Latest Offenders Hull

Description

A "sneaky" sexual "predator" set up a hidden camera to film women inside a toilet cubicle.

The "obnoxious" and "distasteful" filming was discovered when a woman discovered to her horror and shock that there was a camera hidden inside a bin. Thomas Day, 25, of Grafton Street, Hull, admitted voyeurism involving three women and other offences of making indecent images of children.

"It caused her to panic," said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse. Police were alerted and CCTV showed that it was Day who had put the camera there.

Day was arrested. Two other women who had been filmed were also identified. There were also images of "upskirting" of one of them. During police interview, he made no comment to questions.

The woman who discovered the camera later said that she regarded Day as a "predator" because of what he had done and what he could potentially do to others. "What he did to me really hurt and has changed the way I view things and people," she said.

"My sleep has been affected and I wake up. I dream of cameras being on my walls. I should not have been made to experience this. Anyone should feel safe using the toilet and should not have to look out for cameras."

Another of the women said that she felt "violated" by what happened and it had left her "anxious and paranoid" about possible cameras in public buildings. She felt "uncomfortable" and "very angry" about what Day had done and it had affected her day-to-day behaviour.

"I am now constantly looking out for cameras, regardless of where I am," she said. She felt as if she was being watched in toilets "despite this being unlikely".

The third woman said that the filming made her feel "so angry and anxious" and it made her "shake from the inside" because she felt that her private space had been invaded. She was shocked and found the behaviour disgusting and hurtful," said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse.

Day's electronic devices were searched and 935 images of children in the most serious Category A were found, as well as 987 in Category B and 12,789 in Category C. There were 471 prohibited images of children and three extreme pornography images. The images had been downloaded over a number of years.

Nigel Clive, mitigating, said of the voyeurism: "This is reprehensible, sneaky behaviour. This offending is indicative of a man with extremely damaged thought processes. The defendant would wish to apologise to the victims of his offending."

Day had "poor emotional regulation" of his sexual needs and he had been very open about his motivation for his "terrible" behaviour. "He knows what he has done and it's worthy of prison," said Mr Clive.

It was a "sexually predatory course of conduct" and Day's sexual preoccupation showed "distorted thinking" over the "distasteful" offences. "There has been no offending since," added Mr Clive. Day had no previous convictions.

Recorder Paul Reid told Day: "You have led a solitary existence, which you have misspent over a number of years." Of the women who were secretly filmed, the recorder said: "What they are left with is a feeling of complete insecurity because nobody expects this sort of thing to happen to them in a private place and, rightly, they don't expect this because they are entitled to assume that a private place like this is private and they are not going to be looked at like this by anyone.

"They have been very badly affected by this. You didn't at any stage attempt to minimise what you did." Day had later "given thought" to his "obnoxious activity" and had sought help. The images of children that were found were "appalling".

Day was given a 22-month suspended prison sentence, 100 hours' unpaid work, a 90-day sex offenders' treatment programme and 20 days' rehabilitation. He was ordered to pay 750 compensation 250 to each woman and he was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Description

A convicted sex offender who used to be a chef cooked up a whole load of trouble for himself when he failed to tell police where he was living as part of his annual registration requirements.

Mark Sheffield was five days over the strict time limit for registering his details every year but he cheerily claimed in court that everything was now "all good" with the police and that it had all been sorted out. He had even already put an all-important reminder note on his calendar for next time to make sure there were no more blunders, Hull Crown Court heard.

Sheffield, 29, who lives off Beverley Road, Hull, admitted failing to register his details as a sex offender under his obligations to do so after a previous sexual offences conviction in 2015.

Hannah Turner, prosecuting, said that, because of his previous conviction, Sheffield had to register his details under the sex offenders' register every 12 months. He was required to attend Clough Road police station, Hull, on August 3 last year but he failed to do so.

Sheffield was telephoned and was reminded about what he should have done. He apologised and went there the same day to complete his annual notification. He was five days outside the time limit for complying.

He admitted during police interview that he was aware of the requirements but he claimed that it simply slipped his mind.

Sheffield had convictions for 14 previous offences, including two offences of sexual activity with a girl under 15 in November 2015 and breaching a sexual harm prevention order in October 2016.

Sheffield told the court: "I completely forgot. Now I have put it on my calendar when I have to register. I have a good relationship with the police.

"I speak to my officer every week, which is a good thing for me. I have no problem with him. I have had a decent person ever since I moved to Hull.

"He has no problems with me. It's all good with the police officer that I have got. I have no problems with him at all."

Sheffield said that he had previously been homeless and he had worked in the past as a chef and doing agency work. He was now working in a kitchen but he hoped to become a chef again. "I used to be a chef," he said.

Judge Alexander Menary said: "After five days, you were outside the time limit of notifying the police of your whereabouts but, when you were told about it, you came in the same day and notified the police."

It was an oversight rather than a deliberate attempt to evade the police but Sheffield was warned that he could he jailed if he breached the order again. "It could be immediate custody," said Judge Menary.

Sheffield was given 20 days' rehabilitation and he was ordered to pay £100 costs.

Description

A convicted flasher who thought that he was sending explicit messages and videos to a 14-year-old girl got a nasty shock when it turned out that her account was being run by a paedophile hunters group.

Tristan Bradshaw had already been specifically warned not to message children, but he brazenly attempted to do so after drinking spirits heavily, Hull Crown Court heard. Bradshaw, 23, of the New Bridge Road area of east Hull, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, attempting to invite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order.

Ayman Khokhar, prosecuting, said that a five-year sexual harm prevention order was made against Bradshaw in November 2019 following a conviction for an offence of exposure. However, on December 30, Bradshaw sent a friend request on Facebook to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

He followed it up with two messages saying "Hey!" The girl did not exist and had been set up by an online protection group.

Bradshaw sent sexually explicit messages to "the girl" and, on three separate occasions, he sent her a six-second video of him committing a sex act. He attempted to get the fake girl to video call him while he was doing this.

Further sexual messages were sent and Bradshaw suggested that they could have sex at his home. He ended the conversations on January 3. The online protection group contacted the police and Bradshaw was arrested. He made no comment during police interview.

"It's a very serious breach of the order," said Mr Khokhar. "The harm and the risk was very serious."

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Bradshaw had suffered problems and this led to him seeking out inappropriate relationships. He used alcohol to cope with his difficulties.

"That's why he doesn't remember this offending," said Miss Scott. "He simply doesn't remember. He confirmed that the messages were from his account. He accepts that it must have been him who sent them. It appears that he has stopped this conduct rather than the other way round."

Bradshaw, a former supermarket worker, had been in custody on remand for two months. "He accepts that he is looking down the barrel of a significant custodial sentence," added Miss Scott.

Judge Alexander Menary told Bradshaw: "You were in sexual communication with a profile that was an adult posing as a 14-year-old child. You knew that this person was purporting to be 14 because they said so at the outset and you engaged in sexual communication with them throughout that time. You very quickly engaged in sexual communication with them."

Bradshaw was jailed for two years and three months. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Description

A convicted sex offender who deliberately went to ground instead of telling the police where he was living has been jailed after being told that he had finally "come to the end of the road" for being given chances.

Drug user David Schofield had previously been spared prison for committing "precisely the same offence" but he did not learn his lesson and he brazenly ignored his "duty" to register with the police every seven days, Hull Crown Court heard.

Schofield, 47, from Hull but recently remanded in custody, admitted breaching his notification requirements as a convicted sex offender and breaching a 24-week suspended prison sentence imposed for earlier failures to notify his details.

Chloe Pinches, prosecuting, said that Schofield was convicted on January 17, 2020 of sexual assault and he was ordered that day to register as a sex offender for seven years.

He was back in court on July 20 last year for failing to comply with notification requirements and, after he was released from custody, he told police that he would be living in Hardy Street, Hull.

On November 16, Schofield was seen by a police community support officer in Hull city centre and he said that he was of no fixed address. He was told to go to the police station and notify his details and he was reminded that he needed to do so every seven days.

"The defendant failed to do so," said Miss Pinches. Schofield was arrested on December 30 for that and other offences.

He pleaded guilty at Hull Magistrates' Court on January 4 to offences of assault and criminal damage, committed on December 12, and he was jailed for 12 weeks.

During police interview, Schofield said that he could not provide details of where he was living because of problems that he had suffered. When he was asked if he understood his conditions and whether he had made any attempt to tell police of any change in his living status, he replied "No comment."

He said that he would probably be in and out of prison for the remainder of his notification period because he would never be able to tell police of his address.

"There was a long period of non-compliance," said Miss Pinches. "The last recorded notification by the defendant was July 20. He had multiple opportunities to attend the police station to notify them of his change in circumstances but he chose not to, despite accessing agencies that support rough sleepers and advising them that he was homeless.

"This resulted in his whereabouts being unknown to the police for a long period of time." Schofield had been assessed as posing a medium risk of committing further offences of a sexual nature.

It was his fifth appearance in court for failing to comply with his notification requirements, said Miss Pinches.

Marc Luxford, mitigating, said that Schofield had suffered from drug-related problems, made worse by not having a home and living on the streets. "He accepts that the duty was on him and he ought to be registering every seven days," said Mr Luxford.

"He accepts that it was his duty and that he ought to have attended at the police station." Schofield had been in Lincoln Prison most recently after earlier being in Hull Prison, where services had been easier to access.

Recorder David Brooke KC said that Schofield showed a "deliberate failure to comply" with his sex offender registration responsibilities.

"It's a repeat offence," said Recorder Brooke. "You were in breach of a suspended sentence for precisely the same offence. The probation service has obviously tried very hard to help you and has come to the conclusion that it can't really offer anything else in the community.

"It's a deliberate failure to comply with the requirements rather than a determined attempt to avoid detection. You have been doing this not just on one occasion but two.

"I am afraid that you have come to the end of the road in terms of other alternatives."

Schofield was jailed for a total of 54 weeks.

Description

A serial flasher who exposed himself to women and girls while riding around on a bicycle was later found to have dozens of sickening indecent images of children on his phone.

Ammar Chaudhry was only stopped in his "troubling course of sexually deviant behaviour" when an off-duty policeman, who was in his car with his wife and children, spotted in his rear-view mirror what was happening and went to investigate, Hull Crown Court heard.

Chaudhry, 26, of Elmtree Avenue, North Ferriby, admitted three offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing indecent images of children.

Michael Masson, prosecuting, said that Chaudhry was arrested on March 4, 2021 for exposure and he was interviewed by the police. "He indicated that there would be indecent images of children on his phone, engaged in lewd acts," said Mr Masson.

Chaudhry claimed that he had downloaded all the images out of "curiosity" and that he had no sexual interest in children. He claimed that no children were harmed in the images.

His phone was searched and 311 files relating to indecent images of children were found, 31 of them on a child abuse database. There were 41 images, including duplicates, in the most serious Category A and 42 videos in that category. Prohibited images, showing indecent cartoons or similar images, were found on his laptop and computer.

During police interview, Chaudhry gave mainly "no comment" replies to questions but when he was asked whether he shared the images with other people, he replied: "No." There was no evidence of any distribution by him of images.

Chaudhry had convictions for four previous offences of exposure, one of those committed near a school, and he had been given a 30-week suspended prison sentence, 20 days' rehabilitation and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order at Hull Crown Court in July 2021. He had been ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

The court heard at that time that, on four occasions, Chaudhry rode his bicycle towards vulnerable women and young girls while exposing himself. On one occasion, he stood in the middle of a street just yards from schoolchildren, dropped his tracksuit bottoms and committed a sex act.

He also pursued a 16-year-old schoolgirl in North Ferriby and smiled at her as he exposed himself. She was left "disgusted and uncomfortable" but he continued to follow her.

There was another incident in Anlaby where he stared at a woman while riding his bicycle, with one hand down his trousers. She could see his bare groin area and she felt disgusted.

Chaudhry's offences, described by a judge as a "troubling course of sexually deviant behaviour", came to a halt when an off-duty police officer in Hull Road, Hessle, spotted in his rear-view mirror what Chaudhry was doing. Young children were nearby.

When he was arrested, Chaudhry asked if he could just be cautioned, the court heard that day.

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said that the offending was serious but Chaudhry had made admissions about the images when first arrested.

"He never sought to diminish or minimise responsibility in respect of those actions," said Miss Baines. It took 10 months for a forensic report on the images to be prepared and there had been further delays before the other charges involving the indecent images came to court.

Chaudhry was given an eight-week suspended prison sentence. The previous sexual harm prevention order will continue. He will have to continue to register as a sex offender for seven years.

Description

A convicted sex offender who was banned from contacting any girl who was under the age of 16 brazenly ignored the court order by repeatedly trying to have sexualised chats with girls on Snapchat.

Nathan Mulvana told one 15-year-old girl that she had an "amazing figure" and asked another girl of the same age if she had ever sent nude photos online. But he was now in a "last chance saloon" and faced being jailed if he committed any more sexual offences, Hull Crown Court heard.

Mulvana, 23, of the Inglemire Lane area of Hull, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order on August 9, 2022.

Jazmine Lee, prosecuting, said that the original sexual harm prevention order was made at Beverley Magistrates' Court on December 6, 2018. It was designed to ban him from contacting any girl under the age of 16 but, through his actions, he was in breach of the order.

Mulvana was arrested and interviewed for separate, but similar, offences on September 7, 2022 and, as a result of that investigation, his phone was seized and examined. A Snapchat account was seen and, as part of his conversations on the social media network, it was discovered that some of the accounts that police identified involved children aged under 16.

The chats seemed to be short, but Mulvana tried to engage in sexual conversations with the girls. They did not, however, appear to have engaged with him for long. He asked one of the girls if she had been sexually active but he did not receive a response.

"He also stated that she had an amazing figure," said Miss Lee. "The account clearly stated in that conversation that she was 15 years old and he claims to be 16.

"Further, he asked another account if she had ever sent nudes and she replies that she has not. The conversation ends. She, too, clearly states in that conversation that she is 15."

There was another conversation with a girl said to be aged 14, but it ended before the chat turned sexual. During police interview, Mulvana claimed that he logged out of his Snapchat account in the May of 2022, so the conversations could not have been him.

He confirmed, however, that all the Snapchat accounts investigated by police belonged to him. He claimed that he did not recall the conversations.

Mulvana had convictions for four previous offences. They included sexual assault of a child and exposure. He had been sent to a young offenders' institution for two years and four months and was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

He also had convictions for harassment and failing to comply with his notification requirements as a sex offender. He was in breach of a one-year community order imposed for those offences.

Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that Mulvana pleaded guilty and made admissions. He realised that he had issues that needed to be tackled with the help of the probation service. He was still young and needed to mature.

Mulvana was given a six-month suspended prison sentence, 30 days' rehabilitation and a 33-day sex offenders' treatment programme. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

Recorder Bryan Cox KC said that Mulvana would be given help to try to steer him away from further sexual offences. "If you do commit any further sexual offences, there is a very high likelihood that you will be going to prison," said Recorder Cox. "This is a last chance saloon for you."

Description

A heavy-drinking pervert who was caught by online paedophile hunters on two separate occasions was suddenly confronted at Hull railway station after he arrived there to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

Lee Whitelam, who had regularly been drinking two or three litres of cider a day, thought that the non-existent girl was travelling up from Gloucester to meet him for sex. But he got a nasty shock when he was detained by the online safety group and the encounter was live-streamed on Facebook.

He pleaded with the paedophile hunters not to alert the police, having already been duped with a fake 13-year-old girl during a previous incident, Hull Crown Court heard. Whitelam, 40, of Harley Street, off Beverley Road, Hull, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

Eleanor Mitten, prosecuting, said that the earlier incident happened after an online child protection group set up the profile of a fake 13-year-old girl. She was contacted by Whitelam in May 2022 and the messages quickly became sexual.

The non-existent girl sent a clothed picture supposedly of herself and Whitelam replied: "Nice body you have – and assets." He asked her for more pictures and he told her: "Shame you're 13 because would love to get naughty with you."

Whitelam repeatedly suggested meeting and asked whether she was willing to have sex. "The defendant spoke about what he would do if she came round," said Miss Mitten. Whitelam continued to make references to sexual activity.

The second set of offences happened from January 27 this year when Whitelam sent a friend request to a decoy profile of a 14-year-old girl, which was also set up by an online vigilante group. She accepted and messages were exchanged.

She said that she was 14 and he at first sent non-sexual pictures, but he later sent an explicit picture of himself and asked her: "Can I join you and keep you warm, babe?" Whitelam joked about "naughty pics lol".

Arrangements were made for her to visit him in Hull from where she was supposedly living in Gloucester. "He told her that she could stay with him," said Miss Mitten. He said that he would buy beer or cider for her visit and he made references to them having sex. He told her: "A couple of ciders may help you, lol."

Arrangements for her to travel to Hull were made on February 3 and Whitelam told the fake girl: "Just don't say nothing because I don't want to go to jail, lol."

They were due to meet at Hull railway station at 1.45pm and Whitelam sent pictures of himself to the girl so that she would know what he looked like. The online protection team detained him at a Costa Coffee shop in the station and they walked him out of the area.

Whitelam claimed that he was just going to take the girl shopping. "The incident was live-streamed on Facebook," said Miss Mitten. Whitelam denied having any sexual interest in children and he pleaded with the four members of the online group not to telephone the police as he had a suspended prison sentence.

His backpack was removed and two bags of cannabis were found inside it. During police interview, he made no comment to all questions.

Whitelam was in breach of three suspended sentences, including one of 14 months suspended and another of four months suspended. They had been imposed in November 2021 for possessing a knife and threatening behaviour. He also breached a 10-month suspended sentence made in 2020 for arson.

Description

A convicted sex offender who lived in a tent in woods got himself in hot water after he repeatedly failed to register his details with the police – because it was too far to walk.

Daniel Waddington was desperate to "remove" himself from society completely and lived "four miles from anywhere else". But he often could not be bothered "to tell the police where he was actually living".

He claimed that the reason that he sometimes did not go to the police station was because it was an hour to walk there and an hour to walk back, Hull Crown Court heard. Waddington, 29, of Lansdowne Road, Bridlington, admitted failing to comply with his notification requirements as a convicted sex offender and breaching a community order.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, prosecuting, said that Waddington had been convicted in March 2021 of three offences of making indecent images of children and he had been given a three-year community order, 30 days' rehabilitation and a 90-day sex offender treatment programme.

Waddington had been given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and had been ordered to register as a sex offender for five years. The offences involved him searching for "jailbait teens" and "school girls", as well as "young teen porn".

Waddington was homeless at the time of his conviction, but he had to tell police every seven days where he was living and where he could be found. He failed to do so on February 15 and 22 last year and, after that, his compliance was "sporadic" and he failed to notify his details on March 21 and 28 last year.

Waddington again failed to do so on April 10. He later told police that he understood the requirements but he had been homeless and this made it difficult to attend because he did not have transport and it was a long way for him to walk from where he was living, especially as he had a bad knee at the time.

Waddington admitted that he had received text messages from the police, but he had ignored them. He had breached the community order three times, missing appointments on August 22 and on September 12 and 18. "He has failed to attend since," said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse.

His overall compliance was "poor" and he had shown a lack of motivation, despite attempts by the probation service to be flexible. Waddington had attended only 86 of 140 appointments.

Harry Bradford, mitigating, said that the breaches were accepted by Waddington and they had been like a "Damocles sword" hanging over him. At the time, Waddington was homeless and suffering problems.

"He had removed himself from society as far as he could to get away," said Mr Bradford. "He lived in a wooded area in a tent four miles from anywhere else.

"To walk to the police station was an hour there and an hour back. Essentially, he buried his head in the sand. He was turning down support from professionals and he had removed himself as far as he could from society.

"Inch by inch, he has clawed his way back into society as best he can. He has stable accommodation for the first time in a long time. The person who did those breaches is not the same person who sits at the back of court.

"He had terrible compliance previously. He is trying to get his life back together. He is in a position to be engaging more with the probation service."

Waddington was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence and 15 days' rehabilitation. The sexual harm prevention order and the notification requirements will continue. Judge Tahir Khan KC told Waddington: "You haven't knuckled down and done the work you should have done."

Description

Three men who raped a woman who thought she had got into a registered taxi will be sentenced in April.

The woman got into a car after a night out with friends in Hull city centre on 30 July.

Bakhtullah Safi and Habibullah Ahmadzai, both 18 and of Wellsted Street, Hull were found guilty of rape at Hull Crown Court.

Kehan Safi, 26, of Wellington Lane, Hull, pleaded guilty to rape at an earlier hearing.

CCTV footage showed the woman walking along Ferensway when she entered the car and travelled off in the direction of Hull Royal Infirmary.

During the course of the journey, Ahmadzai, Bakhtullah Safi and Kehan Safi, carried out their attack before requesting a 20 taxi fare.

The woman refused to pay and fled to safety.

Sexual predators

Det Con Ashley Webster from Humberside Police said the defendants had shown "no remorse" for their actions.

They are what I can only describe as sexual predators who subjected a lone woman who had just been on a night out with friends, to a horrific and utterly traumatising ordeal.

"This was a truly disturbing case and Im pleased these men are now behind bars and are being punished for this horrific attack."

The gang will be sentenced at Hull Crown Court on 2 April.

Description

A convicted sex offender who left the United Kingdom and went abroad later returned illegally to this country in an inflatable boat along with 50 other people, including his wife and children.

The boat was intercepted as it entered UK territorial waters and he ended up being brought from Kent to Hull to live in a hotel. Fingerprint checks revealed his previous conviction, Hull Crown Court heard.

Talib Rasul, 47, of Beverley Road, Hull, admitted attempting to enter the United Kingdom without a valid entry clearance on May 17.

Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that Rasul, an Iraqi national, was arrested after trying to enter the UK along with 50 others on an inflatable boat that set off from the French coast.

It was intercepted by the UK authorities before it reached this country's territorial waters. He was taken to a holding facility in Kent and was transferred to a hotel in Hull.

During interview on July 4, he made no comment to questions. Checks on him revealed that he had previously entered the UK before October 2003. He had been convicted of a sexual offence, indecent assault, in February 2005. The offence was committed in October 2003.

"It was suspected that the defendant must have left the UK of his own volition some time after his conviction," said Mr Hammersley.

"During this time, he was not known to the Home Office and there was no record of entry clearance so the defendant must have been here illegally."

The 50 others on the boat included members of Rasul's family. "He wasn't driving the boat," said Mr Hammersley.

"There is no evidence of him engaging in criminal activity or attempting to do so. He was clearly making a genuine asylum claim."

Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that, at the time, Rasul immediately raised an asylum claim and that was still ongoing. "He is an asylum seeker," said Mr Shipley.

"A trial was listed. I made it clear that it would never have been a trial. Bail was granted, with a reporting condition, on August 14. He has been reporting to Clough Road police station every day since then.

"He isn't a flight risk. He is here with his wife of 17 years. He lives here with his four children."

Judge Megan Rhys told Rasul: "You were on an inflatable boat which contained 51 people. That boat was intercepted as it entered United Kingdom territorial waters. You were one of the 51 people who were on board.

"Fingerprint checks showed that you had previously entered the United Kingdom without clearance. It's of note that you were the only person on that boat who has been prosecuted.

"You came here with your wife and children. An asylum application was made shortly after you arrived and, as a result of that application, arrangements have been made leading to you and your family being housed in temporary accommodation in Hull."

Rasul spent six weeks in custody on remand before he was given bail. "An immediate custodial sentence would have a harmful impact on your wife and children," said Judge Rhys.

Rasul was given a six-month suspended prison sentence but with no requirements.

Description

A "predator" who followed a teenage girl along a quiet country road has been described as a "dangerous man" by the victim's family.

Convicted sex offender Barrie Hill started following the girl in his camper van when he spotted her walking alone after midnight. He subjected the girl to a shocking and frightening ordeal when she realised to her horror that he was repeatedly driving up and down. She claimed that he stopped his van, got out and shone a torch into her face.

Speaking after Hill was jailed at Hull Crown Court, the girl's stepfather – who came to her rescue and confronted Hill – said: "We are all pleased that he was jailed. He's a dangerous man off the streets."

Hill, 57, of Swanland, denied breaching a sexual harm prevention order by following, harassing and intimidating a female, but he was convicted by a jury after a trial. He was branded a "true predator" by the prosecution.

The court heard how the girl had "sneaked out" of her Holderness home after an argument with family members. The first thing that they knew about it was when she telephoned them in sheer terror.

She saw a van driving up the road and it stopped in front of her and pulled into a lay-by. The converted camper van, driven by Hill, went up and down the road five times, the court was told.

The girl claimed that Hill got out of the van and followed her after she tried to escape into a field. He went into the field after her and he shone a torch in her face as tried to retreat further away.

Hill denied that he was following the girl or that he shone a torch in her face. During cross-examination, the defence asked the girl: "The driver of the van says that he did not get out of the van and shine a torch in your face. Is he telling the truth about that?" She replied: "No."

The girl's stepfather told the jury that she called at about midnight. He answered the phone and it immediately became obvious that she was in distress.

She told him: "Help me, help me. I am being followed." The man told the court: "I leapt out of bed." He asked her: "Where are you? Where are you?"

She was a mile away. "I started running downstairs," he said. "I ran out of the door and jumped in the car."

The stepfather said that he told the girl: "I am on my way. I won't be long. Stay there." He added: "I saw some headlights in the distance facing me." The girl, who was still on the phone, told him: "That's the van."

'I know what you're doing'

The stepfather told the jury: "I was very angry. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how many people were in the van. I pulled directly across the road, so I was right next to his driver's door."

He confronted the man and said: "I know what you are doing." The man did not respond. "He looked shocked and surprised that he had been approached by me and quite shocked, I would think."

The stepfather followed the van, which had driven away, in order to get its registration number. The stepfather shouted at Hill: "I know what you are doing. I know what you are up to."

The stepfather said that Hill told him: "I'm lost. My sat-nav's not working." The next morning, the stepfather spoke to the police. Hill was later arrested.

Convicted sex offender

The court heard that Hill had previous convictions for indecent assault, breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with his notification requirements as a convicted sex offender. The sexual harm prevention order, given at Caernarfon Crown Court in 2017, followed a series of incidents in North Wales, in which he left women upset and shaken by making crude and inappropriate sexual comments.

He had been ordered not to approach any lone women and not to offer her a lift in his vehicle, or to give or offer any woman a massage. A judge had told him: "You are more than a pest. You are potentially a predatory individual unable to stop yourself behaving inappropriately towards young females."

Hill was later jailed for 26 weeks for breaching the order. At another hearing before Caernarfon Crown Court in October 2018, he was locked up for one year for further breaches.

Following the guilty verdict at Hull Crown Court, Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said that Hill was the carer for his mother, who was suffering from a serious illness. He was registered disabled and would find prison difficult.

He had been on bail during the trial. No mitigation was offered for the offence because he had fought a trial. Hill was jailed for four years.

Following sentencing the girl's stepfather told Hull Live that, had Hill's motives been entirely innocent, he would have asked the girl if she was all right. Instead, he had said nothing to her during the terrifying incident.

The stepfather said he believed that the encounter could have ended up a lot worse than it did. And he questioned why, in view of Hill's history of sexual offending and breaching court orders, he had been on bail during the trial.

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A convicted sex offender who had twice been spared prison in just eight months completely ignored the chances that he was given and soon started sending highly sexualised messages to a decoy 12-year-old girl.

Heavy drinker Brian Greenaway thought that he was talking to a real girl and he sent explicit pictures of himself to her. He even warned her that she ought to be careful who she chatted to online because she was young, Hull Crown Court heard.

Greenaway, 58, of Spring Bank West, Hull, admitted attempting to engage in sexual contact with a child, attempting to invite a child to engage in sexual activity and failing to comply with his notification requirements as a sex offender. Stephen Welch, prosecuting, said that a member of an online anti-child abuse group became aware of communications by Greenaway with a decoy 12-year-old girl on Facebook and then WhatsApp between September 1 and 4 last year.

Greenaway used his correct name and said that he was 57. His profile contained details about him and it included his date of birth and his home city. These correctly matched Greenaway's actual details.

He sent a clothed picture of himself, saying "That's me" and he warned the fake girl: "Just be careful who you chat with on here." He told her "You're young" and asked if she had a boyfriend.

Greenaway contacted her again and said: "Hi, it's Brian". The conversations became more sexualised and he started using more graphic language. He told her where to find an intimate part of her body, but he asked her to delete the messages, saying it was "because I'm an adult and you're a minor".

He sent a picture of his private parts to the decoy girl and he asked her for an intimate picture of herself. He also sent a video of himself committing a sex act and he talked about sexual matters.

He was arrested on September 6 and his phone was seized. He had convictions for 80 previous offences, including indecently assaulting a girl and gross indecency with a girl.

He also had convictions for failing to register his details as a sex offender in 2003 and 2005 and engaging in sexual communication with a child in West Park in January last year, when he was given a suspended six-month prison sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years.

He was back in court in August last year for breaching the order, but it was allowed to continue. The latest offences were in breach of that order.

'Lonely and naive'

Hannah Turner, mitigating, said that the offences took place over a short period of time spanning seven days and Greenaway admitted that there was a "disparity of age" between him and the fake girl. He had a worrying list of previous convictions, but he was lonely, naive and perhaps vulnerable at the time.

He had shown significant remorse for his actions. "He has readily acknowledged that he has a problem with alcohol," said Miss Turner.

Judge Mark Bury told Greenaway: "You contacted who you thought was a 12-year-old girl. Before very long, the conversation became more sinister and sexual. You knew what you were doing because you asked her to delete your conversations.

"There was no actual harm done to any child because there wasn't one. It was a decoy. I can't ignore your intention. You knew full well that you were talking to a 12-year-old girl and you were instructing her to carry out sexual acts for your own sexual gratification.

"This wasn't just once but a number of times, albeit over a short period of time. The time now has come where you have to serve a prison sentence.

"You haven't complied with the suspended sentence order. You have reoffended. You fully believed that it was a real 12-year-old. You were sending to her pornographic pictures."

Greenaway, who was already in custody on remand, was jailed for two years and four months. The sentence included a consecutive six months after the suspended sentence from last year was activated. The phone will be forfeited.

Approached children in West Park

At a previous hearing in August, the court heard that Greenaway landed himself in hot water after going to probation service meetings while "under the influence of alcohol" and drinking while he was there. He was also "making sexual innuendos to people" and it "could not be more ironic" that he was doing that in view of why he was actually there, the court heard that day.

Greenaway had originally been spared prison for making completely inappropriate sexually charged comments to children in West Park, Hull. He had admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child at the park in 2020.

Greenaway had been brought back before the court in August when he admitted breaching the order. He either failed to attend the Horizon sex offender programme or had been drinking before doing so. He attended while under the influence of alcohol and then drank while he was there.

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Undercover police trapped a pervert who was looking for "friends with benefits" when he started having explicit X-rated online conversations with a decoy 12-year-old girl.

Michal Warchol could not stop thinking about the girl and he bombarded her with messages calling her "babe", "beautiful" and "hot" in a bid to lure her into having sex with him, Hull Crown Court heard.

Warchol, 26, of the Orchard Park estate, Hull, admitted attempting to communicate sexually with a child and attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Richard Butters, prosecuting, said that undercover police set up a online profile in the name of a 12-year-old girl supposedly living in Hull. On January 6, 2022, Warchol made contact with the non-existent girl.

"He introduced himself as a 24-year-old from the Orchard Park area," said Mr Butters. Warchol said that he was looking for "friends with benefits" and he gave her his mobile phone number.

Online conversations took place between January 6 and February 7, 2022. "It was lengthy and sexual," said Mr Butters. On January 17, 2022, Warchol told the fake girl that he could not stop thinking about her and wanted to talk to her.

"The defendant kept engaging in conversations where he called her 'sexy' and used the words 'babe', 'beautiful' and 'hot'," said Mr Butters. "He used those words throughout the month to January 26." Warchol told the decoy girl: "We'll take you somewhere nice and hoping to get lucky on the end."

He later confirmed to her that he meant that they would go out for drinks and, if she wanted, he would have sex with her. He sent intimate selfie pictures of himself with explicit captions.

Warchol, who is Polish, had convictions for 13 previous offences but nothing for similar matters. The most recent was in 2020.

Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, mitigating, said that Warchol acted out of character. "He is remorseful and apologises for his offending," said Miss Stuart-Lofthouse.

"At the time, he was living rather a chaotic lifestyle." He was now seeking further work.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Warchol: "Your lack of relevant convictions and early guilty plea enable me to punish you in the community. Even if I sent you to prison, you would be coming out at some point.

"My ultimate job is the protection of the public." Judge Khan said that he believed that this would best be achieved by rehabilitation work on Warchol.

"If you are in breach of the order and it's a substantial breach, not just a technical breach, I would expect to impose, whatever judge deals with you, an 18-month sentence," said Judge Khan.

Warchol was given 200 hours' unpaid work, a 43-day sex offender treatment programme and 15 days' rehabilitation. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for five years.

"Breach that and you will be in serious trouble," said Judge Khan. "If you breach that, you know what happens. You go to prison." He added: "You can go. Don't come back."

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A man who sexually assaulted a lone woman after she left a nightclub in Hull has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

Shko Khdri, aged 28, of Walliker Street in Hull was sentenced at Grimsby Crown Court on Tuesday, March 12. He'd previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault at a hearing in December last year.

The court heard the victim was walking on Carr Lane when she was approached by Khdri who sexually assaulted her. As she tried to flee, Khdri proceeded to violently sexually assault her.

A struggle ensued and the woman fled to Paragon Street where she thankfully sought safety with a member of the public. Following the attack, officers began to conduct extensive lines of enquiry.

They recovered CCTV footage which captured the assault and a clear image of Khdri. A public appeal to locate Khdri was circulated and as a result, he was arrested three days later at his place of work.

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A serial sex offender who targeted two young children has been jailed for 13-and-a-half years.

Jonathan Parry left the victims feeling "exploited and broken" by his "depraved activities", but he knew that what he had done was "abhorrent". He was trapped by messages that he sent to another man, in effect boasting about what he had done.

That man reported what he had been told to the police and handed over the damning messages exchanged between them, Hull Crown Court heard. Parry, 29, of Somerscales Street, off Beverley Road, Hull, admitted 18 offences, including four of attempted rape, five of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, six of making indecent images of children and others of sexual assault, assault by penetration and possessing prohibited images of children.

Simon Reevell, prosecuting, said that the offences came to light after Parry was in contact online with a man and told him about his behaviour. The other man ended the conversation, but on a later occasion Parry again mentioned sexual abuse to a child.

The man reported the matter to police and investigations by the National Crime Agency led to Parry. He was arrested and his laptop and phone were seized. Thousands of indecent images of children were found, including in the most serious Category A.

One of the victims later said that they were glad when told that Parry was going to be arrested because it meant that he could not harm them or anyone else. They felt that nobody should have to experience the sort of pain that they had suffered. "[The victim] feels that the memories will never go away and that it's something that [they] will have to learn to live with," said Mr Reevell.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that Parry pleaded guilty at a very early stage and it meant that the victims did not have to come to court and go through the ordeal of being cross-examined during a trial. "He has not tried to challenge anything and he accepts what he has done," said Mr Godfrey. "He has not tried to wriggle and change the narrative of what he did. He knows that what he did was abhorrent.

"Ultimately, he doesn't have any justification for it. He knows that. He wants to say sorry. He knows that he can't turn back the clock and undo all the damage that he has caused.

"He acknowledges that what he did was very, very wrong and will have a lasting effect upon the victims. He knows that he is somebody who needs to be punished . . . he has shown willingness to talk about why he did what he did."

Parry had no previous convictions. Recorder Taryn Turner said that Parry committed a "raft of serious sexual offences". "What happened is quite appalling and disgraceful behaviour," said Recorder Turner. Parry committed a series of "depraved activities".

"What you did was appalling and you at least had the decency to come clean eventually with the court," said Recorder Turner. "There is a very clear concern about you. It's clear to me that you enjoyed what you did to these [children]."

Parry was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order. He will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

Following the conviction, Helen Shackleton, of Humberside Police, thanked the victims for their bravery during the investigation. She added: “Whilst it won’t take away the pain and suffering caused, the lengthy sentence here today means that Parry will be behind bars for a very long time, and unable to hurt anyone else."