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Leslie Short, labelled 'an entrenched and committed paedophile', has been jailed for 12 years for sexual assault and indecent image offences A twisted pervert who sexually abused two young girls had videos of one of the victims on his computer, among more than 12,000 indecent images. Paedophile Leslie Short left his victims traumatised for life by grooming and molesting them in separate attacks spanning a decade. During one of the assaults, one of the girls tried to run away but he grabbed her by the ankles to try to stop her. When one of the victims told her mother what had happened, police were called and Short was arrested. On computer equipment found at his house, there were a total of 12,351 indecent images of children. Among them was footage he had taken of one of the abuse victims and images of other children he copied from someones computer while fixing it. When confronted by police, Short said: I cant explain all this. Sick mind I suppose. Now the 59-year-old, never in trouble before, has been locked up for 12 years at Newcastle Crown Court. Judge Robin Mairs told him: You used the guise of being a caring adult to immerse yourself in the lives of young children then abused them. This spanned at least a decade and it is clear you are an entrenched and committed paedophile. Short, of Campion Gardens, Gateshead, carried out the attacks on the first girl when she was aged six or seven. Robert Spragg, prosecuting, said the sexual assaults had had a lasting impact on her. He said: It has particularly affected her school life and her ability to trust people. She ended up with severe depression, her relationship with her mother suffered and her ability to form relationships with other people suffered. She says she doesnt think she will ever get over what he did to her and feels she will be mentally scarred for life. The second victim has also been badly affected by Shorts actions, the court heard. Mr Spragg said: She became clingy and anxious about going to other peoples houses for the night and has had bad dreams as a result of what happened to her. When Short was arrested, police searched his home and found the indecent images and movies. Among the footage was video he had taken of one of the abuse victims, although not of the abuse. He had also copied images of other children from a computer he was fixing for someone. Short pleaded guilty to five child sex offences seven offences of making indecent images of children. As well as the 12 year prison sentence he must sign the sex offender register for life, was barred from working with children and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order. Jamie Adams, defending, said: He is not making excuses for it and he accepts totally the wrongfulness of what he has done. He has been, for much of his life, a hard working man. He is now a sad heap of a human being with nothing to look forward to. He acknowledges the damage his behaviour has done to the young people we have heard about.

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A 26-year-old drama teacher who admitted having sex with a pupil has been spared a prison sentence.

Kelly Burgess, of Newport, had a seven-month relationship with the boy, Bristol Crown Court heard.

The matter came to light when the boy, aged between 16 and 17 at the time of the abuse, visited a sexual health clinic with Burgess after she developed symptoms of an infection.

Burgess was given a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years.

'Should have known better'

Judge Euan Ambrose told her: "You are a picture of misery in this courtroom.

"The relationship, albeit conducted as if between equals, was not a relationship between equals. You were older, you were his teacher and you should at all times have known better."

North Somerset District Council said in a statement after sentencing: "This was an isolated incident. The school followed the correct procedures and co-operated with the police."

Neither the school nor the boy can be identified for legal reasons.

The court heard Burgess and the teenager had sex at least once a week between January and August last year.

'Get the story straight'

When staff at the school noticed how close the relationship had become they informed the head teacher who challenged Burgess.

She denied the relationship was sexual and no further action was taken.

But after the visit to the sexual health clinic the police were alerted and an inquiry began.

When she was first arrested Burgess denied the offences, but when officers searched her home they discovered her mobile phone with a text message from the boy.

It read: "Got the police round. Don't text back, don't be scared.

"Just get the story straight for when they come for you."

Burgess later pleaded guilty to four sexual offences of breach of trust - engaging in a sexual act with a child between January and August 2013.

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A fire union official had sex sessions with a love-struck schoolgirl he seduced through explicit texts, a court heard. A fire union official had sex sessions with a love-struck schoolgirl he seduced through explicit texts, a court heard. As reported in later editions of last night's Chronicle Paul Ahmed had been introduced to the 14-year-old by one of her friends during a Christmas holiday, Newcastle Crown Court was told. They kept in touch by swapping mobile messages, it was claimed. But Ahmed's texts became more and more steamy, the jury heard. And he used them to persuade the infatuated teenager to start a secret affair, the court was told. Ahmed, a 44-year-old official with the Fire Brigades' Union on South Tyneside, would collect the girl from the car park of The Fountain pub in South Shields and take her to a local port. It is alleged that on one occasion he fondled her breasts and on another they engaged in a sex act. Then, after taking her to his own home, Ahmed had full intercourse with the consenting girl on a sofa in the living room, said Michael Hodson, prosecuting. Ahmed was finally arrested when the girl's mother read one of the texts, confronted her daughter and contacted police. "The messages were very explicit," Mr Hodson told the court. "They were wholly designed to encourage her to behave in an indecent way with him." Ahmed, of Carnegie Close, South Shields, denies two charges of indecent assault, gross indecency, inciting the girl to commit acts of gross indecency and another serious sexual offence. All the charges date between April and June 2003. The court heard the girl, who will give evidence over a television link, kept a record of the texts in a special book. They included X-rated descriptions of the sex acts Ahmed wanted her to take part in, a boast about his own performance and evidence that he knew what he was doing was wrong, the court heard. "Nevertheless, he pressed and persuaded her by text messages that caused her infatuation with him and she was therefore willing to do what he suggested," Mr Hodson added. Ahmed even planned to video himself having sex with the girl in a caravan but in the end the meeting never happened, it was claimed. He later told police he did know the girl but that nothing inappropriate or sexual had ever taken place. The trial continues.

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A RAPIST has finally been brought to justice after being convicted of a shocking catalogue of sexual offences against a terrified schoolboy.

Kieran Bunday threatened to kill his young victim if he told anyone, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.

He also threatened the boy with an air rifle, pinned him against a wall and told him he had a knife. The court was told how Bunday repeatedly punched his victim before launching a frightening campaign of abuse which went on for several years.

Bunday, 24, who now lives in Forester Road, Blackfield, in the New Forest, carried out the offences in the Bournemouth area.

He was found guilty of four charges of rape, two of sexual assault, two charges of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and one count of indecency with a child.

A jury heard how the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had been deeply affected by the prolonged abuse and suffered from depression, nightmares and self-harm.

Prosecuting, Simon Jones told the court that Bunday had been arrested and interviewed by police after his victim had finally cracked and told his mother what had happened to him last year.

Judge Samuel Wiggs jailed Bunday, who is now a registered sex offender, for three years.

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A COMMUNITY psychiatric nurse, who had sex with a woman suffering from a mental disorder, was jailed for two years at Southampton Crown Court. John Bennett, who was employed by Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust, was arrested after the woman in her late 40s made a disclosure to her doctor that they had sex in her home. Judge Derwin Hope told the 44-year-old, who had been a qualified care worker from 2001 until June 2010 when the allegations came to light, it represented a breach of trust. The judge said he accepted that at heart he was a caring person and had suffered difficulties of his own. He added: But you took advantage of her difficulties for your own benefit in a serious way. You are someone with a low risk of committing further offences and you have been relieved of your professional duties but I have no doubt, taking everything into consideration, this matter is so serious that only an immediate period of custody can be justified. Defending, Christopher Baur said there had been no wickedness in Bennetts intentions and he was still receiving treatment for his own mental health problems. Bennett had been off work for depression and went back too early because he feared for his job. He and the woman had considerable feelings for each other and if he had been in a better frame of mind he would not have slipped into this situation. Bennett, of Wood Road, Ashurst, was convicted of having sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder as a care worker.

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A FORMER village bobby has been found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage boys while working for Hamp-shire police.

Gordon Hunter showed no emotion as jurors convicted him on all 14 charges he faced, which included gross indecency with a child and attempted buggery.

As the guilty verdicts were read out, one woman in the public gallery, believed to be a member of one of the victims’ families, said: “Yes.”

The court heard that Hunter and his wife, Gill, had tried to commit suicide just days ago.

Winchester Crown Court was told that the couple, who had been married for 40 years, made the attempt at their home in Dene Way, Ashurst, on Thursday. It is understood paramedics took the couple to hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Hunter was absent from court on Friday and Monday but was in court yesterday to hear the unanimous guilty verdicts read out after the jury had deliberated for six-and-a-half hours.

Judge Andrew Barnett lifted a court order banning publication of the joint suicide bid following the verdict.

Hunter’s son, brother-in-law and friends were in the public gallery to hear the verdicts read out. Mrs Hunter, who had been present during the trial, was absent for the sentencing but has since been released from hospital.

Judge Andrew Barnett remanded Hunter in custody for his own safety until he is sentenced next month.

He told him: “You have been convicted by the jury of 14 extremely serious offences against young teenage boys.

“Be under no illusion that the inevitable sentence is one of imprisonment and you must prepare yourself for that.

“Bearing in mind your safety after you and your wife were involved in a suicide attempt I have to consider your well-being and I have to remand you in custody.”

During the five-day trial the court heard how Hunter had abused the boys in separate areas of the county between 1987 and 1998.

It was while working as a village policeman that Hunter abused the first boy, inviting him into his home to take part in a variety of sex acts.

The offences began with a boy, who was 11 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, when Hunter was the village policeman in Whitchurch in the north of the county between 1983 and 1992.

The court heard how many of the offences took place at Hunter’s family home, some in his marital bed.

Jurors were told that Hunter then moved to Ashurst in the New Forest in 1992 and in 1995 began to target another boy, who also cannot be named for legal reasons.

Hunter retired from Hampshire police as a police constable in 2002 but continued in a variety of support staff roles including a detention officer in Eastleigh.

He retired from a support staff role at Lyndhurst at the beginning of October 2009 before being arrested later that month. The investigation has been led by officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s professional standards department.

Hunter, who had denied all the charges, was put on the sex offender’s register.

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A SINISTER child molester freed on parole took youngsters on car rides after hiding his past. A SINISTER child molester freed on parole took youngsters on car rides after hiding his past. Sleazy landlord Sajjad Akram was given three years behind bars in 2007 for a serious sex offence against a teenage boy in an Eldon Square car park in Newcastle. He was released a little over a year later in October 2008 with strict licence conditions designed to keep other youngsters from his clutches. But Akram flouted those restrictions to take three different children for trips in his Ford Focus. He only asked permission from their parents before one outing to a McDonalds, Newcastle Crown Court heard. And none of the mums or dads knew Akrams disturbing past, said Robert Adams, prosecuting. A pre-sentence report written by a specialist probation officer warned: Despite being subject to licence conditions, attending a sex offender group work programme, and being regularly monitored by police and probation, Akram has chosen to engage in risk-taking behaviour which he has concealed and sought unsupervised contact with children without their parents knowledge or consent. Jailing Akram, formerly of Hartington Street, Elswick, in the citys West End, for two years, Judge Brian Forster said: These are serious offences. You became known to a number of children who lived in the area where you owned a property. The children were aged eight, nine and 11 and you choose to keep their company and take them for rides. Akram, who had been living in an approved hostel after his prison release, admitted three charges of child abudctuion. None of the children concerned were touched or molested during any of the trips, the court heard. But Akrams record including not just the Eldon Square offence but an earlier indecent assault on a schoolboy in 1999 made police concerned for the youngsters safety, Mr Adams said. Clearly, he has a worrying and significant offending history, Mr Adams added. All of the latest offences happened during the school summer holiday last year and only came to light when hostel staff spotted a child in Ackrams Ford Focus. Fortunately no harm whatsoever came to any of those children, said Joe Hedworth, defending. It appears they voluntarily got into the car and got out without incident. Akram, already registered as a sex offender for life, was also made subject to a 10-year sexual offences prevention order to keep him away from children. You must understand the order requires you to avoid contact with children and young persons without a reasonable excuse, Judge Forster said. If you breach the terms you will end up staying even longer in prison.

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HE BUILT up his reputation as a photographer by working with some of the most famous names in the world.

Erik Russell started taking pictures as a child and his career ranged from taking shoots for global magazines to snapping Olympic sailing medallist Ben Ainslie as he met local schoolchildren.

But beneath this guise is one of the countys most vile paedophiles who enjoys watching youngsters subjected to torture and horrific sexual abuse.

Today, as he prepares to be jailed for the sickening crimes, which he has managed to keep a secret in the town where he lives, the Daily Echo can reveal the true horror of what he did.

Russell, who lives with his partner in Lymington, was uncovered by detectives from Hampshire polices Child Abuse Investigation Unit.

He was arrested in his home by officers who swooped and seized his computers and photographic equipment during an undercover operation on October 19, 2006.

His computer records showed he had paid to access a number of websites which contained graphic images and videos of children mainly girls from toddlers to teens.

It took detectives weeks to plough through the thousands of horrific images and videos.

Eventually detectives concluded that he was responsible for making and possessing a staggering 32,832 photos. Also found were 1,699 videos of the same horrific abuse.

Police used new guidelines to rank the scale of the abuse with one being the weakest and five the most sickening and Russells disgusting catalogue included the very worst kind.

A further 42,122 pictures were found on his computer that could not be categorised. Likewise, 512 videos were not given a ranking because officers could not be sure they showed children.

Russell was eventually charged with 20 specimen counts of making indecent images and videos (downloading and saving). He was also charged with two further offences of possessing indecent images of a child.

Denying the charges, he stood trial for five days at Portsmouth Crown Court, where a jury took just 50 minutes to unanimously find him guilty.

Following conviction, Russell was released on conditional bail to be sentenced today.

Until now he has managed to keep his depraved behaviour a secret in the tight-knit community of Lymington, where he moved in 2005 following the acrimonious breakdown of his marriage.

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A senior detective yesterday demanded changes in the law to make it mandatory for social workers to notify police when sex offenders are released from custody after a student was given life for raping and murdering an 11-year-old boy.

Dominic McKilligan, 19, who had a history of sexually abusing children, was not on the official sex offenders register because a supervision order imposed from previous offences expired the day before the register was introduced.

He dodged social workers after he was released in August 1997 and 10 months later killed Wesley Neailey when the boy resisted his sexual advances.

Detective Superintendent Trevor Fordy, the officer who led the investigation, said the case showed there were shortfalls in the legislation.

He added: "If police are not informed about the release of paedophiles then it's impossible for us to exercise any form of risk management against them hurting other children. Society cannot afford to have anyone with a history of paedophilia at liberty in the community without an in-depth assessment of the risk they might pose to children or other vulnerable people. We have got to look at what is in place at the moment and see how we can make it better in the future."

McKilligan struck Wesley over the head with a wrench and dumped the body by a quiet road near the village of Healey, Northumberland.

He then led the police to the site three weeks later after telling detectives Wesley's death had been an accident.

Following the verdict at Newcastle crown court, Christopher Knox, for the prosecution, told Mr Justice Bennett that McKilligan was convicted in August 1994 of gross indecency against four boys aged between seven and 11 in Bournemouth.

After inviting children to play games, he tortured them, in one case beating a boy with an iron bar.

Rumours in the playgrounds of local schools led to one of the most wide-ranging child sex abuse investigations in the history of the Dorset constabulary.

McKilligan served a three-year supervision order, but due to the timing of the previous conviction he missed being added to the sex offenders register by 24-hours.

McKilligan managed to dupe social workers when he moved from the south coast to a secure unit in the north-east, side-stepping the authorities in Bournemouth, Durham and Newcastle as his release date came closer.

When he was discharged from the unit for young sex offenders in Durham in November 1997, social workers lost track of him.

McKilligan befriended Wesley in the weeks before the murder. A shy and trusting boy who was thought to be mildly epileptic, Wesley visited McKilligan at his home in the west end of Newcastle, the court heard.

On June 5, Wesley waved goodbye to his mother and rode to see McKilligan.

He was caught when a former care worker rang to tell detectives about his past, and a cheque made out to Wesley was found in his flat.

Mr Fordy emphasised that Wesley might still be alive if his supervision order had ended on September 1 1997 - the day the register was established. His whereabouts would have been known to police and officers would have been free to check on him when they chose.

The NSPCC called for a national network of services to help stop children from becoming paedophiles.

Its director of child protection, Neil Hunt, said: "Dominic McKilligan was already a seriously disturbed boy by 14.

"He was in local authority care and assessed as a very grave risk to children. A full investigation should take place into whether this tragic death could have been averted. Too many young abusers are slipping through the net. Their behaviour and problems are not recognised early enough, they are left untreated and their victims are left unprotected."