Latest Offenders London

Description

A RESPECTED solicitor who defended paedophiles in court has been jailed for more than eight years for sexual assaults on young girls and boys from a church youth group three decades ago. Evil Mike Pulsford sexually assaulted three boys and three young girls, forcing them to kiss him, touching them inappropriately and even telling one victim it happened because the then 12-year-old boy was pretty. As a solicitor, Pulsford spent decades representing a series of sex offenders in the Swindon courts, despite knowing he had abused children starting when he was just 23 years old. The 67-year-old, formerly of Corsham but who gave the courts an address in Streatham, south London, admitted 16 counts of indecent assault which happened between 1974 and 1989. Pulsford, who had worked for Chippenham law firm Jeary and Lewis before his victims came forward, was a youth club leader and volunteer with the Corsham-based church group Urban Saints for around 30 years. He was working as a clerk to the justices when he was admitted as a solicitor in 1980, becoming a deputy clerk to the North Wiltshire Magistrates a year later. The solicitor was one of the first in the country to receive rights of power to be heard in a crown court, despite not actually being a barrister. He has since defended clients including a number of convicted sex offenders and, at the time, Britains youngest drink driver. The solicitor also represented aristocrat the Earl of Cardigan when he was cleared of assaulting a man in a row over family paintings which were being sold. One victim bravely stood and faced his abuse, questioning whether Pulsford joined the Crusaders just to get to children and telling him that describing him as a man or even an animal would be a travesty. Another told the court Pulsford, who sat emotionless as his victims faced him, would even read a specific chapter from the bible, titled Love to her while they were alone together. The solicitor carried out the sick sexual assaults on youngsters while volunteering for church group the Crusaders, now known as the Urban Saints. Judge Peter Henry told Pulsford he had pretended to live by Christian values he was teaching people, but the whole time he took advantage of his position to abuse young children. The judge said: You were a sexual predator. Whilst it might be said in the 1970s and 80s the public were less atuned to the serious impact of sexual abuse on children, you would be acutely aware as a solicitor. Prosecutor Simon Wilshere told Southampton Crown Court, Hants, Pulsford had been a senior group leader with the Crusaders, where he met all his victims. The court heard Pulsford forced his victims to kiss him and even showed one youngster a horror film so he was scared enough to join the solicitor in his bed at his home in Gastard, Wiltshire, where he then sexually assaulted him. The court heard the attacks happened at Crusaders camps on the Isle of Wight, as well as some at his home in Gastard. Reading a statement to the court, one male victim, now in his 50s, said: I wonder if he was only in the Crusaders to gain potentially unlimited access to children. My childhood innocence was taken away by this evil individual. I was manipulated by an evil individual. Describing him as a person or even an animal would be a travesty. The court also heard from one of his female victims, who he groomed over a number of years, starting by driving her to a layby in his car where they would chat and ending after they had sex when she turned 16. However, when she came forward to report him in 2011 Pulsford denied it and continued his work as a solicitor, finally admitting to the offences last October. As Judge Henry jailed Pulsford for eight and eight months, he told him he will be banned from working with children for the rest of his life. Mitigating, Michael Phillips told the court Pulsford had accepted the title of paedophile but had now changed his ways. The senior investigating officer for Hampshire Police, Detective Inspector Toby Elcock, gave his reaction to the sentence. He said: Michael Pulsford was trusted as a youth group leader to protect the children in his charge, but instead abused this trust over and over again by indecently assaulting them. This was a complex investigation carried out by the Operation Marmion team, and we are pleased that the victims have now finally found justice having suffered the effects of this terrible abuse for decades. The bravery and courage they have shown during the course of this investigation is remarkable. I want to appeal to anyone who has been affected by this type of abuse to come forward and talk to us, and be reassured that you dont have to suffer in silence.

Description

A pervert that groomed what he believed was a 13 year old girl has avoided a prison sentence.

Timothy Cadwallader, 68 of London appeared at court where he admitted there counts of an adult engaging a child into sexual activity

The court was told that Cadwallader had contacted the online profile of who he believed belonged to a 13 year old girl.

Referring to himself as naughty daddy, he repeatedly told the child that he wanted to engage her into various sexual acts.

Cadwallader did have one previous conviction which dated back to 2003, when he was arrested for domestic violence towards his partner, by threatening her with a dangerous weapon.

However, the child was actually an adult member of a paedophile hunting team.

Scorpion Hunters, who carried out the sting on behalf of Protecting All Little Souls (PALS) confronted Cadwallader at his home where they questioned him on his internet activity. The police were called and Cadwallader was arrested.

The judge handed him a four month prison sentence which was suspended for 24 months.

A supervision order was put in place and a five year sexual harm prevention order was also issued.

Cadwallader was told to register as a sex offender for a period of five years.

Description

A Chatham child rapist has been sentenced to nine and a half years in jail for historical sex offences against children.

Richard Riley, 66, of Kimberley Road in Stockwell, London, pleaded guilty to multiple child sex offences committed in the Chatham and London areas between 1982 and 1985.

He appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Monday (October 22) where he admitted four counts of rape of a child under 16 years of age and one count of indecent assault of a child under 16.

Riley was arrested on November 27 last year and was later charged.

He will be placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

Investigating officer, DC Rebecca Taft said:"Riley has acted in an appalling manner over a number of years.

"His actions have caused awful suffering and it is only right that he is to serve a substantial prison sentence.

"I would like to commend the bravery of the victim who showed great courage in coming forward to report the abuse and help us bring this man to justice."

An NSPCC spokesman added: "Rileys victim has shown incredible courage in speaking out about the awful abuse suffered at the hands of this predator.

No matter how long ago the abuse took place, without the right help and support sexual abuse will ruin lives.

"In Kent the NSPCC runs its Letting the Future service, where survivors of child sexual abuse can receive support to help them recover from their ordeal.

Description

A dangerous and manipulative man, who had already been convicted of rape on other women, has been jailed for raping another woman four times in the late 1990s. Richard Green, 48, of HMP Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, has been sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison. In 2012, Greens victim reported how she has been abused by him at their home in Chingford between 1997 and 1999. During those years, when the woman was just 19, she was raped four times and subject to false imprisonment and ABH. The victim also suffered a miscarriage. Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how Green had already been convicted and imprisoned for rapes on two separate occasions against other women and was jailed for ten years in 2000 with a concurrent sentence of six years and three months in 2012 after being found guilty of rape again. Green was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to four counts of rapes and multiple incidents of false imprisonment and ABH. Detective Constable Chris Sains who led the investigation said: "This is an historic case stemming back 20 years, but despite the length of time since the incidents Green has been convicted of his crimes. "The victim has shown a great degree of courage, persistence and determination in securing the conviction, having persevered with the allegation and supporting the police investigation. "The victim has had to live with this trauma and the absolutely horrendous violence she endured for the years she was under the control of Green and will have to live with these memories of the abuse for the rest of her life. "Green is a dangerous, controlling and manipulative individual who has been convicted twice previously for rape. He will continue to spend a substantial period his life in prison where an individual of his heinous character should be. "Given Green's history of abusing women it cannot be discounted that there are other victims of his - I would urge anyone who has been a victim of Richard Green to contact police - specially trained officers are there to support you."

Description

A man from Wandsworth has been jailed for eight years for raping a 12-year-old girl four decades after the crime took place.

A jury at Croydon Crown Court unanimously found 64-year-old Colin Hudson of Geraldine Road guilty earlier this year. He received his sentence this Friday (27 July).

The court heard that in March 2015, the victim, who is now in her fifties, reported to Dorset Police that as a 12-year-old child she had been groomed and raped by Hudson when he lived in Croydon.

She described how he had ingratiated himself into her family and convinced her that he was her boyfriend in a secret relationship in 1978.

Before the day of the attack, Hudson pressured the victim to visit his home. Hudson then instructed his victim to get into his bed and undress, before he raped her.

She described feeling overwhelmed and in a state of shock following the attack and unable to tell anyone at the time what had happened. She felt unable to report the allegation to the authorities until after her father died in 2012 when she had greater confidence that her allegation would be believed by the authorities. Officers charged Hudson with rape on 22 June 2016.

During the trial, Hudson continued to deny any responsibility, however a jury found him guilty following a nine-day trial.

Detective Constable Gregg Nicol from the Mets Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Unit (CASO) said, This was a complex investigation into a 40-year historical allegation of rape in which Hudson probably thought he would escape justice after so many years. I praise the victim's bravery in reporting her allegation and her determination in seeking a conviction.

Detective Inspector Simon Dowling from the same team said, The victim has waited a long time to get the justice she deserves. I hope this result will mean other victims will have the confidence to come forward to report rape no matter when it happened in their lives.

The victim has had to live her life after suffering at the hands of Hudson 40 years ago and although this result will never give her back that time, I hope it will provide some closure and she can now put this behind her.

Description

A sex attacker known as the 'rush hour prowler' has been jailed for six years after carrying out a string of "shocking" and "disturbing" assaults.

Married father-of-two Kevin Bond, a former nightclub owner and operations manager at South Bank University, targeted victims as young as eight across southeast London.

The 52-year-old man from Chislehurst, Bromley, usually attacked lone women or young girls in pairs before running off.

His targets would often be travelling to or from work and school.

Bond's offending was so prolific that police conducted a campaign with schools and parents across the boroughs of Southwark, Bexley, Lewisham and Bromley to make sure young girls travelled in groups or with an adult.

He first struck on 6 October 2016 but was not tracked down until November a year later when CCTV images were released in a public appeal.

Bond admitted 11 counts of sexual assault and three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 after his DNA was found on the crotch of a victim's jeans.

Multiple other victims picked him out of identity parades.

Ben Lloyd, prosecuting, told Woolwich Crown Court: "The defendant's typical offending involved following unsuspecting women and girls in public places, often on their way to and from work during typical commuting hours.

"Having followed them along the street or into buildings, he would surprise them, grab them on their private parts and then run off."

Bond attacked three people - a 13-year-old girl and two adults - in the space of less than an hour in Greenwich in last October, the court heard.

The eight-year-old was attacked on 13 November 2017 after she became separated from her friends on her journey to school.

Several of Bond's victims used personal statements to say how they were now afraid to venture out on their own and were nervous of lone men.

John Blanford, defending, said Mr Bond's life had started to fall apart after the suicide of his mother in 2016.

His marriage broke down and he started abusing cocaine, ecstasy and watching pornography before he began his campaign of assaults, the court heard.

Judge Nicholas Heathcote Williams QC said: "From October 2016 you started assaulting young girls and young women - waiting until they were alone or became detached from the group they were with.

"Or you attacked them when they were isolated - in parks, in stairwells and in a lift - then you sexually assaulted them by grabbing their crotch area or the breast area."

He continued: "What you did was deeply shocking, violating, frightening, distressing and disturbing for your victims."

Bond was also ordered to sign on to the sex offenders register for life and barred from living with, or having unsupervised contact with, girls under the age of 18 unless with the knowledge and consent of social services and the child's parent or guardian.

The defendant appeared in the dock in a white shirt and dark tie and did not react as his sentence was read out.

Description

Sentence increased by 4 years for child abuser, Usmaan Ahmad A man who repeatedly sexually assaulted a young girl over a period of years has had his sentence increased after the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, referred it for being too low. Usmaan Rafiq Ahmad, now 35, repeatedly sexually assaulted his victim over a period of 8 years, while she was between the ages of 3 and 11. Ahmad was between the ages of 14 and 21 at the time. The effect of these crimes has been lasting and severe, causing ongoing psychological struggles. Ahmad was originally sentenced to 4 years and 6 months imprisonment at Harrow Crown Court. Today, after the Solicitor Generals reference, the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to 8 years and 6 months in prison. Commenting on the sentence increase, the Solicitor General said: "I am pleased that the Court of Appeal has agreed that Ahmads sentence should have been higher. He subjected a vulnerable child to consistent and repeated sexual abuse which has had a lasting impact. I hope this decision can bring some comfort to the victim."

Description

One boy was abused up to 100 times

A scout leader who preyed on young boys at various camps has been jailed for 11 years.

The sex offender abused the victims, as young as eight, at their homes and scout clubs across Essex.

Anthony Allen (Antony Allen), 27, of Plaistow, Newham, was sentenced for six offences of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, and six offences of sexual activity with a child under 15.

The charges relate to eight children from the 25th Newham East Scout Group, that Allen had volunteered at for ten years, until he was suspended last year pending the investigation.

The offences took place against victims, all boys aged between eight and 16, who were abused at varying times over a four-year period between January 2013 and September 2017. They occurred at different locations, including home addresses and scout camps in Essex, Kent and Wales.

During the period of abuse, Allen worked as a teaching assistant for a year and then a learning mentor at a primary school.

The investigation was first triggered when one of his victims, realising that his younger brother was due to move up from cubs to Allen's scout group and would also be at risk, told his mother he had to get him out of scouts in a bid to protect him.

His mother initially viewed this comment as a joke, but after her elder son repeated allegations to other relatives she got the police involved.

The first formal complaint led to other victims coming forward and contacting police.

The investigation

Allen also enlisted as a volunteer in the Army Reserves and was deployed in Estonia for training with his unit, 7 Rifles G Company, who are based in West Ham, when the allegations first surfaced.

When police identified Allen he was abroad with his army unit and he was flown back to England for questioning.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport in mid-September 2017, interviewed and then released on bail.

He then temporarily disappeared after leaving 'suicide notes' at several of his victims' houses.

Allen's computer was seized from his home address and he was arrested over offences relating to making and possessing images and videos.

During the trial the prosecution outlined examples of Allen grooming different boys, firstly by initiating text message conversations which would begin as banter, which would then progress to inappropriate chat focusing on male physique, and progress again to explicitly sexual language.

One tactic the predator used was to ask victims to send him photos of them exercising their bodies as evidence for their progress towards a so-called 'fitness' badge.

He took advantage of the close physical proximity fostered by seasonal scout camping trips. He would surprise victims in the toilets or persuade them into his tent under the false shield of seeking support while the young boys were away from home, but they were then trapped by Allen into unwanted physical intimacy.

He abused his victims 'hundreds of times'

One boy, who was first assaulted by Allen at the age of 10, estimated sexual touching had occurred on 60 to 100 occasions.

Allen also used the technique where he would insinuate himself into the wider family by befriending parents and children to win their trust. Parents consistently told police how helpful and supportive he was, assisting with errands and taking the children out for day trips, leading officers to note they had been equally groomed.

One one occasion Allen assaulted a 13-year-old victim in his own bedroom while the boy's mother and younger sibling were downstairs in the garden.

Another victim came forward to police and said Allen was looked up to as a role model by members of the group and several, including himself, viewed him as a second father.

One victim called him 'dad' as he was taken out ad about by Allen just as a parent would.

Another boy was so embarrassed at the memory of the explicitly sexual suggestions that Allen had made to him that he was unable to say them out loud and had to write them on a note he handed to officers.

Victim's mother said: "Allen scarred him mentally for life"

A mother of one of the younger victims spoke after court, she said: "Im really hurt by what Antony has done as he has taken what can never be replaced. His actions have impacted on our day to day lives as he didnt just abuse him physically but has scarred him mentally for life.

"He has left us shocked to the core and we will never trust anyone again. He had a group of children that was full of life and working towards bettering themselves and their community but took this opportunity to gain trust then abuse it.

"My heart goes out to the families of all the victims that have been taken in and had their trust abused.

"I cant thank the police enough for all they have done to get this conviction - they have been amazing to me and to the child victims."

PC Bruce Upson, Met Officer who led the investigation, praised the bravery of the young boys who helped bring Allen to account.

Upson, from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command, said: "These children have shown great courage throughout the investigation. Their actions in finding the strength to come forward and report the matter has prevented other potential offences occurring.

"Allen was a predatory offender who used his well-established position as a scout leader to gain access to children and commit sexual offences against them whilst along the way earning the respect and trust of families.

"If there is anyone else out there who believes they or someone they are close to may also have been a victim of Allen, I would urge them to contact us a soon as possible on our dedicated NSPCC hotline number of 0800 048 0278 quoting Operation Stanhope.

The Charges

Allen first appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court on October 4, 2017, where he was remanded to attended the Old Baily on November 1, 2017.

He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, April 13 and sentenced for a total of 11 years for 12 sexual offences involving minors, as well as, making 30 Category C images of children he know, possession of three category A images, 28 Category B images and 611 Categeory C images. These also included one Category A video, and ten Category B videos.

Description

A teacher who had a "full-blown sexual relationship" with a 15-year-old boy has been jailed for 16 months. Alice McBrearty, 23, admitted the four-month relationship with a pupil she taught at an east London school. Snaresbrook Crown Court heard McBrearty kissed the youngster in a classroom, and had sex with him at her parents' home in Wanstead Park, east London. She pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust. 'Besotted' Prosecutors said the relationship began when the teacher sent the boy a friend request on Facebook. Barrister Lisa Matthews said the teenager, who cannot be named, "felt special" and "appeared to be besotted" with McBrearty. The court heard the pair met in several locations, including a hotel room McBrearty had booked, and had sexual contact. Their relationship ended when the boy's father contacted police. McBrearty put her head in her hands and sobbed when she was sentenced by Judge Sheelagh Canavan. The judge described her as a "bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong," but who had committed the "grossest breach of trust". 'Fall from grace' "You engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child," she said. "I accept he was consenting - what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer? "I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didn't matter. But it did. "You were supposed to keep him safe, to help him make the right decisions. Instead, you helped him make all the wrong ones." Emma Shafton, defending, said her client, who is no longer a teacher, has had "a spectacular fall from grace". "She has been utterly disgraced by this," she added.

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A man has been jailed for rape after his 19-year-old victim recorded herself pleading with her attacker to stop, and him later confessing to the crime, on her mobile phone.

Rhys Roser, 24, has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for the 2015 attack.

Roser denied the charge when first arrested by police but then went on the run after hearing about the recording of the attack, and later pleaded guilty in court.

The attack took place in a flat in Maida Vale. The teenager managed to switch on her phones audio recorder when Roser first made unwanted advances, before she locked herself in a bathroom.

The recording proved that the victim, who was 19-years-old at the time, had told Roser to leave me alone, the prosecution said in court, the Daily Mirror reported.

After raping the teenager, Roser is heard saying on the recording: Youre not going to stand up in court and tell everyone you were raped, way too embarrassing.

Dont f****** tell anyone, its real simple.

According to Metro.co.uk, Recorder Matthew Lowe told Roser: You were heard saying that you had gone mad and were wrong in every way, and went on to plead with her not to report what happened and put pressure on her.

She describes it as emotional blackmail. What you did to her that night has had significant psychological and emotional effects.

Description

A 26-year-old man who started a relationship with a 12-year-old girl online with the intention of sexually exploiting her has avoided jail.

Matthew Eglinton, of no fixed address but from the Surbiton area, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to cause/incite a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity with no penetration.

He will also be on the sex offenders register for ten years.

Eglinton met the victim in 2016 and, despite knowing her age, began a relationship with her on Facebook.

He urged her to meet him in his back garden and then in a local park. When they met, they would kiss and cuddle.

As the relationship developed, Eglinton would send her sexually explicit messages.

The girl’s parents found out about the relationship in late September of the same year after noticing she was leaving the house at the night and discovering communication between the pair.

They confronted Edlington and ordered him to stop seeing their daughter. Once the victim returned to school, she told a member of staff about the relationship who then called the police.

Officers went round to Eglinton's address but he had moved out.

However, he later handed himself in to the police station and was arrested and charged.

DC Huw Jones of Twickenham Police, who led the investigation, said: “Matthew Eglinton deliberately targeted a vulnerable girl for the purposes of his own sexual gratification.

“If his actions hadn't been discovered there is little doubt that he would have carried on with his efforts to exploit this child.”

Eglinton was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, August 18.

Description

Derry McCann subjected woman to two-hour ordeal in east London park while on parole for similar crime A bridegroom who raped a stranger hours before his wedding after being released on parole for a similar crime was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday and must serve a minimum of nine years. Derry McCann, 28, raped a 24-year-old woman as she walked back from an art show hours before he married his pregnant girlfriend in January. He dragged her into Victoria Park in east London and subjected her to a two-hour ordeal, raping her three times, taunting and degrading her, playing mind games with her, and stealing her bra and mobile phone. Snaresbrook crown court heard that he had been on parole at the time, having being released from prison 13 months earlier from a life sentence for a carbon copy rape committed in 2006, when he was 17. Sentencing him, judge Martyn Zeidman, said McCann would not be considered for parole for at least nine years and that it may never happen. The parole board will need to appreciate that in my view you are, and are likely to remain, an exceptionally dangerous violent criminal who poses the most dire risk to women even after the expiry of the minimum term. The judge said he was sending a copy of his remarks directly to the board. McCann was arrested as a result of the distinctive modus operandi and striking similarities to the 2006 attack. He pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, assault by penetration and robbery. Kate Bex QC, prosecuting, said McCann had been drinking with his girlfriend and family, left the pub and lay in wait in Victoria Park shortly before midnight. He was seen on CCTV following another woman before the one he targeted. He subjected his victim to degrading sexual acts and interrogated her during a long drawn out psychological game. He kept asking her what are we doing and when his victim replied you are raping me he appeared to like hearing the phrase, Bex said. McCann was convicted in 2006 of raping and robbing a 30-year-old woman in nearby Mile End Park, taunting her and ordering her to make noises like youre enjoying it. At one point he stroked her hair, telling her she was his girlfriend. He tried to claim the sex was consensual, but was convicted of one count of robbery, two of sexual assault, one of assault by penetration, one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity, six counts of rape and one of attempted rape. He was jailed for life, to serve a minimum of 3,094 days, but appealed and the minimum sentence was reduced to seven years. He was released on parole in December 2015. Zeidman said: Friday 13 January 2017 is a date that your victim will never forget. You behaved as a monster. Raping the victim in every possible way, and doing it in a manner that amounted to torture. Playing mind games, asking her what she thought you were going to do next and taunting her for almost two hours. In addition to the physical pain you set out to degrade and humiliate her in ways that are so cruel and gross that I will not identify them any further. I am worried that you might even relish a recital of them. Just hours later you married your pregnant girlfriend. I just wonder what sentence you would impose if someone had done this to your wife or female friends. This wrongdoing is made even worse by the serious violence that you have carried out before and the 2006 offence was a further horrendous rape with many aggravating features, he said. He had taken McCanns guilty plea and remorse into account, he added. Edmund Vickers QC, for McCann, said: He is disgusted at himself and that disgust has culminated in a failed suicide attempt. He added that his client was on suicide watch, had experienced violence in childhood and had a dis-social personality disorder. McCann was granted parole despite the judge in his 2006 trial warning he had serious concerns he would remain a danger to women, and sending a transcript of his sentencing remarks to the prison. The parole board has said: The board is deeply concerned to learn of the circumstances which led to the further serious offence and we can only imagine the trauma and pain this has caused the victim. We are committed to doing everything we can to learn the lessons to help prevent such terrible events happening in the future.

Description

A paedophile who filmed up the skirt of a child has been jailed for four and a half years.

Philip Goodwin was sentenced on Friday April 21 at Blackfriars Crown Court having pleaded guilty to multiple charges.

Goodwin was spotted filming up a 14-year-old schoolgirl's skirt as she walked up a set of stairs at Moorgate London Underground station in October 2016, by a member of the public.

The commuter reported the incident to station staff, leading to a British Transport Police investigation.

When Goodwin, of Swakeleys Drive, Hillingdon, was arrested and brought in for questioning, he admitted possessing multiple indecent images of children and had further images and videos of him filming up women and schoolgirls skirts.

The footage was mostly taken in public places, the majority of which were on tubes and trains, the police said.

After a forensic examination of the material, he was charged with two counts of outraging public decency, one count of voyeurism and ten counts of possessing or making indecent images of children.

Goodwin has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register and a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order has been imposed.

Investigating officer, DC Andrew Parkinson, said: Goodwin is a predatory offender who will now spend the next four and a half years behind bars for his actions.

"Whilst he was travelling to work one morning, he spotted his victim, a young girl in school uniform, and targeted her.

I welcome todays sentence as it has taken a child sex offender off the streets - I hope this jail sentence brings a level of comfort to his victims.

This result clearly identifies how important it is to report behaviour such as this.

"This member of the public spotted a man who she thought was acting suspiciously and reported him and in doing so she has helped us bring a paedophile to justice.

"If you are ever a victim or a witness to a sexual assault, I would encourage you to report it to us.

"Just texting the details to 61016 you can start us build a picture of a perpetrator.

"Ultimately, this small step could help us catch a criminal.

Siwan Hayward, TfLs head of transport policing, said: This case shows how much every report of unwanted sexual behaviour on Londons public transport matters and helps police build a picture, so they can catch sex offenders like Goodwin and sentence them for their disgusting crimes.

"We do not tolerate unwanted sexual behaviour and I commend the woman who came forward to report what she saw.

"Sexual offending has no place on our network and offenders will be identified and brought to justice."

Description

A 27-year-old former teacher who worked at a primary school in Potters Bar has been jailed for six years in relation to inciting children to send indecent images of themselves to him via social media.

Nicholas Taylor, of Barnet, was sentenced at a St Albans court today (Wednesday March 22) after earlier pleading guilty to a series of internet-related offences.

The sentence follows a long investigation by Hertfordshire Constabularys Joint Child Protection & Investigation Team into the offences committed by Taylor.

Between October 2014 and October 2015, while working as a teacher, he incited girls to engage in sexual activity and was involved in the making and distribution of indecent photographs of children.

Under the alias Jackson_Law2002, he had made contact with a number of children through a chat group on Instagram. After befriending them initially, he then bullied and manipulated them into sending him indecent images of themselves.

The children were aged between 10 and 15 at the time of the offences and attended the same school or were involved in a Girl Guiding group in London.

Officers identified all of the children involved and contacted each victim and their family directly to investigate Taylor and provide specialist support.

The investigation revealed no evidence of offences relating to direct physical contact with children.

Detective Inspector Chris Treadwell said: This was a long and complex investigation which involved the examination of more than 30 different phones, computers and other devices owned by Nicholas Taylor.

Taylor went online to contact children for his own sexual gratification. Using a false identity he bullied and manipulated them into sending him images with despicable threats and intimidation. He also deceived his colleagues and fellow volunteers.

I would like to thank the victims and their families for their support during this investigation.

Clearly it has been a harrowing experience for them, but I hope this sentence brings some sort of closure on this difficult chapter in their lives.

Taylor admitted six counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of making indecent photographs of a child, and one count of distributing indecent photographs of a child. He was given a six year custodial sentence by a judge sitting at St Albans Magistrates Court today.

Advice for children and young people about going online safely is available on Hertfordshire Constabularys website here

Description

Two men have been jailed for eight years each for the rape of an 18-year-old girl in a hotel room.

Abdinasir Darbiye and Nurudeen Mohamed, along with one other friend, had met the victim while at a nightclub in Watford town centre on August 1, 2016.

She had been with two of her friends and at the end of the night one of the men offered to give the three girls a lift back to the Travelodge at Maylands Avenue where the girls were staying.

However once there, the girl became seperated from her friends and 22-year-old Darbiye and 23-year-old Mohamed raped her in the hotel room.

Darbiye, of Steward Holte Walk in Barnet, was found guilty at Luton Crown Court of three counts of rape and Mohamed, of High Road, north London, three counts of rape.

Both men were sentenced to eight years in prison.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Jarl Thomason, from Hertfordshire Constabularys Sexual Offences Investigation Team, said: Darbiye and Mohamed subjected their victim to a harrowing and prolonged ordeal which left her traumatised.

"I would like to thank her for her bravery in reporting the matter to police and in her assistance with the investigation.

The sentences handed to Darbiye and Mohamed by the court reflect the gravity of their offences. They now have a long time ahead of them to think about the harm they have caused this young woman.

Darbiye and Mohamed were acquitted of one count of digital penetration and the third man who it was alleged had been present at the time of the offence and was found not guilty of rape by joint enterprise.