Search results for East Sussex

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A "predatory and manipulative" carer who sexually abused seven boys over an 11-year-period has been jailed for 17 years.

Benjamin Mercer, 41, abused boys as young as five years old in Hornsea, East Yorkshire, and another in Newquay, Cornwall, during the 1990s and 2000.

He was found guilty of 13 charges including rape, which he denied, following a trial at Hull Crown Court.

Police believe there may be more victims and urged them to come forward.

The court heard how Mercer, of Seafield Road, Hove, East Sussex, took sexual advantage of two boys while they slept.

He systematically raped a boy, who reported "terrible pain", up to three times a week for almost four years.

Mercer, who grew up in Hornsea, started abusing boys from the age of 15.

He was known as "cool Ben" because of his clothes and would take the boys to the park and the beach, as well as on fishing and clay pigeon shooting trips, the jury was told.

'Sleeping with a knife'

The jury heard how the carer had "groomed" one of his victims, giving him cannabis at age of 12 and then alcohol at the age of 13.

Sentencing him, Judge Tremberg told Mercer: "You have been predatory and manipulative and viewed your victims as objects, putting your needs and desires over their welfare.

"You exhibited a capacity to act with premeditation and opportunistically. You tested these young boys to see how vulnerable they were.

The judge described how one of the victims "ended up sleeping with a knife under his pillow and contemplated suicide".

"He bore the secret and shame of what you did, which has been ruinous. It caused deep-seated emotional suffering and physical harm."

'Sexual predator'

Mercer was arrested in Hornsea in 1998 but police said there was "insufficient evidence to charge him with any offences at that time".

He continued to abuse again, the court heard.

After his arrest he moved to Newquay and then to the Brighton area in 2000.

It was only after further reports of abuse that police carried out a full investigation in March last year.

Det Insp Emma Heatley, of Humberside Police, said: "He is clearly a sexual predator and we believe there may be more victims of Mercer over the last 20 years.

"We would encourage any further victims of Mercer... to come forward and call the police, so that we can ensure he is brought justice for all his offending."

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A DELIVERY driver has been jailed for 16 years for raping two women.

Andrew Saggers, 41, of East Albany Road, Seaford, raped a woman in her late twenties at an address near Polegate in December 2006, and a woman in her late thirties at an address in Eastbourne in May.

Police arrested Saggers after the victim reported the May 2014 attack, and traced the 2006 victim, who had not reported the attack to police, while Saggers was on remand.

Detective Constable Lisa Wells, of the East Sussex Specialist Investigation Unit, said: With her support we were able to gather evidence that enabled us to charge him with that crime too.

"Both women were very supportive of the prosecution, and gave evidence at the trial. This sentencing sends out the clear message that we will follow up all such allegations and wherever possible bring vicious offenders like this to justice, no matter how long ago their crimes occurred."

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A sex offender who tried to befriend a single mother on Facebook and distributed indecent images of children has been jailed for five years.

Simon Gary Rose, from Bexhill, East Sussex, was already on the sex offenders register after previously making indecent images of children.

Police believe he contacted the woman through the social networking site to groom her young boys for abuse.

Hove Crown Court heard he was previously convicted in Essex in 2008.

Sussex Police's paedophile online investigation team began investigating Rose, formerly of Parkhurst Road, after it received a tip-off he was offending online again.

Despite attending a sex offenders treatment course as part of his previous sentence, he was found to be using internet cafes in Brighton and Hastings to distribute images of child sex abuse.

After he was arrested in September 2011, police were contacted separately by the single mother who had become concerned about a man who had used Facebook to contact her to try to develop a relationship.

'Very young children'

Police linked this approach to Rose, though there is no evidence to suggest he committed any contact offences against children.

Rose pleaded guilty to 20 offences of distributing and possessing indecent images of children.

He had also admitted three further counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and failing to comply with the notification requirements as a registered sex offender.

On his release he will now be under an indefinite Sexual Offence Prevention Order and will be a registered sex offender for life.

Det Con Jane Tunnicliff said:

"Rose was still using the internet to distribute indecent images of very young children, mainly young boys, even after being sentenced for a similar offence.

"Every image is of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

"It was of even more concern that he was seeking to develop an online relationship with a woman who had young children and we have no doubt that part of his motivation was to groom very young boys for sexual activity.

"We are very glad that the woman came forward. She was very quickly informed about Rose and was assured that action was being taken to ensure that he posed no further threat."

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A paedophile teacher due to be extradited to the Netherlands for importing child pornography has committed suicide.

Keith Hudson, 54, was due to fly to serve five months in a Dutch prison but did not turn up to Heathrow Airport.

Hudson, who ran private tuition company Sussex Learning Centre, had been granted bail on stringent conditions including the payment of a £10,000 security to City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London.

A hearing to order the forfeiture of the money was arranged for today.

But Amelia Nice, for the Dutch authorities, told the court: "He failed to report to Heathrow. It has since been brought to our attention that apparently he has died.

"Apparently he committed suicide."

Hudson, of Willowmead, Crowborough, has previous convictions in the UK for similar offences, had signed on as a sex offender for four years and been banned from working with boys.

He was found guilty of five counts of moving and concealing indecent material at Croydon Crown Court, following an operation by Dover customs officers in 1998.

A Care Standards Tribunal had heard he was not a risk to girls and limited the court's earlier ban on teaching all children.

Education bosses at East Sussex County Council issued a warning to all schools in the area after the discovery that he was touting for business.

Then in 2002 he was found guilty of importing and stocking indecent images of boys in the Netherlands between April and December 1999.

However he was not in court for his sentence and a bid for his extradition from this country was later launched.

The disgraced tutor was arrested by Sussex and Met detectives at his home last month.

He lost his fight against his return and a Westminster judge ordered his extradition on December 27 last year.

Hudson was trusted to turn up to Heathrow on January 11 on stringent bail conditions including residence at his home address, daily reporting to police, and to have no contact with any person under 18.

On hearing the report of his death District Judge Quentin Purdy said he required confirmation from a police officer and adjourned the hearing to February 6.

The judge said if he has died the £10,000 would be returned.