Latest Offenders Middlesbrough

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The detective who led a harrowing rape investigation in Whitby has praised a teenage girl whose courage ensured her attacker has been jailed for 12 years.

Dwayne Anthony Rhoden (pictured below), 34, from Union Street, Middlesbrough, was sentenced at York Crown Court today (Wednesday 17 April 2024).

Following a trial in January, Rhoden was found guilty of nine offences including:

• Five counts of rape
• Two counts of sexual assault by penetration
• Sexual assault
• False imprisonment

He pleaded guilty to a 10th offence of failing to comply with change of address notifications as a Registered Sex Offender.

As well as the prison sentence which includes an extended three years on licence, Rhoden was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Background to the investigation

The incident happened at an address in Whitby from around 11pm on Sunday 13 August 2023 to just after midnight on Monday 14 August 2023.

At 12.53am, a 999 call was made to North Yorkshire Police by a friend of the victim.

The girl was then put on the phone and she gave the first account of her terrifying ordeal to the Force Control Room.

An investigation was launched led by Detective Constable Matthew Edwards from the Scarborough and Ryedale Safeguarding Investigation Team.

He was able to establish that Rhoden had lured the teenager to a bedsit he was staying in after meeting her in town around 30 minutes before.

The teenager was eventually able to leave the address after about an hour. She contacted friends who helped her to alert the police.

Rhoden was arrested at the bedsit at 2.42am and was taken into custody for questioning.

He was subsequently charged with the 10 offences.

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A warehouse worker has been jailed after being found guilty of rape.

Russell Beatty, 28, appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced following a trial by jury. The court heard the Middlesbrough man subjected the woman to "domination and violence" and left her feeling frightened to leave her home.

In a victim impact statement, the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said the stress of the investigation has impacted her health. She said: "I feel nervous all the time. I feel trapped due to what he's put me through. The incident has had a dramatic impact on my life - I feel frightened and scared to leave my address.

"I have been suffering medical problems in relation to my heart and chest pains. I have been told that the issue I have had is due to stress and anxiety."

The court heard the defendant, who still denies the offences, is previously of good character and Beatty's barrister asked Judge Howard Crowson to take into account the defendant's youth. It was also claimed the defendant has not had any difficulties with his fellow inmates, has a mortgage and works in a warehouse.

Sentencing, Judge Howard Crowson said: "There was an act of sexual intercourse which you forced upon her. It was a selfish act committed for your pleasure alone."

Judge Crowson jailed the defendant, of Hills View Road, Eston, for eight years. He was also banned from contacting the victim.

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David Spencer, 45, was originally jailed for 10 months in 2019 after he was convicted of trying to meet a teenage girl in a car park following grooming.

He was found with a mattress in the back of his van.

Spencer was also slapped with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order to allow police to closely monitor his movements, contact with youngsters and use of the internet.

He has now been jailed again for breaching the prevention order seven times.

It included not telling a woman, who he was seeing and who had a daughter, of his conviction.

Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said: “He attended her home four or five times when her daughter was present.”

The woman found out about Spencer’s sick past after trying to Google his address and found press reports of his conviction.

When police checked his phone, they found he had deleted hundreds of text messages relating to another woman he had previously been seeing.

It was also discovered he had used alias names on a porn website and had been chatting to various women in a sexual manner on the app Kik.

Spencer, formerly of Hartlepool, and most recently of The Crescent, Middlesbrough, had also used Snapchat in breach of the harm prevention order.

Sentencing him to 43 months’ jail, Recorder Paul Reid said: “This is a series of serious breaches of the sexual harm prevention order.”

Paul Green, mitigating, said Spencer had started to show signs of progress.

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A paedophile, who exposed himself to a girl whilst in the bath, told her mum there was "nothing wrong with being friends" with a child, a court heard.

Dad-of-one Paul Evans "pressured" the teen into sending intimate pictures and would tell her she was "beautiful" after meeting on a mobile app in December 2021. Teesside Crown Court heard the child told him she was a teenager straight away and on their first video call was even wearing a school uniform.

Outlining the case, prosecutor Rachel Butt, said the pair would chat on WhatsApp and call each other almost every day. The timings would range from between 7pm and 4am.

"She said he was very nice to her at first and would compliment her on her appearance and tell her she was beautiful and amazing," Ms Butt said. "In their first video call he told her 'if you keep speaking to me you'll get money'."

After several weeks of grooming the 55-year-old began to ask for pictures of the girl's cleavage and private parts. Ms Butt said these requests would make the young girl feel "pressured" because he would "beg" repeatedly and say things such as "I've had a really bad day, you don't care about me".

The court heard the young girl sent pictures on multiple occasions and during some of the video calls the Middlesbrough defendant would take his top off. Ms Butt said on one video call he was in the bath and exposed his erect penis to her.

However, in February 2022, the girl's mother became suspicious after she saw a message from her child to the defendant asking for money. The mum recalled that the youngster had been dropping hints that she had entered competitions to win money. Ms Butt said this was to ensure the family would have not known where the funds had come from if Evans ever sent her any.

The court heard the mother questioned her child but she denied sending pictures. The mum then phoned Evans and asked why he was chatting with the child. Ms Butt said in response he said he was "just talking to her" before ending the call.

The prosecutor said the following day the mum phoned the defendant again and said she was going to contact the police. Evans told her 'there was nothing wrong with being friends with a teenager'.

The court heard the mum destroyed her daughter's sim card to prevent her from contacting him and the matters weren't reported until months later. Evan's crimes came to light when social services contacted the police over concerns.

Evans was arrested in June 2022 and data from his phone showed multiple video calls to and from the victim. There was also an image of the youngster in her school uniform on his phone and also one of her cleavage.

In a victim impact statement the youngster said: "The case with Paul has had a huge impact on me and my family. Firstly it really hurt my relationship with my mum. After she found out what happened she didn't trust me and it's taken a long time to try and repair our relationship.

"Paul's actions and the hurt he caused me resulted in my being hospitalised after I tried to kill myself. My parents felt unable to keep me safe and I was put in care for four months. While I know this was trying to keep me safe it removed me from my family and I wasn't able to see my sister which really upset me."

The court heard Evans has 16 convictions for 75 offences and pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing the same child to look at a sexual act and engaging in sexual communications with a child.

In mitigation, barrister Kelleigh Lodge said the defendant has used his time in custody wisely and is remorseful. She said: "He is genuinely sorry for his behaviour and the impact that it has had on the victim and her family.

"He has been in custody for a short while now and has used it well. He has been working with the DART team to address his alcohol issues and his mental health issues."

She said Evans is working with the probation service and has been approved for the Horizon programme for medium risk sex offenders. The defendant, previously of Forest Drive, Ormesby, was handed a 32-month consecutive prison sentence.

He is already serving a two-years-and-six-months prison sentence after he performed a grotesque dance which involved exposing himself to two 15-year-old girls live on a webcam. Teesside Live previously reported he promised the girls thousands of pounds each if they showed him their bodies.

He offered them more money to touch each other, but they refused. The two girls were online together in a bedroom when Evans performed the sick dance.

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A Teesside sex offender has been jailed after he was caught using a dating site and aliases online.

Aaron Hughes, 27, was under a strict sex offender court order which limits his internet use when he was caught using the aliases "deathstorm" and "electro_darkness" on TikTok and Kik messenger. He had also set up accounts on the dating site Tinder, as well as Snapchat and Instagram.

Hughes appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Thursday, after his sex offender manager turned up at his home to carry out a risk assessment, on July 28. His phone showed that he had downloaded the apps and deleted them.

Hughes, of King Street in South Bank in Redcar, admitted four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and the breach of a suspended sentence. The order was imposed in November, last year, when he was convicted of making indecent images of children.

In 2021, he received a suspended prison sentence for making indecent images. Michele Turner, mitigating, said that her client has "mild learning disabilities" and that he had endured a difficult upbringing.

Judge Paul Watson jailed Hughes for 19-months.

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A pervert is starting his third prison sentence after he was caught with an illegal image of a baby girl on his mobile phone.

Matthew Laidler "appeared nervous and was tapping away on his mobile" when his offender manager made an unannounced visit to his Middlesbrough home, on October 8. Laidler had been released from a 29-month prison sentence five days earlier.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the 33-year-old claimed he was "texting his grandma" but police found that he had been sent an indecent image of a baby. He replied to the sender: "Hi bud. Beautiful. I've nothing to send back to you at the moment" before making an explicit sexual comment about the baby.

Laidler had downloaded the Wickr and Mega apps, where users can send end-to-end encrypted messages.

Laidler, who gives his address as HMP Durham but is from Linthorpe in Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to the possession of an indecent image and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements. He was convicted of the sexual assault of a child in 2006; and he was jailed for the first time in 2015 for the possession of indecent images of children.

In April 2022, he was handed another the 29-month prison term after it emerged he'd been babysitting young girls, sleeping over and giving one of them baths. The terms of his licence prohibited from having any contact with children.

The court heard that after his latest offence, Laidler was recalled to prison to serve the remainder of his 2022 sentence, which finishes in December 2024. He listened on video link from HMP Durham as Judge Paul Watson told him that the apps he had downloaded were capable of "removing any trace of messages."

Laidler was handed a 26-month prison sentence.

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A sick monster has continued to deny his horrifying sex crimes as he is jailed for 18 years.

Ashif Nashaat is starting the lengthy stint behind bars after he was found guilty of two counts of attempted rape. In one of the sickening incidents, the now 41-year-old tried to rape a child under the age of 13.

Years later, he attempted to rape his victim, who was then over the age of 16. But the cruel Middlesbrough sex offender has continued to deny the charges forcing his victim to give evidence during a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

In an impact statement, read out by prosecutor Johnny Walker, the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said: "I feel it's very difficult to put into words how this case and this man Ashif Nashaat has made me feel.

"I feel so numb, I have lost my trust in everything."

"It ruined me as a person," they added.

"I honestly feel ashamed about what has happened to me - I know I shouldn't but I do.

"I'm never going to have a normal life ever. This will always be in my life, I just hope I have the strength to move forward."

Nashaat, who was represented by Alex Menary, spoke only to confirm his name and that he could hear the proceedings as he attended via a video link from HMP Durham. The 41-year-old had no previous convictions for sexual offences but had previously been convicted of harassing a former partner.

Mr Menary said the defendant continues to deny the two offences.

During sentencing, Judge Howard Crowson outlined that the sentences for both offences must be served consecutively. Speaking of the second offence, he added: "I cannot regard you as a man with no similar offending - you were simply a man who by then had not been discovered to be a sexual offender."

Nashaat, of Diamond Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 11 years - one year of which will be served on extended licence - for the attempted rape of a child and an additional eight years for the attempted rape on a person over the age of 16.

He will be subject to a notification requirement - the Sex Offenders' Register - indefinitely and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.

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A man given a lengthy prison sentence today (Tuesday July 25) after being convicted of sexual assaults and voyeurism offences against a child remains in denial.

Alan Lee Pearson was arrested after a third-party contacted Cleveland Police with concerns for a teenage victim, in April 2021.

The victim disclosed that Pearson had carried out physical and sexual assaults over a number of years.

Specialist support was offered to the complainant while inquiries were undertaken.

Extensive allegations were made against Pearson, following recovery and examination of various electronic devices, revealing indecent images and videos.

It resulted in 12 charges being brought against Pearson in March last year and he subsequently denied all of them at initial court appearances.

Despite his continued denials, even trying to shift the blame for some of the offences onto his accuser, he was found guilty of all charges, two of rape of a child under 13, seven counts of sexual assault, six in the most serious bracket, plus three of voyeurism, after a trial at Teesside Crown Court, concluding on May 2.

The 42-year-old defendant, of no fixed abode, appeared back before the court at his sentencing hearing, via video link from HMP Durham, where he has been on remand,

Asked by trial judge, Recorder Andrew Smith, if his “position” remains the same regarding his denials, Paul Abrahams, for Pearson, said: “No, he maintains his position as to what he said in evidence.”

Recorder Pearson told Pearson he would sentence him as an offender, “of particular concern.,” meaning he will have to serve at least two-thirds of the sentence before he can be considered eligible for releasee.

Referring to a background report prepared for the sentencing hearing, Recorder Smith said: “The Probation Service takes the view you pose a high risk of causing serious harm to children.

“Inevitable the only sentence that can be passed today is a lengthy sentence of imprisonment”, for what he described as, “behaving in this disgraceful way to a young child.”

Recorder Smith imposed a 16-year custodial element, to be followed by an extended 12-month period of licence supervision.

He told Pearson that unless his current attitude to his offending changes he may have to serve longer than the two-thirds custodial element of the sentence behind bars.

Agreed restrictions under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order will be confirmed in coming days, but Pearson must also now register as a sex offender, for life.

Speaking after the hearing, the officer who oversaw the case, Detective Sergeant Gemma Leeming, of Cleveland Police’s  CAVA (Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adult) department, said: “This was a horrific case of long-term systematic sexual and physical abuse until the victim bravely told someone what happened.

“As soon as police received the report about his offences, we took all possible steps to preserve evidence and build a strong case against Pearson who consistently denied any wrongdoing. 

“The victim was courageous and determined throughout, and the investigation team shared a determination to bring Pearson to justice.

“I welcome the sentence passed today and hope that the victim and family can now move on with their lives.

“I wish the victim well for the future.”

Safeguarding CAVA Chief Inspector Matt Murphy-King said: “I hope this sentence brings comfort to the victim and their family.

"It should reassure anyone with concerns for the safety of a child or young person that they can report to Cleveland Police in complete confidence. 

“My specially trained officers will investigate all allegations thoroughly and sensitively and support is always available to victims and their family during the investigation and court process.”

He added: “You can report concerns to Cleveland Police at any time via the 101 number, or online via our website.”

Description

A crack cocaine addict is beginning a 20-year jail sentence for the double rape of a woman which only came to light after a police officer noticed bruising on her forehead.

Lee Murphy, 49, was found guilty of attacking his victim and raping her by a jury after a trial at Teesside Crown Court. He was arrested after an officer was speaking to the victim, who can't be identified for legal reasons, about an unrelated incident.

On Monday, prosecutor Robert Mochrie said that "the officer noticed bruising to the woman's forehead and asked her questions." The victim told police that she had been attacked and forced her to have sex twice. She had been too scared to report what had happened to the police.

Mr Mochrie said that when officers went to arrest Murphy, he initially tried to jump out of a window before hiding in a storage cupboard. Murphy has 39 previous convictions for 85 offences, which include violent offending but he has never committed a sex offence before. The court heard that he has a crack cocaine addiction.

Sentencing Murphy, Judge Jonathan Carroll told him: "You are a man who has an entrenched dysfunctional attitude towards women. This sexual violence was as much driven by your need to have power and control over your victim, as the need to have sexual power."

The judge handed Murphy, from Middlesbrough, a 20-year extended prison term. The sentence is made up of 16-years in prison and an extended licence period of four-years, which Murphy will serve out in the community.

He was made subject to sex offender notification requirements for the rest of his life and and an indefinite restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his victim, ever again.

After the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Simone Bennett, of the Domestic Abuse Unit, said: “No one should have to succumb to such violent and despicable crimes that Murphy committed against his victim. His actions towards the victim in this case were nothing less than inhumane and cruel, which I have no doubt will have a lasting impact on the victim’s life.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the victim in this case for her bravery. She has not only took that unimaginable critical step to come forward to report these incidents to police, she has also lived through this distressing time all over again throughout the trial. Without the victim demonstrating such courage Murphy would not have been convicted of these heinous crimes.”

“I would also like to thank the team for their hard work and tenacity and the jury in this case, which has resulted in Murphy receiving a lengthy sentence in prison where he belongs.”

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A 'friendless' paedophile, who was originally caught by the mother of a young girl he was sexting online, has appeared back in court after failing to comply with strict rules about his internet usage.

Raymond Attwood, 40, was jailed a decade ago after the mother pretended to be her daughter online, uncovered Attwood's identity and reported him to the police. He served a two-year-sentence for sending the 12-year-old explicit sexual messages detailing what he wanted to do.

Previously, the court heard how Attwood lived an isolate life and had "no actual friends and no actual social life".

On Friday, his new barrister Victoria Lamballe, told Teesside Crown Court that every time Attwood tried to make friends, "he's bullied and ridiculed and this causes him to retreat further into himself. The only contact he has is with his elderly mother."

When police made a surprise visit to Attwood's Middlesbrough home on May 25, and told him they were going to check that he had not been using any internet-enabled devices that he hadn't declared to them - Attwood immediately handed them a mobile phone stuffed down the side of his settee.

Under the terms of his sexual harm prevention order - imposed in 2013 - Attwood must keep to strict rules about his online use, which is monitored by police. He must also declare any new devices and bank cards he has.

Nigel Soppitt, prosecuting, told the court that he hadn't declared the mobile phone and checks made on it showed that he had been using it for a year. "He had downloaded Snapchat, which automatically deletes messages, so this is a further breach" Mr Soppitt said, "and his username "Ray38" had nine female names in his contacts."

Attwood, previously of Saltburn but now of Wicklow Street in central Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to the two breaches of his sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements. He has broken his court order twice before - in 2013 and 2022.

Judge Paul Watson KC said that a report on Attwood from the probation service, "suggests he still presents a risk to young girls." Attwood was jailed for 16-months. He will be eligible for release after he has served half of his sentence.

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A violent rapist who forced his way into a woman's home when she opened the door has been handed a 25-year prison term.

Brute James Walton, 32, dragged his victim into her living room, before attacking her and strangling her.

In an ordeal lasting 14-hours, he raped her three times and later tried to intimidate her into stopping the police case against him. Walton had only been out of prison for a matter of months when he attacked his third female victim.

Teesside Crown Court heard the woman, who broke down in tears as she read out her victim statement on Monday, thought she was going to die in the attack.

After standing trial, Walton was convicted of:

• three rapes,
• assault occasioning actual bodily harm,
• false imprisonment,
• harassment
• witness intimidation.

'Choke hold'

The court heard that after getting into the woman's home, he put her in a "choke hold" which left her limp.

After dragging her into her living room, he slapped her across her face so hard that she "could only see black," as she fell to the floor and blood poured from her busted lip.

The woman thought Walton would kill her before he raped her three times, the court heard. Jurors also heard how he wouldn't let the woman leave her home for over 12 hours during the ordeal.

Giving evidence at the trial, the victim recalled: "I saw black and stars. There was blood all over my floor when I opened my eyes again. I had a pain in my skull like someone was rattling my brain around in my head."

But Walton made her clean up the blood and force-fed her pasta, when he was eating and she didn't want anything. He later tried to pressure her into dropping the case against him.

During the trial, he claimed the woman had wanted to have sex with him, and that she "begged him to stay".

The court heard that Walton has previously been violent towards two other women; and that he was released from a five-and-a-half year sentence last year. He then went onto attack his latest victim.

Walton, who appeared in court on video link from prison, shook his head as the judge told him: "You have a history of violence and dominating behaviour towards women. You put your hands around her neck. You slapped her around her face. You made her clean up the blood saying: 'That's it, I'm going to jail. I might as well just slit your face up.'

"She wasn't allowed to leave her house. You raped her three times.

"It's necessary to protect women from serious harm by you. I have concluded that you are a dangerous man, and I shall impose an extended sentence."

The judge handed Walton, of Ashling Way in Middlesbrough, a 19-year prison term, with an extended licence period of six-years. He is eligible for release after serving two-thirds of his jail term, but can be called back to prison to serve the full 25-years, if he breaches the terms of his licence after he is released.

He will be subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.

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A pervert targeted an underage girl for his own "sexual gratification" before plying her with cannabis to facilitate sex abuse, a judge has said.

"Despicable" Sami Brek, who was over 10 years older than his victim, tried to claim in court that the underage teenager was "throwing herself" at him. The 33-year-old is now starting a five year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a girl age 13 to 15.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the sex act was the "culmination of a pattern of grooming behaviour", with Recorder Dafydd Enoch KC telling Brek he had "no doubt" the pervert targeted the girl for his "own sexual gratification".

He said: "The suggestion that she was in some way throwing herself at you - as said in the pre-sentence report - I'm afraid I'm wholly unimpressed by it.

"Children can behave in an inappropriate way sometimes but more reason for you to treat them as what they are, which is a child. You knew that you were developing a sexual attraction for her."

David Ward, mitigating, says Brek, of Southfield Road, Middlesbrough, has now admitted his guilt. "He did maintain his innocence initially, he has now accepted his offending," he said.

His victim, however, still had to give evidence and go through the ordeal of a trial as his admission comes only after he was found guilty.

Mr Ward says Brek presents as a "pleasant and polite" man but is immature and had a very poor upbringing. Brek appeared at court via video link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for the two sex offences as well as supplying a controlled drug, cannabis.

Recorder Enoch KC added: "However she was behaving towards you whether she was apparently consenting or not what you should have had upmost in your mind at all times was that she was a child.

"This is not a case of fumbling teenagers, you were an adult."

"You facilitated your sexual abuse of her by plying her with cannabis that made her less able to resist you when you decided to make your advances towards her."

Brek was jailed for five years and a sexual harm prevention order was made for a period of 10 years. He will be placed on the sex offender's register indefinitely.

Cleveland Police Detective Constable Pulman said: “Sami Brek preyed on a teenage girl and groomed her, supplied her with drugs and engaged in sexual activity with her. He went on to deny the offences, which then put the victim through the ordeal of a full trial. The jury convicted him of all offences.

“I’d like to thank the victim in this case for her courage in reporting these crimes and being determined in continuing through the judicial process, resulting in today’s outcome.

“Thankfully, Brek can now no longer harm any other children and he will now spend a lengthy period behind bars for the horrendous offences he committed.”

Description

A sex offender has denied breaching a court order over allegations he struck up a friendship with a woman.

Paul Richards is currently subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which dates back to 2012. Now it's alleged he breached the order by entering into a friendship with a woman - something he is prohibited from doing.

The 57-year-old has denied the offence during a short hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court. He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, address and to enter a plea of not guilty.

Richards, of Lovaine Street, Middlesbrough, was represented by Brett Wildridge during the appearance on Friday, April 14.

He was given conditional bail and will next appear at Teesside Crown Court on May 12.

Description

A 60-year-old man carried a BB gun and handcuffs with him when he went to meet who he thought was a 14-year-old schoolgirl - but insisted to cops he "only wanted a cuddle". 

The disgusting pervert told her their relationship was a secret, called himself her "daddy", and said he wanted to take a bath with her and wash her, Teesside Crown Court heard. 

He tried to argue that he carried the gun due to a vermin problem in his home, while the handcuffs were in case "there was trouble when he was out".

Groenewood, of Portman Street in central Middlesbrough, had no idea that the person he was talking to - who was called "Scarlett" on the website, was actually a decoy, set up by a pedophile-hunting group. 

He was then intercepted by police when he went to meet her at Middlesbrough train station, on January 13, 2022.

During police questioning, when he was asked if he was sexually attracted to children, Groenewood replied: "A little bit."

The court also heard he had messaged the same online vigilante group in another conversation, in which he thought he was talking to "Holly", whose age on her profile was 13.

He suggested they have sex, and asked the supposed 13-year-old what "they were going to do together under the covers".

Groenewood pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting sexual communication with a child and to attempting to meet a child following grooming. 

He has been jailed for 30 months, made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, and must comply with sex offender police notifications for the same period of time.

Description

A perverted medical science graduate who raped a very young boy when he was a teenager himself is starting a 12-year prison sentence.

Daniyal Hussain, now aged 22, denied what he had done and tried to claim the allegations were made up.

But a Teesside Crown Court jury found him unanimously guilty of five counts of the rape of a child and three counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, in November, of last year. On Thursday the pervert appeared at the same court for sentencing - where he was placed on the Sex Offender's Register for Life.

The hearing was told that Hussain gave the little boy an iPad to watch as he attacked him, promised him a mobile phone, and told him the abuse was "our little secret". He also slapped his victim across the face a number of times.

During the trial, prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi confronted Hussain about the notes he had made on his mobile phone - which the Crown said admitted his guilt. He had sent texts to his mother claiming he had "demons" and that he would get help.

"I'm so sorry. I've failed everyone", one message read. Another note on his phone, read: "There is nothing that I can say ever that will make everything better. Not in a million years. I have failed my family."

Victim's 'family ruined'

On Thursday, Teesside Crown Court heard that Hussain had just graduated with a medical science degree and that he is an "intelligent young man who comes from a decent hardworking family". But the court was told that the little boy has been left deeply affected by the abuse.

A packed public gallery sat in silence as a statement by the youngster's mother was read out: "My son has suffered a horrible and devastating ordeal. I feel that the bond between us has been damaged. My son does not like to be touched and I cannot kiss him on the cheek.

"He frequently breaks down in tears. My family has been ruined. My son's childhood has been stolen."

The mother went onto say that her son has a number of "triggers" that remind him of the abuse including smells.

'Peculiar character'

Timothy Jacobs, defending Hussain, said his client is a "peculiar character with features of naivety and also features of maturity. He still has a degree of growing up to do.

He said: "He attended college and managed to graduate with a medical science degree whilst the investigation and court proceedings were hanging over him. He is a young man who can do well and has potential in the future."

Mr Jacobs said that Hussain acted as an interpreter for his grandfather at hospital appointments, and that it is likely that he will not see his grandfather again, given the man's ill health.

Hussain turned away from the public gallery as he stood to hear his sentence from Judge Anthony Hawks. The judge told him: "Tragically, you are an intelligent young man who comes from a decent, hard-working family. The offences were accompanied by violence; threats not to disclose and grooming.

"When you were confronted, you admitted what you had done. At your trial, you denied everything. The whole trial must have been very distressing for the boy, his mother and his family.

"Not surprisingly, the boy has been severely affected. He recoils from physical contact. He is emotionally detached from his mother.

"He exhibits mental health issues including angry outbursts. What the long term effect will be, nobody knows."

Hussain, of Thackeray Grove in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, was handed a 12-year prison term. He will serve 11-years in custody and the final year out in the community, on licence.

He will be eligible to apply for parole after he has served eight years. An indefinite restraining order was made, prohibiting Hussain from contacting his victim or the youngster's parents.

'Brazen performance'

After the sentencing, Cleveland Police said that specialist officers from their Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adult Unit (CAVA) had supported the child and his family throughout the investigation and the court process.

Detective Constable Rebecca Lisle said: “This was a very distressing case with a child victim and their family who, in giving their evidence, had to relive the trauma they had already endured. I hope this result will go some way to help them as they try to come to terms with what they have gone through.”

Chief Inspector Deb Fenny added: “Despite knowing full well what he had done, Hussain persisted in lying and twisting evidence to make it seem as if he was innocent.

“I am pleased that the jury saw through his brazen performance in court, and I hope that today’s sentence will go some way to helping the victim and his family come to terms with their ordeal.

“Finally I would urge anyone who has experienced such abuse - or who wants to report on behalf of somebody else - to get in touch with Cleveland Police. We will listen to you, we will believe you and we will support you while working with our partner agencies to bring perpetrators to justice.”