Latest Offenders Kent

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Briton, 30, will serve at least 25 years after admitting 71 offences against children aged between six months and 12 years One of Britains worst predatory paedophiles, who targeted, groomed and abused up to 200 Malaysian babies and children and shared images of his horrific crimes on the dark web, has been handed 22 life sentences. Richard Huckle, 30, a photographer from Ashford in Kent, who posed as an English teacher and philanthropist in poor Christian communities in Kuala Lumpur, admitted an unprecedented 71 offences, including rapes, against young children aged between six months and 12 years between 2006 and 2014. Some of the 23 children identified in the charges were abused for years, including one from the age of three until 10. The number of his victims was believed to be much higher investigators found a ledger and scorecard on his computer in which he awarded himself marks for different kinds of abuse of 191 girls and boys. Judge Peter Rook QC on Monday ordered Huckle to serve a minimum term of 25 years to reflect the public abhorrence for a campaign of rape that spanned nine years. He told him it was very rare indeed that a judge had to sentence sexual offending by one person on such a scale. Rook told Huckle: Your offending behaviour became entrenched in your everyday life. Your life revolved around your sexual activities with young children. Your distorted beliefs in respect of children are deep-seated. Your self-delusion knows no bounds. Based on Huckles chilling experiences and observations he once boasted it was easier to abuse children from poor communities than middle-class western children the 30-year-old had drafted a truly evil manual for other paedophiles that promoted child sexual abuse tourism, the judge said. He had even sought to profit from his crimes by attempting to sell footage to other abusers, he added. It appears that your conduct was escalating, Rook said. It is also clear that, had you not been arrested, you planned to continue the same lifestyle using the expertise that you were keen to show off to and share with other abusers so as to continue your sexual exploitation of the children of such communities. Images and videos of Huckles rapes and assaults on very young children were shared with paedophiles around the world via the dark web. Rook told him: Relentlessly, you preyed upon the very young pre-pubescent vulnerable children from a minority ethnic community into which you ingratiated yourself. This was a prolonged campaign of rape of the children from a small community. While presenting himself to his victims families as a respectable English teacher and philanthropist who could help them, Huckle was systematically abusing the children you claimed to care about. This was one of the most aggravating features of the case, the judge said. Huckle, wearing a grey sweatshirt, his long, unkempt black hair scraped back in a ponytail, stood impassive with his palms clasped together, as if in prayer, as he was sentenced. As he was taken down to the cells, a member of the public shouted from the gallery: A thousand deaths is too good for you, I know one of those families. Rook said Huckle had almost certainly blighted the lives of his victims and caused them severe psychological harm. A letter which Huckle submitted to the court on Monday, which contained apologies to his victims families and the Malaysian government, was an attempt to justify the unjustifiable, Rook said. However, in light of Huckles refusal to hand over encrypted passwords to hidden files on his computer, the judge added: In my view, you may well harbour feelings of regret but there is no feeling of genuine remorse in this case. Huckle first visited Malaysia on a teaching gap year when he was 19, and went on to groom more children after posing as a Christian English teacher and philanthropist. Five of the children were living in a childrens home and on one occasion he took a girl out to celebrate her fifth birthday and molested her at his house in Kuala Lumpur. His arrest came after Austrialian investigators tracking the activities of a now convicted paedophile who ran a child abuse site on the dark web noticed Huckle was a prolific user of the website. The National Crime Agency, which was criticised by Malaysian authorities for failing to alert them early enough of Huckles crimes, admitted it was first told about his offending in August 2014 but did not have enough evidence to present to Malaysian police for another three months. Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Andrew Brennan, the NCAs deputy director, said it was first contacted by Australian authorities in August 2014. But he said the NCA had to then identify where and who Huckle was before providing the Malaysian police with all of the intelligence in November 2014. They didnt have sufficient evidence to arrest him, we made a decision we would arrest him in December 2014, said Brennan. Im very confident we worked very, very closely with the Malaysian authorities and an NGO based in Malaysia. He also insisted there was absolutely no evidence or intelligence of Huckle offending in the UK. The NCA arrested Huckle as he arrived at Gatwick airport on a trip home to spend Christmas with his parents in December 2014. Officers seized Huckles encrypted laptop and managed to uncover more than 20,000 indecent pictures and videos, although there were other files they were unable to retrieve. When Huckle confessed his crimes to his parents, after his arrest, they begged police to take him away and made statements supporting his prosecution. Ahead of his sentencing, Huckle claimed to a psychiatrist that he wanted to put his madness behind him and settle down with a woman from south India. But the court was shown a posting from 2013 in which he outlined his plan to marry one of his victims in order to help him abuse more children. The judge concluded that Huckle posed a substantial risk for an indefinite period. James Traynor, from the NCAs child exploitation and online protection command, said: Richard Huckle spent several years integrating himself into the community in which he lived, making himself a trusted figure. But he abused that trust in the worst possible way. He deliberately travelled to a part of the world where he thought he could abuse vulnerable children without being caught. Traynor said the NCA had tracked down Huckle and used legislation that allows UK nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences committed overseas. He said: Borders are no barrier we are determined that those who go abroad to abuse children will be held to account. Anthony Hill, the international justice and organised crime prosecutor at the CPS, said: It is hard to put into words the sheer depravity of this case. For almost nine years, Richard Huckle subjected at least 23 children, some of them very young, to the most horrifying abuse imaginable. He deliberately targeted and groomed vulnerable communities abroad to gain their trust. Borders are not a barrier to justice and the CPS worked with the NCA to painstakingly review all of the evidence from the internet, his computers and cameras. The strength of our evidence led to him pleading guilty to 71 charges. Huckles crimes were so serious that prosecutors planned three separate Old Bailey trials as they felt one jury could not cope with viewing all the videos and photographs of abuse. In January, Huckle pleaded not guilty to all 91 charges, but ahead of his trial in April, he gradually admitted 71 of the offences over the course of five more hearings. He has already spent 488 days in jail, so faces more than 23 years in prison before a parole board can consider his release. The NSPCC said Huckle was a frighteningly depraved paedophile who had bragged about raping babies and delighted in abusing infants who trusted him and who had left a trail of devastation. In a statement, the NSPCC added: It is horrifying that Huckle was able to profit from this appalling abuse by using the web to sell images and even films to other paedophiles; emphasising the importance, yet again, of the need for a cohesive, global effort from both the authorities and internet services providers to combat this vile trade.

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A registered sex offender and former Met Police officer from Greenhithe, who is a danger to children, has been jailed for more than four years after admitting to grooming and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Gary Cawthorne promised the vulnerable young Londoner an admin job in a fictional property business and took the opportunity to assault his victim during their so-called business meetings. As soon as they were alone he offered her 300 to get into her knickers, the Daily Star reports. On another occasion he groped her breast at a car wash in Ebbsfleet. The 53-year-old used the alias of Lee Mason and his crimes only came to light with the schoolgirls suspicious friend contacted Cawthorne, who used to live in Plumstead, to inquire about a job. The sex pest asked for several photos and the girl sent a head shot but declined requests to send further images of her body. The teenager told her parents about the messages and they contacted her school. Both girls were spoken to by officers from the Sexual Offences Exploitation and Child Abuse Command on Tuesday, March 1. Cawthorne was soon identified of the sender of the messages, and arrested the next day. He was charged on March 5. The paedophile pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 16, one count of sexual grooming, and breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order at Southwark Crown Court on May 3. He was jailed for four years and five months at the same court yesterday (May 31). Southwark heard that Cawthorne was already a registered sex offender having been convicted of assaulting a 16-year-old girl on October 24, 2012. Three years ago, Judge Loraine-Smith expressed fury that Cawthorne had escaped with a caution for molesting a 20-year-old cleaner in his home, whilst on bail for attacking the young victim. Cawthorne told the teenager he worked for top agencies including Select Model Management and ordered her to strip so he could measure her before cupping her breasts, Southwark heard. He advertised himself on Gumtree and Judge Loraine-Smith described Kent Polices decision to caution Cawthorne as extraordinary, Mail Online reported at the time. Detective Constable Tony Foran from the Met's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command said: Cawthorne is a known sex offender and is a danger to children - he has now been jailed for his offences. He pursued the 14-year-old girl by phone and in person. Then he sexually assaulted her. The victim's friend became suspicious of his contact and thanks to her brave actions she was able to flag up his activities to her parents who then alerted the authorities. The paedophile got two years in jail for sexual grooming, a further two years for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and five months for two counts of sexual assault on a child under the age of 16 to run consecutively.

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A manipulative teacher branded arrogant by a judge has been jailed for abusing young girls.

Predatory Robert Appleby, who taught at Herne Bay High School, committed sex offences against two teenagers.

The 42-year-old, who had been investigated three times and suspended once, has now been sentenced to seven years and nine months behind bars.

Appleby, of Stablegate Mews, Canterbury, groomed one victim and persuaded another to lie to police about sex images he encouraged her to send.

Jailing him, Judge James OMahony said: You are a highly intelligent , talented artist, who is charismatic.

You are also arrogant.

A jury at Canterbury Crown Court heard how an anonymous letter to the head of the school led to Appleby being arrested.

He denied a relationship with the author of the letter but the investigation revealed he had a relationship with another girl, naked pictures of whom were found on his computer.

Appleby had denied sexually abusing a second girl but the jury rejected his accounts and found him guilty.

He had earlier admitted sex offences involving a second victim.

During the trial, prosecutor John OHiggins told how Appleby was a charming, manipulative predatory abuser who had targeted one of his victims.

But it was revealed how he had been investigated three times and suspended on one occasion but no charges were brought.

Mr OHiggins added that Appleby had even been caught by a caretaker with a young girl and reported to the authorities.

The judge told Appleby that his actions had had a devastating effect on his victims both of whom had contemplated suicide.

He told the ex-teacher: You have by your own actions destroyed your career and your vocation.

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Aaron Langley, Imperial Road, Gillingham jailed after downloading thousands of indecent images of children

A pervert who downloaded thousands of images of children as young as two has been jailed.

Aaron Langley stockpiled more than 18,500 pictures and movie clips showing young children - one as young as two or three - in depraved acts with adults.

The 32-year-old, of Imperial Road, Gillingham, was jailed him for 16 months.

Prosecutor Ian Foinette said Langley, who was convicted of indecent assault as a juvenile, was arrested at his home on January 9 last year.

The images found covered all levels of seriousness.

“Not all could be looked at by police because of the sheer volume,” said Mr Foinette. “The charges relate to examples. He indicated he had a sexual interest in boys aged 10 to 17.

“He indicated he had been viewing them for some time. He kept them stored. He said his preference was for boys and was interested in what was being done to them.”

James Ross, defending, said Langley, who admitted 15 charges of possessing indecent images of children, only came into physical contact with a child when convicted of indecently assaulting a boy in 2001.

“He downloaded such large amounts of the images he couldn’t conceivably get around to looking at them all,” said Mr Ross. “He looked at them as and when.” Mr Ross submitted Langley needed sex offender treatment and counselling with psychiatric intervention.

“He comes from a supportive family,” said Mr Ross. “His mother is absolutely shocked by this. He does seek help and treatment. He would follow any course and change his personality.”

Judge Charles Macdonald QC told Langley: “This is quite a bad case. There are many aggravating features. You shared the images with others with a like interest.”

Langley’s name will appear on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and he will be barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

DC Jo-anne Gordon, investigating officer for the case, said: "This case serves as a reminder that Kent Police fully investigates all reports of people using the internet to view and distribute indecent images of children.

"In this case Langley accumulated a huge amount of indecent images and videos which showed children being subjected to horrific abuse.

"I hope he spends his time in prison reflecting upon the impact the material he was viewing has on the victims who will have to deal with the psychological affects of this for the rest of their lives."

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A former teacher who engaged in sexual touching with an infatuated teenager has been jailed for eight months. Stephen Burrows, 66, was told by a judge he should have seen the warning signs and "stopped dead" what was happening. Maidstone Crown Court heard that Burrows, who taught English at Tonbridge Grammar School, suffered from impotency and that the attention from the girl made him feel more of a man. The grandfather-of-two, of Greggs Wood Road, Tunbridge Wells, admitted sexual activity with a child and making indecent photographs. The images were all of the girl and ones she had sent to him via WhatsApp and email. One showed her naked from the rear, two were of her topless and another two showed her in her underwear. When Burrows was arrested in September 2013, his wife, Joyce, told police that the teenager was fixated with her husband and had once claimed she was the predator and he was the prey. However, passing sentence, Judge Michael Carroll said he had no difficulty in identifying Burrows as being the one to blame for what happened. "You knew that she was infatuated with you and you had the power to stop it...You chose not to do that and, as often is the case, it developed and in the end even you knew it was wrong." The judge added his behaviour was aggravated by having the indecent photographs, as well as internet searches found by police which used sexual terms that showed "an unhealthy interest" in people akin to the relationship they shared. The court heard the offences came to light in September 2013. The girl initially denied that anything improper had occurred and claimed rumours were being spread. However, she later told police that Burrows had touched her intimately. Prosecutor Steven Attridge said the girl also revealed that she had instigated the contact between them and on one occasion told friends she was going to "go for it". "She said she hugged Burrows, kissed him on the lips and that it became more sexual. She put her head on his shoulder, she hugged him and he put his arm around her and was stroking her back. "She said she put her arms around him...Things then escalated quite quickly and the stroking became sexual." They later arranged to meet for coffee on three occasions. Mr Attridge said they also expressed their love for each other in text messages and that Skype communications indicated that other sexual acts had taken place, although the prosecution could not go behind the victim's statement. "He is extremely sorry for what he has done," added Miss Harris. "He realises he has let everybody down" - Caroline Harris, defending" Caroline Harris, defending, urged the court to show leniency by suspending any sentence due to Burrows' ill health and that of his wife. However, when she said Burrows accepted his behaviour had been "very stupid", Judge Carroll replied: "No, it was criminal." The court heard that Burrows suffers from impotency as a result of type 2 diabetes and since the offences had lost 5st, does not have a stomach and finds it difficult to eat. "He is extremely sorry for what he has done," added Miss Harris. "He realises he has let everybody down." Upon his release, Burrows will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for seven years and will have to sign on the sex offenders' register.

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A man who regularly abused a girl into her adulthood has been jailed for four years.

Dean Tarrant, 47, was a child himself when the offences began but he continued to abuse her throughout the 1980s, a court heard.

The offences happened when Tarrant was living in Northview Road, Swanley, and then Hawley Road, Dartford, between 1980 and 1989.

Tarrant, now of Brentwood in Essex, was found guilty of two counts of gross indecency and sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.

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A 42-year-old man has been jailed after pretending to be a teenager on Facebook to groom a child. Douglas Warren, 42, of Edenbridge in Kent, exchanged explicit images and videos with his victim and even planned to meet her at a hotel. The booking was cancelled when he found out Kent Police knew about what he was doing online. The court heard how Warren claimed to be aged 19 when he first sent his victim a friend request on Facebook in February 2015. After the request was accepted he sent her explicit images of himself and encouraged her to do the same in return. He also suggested that they could one day move in together and possibly get married. Officers seized Warrens mobile telephone, laptop computer and other devices following his arrest on March 27. They found more than 4,000 child abuse images and 31 extreme pornographic images. He clearly poses a risk to children, who should be able to use social networking websites without being targeted by people like Warren who exploit them for their own sexual gratification. Det Con Gordon Lindsay Warren was jailed for 21 months at Maidstone Crown Court admitting four counts relating to child sex offences and eight counts relating to the possession and/or making of pornographic images including child abuse images. In addition to a custodial sentence of 21 months, Warren must also sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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Matthew Lovage began shaking and breathing heavily, unbuttoned his shirt and clutched his chest as he was told he was guilty.

The 27-year-old, of Sir Bernard Paget Avenue, Repton Park, was allowed half an hour to recover before learning he faced a lengthy term behind bars.

Lovage was found guilty by the jury at Canterbury Crown Court of the rape of a young child and sexual activity with the same victim.

He was arrested after allegations were reported by an Ashford children’s nursery – but he denied the of­fences.

The victim gave evidence at the three-day trial via CCTV from a special room in the crown court.

The sentencing hearing was adjourned for five weeks while reports are prepared which will consider what danger Lovage poses to children in the future.

His lawyer, Kieran Moroney, made no application for bail and Judge Heather Norton ordered Lovage to sign the sex of­fender register.

Mr Moroney said Lovage had an undiagnosed medical problem and was undergoing medical tests.

Judge Norton told Lovage: “You should prepare yourself for a custodial sentence – and one of some considerable length.”

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A Thanet man has been given a 12-year extended sentence for a string of child sex offences going back many years.

Mark Lloyd, 47, of Westgate on Sea, sat passively in the dock as one of his victims watched from the public gallery at Canterbury Crown Court just a few feet away.

Lloyd, of Victoria Road, Westgate On Sea had been found guilty of nine child sex offences after a trial at Canterbury Crown Court last month.

The court also heard that when police raided his home they discovered he was growing 72 cannabis plants in three rooms.

The pervert pleaded guilty to cultivating the drug but denied the sex offences.

He was given a 12-year extended sentence made up of a nine-year jail term and an extra three years on licence.

Judge Heather Norton told him he wont be eligible for parole until 2021 and will have to serve up to six years on licence when released.

The judge told him that he posed a significant risk of committing future sex offences against children and the public needed protecting.

Judge Norton said his victims are suffering and will continue to suffer from some years to come.

She added: You have shown no pity or remorse, no insight whatsoever for your offences.

The offences relate to three young victims and took place more than 10 years ago.

Lloyd declined to comment when officers interviewed him about the abuse which took place after he had been drinking and also failed to take to the stand in court at his trial.

The court heard how, following the report of the assaults to Kent Police, officers searched Lloyds home in September 2014 and found 72 cannabis plants growing in the spare room, bedroom and loft.

Also seized from his house were two books on horticulture and how to grow cannabis, two sets of scales, a safe, numerous clear plastic bags, latex gloves and various fertilisers.

"You have shown no pity or remorse, no insight whatsoever for your offences" - Judge Heather Norton

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Paul Deslandes of Kent Police said: "I would like to commend the victims in this case for their bravery in coming forward to disclose their abuse, in what has been a very emotional time for them all.

"Lloyds abuse has not only affected the victims but also their families and I hope that all those involved can finally begin to move on with their lives, knowing that Lloyd will be behind bars for the foreseeable future."

Lloyd was told he will be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order to stop him being alone or working with children.

After Lloyd left to start his sentence, Judge Norton praised the victim for her courage and thanked her for attending the sentencing.

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Reported to be in Hadlow

A 25 year old WROTHAM man has been charged with downloading hundreds of videos and photographs of child abuse.

Lee Drury, of Borough Green Road, was found guilty of 18 offences which prosecutors claim took place between July 7 and August 20 last year.

Some of the images related to pictures classed as level A the most serious classification, which can include content involving bestiality and sadism.

Drury who lives opposite two schools in the Wrotham area of Kent was sentenced to 16 months at Maidstone Crown court

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A serial sex attacker who targeted women and girls aged between 16 and 50, threatening to kill his victims if they screamed, has been jailed for life.

John Williams, 47, of Essetford Road, Ashford was told he must serve at least seven years, but might never be freed.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 29 offences dated back as far as 1991.

He admitted 10 sex assaults, one assault bid, an indecent assault and one theft and asked for 16 theft and sex offences to be taken into account.

The offences included an assault on a 23-year-old woman as she walked her dog along a footpath near Singleton Lake on 2 August 2013.

A 47-year-old woman was attacked off Britannia Lane in September 2012 and a 16-year-old girl was assaulted in woods off Wesley School Road in June 2012.

Other assaults took place in Ashford and Chatham.

One of Williams's victims told BBC South East the attack had affected her whole family, which made it "twice as hard" for her.

"My confidence is shot right down," she said.

"I can't go to sleep without knowing everything in the house is locked. It's really difficult."

It has emerged the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is carrying out an inquiry into the Kent Police investigation.

Williams was identified as a suspect in October 2012 after an appeal for information.

But by the time he was interviewed and a DNA sample was taken in September 2013, which linked him to the attacks, two more assaults had taken place.

Kent Police have not commented on the IPCC inquiry.

Det Insp Richard Vickery said Williams subjected his victims to very frightening ordeals.

"The evidence they were able to provide without doubt forced Williams to admit his guilt," he said.

"I hope today's sentence goes some way to providing closure to the families affected."

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A pervert who groomed a schoolgirl for sex on the internet and downloaded child abuse images has been jailed for four-and-a-half years. James Newman made contact with the girl on a social media site called BearShare in January last year when she was aged 12. They continued to chat on Skype with Newman claiming he was 18. He told her his true age - 23 - before arranging to meet her shortly after she turned 13. Prosecutor Paul Valder said Newman picked the girl up in his car at Rochester railway station and drove her to an industrial estate in Strood. They kissed and undressed before having consensual sexual intercourse in the back of the car. It was the same scenario when they met on two further occasions, Mr Valder told Maidstone Crown Court. Newman did not use a condom and the girl was concerned on the second occasion that she could be pregnant. He advised her to have a pregnancy test. It proved negative but she had the same fear after the third occasion and confided in a teacher at her school. Her family and the authorities were informed. Newman was arrested at his home in Longfield Avenue, New Barn, near Longfield, in November. Computer equipment was seized and almost 200 images and movie clips at all levels of seriousness were found. He admitted three offences of sexual activity with a child and five of possessing indecent images of a child. He denied a rape charge and a not guilty verdict was entered. Louise Oakley, defending, said Newman became isolated and incredibly withdrawn after he was bullied at school. He was spending more and more time in his bedroom and turned to the internet, she said. He accessed images and received them from other people. He desperately wanted to seek help but didnt know where to turn. Miss Oakley added: Prison is having a significant impact on him. He is not a lost cause. "He is young and has a lot to learn. He will come out, no doubt, a different man than when he went in. Newman was sentenced to four years for sexual activity with a child and six months consecutive for possessing the images. "He is young and has a lot to learn. He will come out, no doubt, a different man than when he went in - Louise Oakley, defending Judge Charles Macdonald QC said there had been planning and grooming and there was a significant disparity in age. Custody is the only possibility here for this kind of offending, he added. You are truly sorry and, perhaps most importantly, there is a lack of maturity which has affected your responsibility. A sexual offences prevention order was made for 10 years and Newman will be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

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A shamed youth sports worker has escaped an immediate jail sentence for possessing more than 1,200 indecent images of children. But in sentencing former Thanet School Games organiser Phil Pittock, Judge James O'Mahony told him: "This sickening trade is only made possible by people like you. "You must have realised that a great number of these images do not appear by magic. They are real children, some as young as nine, and in some cases, a few, of extreme sexual imagery." Pittock - who admitted five charges of possessing indecent images of children and one charge of making them - was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years. Crispian Cartwright, prosecuting, told Canterbury Crown Court: "This is a sad but familiar story." He said Pittock's home, in Brandon Road, Birchington, had come to the attention of police and on January 15 they arrived at his home with a search warrant. Pittock told police he had been very silly, Mr Cartwright said. His laptop, two memory sticks and an iPhone were examined and found to contain a large number of indecent images of children - most at the least serious level - although some were at the serious end of the scale. Mr Cartwright said Pittock had been candid with police and said he was a poor sleeper and looked at the images late at night. He said he had stumbled across the websites and it grew from there. "Pittock said he found the girls attractive, but wanted to stop and on the day he was arrested he had been looking at how he could cancel the account," Mr Cartwright said. "There were three particular sites he used to visit and he says he looked at images of girls as young as nine but not lower than that." Mr Cartwright said 50-year-old Pittock, was a man of "excellent character". "He feels devastated by what has happened and wishes he had never started," Mr Cartwright said. "He has found adjustment incredibly difficult and a week after his arrest he attempted suicide..." - Nicholas Jones" Pittock took on his Thanet School Games organiser role in September 2011, based at the Ursuline College, in Westgate. In October 2012, Pittock had been presented with a gold medal for bringing together Inspire PRIDE Awards in Thanet and the summer 2012 schools engagement programme. His role involved arranging inter-school competitions in different sports, many as local qualifiers for the bi-annual Kent School Games. Nicholas Jones, defending, said Pittock had spent most of his adult life in athletics and promoting sport in schools. "That life is now over," Mr Jones said. "He has found adjustment incredibly difficult and a week after his arrest he attempted suicide. With the support of his friends and family he has managed to turn his life around. "He made a full and frank confession to the police and has sought help to tackle what he sees as a problem." Judge O'Mahony also ruled that Pittock would be subject to a sex offences prevention order for seven years. He told Pittock: "You are a highly intelligent, well qualified and resourceful man. Your conduct since has been as constructive as it could be in the circumstances." But Judge O'Mahony said the images represented a serious sexual abuse of children and he added: "You have suffered, as you deserve to suffer, significant punishment." Judge O'Mahony also ordered that Pittock should pay 1,200 costs.

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A sex beast who carried out "appalling and depraved" sexual abuse of two young girls has been jailed for 16 years.

Lee Ashurst, of Parr Avenue, Gillingham, was told by a judge: "You chose to oppose these matters and have been convicted. You can expect and receive no mercy from this court."

The 29-year-old pervert denied six charges of rape of a child but was convicted of each by a 10-2 majority.

Judge Jeremy Carey said the jury of nine women and three men had to listen to the evidence of two little girls who gave in graphic detail an account of Ashurst's depraved sexual behaviour.

"Each of them described how you indulged yourself in the most appalling way," he said. "In their innocence they did not realise, and still do not realise, the enormity of the depravity of which you are now rightly found guilty.

"The impact on them I judge to be significant. When they do understand it is likely to be enormous and long lasting. It is that impact which makes that offending so grave."

The victims' families would feel the impact and shock waves for years to come.

After the guilty verdicts, Ashurst's lawyer spoke of the "horrific and appalling nature" of the offending.

Maidstone Crown Court, where Ashurst was sentenced

Ashurst, said to have a low IQ, will be on the sex offenders' register for life and banned from working with children and vulnerable adults.

After he had been led away to the cells to begin his sentence, Judge Carey told jurors, one of whom wept: "I turn to you with some feelings of anxiety.

"This case must have put you through an ordeal. It is your misfortune you had to sit on this case. Others have been through the ordeal you have had to go through.

"I don't suppose it will come to an end for some time. You have done your duty. After the dreadfulness of the evidence, you can sense that justice has been done."

He added: "Forget about this as best you can."

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A sex abuse victim has been praised for her "extraordinary fortitude" as her attacker was jailed for 12 years.

The teenager won the admiration of a judge for the way she gave evidence against former bus driver Gordon Burgess.

The 43-year-old, of Thorn Hill Road, Warden, Sheerness, denied two offences of rape and three of sexual activity with a child - but was convicted by a jury of 10 women and one man, the 12th juror having been discharged.

The girl told by TV link from a witness room at Maidstone Crown Court how she tried to blank out what was happening to her.

"I tried not to think about it," she said.

Burgess raped her twice without using any protection.

"He never said not to tell anybody about it," she said. "He never threatened me or gave me any rewards for keeping quiet."

She agreed she could have told somebody or gone to the police. She eventually called Childline and reported the abuse.

"I felt trapped because it was partly my fault for not doing anything," she added.

The girl denied a suggestion by defence lawyer Andrew Baughan that she made up the allegations.

Mr Baughan said after the verdicts that Burgess had been a good citizen up to the point he started offending.

"i felt trapped because it was partly my fault for not doing anything" gordon burgess's victim

"It appears to be confined to a relatively short period," he said. "It coincided with his ill-health. He has lost his good character and reputation."

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC, told Burgess: "The seriousness of the offences is self-evident. You know nothing less than a significant period of imprisonment will follow.

"An aggravating feature is that you used no form of protection. The criminality must fall at the top end of the range."

The mitigation was limited, he said. Burgess was a family man in poor health.

"I draw attention to the traumatic effect your offending is bound to have on your unfortunate victim," added the judge.

"It has to be said she withstood the ordeal to which you subjected her to give evidence with extraordinary fortitude."

An indefinite sexual offences prevention order was imposed. Burgess will be banned from working with children and his name will appear on the sex offenders' register for life.

After sentence, DC Emily Hooper, from Kent Police, said: "Burgess denied all the allegations that were made, but the victim's strength in bravely giving evidence in court has helped us secure a substantial prison sentence.

"It will be a long time before Burgess is released from prison and I hope that will allow the victim to move on in life."