems to me there has to be some form of deterrent in cases like this, where people take risks, not expecting to be caught.

"Had this person been a child, significant harm could have been caused."

Description

A child-abusing pensioner may not be alive by the end of his lengthy prison sentence.

That was the stark message given to Alec Calvert after he received prison terms totalling 24 years at Durham Crown Court for offences on which he was convicted earlier this year.

The 77-year-old defendant of Northbridge Park, St Helen Auckland, who has no previous convictions, denied an 11-count indictment, including seven charges of sexual assault and one each for rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual communication with a child and attempted sexual assault.

He accused all three victims of fabricating the allegations and telling lies to the police and court.

But on the ninth day of his trial, in January, unanimous guilty verdicts were returned on all 11 counts by the jury.

Calvert had already admitted two counts of making indecent images of a child and one of possessing extreme pornography.

He appeared at the court for sentence via video link from Durham Prison, where he has been on remand.

The court was told Calvert was under investigation for offences committed against two of the victims, when he was involved in grooming-type behaviour with an older girl who he bought alcohol for, persuaded to send him intimate images of herself and drove to secluded areas to sexually assault.

When he was arrested by police last summer, he was found nearly naked with the girl in his car, parked in a disused docks area.

Impact statements were read to the court on behalf of all three of the victims.

One said she has since struggled to trust older men and distances herself from them in public places, while she had worried that she would bump into the defendant until he was remanded in custody.

Chris Baker, for Calvert, said there was not a great deal he could say on his behalf, given his denials and the guilty verdicts.

“He’s aware he’s had his trial and lost, and there’s little by way of mitigation which can be put to the court because of that.

“Perhaps the most significant submission I can make over the sentencing exercise is the issue of totality.

“It’s not an adding up exercise.

“He’s a man with no previous convictions."

Judge Nathan Adams said it was repeat offending over a number of years demonstrating the defendant’s "paedophilic proclivities for his own sexual gratification".

Imposing consecutive sentences, relating to each of the three victims, totalling 24 years, the judge said Calvert must serve at least two-thirds, 16 years, before the Parole Board can consider if it’s safe to release him.

But he may have to serve the full 24 years and, should he ever be released, he will be subject to two years’ licence extension.

Description

A man who continues to pose a danger to young females by his “deviant” behaviour has been sentenced to a third prison sentence for sexual activity with an underage girl.

Aaron Whitwell is already serving a seven-year extended sentence for previous similar activity, but his latest seven-year sentence will only begin on conclusion of that and a further two-year prison term for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

It means the earliest he is likely to be released from prison is in the mid-to-late 2030s.

The now 28-year-old defendant, formerly of West Cornforth, appeared for his latest sentencing hearing at Durham Crown Court by video link from HMP Moorland, in South Yorkshire, where he is serving his previous jail term.

Deborah Smithies, prosecuting, said at the time of the latest offences Whitwell was on licence from a 33-month sentence for offences involving another teenage girl, for which he was subject to an indefinite SHPO.

It included a prohibition from communication with any child under the age of 16.

Upon his release from that sentence, he was interviewed about further allegations of similar activity with a teenage girl, for which he received a seven-year extended sentence in September 2023.

Outlining details of his latest offence, Miss Smithies said Whitwell responded to the posting of an image of the underage girl with a friend, on Snapchat.

He soon asked how old she was and, having been told, he responded, saying he was 17 and gave the name ‘Aaron Hardy’.

Following ten days of exchanging messages he turned the chat to sexual matters and intimate pictures were exchanged, before Whitwell suggested that they met.

Both went accompanied with a friend, and on the first meeting the defendant kissed the girl, but during subsequent meetings sexual activity took place, one time in bushes.

The girl told police they met another five or six times when sexual activity took place, while in the simultaneous messaging the defendant told her he loved her.

Following suspicions raised by the sister of a friend of the complainant, after she heard them talking about 'Aaron', his true background emerged.

The victim said she would not have met him had she known his true age.

She said it made her feel “sick” knowing how much older he really was, and that she thought he really loved her and it made her feel for him.

But she said he had “messed up” her head and she now realised how vulnerable she had been.

Whitwell was interviewed and denied seeking out the girl on social media or contacting her, which meant she had to attend a video identity procedure when she positively identified the defendant.

In a subsequent victim statement the girl said she struggled to sleep and when she did, she suffered nightmares thinking about the events, while she has since struggled with self-confidence.

She said it caused a falling out with her family and she turned to drink and drugs to seek comfort, and would leave home for lengths of time, leading to arguments, “with everyone around me”.

The girl said the situation reached breaking point and she had to receive assistance from a mental health crisis team as her behaviour and anger were out of control, leading to self-harm.

She said it had also affected her schoolwork and her trust in other people, adding that, overall, she feels like the defendant has “ruined her life”.

Whitwell admitted six counts of sexual activity with a child, one each of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and breaching a SHPO.

Chris Morrison, in mitigation, said the defendant was now “remorseful” and had acknowledged his guilt early in court proceedings.

Mr Morrison said it could not be denied that the defendant’s offending, “forms a pattern” for which he is receiving “condign punishment”, with his earliest release date on his previous sentence being in September 2030.

Mr Morrison said the defendant has a low IQ and suffers with social isolation plus an inadequacy dealing with people, in general, and women, in particular, of his own age.

“He acknowledges that improving himself will take some time, but he knows he will have to reintegrate into society at some stage.

“But he can’t do that until he reaches a level of maturity, insight and self-awareness.

“As far as the outside world is concerned, he has no contact with the outside world.”

But Mr Morrison said the defendant has rid himself of any form of substance misuse while in custody.

Judge Richard Bennett told Whitwell: “You are a man with deviant sexual preferences, including an interest in young girls and I have concluded you are a dangerous offender.

“You are 28 and this will be your third child sex offence, committed while on licence following a 33-month sentence for similar activity and, also, at the time, while on bail for other offences.

“You were also subject to a SHPO, prohibiting contact with any child under 16.

“But if didn’t deter you from offending.”

Judge Bennett said it had a “profound effect” on the victim, with his deception, “shattering her confidence and self-belief”.

He said the defendant was “untamed” by previous court orders, with no sign when his pattern of offending might diminish.

The judge imposed a two-year determinate sentence for the breach of the SHPO to be followed by a consecutive seven-year sentence for the new offences, to be followed by a five-year extended licence period upon release.

Whitwell must serve at least two-thirds of the seven-year custodial element of the sentence before being eligible for consideration for release.

He was also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order relating to his latest victim, plus a new SHPO, which will also run indefinitely.

Description

An “experienced and fully-fledged” sex offender with an interest in children coerced a boy and a girl to send him intimate pictures of themselves.

In return, Andrew Weir, who had amassed a “nauseating collection” of child abuse images over a period between 2016 and 2021, made them watch him perform sex acts online.

Teesside Crown Court heard he used online threats to persuade the 14-year-old boy, believed to be from Thailand, to perform a sex act on himself, and applied “persistent pressure” to illicit images of the 13-year-old girl exposing her breasts and of her genital area.

The 30-year-old defendant, from Darlington, admitted charges arising from the online exchanges with the boy and the collection of images, but was convicted at trial, earlier this year, of the offences involving the girl, which took place in 2022.

Weir was aged 22 when he contacted the boy who is now untraceable, but thought to be from Thailand, via Skype, between May and August 2016.

Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said the defendant, purporting to be aged 15, soon turned the chat to sexual matters and, in trying to illicit intimate images of the boy, threatened to "hack" his phone if he did not follow his request.

Mr Newcombe said over the following five years Weir amassed dozens of indecent images and videos of children, many in the most serious category.

It was in May 2022 when he befriended a 13-year-old girl online and began pressuring her to send him pictures of herself.

Following his "persistent and increasingly intimidating" demands, she responded by sending two images of her private parts.

But Weir was arrested after her parents discovered the messages.

He was convicted at trial in January of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch an image of sexual activity, having claimed he was unaware the girl was only aged 13.

Weir, of Brignall Moor Crescent, admitted attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, ten counts of making indecent photos of a child and one of possession of extreme pornography, at the court in September last year.

Tony Davis, for Weir, said the defendant led an "isolated" existence with his life revolving around making relationships online.

Mr Davis said this would be the defendant’s first prison sentence, having spent two months in custody since his conviction at trial.

Judge Tom Mitchell told Weir he was a younger man at the time of the initial offences, but by the time of the 2022 allegations involving the 13-year-old girl he was, “an experienced and fully-fledged sex offender”, having acquired his, “nauseating collection” of indecent images over a five-year period.

The judge said Weir used “grooming behaviour”, “exploitation” and “persistent pressure” to obtain the images he demanded from his victims, causing, “real harm” in the process.

He imposed a total prison sentence of 78 months (six-and-a-half years) on the defendant, of which he must serve two-thirds behind bars, and made him subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Its terms include restricting his future online activities, and forbid him from ever communicating via the Internet with anyone aged under 18.

He was also made subject to lifetime registration and notification as a sex offender and placed on the barring list to prevent him working with children or vulnerable people in future.

A restraining order was put in place to prohibit him from contacting or approaching the girl who was subject to the 2022 offences, “until further order”.

The judge told Weir his time in prison, with the monitoring and support of professionals, could change him for the better.

But he warned the defendant that if he returned to his previous online activities, the sentence he is likely to receive would be measured, “in decades”.

Description

VICTIMS of a paedophile who "took advantage of their vulnerabilities for his own gain" have spoken out to safeguard the next generation after he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Sixty-seven-year-old Barry Farrant sexually abused his victims in south Essex in the 1990s and 2000s, before they both came forward and spoke to officers in 2020.

After years of investigation by Essex Police's child abuse investigation team, he was charged with seven charges of indecent assault of a girl under the age of 14 and five charges of gross indecency with a girl under the age of 14 in July 2023.

One woman said: “Barry Farrant entered my life while I was still trying to learn the world around me.

“Taking advantage of my vulnerabilities for his own gain, he created a life that no child should experience.

“When I spoke to Essex Police in 2020 I was no longer able to bury the mental and emotional pain I was suffering.

“The last four years have been difficult, upsetting and important not just for me but for any child who has experience abuse like the abuse Barry Farrant inflicted upon me.

“I gain no pleasure from speaking up, and struggle to think of strangers seeing this side of me, but what feels right is knowing that by doing this I can play a small part in safeguarding the next generation against the very real monsters threatening to take away another childhood.”

Farrant, of Front Street in Durham, had denied the offences but a jury found him guilty of all charges at Basildon Crown Court on December 5.

He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and a further two years on licence at the same court on Friday and will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order preventing him from any contact with children and requiring him to inform the police of any future relationships.

Description

A convicted child sex offender is back behind bars after he deliberately deleted an app designed to monitor his online activities.

David Smith had only been out of prison for a few weeks when he carried out a factory reset on his mobile phone claiming he had inadvertently downloaded a virus while searching for a horror film.

The 60-year-old’s fanciful claim was categorically dismissed by a judge as he was locked up for more than two years for the order breach.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the defendant was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) in 2021 and he had been caught by an undercover police officer trying to arrange to have sex with a mother and daughter.

Judge Richard Bennett said: “In full knowledge of the terms of your SHPO, you reset your mobile telephone and in the process you deleted all of your internet history and you also removed the risk management software installed on your device.

“You claimed to the police that you did so because you downloaded something onto your mobile that contained a virus – I make it clear that I reject that explanation entirely.

“I’m satisfied that there was no such virus and you deliberately deleted this phone to hide evidence. I’m satisfied you deleted this telephone because you knew there was material on it that you did not want the police to see.”

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said Smith had only had the monitored mobile phone for a few days before he admitted deleting the monitoring app.

“He had only been released from prison on December 19 as a result of a conviction for failing to comply with his notification requirements and breaching his SHPO,” she said.

Smith, of Hartington Road, Stockton, who pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching his sexual harm prevention order following his arrest on January 21 this year, was jailed for 28 months.

Michele Turner, mitigating, said her client was the one who contacted the police to inform them that he had deleted the monitoring app off his phone but accepted that he often acted on impulse.

She added: “The pre-sentence report doesn’t make happy reading. The defendant is well aware of its conclusions and his almost inevitable custodial sentence.”

Description

A sex offender drunkenly groped a schoolgirl after 'targeting' her on the back seat of a bus, a court was told.

Gary Ashley Wynn ignored other empty seats after getting on the bus in County Durham and made his way to the rear of the vehicle where the girl was with a friend going home from school at 4.10pm on December 11.

Durham Crown Court was told the 49-year-old defendant, who has previous sexual offences on his record, deliberately sat close to the girl, between her and her friend.

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, said Wynn engaged the girl in conversation as he drank from a can of beer, before placing his hand on the inside of her right thigh.

The incident was captured on the in-vehicle CCTV, showing the defendant leaning towards the girl with his hand moving in her direction.

Mr Cleasby said the girl, who was agitated and distressed, moved towards the front of the bus with her friend, who alerted the driver to what had happened.

The driver contacted the police, while the defendant got off the bus at the next stop, before urinating in public outside.

He was arrested and when interviewed told officers he had been drinking and could not recall touching the girl, claiming he did not think he had done so.

But, at a plea hearing at the court, last month, Wynn, 49, of no fixed address, admitted a charge of sexual assault.

A victim statement was read to the court in which the girl said she was initially angry, then unhappy when "the man" touched her.

She was worried she might have to give evidence at a trial but was relieved to be told the defendant had pleaded guilty.

But she said she had been worried about possibly seeing him in public.

It led to her initially becoming wary of men and even male teachers at school.

She has since refused to get on a bus alone.

The girl added that as time has gone on she has felt a little more assured, knowing the defendant was in custody.

She also thanked people who assisted her at the time, including her friend and the bus driver, who took immediate action.

The court was told the defendant has previous convictions for sexual assault on his record, most recently receiving a 16-month sentence in April 2023, for a similar incident involving a vulnerable female with learning difficulties, also on a bus.

He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) after an offence of exposure, in 2021.

Jonny Walker, for Wynn, told the court there was little mitigation he could put forward on the defendant's behalf, other than the fact he "quite properly" admitted the charge at the plea hearing, enabling the victim to be informed to offer reassurance there would not be a trial.

"He would wish, through me, to apologise.

"He's genuinely apologetic for his actions and has insight into his offending.

"He recognises what he did was extremely wrong.

"It was clearly degrading and humiliating to the victim."

Mr Walker said while in custody the defendant has taken steps to engage with the drug and alcohol services as well as the education team and others who can assist him before he regains his liberty.

"He is actively taking steps to remedy those poor decision-making incidents which have troubled him over the last few years."

Judge Advocate Tom Mitchell told Wynn: "You are 49 with 16 convictions for 26 offences, some of which are of great relevance, including several for breaching SHPOs, and one conviction for knife possession.

"I have read the assessment of the Probation Service.

"It makes difficult reading.

"This was predatory behaviour, targeting a child in public, while you were intoxicated, all aggravating features of the case.

"I agree with the author of the report that you pose a high risk of causing serious harm to the public, children and particularly lone children."

Judge Mitchell said it was fortunate that the victim received prompt assistance, including from her friend and the bus driver.

"You put her in a dreadful position by your actions that day.

"What you did was degrading and humiliating on someone who was particularly vulnerable due to her circumstances, aggravated by the fact you were drunk and by your previous convictions."

Imposing an 18-month prison sentence, the judge said there was "no question" of it being suspended, given the defendant's actions and record.

He told Wynn: "I do consider you to be a real risk and I do hope in the future that risk can be managed."

The judge extended the defendant's SHPO to ten years, while for the same period he will also be subject of notification requirements as a sex offender.

Description

A man in his sixties who committed a series of sexual offences on a young girl is starting a lengthy prison sentence.

Alan Wilson committed the “utterly despicable” offences, some of which he filmed, over the course of a few days last year.

Durham Crown Court heard that the 63-year-old defendant, who is of previous good character, has been assessed as posing a high risk of causing harm to children, but a lower risk to other people.

Wilson, of Hatfield Road, Newton Aycliffe, was arrested and charged with a total of 19 counts after his actions came to light.

Appearing at a plea hearing at the court, in October, he admitted all the charges on the indictment.

These were nine counts of sexual assault, seven of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, two of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and one of possessing indecent images of a child.

The images were classified as 13 in the second most serious category, B, and three in the less severe section, C.

Following the plea hearing, Wilson was granted bail, including a condition that he should not have contact with any child, pending sentence.

He appeared back before the court to be sentenced this week (w/c January 6), following the preparation of a background report on him, by the Probation Service.

Robin Turton, representing Wilson, said the defendant recognises, “he has done wrong”, but he questioned the probation report assessment of him being considered a “high risk” of causing harm to children.

Mr Turton said given the length of time the defendant would spend in prison, “it’s an area that can be worked on.”

He said that none of the offences were “sustained”, albeit it was a pattern of offending over a few days.

Recorder Dafydd Enoch KC responded that it was, “difficult to imagine a worse example” of offending of that nature.

He told Mr Turton: “At the end of the day, your client has a sexual attraction to children.”

Mr Turton conceded: “It’s bad offending. I don’t want to suggest otherwise.

“I’m not suggesting this is anything other than serious.

“He knows he’s going to get a lengthy prison term.

“As bad as the offending is, it’s not penetrative offending.”

Addressing Wilson, Recorder Enoch told him they were, “despicable offences.”

The Recorder said: “It’s of great concern a man of your age and character should allow himself to succumb to systematic grooming and sexual assault on a young girl.

“Although there is no psychiatric assessment of the complainant, I have no doubt she will experience psychological consequences as a result of what you did, even if she did not understand what you were doing to her was wrong.”

Recorder Enoch imposed prison sentences totalling 12 years on the defendant.

He told him he must serve at least two-thirds of that sentence before being entitled to be released on licence.

Wilson was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order, prohibiting contact or approaches to the complainant, for life.

He is also subject of indefinite notification requirements and registration as a sex offender.

Description

An “emotionally-manipulative” sex predator, considered “highly dangerous” to young girls, particularly those using Snapchat, has been jailed for 20 years.

Mark Dodds, 38, received the extended sentence, of which he must serve at least two-thirds, after being convicted of a total of 60 offences involving ten girls, mostly in the UK, but some in the US.

It involved him grooming and then soliciting indecent images of the victims, who were mostly aged 12 to 13, but in one case was as young as nine.

He persuaded them to send him images of them performing sex acts on themselves, before threatening to distribute them to friends and family members unless further, more explicit photos, were sent to him.

The Crown Prosecution Service said, after the hearing, that over a ten-year period, Dodds used Snapchat - a messaging app - to incite numerous girls into carrying out sexual acts over live video calls and described Dodds as "a prolific sexual predator".

Newcastle Crown Court heard that when the victims failed to comply with his requests for more images, he followed up his threat to disclose them to family members and/or a circle of their friends.

He refused to curtail his activities despite an online confrontation with the mother of one victim, who he berated for swearing, while in another case he carried on his conduct despite being told the victim was feeling low after the death of her father.

The court heard he used pseudonyms online, making the young girls believe they were communication with teenage boys and in one case another teenage girl, using images obtained from another victim.

His offending was said to have had a profound psychological effect on his victims, one of whom stopped attending school out of shame, while others were left a pale shadow of their former selves.

Dodds, of Heather Grove, Spennymoor, was initially arrested in 2020 for activities dating back to about 2015, but, released “under investigation”, he continued a similar pattern of offending until police visited him again in November 2023, when his electronic devices were seen to be displaying indecent images of children.

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, said Dodds struggled violently trying to prevent officers seizing his electronic devices and gaining access to his property.

He was subdued and several devices were seized.

But Mr Cleasby said the investigation was hampered and became protracted as the defendant refused to disclose passwords and then PIN numbers to some of the devices, prolonging inquiries before access was gained.

It revealed more evidence of serious online sexual abuse and blackmail of children in 2022 up to November 2023.

Investigators found that he organised the images and footage secured during his offending into folders bearing the names of the girls involved.

The defendant admitted most charges at a plea hearing in March last year, having indicated likely guilty pleas when he appeared before magistrates.

But he was found guilty of six counts, including five of sexual assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, following a trial at Durham Crown Court, in October.

Following preparation of psychological and background probation reports on the defendant, he appeared before trial judge, Recorder Tom Moran, for sentence today (Monday January 6).

Andrew Stranex, representing Dodds, told the court the defendant was aware he was facing a lengthy custodial sentence.

“He did accept substantially what the Crown alleged against him.

“What’s going to follow is a substantial custodial sentence which will punish him and ensure the public is protected from him during the period of incarceration.

“An important element of that will allow him to work, if he chooses to, to address the behaviour that brings him before the court.

“Whether he addresses what emerges out of this is a matter for him.”

Recorder Moran said the defendant was guilty of, “outrageous conduct” against children and displayed, “breathtaking arrogance”, in response to requests to desist his activities by his victims and members of their families.

He told Dodds he used “cunning and planning” to carry out his “controlling and emotionally manipulative” activities, but said he came across in his probation report as a “self-obsessed, self-pitying individual.”

The Recorder said the probation report author considered the defendant to pose, “a high risk of serious harm to children.”

He told Dodds: “I’m satisfied you are not just dangerous, you are highly dangerous.

“The risk includes direct contact offences and offences you may commit online.”

Recorder Moran told Dodds he must serve at least two-thirds of the 20-year total sentence and he will then be subject to six years’ extended licence period.

Dodds was also made subject of restrictions under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and registration as a sex offender, both for life.

A lifelong restraining order prohibits him from contacting or approaching the victim of his sexual assaults.

As he was being led from the dock to the court cells, the defendant was heard to shout: “Absolute f***ing joke, I didn’t do anything.”

Speaking after the hearing, Debbie Breen, head of the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RaSSO) unit at the Crown Prosecution Service North East, said over a ten-year period, Dodds used Snapchat to incite numerous girls, aged between eight and 15, into carrying out sexual acts over live video calls.

He then used covert recordings of these calls as leverage, blackmailing his victims into further acts by threatening to distribute the videos further if they failed to comply with his requests. 

When arrested, Dodds was also found to have amassed thousands of indecent images, which were recovered from multiple devices found at his home.

Ms Breen said: “Mark Dodds is a prolific sexual predator, who routinely manipulated young girls online for his own sexual gratification.

“Dodds spared little thought for the effect that his emotional and physical abuse would have on his victims, callously exploiting their fear and shame to compel them into repeated sexual acts.

“I would like to recognise the incredible bravery of the young victims involved in this case.

“Despite the significant abuse they have endured, the evidence they provided has greatly assisted the Crown Prosecution Service in building a very robust case against Dodds. 

“Each of them has played a part in bringing a prolific sexual predator to justice and we sincerely hope that their contribution to his significant sentence today can bring them a good measure of comfort.”

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Terence Walters, from Billingham, bought the young girl gifts including vapes as well as money after sexually assaulting her with a massage device.

The 53-year-old used the device on her leg and back despite multiple pleas for him to stop during the assault last year.

He was also found to have asked the girl about her underwear and showed a nude photo of his former partner, the court heard.

After the child bravely reported the abuse to police, Walters was arrested, and evidence was gathered by detectives that led to him being charged.

Following a trial at Teesside Crown Court in October 2024, Walter was found guilty by a jury.

On Tuesday 17 December Walters returned to Teesside Crown Court to be sentenced by Judge Jonathan Carroll. He was told he will serve 13 years in prison for three counts of sexual assault by penetration, non-penetrative sexual assault with a child and sexual communication with a child.

Walters will also be on the sex offenders register and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) indefinitely.  

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A sex offender used a public computer at an arts venue library to search for indecent images of children, a court heard.

The manager at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, in Gateshead, became aware of the internet searches by Samuel Kettell and found the offending images, on November 15.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Kettells activities raised concerns as the computer used by him was available for the use of the general public, including children visiting The Baltic.

When Kettell was arrested two days later, he was found to be in possession of amphetamines.

Graham OSullivan, prosecuting, said it was one of a number of breaches of either a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) or notification requirements as a sex offender which were imposed on Kettell after he was jailed at Durham Crown Court for downloading and distributing indecent images of children, in 2022.

Mr OSullivan said Kettell, formerly of Peterlee, County Durham, was made subject of the SHPO and registration requirements as a sex offender, both for ten years, as part of the sentence in 2022.

Concern was raised with Kettell by his risk management officer in June this year as he had pending no fixed address status.

Mr OSullivan said the defendant was reminded he was still required to register with police where was staying on a weekly basis.

When he was spoken to by police over unrelated matters on September 16, Kettell claimed to have no phone.

Having registered with police the next day, he failed to do so the following week, but when he was spoken to by police and searched, he was found to be in possession of two phones.

Kettell was arrested on October 10 and gave police a false name and tried to make off, but he was detained and admitted the breaches.

Mr OSullivan said an officer recognised Kettell when the defendant left Rustys bar in Newcastle, on October 25.

He was found to be in possession of an 8cm craft knife blade, which was hidden in his shoe, as well as a bag of amphetamines.

Kettell chose not to respond to police questions, but after his misuse of the Baltic Centre library computers, he was arrested again, on November 17, when he was also found to be in possession of a bag of amphetamines.

The defendant again chose not to answer police questions and has remained in custody in recent weeks.

Mr OSullivan said Kettell was also found in possession of indecent images in November last year and received a nine-month prison sentence, which he served prior to his release not long before his recent offending.

Penny Hall, for Kettell, said the facts of the latest breaches and offences, speak for themselves and the defendant admitted them all when he appeared before magistrates, who, duly, committed the case to the crown court for sentence.

Miss Hall said it has been the defendants lack of stable accommodation which has impacted his ability to comply with the various court orders.

She said the craft knife blade was carried by the defendant at a time when he was homeless, but it was never brandished.

Miss Hall said the defendant hopes to usefully use his time in prison and will made concerted efforts to find a fixed address by the time his release from the latest sentence nears, to ensure he compliance to court orders improves in future.

Judge Carolyn Scott said the possession of the craft knife blade and the defendants misuse of the public computer at the Baltic, to access pornography and indecent images of children, were the most serious of his offences.

You were doing so in a public place in a library where members of the public, including children, had access to that computer.

It is all aggravated by your previous convictions.

She imposed a total two-year prison sentence, of which he must serve up to half before being released on licence.

Judge Scott advised the defendant to comply with the terms of his various orders, upon release, or risk spending more time behind bars.

She renewed Scotts ten-year notification requirements as a sex offender, while he also remains subject of the terms of his existing ten-year SHPO.

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A man has been jailed for chatting sexually online with a 13-year-old girl, during which he offered her “a grand” to send him images of herself in her underwear.

The three-day exchange of messages with the girl in September put 28-year-old Luke Ovington in breach of not only a Sexual Harm Prevention Order but also a suspended prison sentence imposed in July last year for exactly the same type of behaviour.

Ovington had already been before the court for minor breaches of the order for which he received community orders, in November last year, but his luck ran out after his arrest for his latest offending.

Durham Crown Court was told Ovington received a ten-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in July last year, for the online sexualised exchanges with a 12-year-old girl.

He was also made subject of a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), forbidding him from contacting underage girls and restricting his use of the Internet, as well as registration as a sex offender.

Philip Morley, prosecuting, said despite those prohibitions and with the suspended sentence hanging over him, Ovington engaged a female child in conversation on Snapchat which went on for three days in September.

Mr Morley said unlike some online “stings”, this was a real child who, despite making it clear that she was aged 13, kept receiving messages of a sexualised nature from the defendant.

Using the alias of ‘Ryan’, in breach of the terms of the SHPO, he suggested that the girl keep their conversation a “secret” from her parents.

He asked her for pictures and told her what he would like to do to her, suggesting giving her “a grand” if she sent him her picture in her underwear and told her he loved her.

Mr Morley said the police were alerted and he was arrested in possession of his phone, which was seized for examination, but Ovington had deleted a lot of the incriminating messages.

In interview, he made no comment to police.

Mr Morley said the defendant breached the terms of the SHPO by not only communicating with an underage girl, but also by deleting his messages.

Ovington, 28, of Linden Place, Newton Aycliffe, admitted charges of sexual communication with a child, breaching a SHPO and possession of a small amount of cannabis found in his possession upon arrest.

Tony Davis, in mitigation, said psychiatric and probation reports prepared for last year’s hearing were still pertinent.

“Clearly, this was a persistent, deliberate breach and I can’t argue with the Crown’s assessment.”

Mr Davis said the defendant’s background includes contact with mental health services during his adult life.

“Perhaps, here, he has slipped into his dark ways again.

“His fascination with smoking cannabis and going online is only going to lead to the revolving door of going into and out of custodial institutions.

“But he has been using his time in custody usefully.”

Judge Nathan Adams told Ovington: “You find yourself back here again, relating to your behaviour in September this year, in breach of a suspended prison sentence and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order only imposed on July 14, last year.

“Despite all the clear warnings, you find yourself back here again for breaching all those orders you were under.

“You were told the girl was only 13, nevertheless you spoke to her about masturbation and tried to solicit images of her in her underwear.

"You offered her £1,000 for those images, and then you said you would leave her alone.

“This was undoubtedly the sort of behaviour those orders were trying to prevent.

“It’s quite clear it would only lead to s significant prison sentence.”

Judge Adams imposed a total 28-month prison sentence, including six months activated from last year’s suspended sentence.

Ovington will be subject to new ten-year SHPO and registration requirement periods, starting afresh from Friday (December 13).

The judge also ordered forfeiture of the seized cannabis and Ovington's mobile phone.

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A paedophile who sexually abused a teenage girl and had more than 15,000 indecent images of children and animals on his laptop has been jailed for more than a decade.

Police raided the home of registered sex offender Russell Duncan Frederick Weatherley in 2022, after receiving information he possessed indecent images of children.

Officers recovered a laptop with more than 15,000 indecent images and arrested the 62-year-old, of Bearpark, County Durham.

Detectives also found a folder on the device named after the victim, who Weatherley had preyed on decades earlier.

Weatherley had forced the girl to carry out sexual acts, often photographing or filming them.

The 62-year-old was charged with more than 30 offences and in court, pleaded not guilty to six counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl and five counts of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

He went to trial and was found guilty of all the offences as well as changing his plea to guilty for a further 18 counts of making indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography with an animal.

He was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison at Teesside Crown Court on Friday (December 6).

Following the sentencing, DC Liam Padget, who led the investigation, said: “Weatherley is a monster in every sense of the word and that is how the victim described him so we hope this sentence allows her to finally start to heal from this ordeal.

“I would like to commend the victim and her family for their bravery and perseverance during the investigation.

“She has had to carry the burden of abuse for many years, and this sentence reflects society’s abhorrence of crimes such as this.

“Durham Constabulary will always investigate offences of this nature and place victims at the centre of everything we do. If you have been a victim of abuse, please reach out. We will believe you.”