Search results for Newcastle

Description

A brazen pervert sexually assaulted a "terrified" woman while his girlfriend was in the same room.

Paul Gerry, who has a past conviction for sexually assaulting a teenager, touched the victim's breasts and cupped her genitals during a gathering at a house in Newcastle, all while his partner was just metres away. A court heard that the 47-year-old's victim was considerably younger than him, although she was an adult, and was left too frightened to shout out.

The following day, Gerry sent the victim messages asking her not to say anything and offering her "£40 or £50 cash", prosecutors said. However, his predatory behaviour was reported to the police and he was arrested,

Gerry, of Hallow Drive, in Throckley, has now been jailed for 12 months after a judge deemed that he hadn't learned his lesson following his conviction in 2015 for similar offending. Recorder Thomas Moran said: "You didn't learn from your past conviction. That or you're just unable to control your sexual urges, despite the fact a great deal of work has already been done with you on your three-year community order and sex offenders' programme from 2015."

Mr Recorder Moran added: "You do present a degree of risk and the prospect of rehabilitation doesn't seem to be particularly good. The appropriate punishment can only be met by custody."

Newcastle Crown Court was told that the victim was at an address in Newcastle with Gerry and others one evening in October last year when he began secretly touching her inappropriately. Jane Waugh, prosecuting, continued: "He put his hand under her top and over her bra and felt her breasts.

"The defendant then unbuttoned her trousers and put his hands under her knickers and cupped her genitals. His girlfriend was present in the room. [The victim] was so scared, she couldn't talk or move."

The court heard that, when Gerry and the victim were later alone, he tried to kiss and hug her but she pushed him away. The following day he then sent her messages asking her not to tell anyone what had happened and offering her cash.

However, the woman later reported Gerry to the police and he was arrested. In a statement, she said: "This incident left me feeling closed in on myself emotionally and it's changed my life both physically and mentally. My mental health has deteriorated, where as before I had no issues."

Jennifer Coxon, defending, said Gerry was a carer for his elderly father and was remorseful. She added: "Mr Gerry has indicated that he's unable to make sense of what happened or why he did what he did that night. He doesn't usually drink on a regular basis and, while he hadn't consumed a large amount of alcohol, it had affected him considerably."

As well as the prison sentence, Gerry must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.

Description

A Northumbria University student has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman.

Daniel Theobald appeared in Teesside Crown Court last month after attacking a 19-year-old student on October 16th last year.

Theobald, 23, grabbed the woman on a footbridge near Camden Street, Shieldfield, in the early hours, knocking her to the floor before groping her breasts and body, Chronicle Live reports.

The woman then ran to her accommodation and notified security, who contacted the police.

The court heard how Theobald was walking home to Heaton after a night out with friends in Newcastle. His victim was also walking back to her student accommodation with a friend, before they parted ways at John Dobson Street and she began walking alone. It was then that Theobald attacked the student, despite unintentionally following her out of town.

Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said: “The defendant continued to follow her and the complainant was on her phone. She saw the defendant was behind her and was concerned she was being followed. The defendant was closing the gap between them.

“The defendant then grabbed her and put his hand around her waist, causing her to slip to the ground.”

The attack on the woman left her with psychological issues. In her victim statement, she said the attack made her depression and anxiety worse and was left with memories that left her feeling “paranoid and sick”. She also said she contemplated dropping out of university.

Theobald, of Burlington Gardens, Heaton, has no prior convictions. Rachel Hedworth, defending, said that Theobald had shown “utter, genuine remorse”, despite this attack being “horrendous” and “every girl’s nightmare”.

She said: “He was brought up in an incredibly loving, stable environment with close parents and siblings. Prior to this act, he has behaved in an exemplary way. He started to feel anxious and depressed at around 15 or 16 years old.”

Despite these feelings of depression at school, Theobald achieved A and A* grades as well as gaining a first class degree in history from Bristol University, where he also volunteered in a museum and was captain of a rugby team. He was said to have an “extremely hard work ethic”.

The court heard that Theobold worked in a marketing agency before moving back to Newcastle. The breakdown of a relationship and the death of his grandmother led to him drinking alcohol frequently. Ms. Hedworth said Theobald, who has autistic spectrum disorder, had “no proper recollection for what he did. It completely sickens him what took place.”

Judge Howard Crownson called the attack “moderately violent” and of causing “severe psychological harm” to the victim. He sentenced Theobald to two years in prison and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Description

A girl was left shaken after a pervert who had been pestering her on a daily basis on her way to school gave her a post-it note offering £100 for sex.

For more than a month, Karl McDonald had been waiting for the teenager when she got off the Metro and kept giving her cannabis joints, which she took but then threw away. But things took a more sinister twist when the 44-year-old handed her a note saying "quick s*** Friday morning, £100," followed by his phone number.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the police then became involved and an undercover officer attended the station, in South Tyneside, the following morning and saw McDonald approach the victim again. He was arrested and had £100 in cash in his pocket.

Prosecutor Rachel Glover said: "The defendant was aware of her routine. He attended the Metro station every day for over a month, at a time when he knew she would be arriving and supplied her cannabis."

Miss Glover added: "A plain clothed officer attended the Metro station to locate the offender. The complainant was observed at the Metro station in school uniform.

"The officer followed the complainant and the male approached." Miss Glover said uniformed officers arrested McDonald and added: "£100 in notes were seized from his pocket on arrest."

Miss Glover said a pack of post-it notes were found in McDonald's home, which still had the indentation from the note he had given the teen the previous day. The court heard the victim was "visibly shaken" on the day.

McDonald admitted approaching the girl on "multiple days" and giving her cannabis but claimed the note was "just a joke".

McDonald, of Sheridan Road, South Shields, South Tyneside, later admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and supplying cannabis. Judge Sarah Mallet sentenced him to four-and-a-half years behind bars. McDonald must sign the sex offenders register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for life.

Robin Turton, defending, said McDonald's behaviour was "strange, intimidating, unwelcome, inappropriate and criminal". Mr Turton said McDonald has a good work record and was in employment at the time of the offences.

He added: "He is genuinely remorseful. He appreciates now how intimidating and frightening his approaches must
have been to her at the time. He has no explanation why he did what he did."

Description

A paedophile voyeur who carried out the horrific sexual abuse of two children has been caged for 13 years.

Keith Lynch groomed and sexually abused two children and even managed to set up a covert camera to film one of them as they undressed. The 47-year-old also took indecent photographs of one child and saved the images to an SD card.

Lynch, of no fixed address, appeared at Durham Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for charges of sexual assault, indecent assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, taking indecent pictures, voyeurism and making indecent images of children. He had been found guilty of the offences after a trial.

Also appearing at the same hearing was his co-accused, Mark Smith, 39, of Burnopfield, Newcastle, who was being sentenced for three counts of sexual activity with a child. The offences involved one of the children that Lynch had also abused and he had pleaded guilty to the charges.

Philip Morley, prosecuting, said that Lynch sexually abused two children and also set up a secret camera so that he could watch one of them undress. He also took naked pictures of a child and had stored images to an SD card. He was later found in possession of category A, B and C indecent images.

The court heard that when Smith was in his mid-20s, he began to carry out sexual activity with one of the children and was unaware of Lynch's abuse. The court heard that Smith stopped his offending after he was caught on one occasion.

In a statement, one victim - who is now an adult - said the abuse had left them "sad and angry" and said Lynch had told them "not to tell anyone". The second victim said they were made to feel the abuse was their fault.

The court heard that both Lynch and Smith were of previous good character.

Brian Mark, defending Lynch, said he carried out "very serious offences" but explained that he could not fully mitigate as Lynch had been found guilty after a trial. He said: "In my respectful submission, I would invite your honour to pass the least sentence commensurate with your public duty."

Sue Hirst, defending Smith, said he had not carried out any further offending in the time since and that he had no knowledge of Lynch's offending. She said: "He is taking tablets for depression and is genuinely a hard working man. He moved into the retail sector and secured full time employment.

"He then lost his job following his guilty plea to these matters but intends to find further employment in the future. He is keen to move forward in a productive manner."

Sentencing Smith, Judge Jo Kidd said he "groomed" the child by "putting them at ease". He was jailed for two years and will be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years. A 10-year sexual harm prevention order and 10 year restraining order were also imposed.

Sentencing Lynch, Judge Kidd said: "Your sexual interest in children is embedded and you've taken each and every opportunity when you have been alone with children to sexually abuse and groom them." Lynch was jailed for 13 years and will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely. An indefinite sexual harm prevention order was also imposed, as well as a 10 year restraining order.

Description

A sex attacker who targeted a schoolgirl has been jailed.

Terence Robson was convicted of historic indecent assault charges by a jury after a trial. Newcastle Crown Court heard the 69-year-old continues to deny the offences and claims the victim made a "malicious" complaint against him.

In a statement read to the court, the victim, who is now an adult, said she has been left traumatised by what Robson did to her and added: "I was just an innocent child, I didn't understand. He took my childhood. I have spent my life worrying about bumping into him."

Robson, of Victoria Road, South Shields, was jailed for seven years by Judge Stephen Earl He must also sign the sex offenders register for life.

Jamie Adams, defending, said Robson, who had good employment and was in charge of others, was a heavy drinker at the time of the offences. Mr Adams added: "He is a very different man to the man he was then.

"He doesn't drink at all like he used to." The court heard he is in poor health, meaning prison will be more difficult for him.

Description

A child rapist is back behind bars after trying to engage in sexual communication with a 14-year-old girl.

Thomas McCall, who was jailed in 2011 for raping a 13-year-old girl, thought he was talking to another child online when he explained in graphic terms what he wanted to do to her. In fact he was communicating with a decoy profile set up by paedophile hunting vigilantes and he was arrested.

Now the 48-year-old pervert, of Stanton Street, Arthur's Hill, Newcastle, who poses a high risk to teenage girls, has been sent back to prison by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court.

The court heard it was in October 2020 that McCall began communicating with what he thought was a young girl called Katie. Sentencing him, Judge Edward Bindloss said: "You established she was alone and you embarked on sexual communication of a very graphic kind."

McCall sent images of his penis and asked her to send images of her genitals and the conversation moved to WhatsApp. The judge said: "You discussed the sort of sex you would have if you met up. You even provided an address but you were arrested before anything like that could happen.

"This was a decoy online profile so thankfully there was no 14-year-old girl to be harmed but it could have been otherwise. You thought she was 14."

When he was arrested he claimed he knew it was a decoy and was just playing along with it. But prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw said: "Had arrangements been made to meet her he would have attended the meeting place. This man does represent a danger to teenage girls."

The court heard he has 55 previous convictions, including for raping and impregnating a 13-year-old, for which he was jailed for nine years in 2011. As part of that sentence, he was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and was given a lifelong sexual offences prevention order.

He was released on licence in 2015 but was then recalled until the end of the sentence in 2019. He then breached the sexual offences prevention order twice, for which he was sentenced last February. Those offences involved him remaining on private premises in the presence of a 14-year-old girl after agreeing to do some decorating for her mother and engaging the child in conversation.

McCall, who is also on a community order imposed last April for racially aggravated harassment, pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and was jailed for 13 months. He will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely and his lifelong requirement to sign the sex offenders register continues.

Pre-sentence reports said he poses a high risk of harm to children. He has previously refused to engage in risk reduction work.

Sue Hirst, defending, said: "The communication happened over a relatively short period of time, six days. This was an attempt because it was an adult pretending to be a 14-year-old girl and fortunately not a real 14-year-old girl.

"He was drinking heavily at the time. He denies any sexual attraction to children. I fully accept the court will be sceptical about that because the evidence demonstrates otherwise."

Description

A Newcastle pervert caught with more than 1,000 sex abuse images of children as young as two was an elected councillor.

David Besag was last week given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting to child porn offences. The 50-year-old, of Glenthorn Road in Jesmond, had previously been a Liberal Democrat councillor in the city’s Walkergate ward from 2004 to 2010.

The party said that Besag, who stood as a Lib Dem candidate as recently as 2018, was no longer a member and “would never have been selected” to stand for office if his crimes had been known at the time. Besag, a self-confessed porn addict, avoided a stint in jail after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child, one of possessing a prohibited image of a child, and one of possessing extreme porn.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that police uncovered 34 images and 23 videos of the most serious category A, 17 photos and 10 videos of category B, and 1,031 pictures and 39 videos of category C, after seizing Besag’s laptop, mobile phone, computer tower, and a hard drive. The collection involved children aged between two and 17.

There were also four prohibited images of a child and 200 extreme porn videos and five extreme porn pictures on Besag's devices, the latter involving animals and adult males. Besag downloaded the pictures and videos over an 18-year period from 2002 to 2020, which includes his six-year spell on the city council.

A Newcastle Lib Dem spokesperson said: "He was a hard-working elected member during his time as a councillor for Walkergate. It goes without saying that if we had the slightest inkling of the criminal behaviour that has now come to light then he would never have been selected as a candidate or stayed as a party member. Our thoughts are with the children and families affected. He is no longer a member of the party."

The ex-councillor was first elected in the Walkergate ward when the Lib Dems took control of the council in 2004 and was returned by voters for a second time in 2006. Besag, who has no previous convictions, claimed he had only been downloading the indecent material since 2012 and had no sexual interest in children, although he was addicted to adult porn.

The court heard he also suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and dyspraxia. As well as the suspended sentence, Besag was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for seven years and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for the same period.

Description

A convicted sex offender left a woman he befriended online 'petrified' by threatening to go to her house and kill her after she found out about his disturbing past.

Jordan Rutherford was locked up for two years in October 2021 for engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, threatening to kill her and possessing knives. He was released from that sentence in January last year and failed to engage properly with the probation service and sabotaged their extensive efforts to get accommodation.

He told his probation officer he was experiencing an "urge to reoffend and push boundaries because of the thrill it gave him". Having struck up an online conversation with a woman from Ashington in March, he went on to tell her he had been in prison but gave an account which minimised his offending.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that despite him not revealing the truth about what he had done, the woman, who had planned to meet him, was nonetheless shocked and said she needed to get back to work and hung up.

Rutherford then texted her telling her to ignore what he was about to send her on WhatsApp - which was a message saying "I'm going to kill you, I'm going to come to your house and I will put your door through. I will come in and I really want to hurt you. I love you but I need to end you."

Liam O'Brien, prosecuting, said: "Notwithstanding the text message, this scared her. Her concern increased an hour later when she was contacted by his probation officer, who explained the true extent of his sexual offending and the fact he had a history of carrying knives."

The woman woke the following morning to find more threatening messages from Rutherford, threatening to go to her home and kill her. He the expressed frustration that she had blocked him and continued to send threatening messages.

Mr O'Brien said: "He said he would wait for her to finish work and follow her into her home, lock the door and kill her. He warned her 'you won't be able to escape and before you know it you will be dead'.

"It's clear he would have been aware he was scaring her and she wanted him to stop but he didn't. She was petrified and believed he was going to hurt her.

"He sent a screenshot of his location showing he was nearby. She knew he was not from Ashington and had no reason to be there. She was also aware he wanted to be locked up."

The woman was so afraid she got her stepdad to meet her from work and called the police. Mr O'Brien said: "She was not the only person he told he was going to murder her. He repeatedly contacted the emergency services and disclosed his intention."

He rang the police four times and eventually met officers and was arrested. When his phone was examined he had researched sentencing guidelines for making threats to kill and had researched "disturbing things to say about killing people", which Mr O'Brien said was "presumably to make the threats as chilling as they could be".

Despite being recalled to prison, he tried to contact the woman, getting another prisoner to ask her to email him.

In a victim impact statement, she said: "When I first met him online I thought he was a normal boy but it's clear he is not. Since I started receiving threats to my life I've been absolutely petrified to leave the house.

"I'm constantly looking over my shoulder and feel I can't go anywhere by myself. I'm terrified in case he is around the corner.

"I don't know why he is behaving like this but I want it to stop. It's affecting my work and social life and I just want to be left alone."

The court heard that in the previous offences against the 14-year-old, he had also threatened to go to her house and kill her.

Rutherford, 21, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to stalking involving fear of violence and was jailed for three years and given a restraining order. Pre-sentence reports said he poses a high risk of harm.

Vic Laffey, defending, said: "His motivation was to get himself arrested and recalled. His head was in a strange place at the time.

"He caused this young lady, who didn't deserve it, significant distress but he didn't know where she lived or worked. He deeply regrets betraying this young woman's trust and making her feel unsafe.

"He promises the restraining order will not be breached. He is disappointed at offending again on licence. He was overwhelmed and didn't cope with being released from prison. He acted selfishly in involving her but got to the point he thought it would be better in prison."

Description

Karl Davison claimed he "hadn't set out to find" the disturbing material but had been sent it after "finding himself" in a couple of groups online. A court heard that, despite the 33-year-old stating he'd deleted some of his collection, 44 sick photos and videos were still found on his phone.

Magistrates were told that Davison had 23 category A pictures and films, which are the most serious kind and involve penetrative sexual activity. He also had 22 category B and one category C.

Davison, of Chillingham Road, in Heaton, could now end up behind bars after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent image of a child. The case was adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence report but the pervert was warned custody was still an option.

Rob Lawson, prosecuting at Newcastle Magistrates' Court, said: "The material in question was saved on the defendant's phone. With the early guilty plea, this case may fall within your sentencing powers. The aggravating factors are the ages of the children involved, between six and 14, and at least one of the videos shows distress suffered by a child."

Mark Humble, defending, said: "Mr Davison didn't set out to find these images. He found himself in a couple of groups online and that led to the images coming his way. He did delete some of them but, when his phone was examined, there were the images you have heard about still retained on the phone."

Magistrates adjourned the case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. Davison was released on unconditional bail to next appear before the same court on February 22. In the meantime, he must sign the Sex Offenders' Register.

Description

A dangerous sex offender is back behind bars after committing further offences just two weeks after being released from prison.

Craig Gilbert was previously locked up for inciting and attempting to incite four different children and was released from a 66 month extended prison sentence on licence in July last year. However within two weeks he was found to have offended again.

Police officers monitoring him went to the hostel in Elswick, Newcastle, where he was living to check he was complying with his sex offender registration requirements and his sexual harm prevention order and asked to see his mobile phone. On it, they found a sexual exchange with a girl who appeared to have been 16 in which he asked if she was still at school and offered to be her "sugar daddy".

A further examination of his phone showed he had deleted his browsing history, which he was forbidden from doing under the terms of the sexual harm prevention order. And he had also downloaded 11 indecent images of children, which were saved in a folder on his phone - with one showing a girl aged between three and five being raped.

Now Gilbert, 32, of no fixed address, has been given given a two year prison sentence, extended by an extra three years on licence, by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court after he admitted possessing indecent images of children, breaching his sexual harm prevention order and attempting to breach it.

Locking him up, Judge Edward Legard said: "This is a worrying case because it appears your period of incarceration and probation work has taught you little, if anything. You are clearly a persistent sex offender with entrenched sexual interests.

"It's clear you demonstrate an implacable refusal to address your offending and you are deemed unmanageable in the community. You have shown no remorse and you deliberately and wilfully offend without any regard to court orders, without any thought for the children you seek out to harm and with no insight and no awareness.

"It's quite clear you pose a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public, especially children."

Referring to the indecent images, the judge added: "Sadly, having read the pre-sentence report I suspect this might fall on deaf ears but I will try my best. These crimes are not victimless, far from it.

"Those who appear in these images are often young, highly vulnerable children, sometimes recruited from impoverished backgrounds, often forced to perform degrading sexual acts or exploited and abused by others purely to feed the sexual gratification of people like you.

"It's you and many others like you who are ultimately responsible for creating a market for this highly offensive and damaging material."

As well as the prison sentence, Gilbert's indefinite sex offender registration and sexual harm prevention order continue.

Jonathan Walker, defending, said: "There's a level of acceptance of responsibility on his part."

Description

A secret stash of covertly recorded indecent images of children and footage of a woman taken without her knowledge were found by a pervert's horrified ex.

Paul Baird's sickening actions came to light when his now-ex wife noticed explicit material on an iPad a child was using, which was linked to a Google account on the phone Baird was using. A court heard there were a number of videos, many showing children.

Rachel Glover, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "The videos show filming of them, focusing on their bare legs, their bottoms in swimwear and up their skirts...He focuses the camera on their private parts and under their skirts.

Baird's disgusted ex was left distressed and found discovering what he had been doing "traumatic and overwhelming", the court heard.

There were also 35 videos of a woman, including filming or attempting to film under her clothing. After finding out, the woman was left "devastated" and has suffered mental health issues and struggles to go out in public because when she does and sees people on their phone she feels an impulse to check they are not filming her.

Baird, 38, of Garth 24, Killingworth, North Tyneside, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to five offences of taking indecent images of children and one of voyeurism. He was jailed for 20 months and must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Judge Edward Legard told him: "Filming young female children purely in order to feed your sexual gratification is simply unconscionable. The lives of these young children can and often are permanently scarred. You and others like you must bear responsibility for it.

"What your ex wife has had to endure can only be guessed at. For her to discover, in the way she did, that the man to whom she was married was taking indecent photographs of children must have been profoundly shocking and distressing."

Mark Harrison, defending, said: "The defendant acknowledges, as he rightly must, that this behaviour, over a relatively short period in 2021, was absolutely disgraceful and amounted to a gross invasion of privacy.

"He has written a letter saying how sorry he is for the pain and upset. He was at a low ebb, drinking and misusing drugs when his mental health was in a poor state."

Description

A former priest who abused young boys for almost 20 years has been handed a suspended sentence after he breached a court order.

Disgraced cleric Daniel Gerard Curran was handed a three-month jail term, suspended for three years, today (Thursday) after previously pleading guilty to breaching his lifelong sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).

Description

A paedophile who was found in possession of vile child abuse images was also sending sexual messages to what he believed was a 10-year-old girl.

Razvan Valeriu Nastase began messaging what he believed was a child on social media and said he "wasn't bothered" when he was told by the girl she was very young. But what the 34-year-old pervert didn't know, was that he was actually speaking to an "undercover operative" who was pretending to be a child.

When police went to Nastase's home to arrest him, his electronic devices were seized and examined and over 880 images and videos of child sexual abuse were discovered. This week, he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court to be sentenced for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and three counts of making indecent images. He had pleaded guilty to the charges, which dated back to October and July 2020.

The court heard that an "undercover operative" called Ken, created a fake account on social media pretending to be a 10-year-old girl and that Nastase, using the name of 'Andre', soon sent the decoy a message. Rachael Glover, prosecuting, said: "The defendant's message read: 'Nice to meet you, you're very cute, I like you.' When the [decoy] said they were 10-years-old, the defendant said he was not bothered. The defendant continued the conversation and sent sexual messages to what he believed was a 10-year-old child."

During the chats, Nastase, of Simonside Terrace, Heaton, claimed to be 16-years-old, and sent three images of himself, two of which he was topless in. In another message he told the decoy they were "so beautiful, I can't get enough of you". He also said it would be "our little secret" as he continued to ask for pictures in return. The court was told that Nastase asked to see the decoy in a onesie and told her not to be shy.

Ms Glover said that when police identified Nastase, they went to his home and arrested him. His room was then searched and devices were seized and examined by experts. The court heard that 159 category A images, 130 of which were videos and depicted children as young as four, were found, alongside 162 category B images and 568 category C images. In interview Nastase, who had no previous convictions, gave no comment.

Sophie Allinson, defending, said: "He is a man who has no previous convictions but has lost his good character in the most shameful and appalling way. He was feeling down and lonely. The offences were committed in 2020 and no further offences of any nature have been committed since. He has and can live a law abiding lifestyle."

Sentencing Nastase, Judge Amanda Rippon said: "You engaged in chat with what you thought was a 10-year-old girl. If it had been a little girl and not a person masquerading as one, the potential offending is difficult to contemplate given your interest in sexual activity with children as young as four. It is depraved and disgusting."

Nastase was given a two year prison sentence, suspended for two years and must undertake 35 rehabilitation days and 150 hours unpaid work. A 10 year sexual harm prevention order was imposed and he will be on the sex offender's register for 10 years.

Description

A pervert had his baby with him when he set off hoping to meet a child he had been sending sex chats to online.

Shaun Watson had been communicating with a profile he thought was a 14-year-old called Paige but was in fact being run by paedophile hunters.

He first contacted her on the Skout app but was not deterred when a member of the Child Online Safety Team told him Paige was underage.

He made lewd comments about what he wanted to do, including asking if she wanted to watch him masturbate.

The Paige profile disappeared but when another, similar one appeared, Watson contacted it and sent pictures of his penis, despite being told she was 14. He also asked for photographs of her genitals.

The group also set up a profile on MeetMe using the same name and picture and Watson made contact with that too around six weeks later.

He was again told she was a child but his conversation quickly turned sexual and he sent pictures of his genitals and encouraged her to carry out a sex act on herself.

The court heard he then arranged to meet her.

Prosecutor Michael Bunch told the court: "It appears the defendant did initially travel to that meeting.

"He said he was with his one-year-old daughter but before the meeting happened he said he needed to return home because his daughter would not settle."

Members of the Child Online Safety Team confronted Watson at his place of work and home and police were contacted.

While waiting for the police, he said he was an "idiot"

Conviction mentioned here: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-paedophile-sex-crime-22204589

Description

Lee Wilson, of Slatyford, admitted a series of sex offences after police found damning evidence on a mobile phone hidden in a safe inside a wall cavity

A child sex predator who groomed young girls at a Tyneside swimming pool and went on to carry out sickening sex attacks was branded a "mean man" in a letter by one of his victims.

Lee Wilson, who would often sit on the edge of the pool watching but not swimming, wheedled his way into the lives of the victims and their families in order to carry out his twisted sexual desires towards children. After winning the trust of their families, he abused it in horrific fashion, leaving a trail of trauma.

The perverted beast had branded the victims liars until police found a secret phone which he had hidden in a safe in a wall cavity, which contained damning evidence, including images of him abusing one of the victims. Now Wilson, 40, of Pooley Road, Slatyford, Newcastle, has been jailed for 11 years at Newcastle Crown Court for seven child sex offences, including sexual assault, assault by penetration and making indecent images of children. 

One of the girls bravely wrote what she labelled "a sad letter" to Wilson, which was read out as he was sentenced. She wrote: "You made me feel angry and sad. I don't want to say your name but I know what you did was wrong. I liked you. I changed and I have to live with things.

"I never want to see you again. I want to ask you why did you do this? Why in the world did you do it? Why did you think it was a good idea? Mean man." She signed it off with a sad face.

The court heard it was in September last year the first victim and her family contacted police after she revealed what he had been doing to her. Dr Chris Wood, prosecuting, said: "Each time he would offer sweets as inducement, which the Crown say was grooming."

Wilson also told the girl to keep his sexual abuse "our little secret".

The second victim was also groomed at a swimming pool, with Wilson befriending her and her family. The dad of one of the girls had noticed how he was overfamiliar and would not swim, instead sitting on the edge of the pool and watching.

When he was arrested, he denied the offences and the children were forced to go through a pre-trial process of being cross-examined by his barrister. Dr Wood said: "They were told they were lying during cross-examination. He subjected them needlessly to the court process because he would not admit he was a sexual predator of children and sexually abused these girls."

He had given police a phone but they were suspicious as it had very little on it and formed the view it was a decoy. In September last year officers searched his home and found another phone concealed in a safe in a wall cavity.

On it were indecent images of children taken by him, some with a hidden "surveillance"-type camera. There were images of the first girl and another family

The mum of one of the girls read a victim impact statement in court, saying: "The impact will be felt for years to come." She said her daughter now "freaks out" when she sees a bald man in case it's him and is now very clingy, adding: "Clothes and toys had to be thrown away because they reminded her of Lee.

She told the court: "I'm not a hateful person but I do hate this man with every part of my being. It makes me feel physically sick. He has stolen her innocence. Strangers say to me 'smile it might never happen' but it already has."

The girls dad added: "I feel hatred towards him for what he is and what he has done."

The other girl's dad said: "It's had a devastating effect on our family and I've seen a significant change in (the girl). She was a happy, care-free child without a care in the world. Since this she has a sadness about her and has become more withdrawn.

"She has drawn pictures titled before and after. The before pictures are bright and in colour and the after pictures are dark, mainly black. She can't understand how someone she thought was a friend would do something so horrible to her.

"She was terrified she had to attend court. She was having nightmares and would shout out during the night.

"He has taken everything I held close to my heart away from me for his own perverted satisfaction. I will never forgive this man."

Wilson, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by penetration, two counts of sexual assault, sexual activity with a child and making indecent images of a child. He was jailed for eleven years and must sign the sex offenders register indefinitely and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order and restraining order.

Recorder Toby Hedworth QC said Wilson "remains in apparent denial of your true motivation and dismissed matters as a series of bad decisions". He added: "You are an offender of particular concern."

John Crawford, defending, said he has a heart condition which lowers his life expectancy and added: "He has expressed his sincere apologies and regret, recognising that might be entirely meaningless."

Jonathan Hanratty of CPS North East said: “Lee Wilson acted in a predatory manner, often engineering the circumstances in which he was able to perpetrate the abuse of his two young victims.

“To hide what he had done, he tried to bribe both victims with sweets and told them that his actions against them were a secret that should not be disclosed.

“Despite this, his victims found the courage to tell their parents and Wilson was subsequently arrested. His phone was also seized by police, which was later found to contain an indecent image of a child.

“It is clear that Wilson had little concern for the harm that his offending would cause to either girl, seemingly caring only for his own sexual gratification.

“The impact of Wilson’s offending on his victims and their families has been significant, and we sincerely hope that today’s sentence provides some measure of comfort to them.”