Latest Offenders Northampton

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A serial paedophile who lived in Watford has been handed a lengthy jail sentence for a string of historical sex offences. Colin McKissock, 70, had been found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault/indecency against a boy aged between 11 and 13 and two sexual assaults on a girl under 14. They were said to have happened at his Watford home in the 1990s. A disclosure was made to police by one of the victims in March 2018, after McKissock was jailed over separate child sexual offences committed against two females in Scotland during the 1980s. He denied the new allegations throughout but following a two-week trial was convicted in early February. McKissock, who now lives in Northampton, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday (April 11) to 16 years prison. He was also given two years additional licence, a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register. Investigator Trevor Acors, who led the case, said: McKissock has shown absolutely no remorse for his actions and cruelly put his victims through a trial. Though nothing will ever make up for his despicable crimes, I am pleased with the sentence handed down. He also hailed the victims courage in coming forwards and having to relive their ordeals, as well as a previous victim for again providing evidence. Any sexual abuse victims have been urged to come forward, no matter how long ago the offences occurred. Officers can be contacted via 101 or on Herts Polices website.

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A Great Oakley paedophile who drove to Milton Keynes thinking he would sexually abuse three children has been branded a dangerous predator.

Allan Robins, 69, was jailed for five years and seven months last month, as first reported by the Northants Telegraph.

He bragged about having sex with a young girl during a week-long online chat, telling a woman what he wanted to do to her children, aged as young as two.

Robins drove 40 miles to the Buckinghamshire town with condoms after arranging to meet them but it was a police sting.

Today (April 12) detective sergeant Helena Congreve, from Northamptonshire Police's POLIT Team, said: I welcome the sentence handed out to Allan Robins as he has shown himself to be a dangerous predator who was willing to meet a child as young as two in order to sexually abuse them.

I hope this case shows the proactivity with which we treat child sex offences that we will not wait for cases to come to us but that we will use various tactics to catch people like Allan Robins and bring them to justice.

Northampton Crown Court heard Robins, formerly of Pound Close, was using online chat room Chatiw when he began speaking to Lucy on December 13 last year.

He said he liked young girls and was having sex with one. Lucy told him about her three children a two-year-old girl, a seven-year-old boy and an autistic nine-year-old girl. None of the children were real.

Prosecuting, Micaila Williams said: It's plain Robins is interested in the nine-year-old girl, asking if she has had sex yet."

The paedophile suggested a meeting and asked for Lucys phone number before calling her.

He asked her when she was next in Milton Keynes and offered to drive over to meet them on December 20.

The court heard that, when asked what he wanted to do, he described a lewd act with the children aged two and seven.

Ms Williams added: "[He said he] would like to have full sex with the nine-year-old and offered to bring condoms."

He drove to a pre-arranged location in Milton Keynes and texted Lucy to say he was there and had decamped from his motorhome.

Police, who had been running the sting under the code name Operation Jenson, then swooped in and arrested him.

The court heard he made comments suggesting he had been set up and had been a 'bloody idiot'.

When police searched his home they a Scout scarf, baby rattle, sex toys and viagra in a bedroom cabinet.

When interviewed he admitted he had spoken to Lucy online but claimed he was trying to uncover the actions of a paedophile.

Ms Williams said: "He said he had been horrified by what he had heard online and went to the location to find the people and report them to the police."

The paedophile denied he had a sexual interest in children but later admitted three charges of arranging or facilitating a child sex offence.

Robins will serve half of his sentence behind bars before being released on licence.

He will be on the register for sex offenders and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life.

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A repeat child sex offender from Northampton has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after sharing an indecent image of a child for the second time.

Thomas Scott Brews, aged 41, of Euston Road, Northampton, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday (April 5) after being caught sharing a movie depicting Category A child sex abuse, the most severe material under UK law.

The court heard that Brews shared the indecent image in a public parenting group on a communications app. Police later tracked Brews to his Northampton home using his computers IP address.

Miss Eunice Opare-Addo, prosecuting, read: The police had launched an investigation into sexual interest in young children.

They discovered a group, which Brews had joined. It was a public group.

"On August 5 2021, Brews posted an indecent movie of a child being sexually abused by an adult male. He also sent another user a private message, however there was no response to this message.

"The profile he used indicated that he had been on [the application] for 68 days prior to the offence.

"IP address data from Brews computer led police to the defendants Northampton address. Then Brews was not interviewed by police until January 18, where he stated that he had used [the application] but had not done so for about six months.

"He said that he could not specifically remember uploading the Category A image because he drank a lot and did stupid things which he could not remember whilst drunk.

This was not the first time that Brews was prosecuted for indecent images of children, as in November 2014 he was convicted in Scotland of making an indecent image of a child and was subject to a community order there, also known as a Community Payback Order.

Mr Liam Muir, defending, argued that Brews had never been given access to programmes like Stop It Now" to address his behaviour, and that he had shown a sincere desire to take part and improve himself.

The defence also argued that, as Brews was drunk at the time, he needed help with his substance use as well as his mental health to see whether his crimes were linked to the drink or a genuine mental challenge.

However, Her Honour Judge Lucking QC was not convinced, saying that Brews had already lost his good character due to his 2014 offence and that he should have already known that what he was doing was wrong.

Her Honour said: At that time you did not have, as it were, work carried out with you in relation to sexual offenders.

"In that moment you lost your good character. You had a community order imposed and you knew at that point that it was clearly something that was unacceptable.

"There is no doubt that you have a clear sexual interest in children. This wouldnt have occurred on two occasions if you didnt.

"Is there a realistic chance of rehabilitation? Im not satisfied that there is.

Brews was sentenced to two years and two months in prison and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was applied for ten years.

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One victim said she was "filled with pain and torture" and she had "given up on the thought of happiness" A Northampton man has been sentenced to 12 years and eight months in prison for historic sex offences against children. Stephen Mitchell, aged 58, of Heron Way, was sentenced on Tuesday, March 22 at Northampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to a number of offences. The most severe of Mitchell's offences was the attempted rape of a child under the age of 14. Families of the victims wept in the public galleries as Mitchell's charges were read out and described in full. Mitchell was arrested on August 15 last year after the parents of one of his young victims reported the defendant to the police. Another victim subsequently came forward and then Mitchell informed officers he wanted to confess to crimes against a third victim. Sally Hobson, prosecuting, told the court that Mitchell's actions had a "significant impact" on his young victims. She described how one of his victims is now receiving counselling and self harms because it "helps him to forget for a short while". Ms Hobson said: "He feels there are permanent marks on his skin that he can't wash off." A second victim, who was present at court during Mitchell's sentencing, asked for her victim personal statement to be read out. It described how her innocence had been taken away from her and, as a result, she was "filled with pain and torture". She said she lost friends, partners, family members and even herself because she "gave up on the thought of happiness". She added that she turned to drink, had to leave a job she loved and she barely leaves the house. The statement said that - after finding out about Mitchell's other victims - she even put all the blame on herself for not going to the police as a child. Liam Muir, defending, said that an "extremely important mitigation" was Mitchell's engagement with the police, his guilty pleas and the fact that he made them aware of the third victim, who had not come forward at that time. His honour Judge Mayo sentenced Mitchell to 12 years and eight months in prison. He additionally slapped Mitchell with a restraining order that bars him from making any direct or indirect contact with his victims. A sexual harm prevention order was also made indefinitely, which prevents Mitchell from having any unsupervised contact with any children under the age of 16. This order additionally bars Mitchell from staying in any house with a child under the age of 16. Judge Mayo said: "It is considerable note that these people came forward with remarkable bravery with remarkable support from their families."

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A dark web Northampton paedophile who was caught with help from the FBI in the United States has been handed 30 years in jail.

Keith McFadden, aged 57, formerly of Talbot Road, Northampton, was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court today (11 March) for historic child sex offences.

The convicted child predator was finally arrested by Northamptonshire Police detectives following an investigation of the dark web by the National Crime Agency.

Andrew Howarth, prosecuting, said McFadden had bragged about the offences and later read impact statements from McFadden's victims.

The statement said the victim had tried to take his own life and had been on "antidepressants for most of my life because of what he did to me."

Other victims described having their lives "turned upside down" by McFadden's actions.

Stephen Garbett, defending, said: "Mr McFadden is going to be in prison for a significant amount of time. By the time he is released from prison he will be extremely old.

"Mr McFadden is under no illusion that this will be the case."

Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane said in sentencing: "There is no way of knowing whether you will engage with programmes, especially given that you continue to maintain your innocence.

"You pose a threat to young boys, as opposed to the general public."

Keith McFadden was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with a minimum time to serve of 20 years.

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A Northampton detective tracked down a suspected child sex offender to Germany after he fled from the town in a bid to escape the law.

Szymon Leszek Sieczkiewicz, aged 38, has been jailed for six years for assault and incitement involving an 11-year-old in January 2019.

The Polish HGV driver skipped the country and headed across the Channel ahead of a court appearance but was hunted down by police using a European Arrest Warrant and dragged back to Northampton.

Sieczkiewicz, whose address was not given in court, was was finally found guilty of all charges in October 2021 and last month sentenced to six years and handed an indefinite Sexual Harm prevention Order at Northampton Crown Court.

DS Selena Leppard, who led the investigation, said: I am really pleased that my relentless pursuit of Szymon Sieczkiewicz has resulted in this six-year sentence.

Sieczkiewicz thought he could escape justice by leaving the country, but this case goes to show that Northamptonshire Police will not only go beyond our county borders to pursue offenders but also cross national borders too.

The child in this case has been very brave from the beginning of our investigation and I would like to thank them and their family for their support throughout.

I hope this result, after such a drawn-out case, will allow them some closure and the ability to move forward with their life.

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A 72-year-old man has been sent to prison for three years and six months after he breached the conditions of his sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements.

Peter Butt, previously of Northampton, was convicted in May 2021 of possessing and distributing indecent images of children.

As part of his sentence, he was handed a sexual harm prevention order, meaning he has to notify police of any new electronic devices and accounts.

However, when DC Sophie Duffree from Northamptonshire Polices MOSOVO (Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders) Team visited him in December 2021, alongside his probation officer, she found three phones and a laptop that he had not declared.

He had also created a new Twitter account, which again he had failed to notify police of, alongside two other names used online.

He was subsequently arrested for the breaches and charged.

At Northampton Crown Court last week (January 21) he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, in addition to the previously suspended 24 month sentence.

Following the sentencing, DC Duffree said: Registered sex offenders like Peter Butt are very closely monitored by our team and we take a zero-tolerance approach to breaches such as these there is absolutely no room for second chances or pleading ignorance.

"Breaches of a sexual harm prevention order are serious, and Im pleased that that has been recognised here with a custodial sentence.

"The facts of this case have shown Peter Butt to be a manipulative and deceitful individual who has shown a complete disregard for the orders placed upon him. I hope he takes this time in custody to reflect on his actions.

"In cases like these we will look to immediately arrest and charge these offenders, thereby protecting the public.

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A repeat sex offender from Northamptonshire has been handed a 'winning lottery ticket' after narrowly dodging prison for his second sexual offence.

Curtis Bull, now 29, of Oak Lane, Crick, was sentenced for sexually assaulting a female, to which he pleaded guilty.

During a hearing at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday (January 20), it was read that the assault took place in June 2019. Bull was reportedly under the influence of alcohol at the time.

This was not Bull's first offence. He had already served time for a near identical crime back in 2016 which had left bruises on another woman's neck. Bull pleaded guilty to that offence as well and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

His then-barrister Jonathan Dee said it was an isolated incident that was 'out of character' at the time.

During the hearing for his latest offence, Her Honour said: "There is no indication that you have any criminal tendencies whatsoever and it is very hard to see why, after you have served a custodial sentence, that you have done almost the exact same thing as you did in 2016."

Bull's defence suggested that there were 'much deeper underlying issues' that had driven his behaviour, including mental health concerns, as well as the heavy use of alcohol.

The judge agreed to this and suggested that 'the public will get better protection' if Bull was allowed to work with the probation service from outside a prison.

Bull was issued with a 36 month community order and 40 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) days. He was also required to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for a further five years, join a specified sex offender intervention programme for men, and submit to a six month alcohol treatment programme.

In closing, Her Honour cautioned Bull, saying: "Make sure you attend every appointment with the probation service as if you were holding a winning lottery ticket.

"That's how seriously you should take this, or you will end up in prison."

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Jared Graham Bassett's vile actions had a 'severe emotional effect' on the victims. A man who committed historic rape offences against two young girls has been locked up for 20 years. A judge branded Jared Graham Bassett's actions as a "campaign" and stated they had scarred his victims who had been aged under 16. Bassett, who had been aged between 18 and 25 at the time, denied the offences but was convicted after a trial. The 38-year-old appeared at Mold Crown Court in Wales on November 5 to be sentenced for a total of 24 sex offences. North Wales Live reports the court heard Bassett began his campaign of offending while living at a North Wales holiday camp. He then continued to carry out his crimes at a variety of addresses across North Wales and abroad until 2007. His actions came to light when one distressed girl alerted a shopkeeper. In a victim impact statement read out by prosecutor Robert Edwards, the older girl - now a woman - told how she was badly affected. She said in giving the statement she "felt like I was a (child) all over again". She has difficulty with relationships and "If someone unexpectedly touches me I have a reflex reaction which is out of proportion." She said no sentence can "give her back her childhood". In her statement, the younger victim, also now grown up, said she had self-harmed by cutting her wrists and drinking but eventually reported the abuse. She had been "relieved to be believed". However, she still has "massive trust issues" with men and women. She added: "Sex feels more like a chore. He (Bassett) has taken that enjoyment and special moment from me." Mark Kelly, defending, said Bassett maintains his innocence. The inevitable prison sentence would have a negative emotional and financial effect on his own young family. The judge, Her Honour Judge Nicola Saffman, noted that one victim who went to the shopkeepers had reported the abuse. But the Crown Prosecution Service had wrongly believed that proceedings would be unsuccessful on the basis of her word alone and so discontinued the case. However, Bassett was eventually arrested and prosecuted for his offences. The judge said it had been a "campaign" of abuse. "You have blighted their childhood and in doing so blighted their adult lives." The serious psychological effects had led his older victim to be "hysterical and distressed" and the younger victim to be "closed off and blunt". She jailed Bassett, now of Station Road, Cogenhoe, Northampton, for 20 years for multiple rapes of the older girl and two rapes of the younger girl. He also received jail terms of between five and 17 years for other sexual offences which will all run concurrently to the longest sentence. Detective Inspector Iolo Edwards of the North Wales Police Amethyst Team said: The investigation team has worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) team to present a compelling case at trial and we therefore welcome the sentencing outcome today. Our thoughts remain with the victims in this case and we acknowledge their determination to support the investigation to its conclusion.

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A Northampton man who was found guilty of repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl has been jailed for 17-and-a-half years.

Andrew Brian Nicholls, 46, was last month found guilty of 14 charges at Northampton Crown Court relating to the abuse he carried out between 2014 and 2017, which began when his victim was just 11.

The court heard Nicholls began abusing the girl when she walked in on him watching pornography.

This escalated into repeated rapes until she informed Northamptonshire Police of the abuse in 2017.

Nicholls, formerly of Camp Hill, Bugbrooke, was subsequently charged with offences including multiple rapes, sexual activity with a child, and taking indecent photos of a child.

On October 4, a jury at Northampton Crown Court returned guilty verdicts on all 14 charges against him.

Today, Tuesday, November 2, His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo handed Nicholls 13 concurrent sentences ranging from three to 14-and-a-half years, plus one consecutive sentence of three years, making a total of 17-and-a-half years in prison.

Telling the defendant to look at him as he passed sentence, Judge Mayo said Nicholls had robbed his victim of a happy and innocent childhood and forced her to live in fear of him revealing videos he had made of his repeated attacks.

The judge added that even when his victim became withdrawn as a result of her ongoing ordeal, Nicholls knew he was the cause 'yet you continued to use her to satisfy your own paedophilic urges' and had also encouraged others to turn on her when she finally reported what had happened to police.

He concluded: “This was sustained abuse of a particularly vulnerable victim.”

Upon release from prison, Nicholls will spend the remainder of his sentence on licence.

He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order, indefinitely barring him from living or staying with any female child under the age of 16 without the approval of social services and the child’s parent or guardian having knowledge of his convictions.

He will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.

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Police tracked down the ringleader of an online child abuse gang after arresting a known Northampton paedophile.

Simon Peach, 36, was jailed for seven years in June 2021 after detectives found a laptop with 128 recordings on his laptop of live streams of girls under 16 performing sexual acts.

But officers from Northamptonshire Police Paedophile On Line Investigation Team (POLIT) then discovered messages between Peach and Matthew Mather-Franks, who was later identified as playing a leading role in the group and arrested.

The gang said to include between six and ten men even kept a Google spreadsheet containing details of young girls, mainly from Russia, taking part in live sex streams.

Crown Court Judge, His Honour Judge David Herbert QC, jailed Mather-Franks, 37, for eight years at a hearing on Friday (February 11).

Both Peach and Mather Franks were already on the sex offenders register.

Peach, previously of Clarke Road, had more than 1,000 indecent images of children on his phone and laptop, breaching a sexual harm prevention order when he was arrested in early 2020.

Four out of five devices belonging to Mather-Franks seized were not registered with the police, breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He had been using the devices to commit online sexual offences relating to young girls, mainly aged between nine and 12, although some involved infants. Some of the children involved appeared drugged or intoxicated.

Judge Herbert told Mather-Franks: "The facts show that the work you did as part of that order failed."

Police also found evidence of images being shared on an encrypted Telegram group.

Mather-Franks, previously of Redding Road, Rushden, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, one of paying for the sexual services of a child, one of distributing category A live streams of child abuse, one of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and one or encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence

Judge Herbert told him: "You have an entrenched sexual interest in very young girls and you represent a serious danger to them."

Mather-Franks will serve at least five years, four months behind bars before he can be considered for parole. Once released, he will serve the remainder of his sentence plus and extra four years on licence.

Following Friday's sentencing, DC Andy Shears from the Police POLIT team said: I am really pleased to see the lengthy sentences handed out to both of these men who preyed on young children for their own depraved satisfaction.

Both men used sophisticated methods to try and evade detection which makes their behaviour even more deplorable.

"However, there is nothing we cant and wont do to uncover child abuse and bring the offenders to justice.

The protection of children is something that is hugely important to me and to Northamptonshire Police and I hope this case shows that if you are a predator like Peach or Mather-Franks, that we will catch up with you and put you where you belong behind bars.

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A Northampton man who sexually assaulted a young girl has been locked up for 10 years.

Ryan Johnson, from Duston, denied all allegations against him during his trial - but last month, a jury convicted him on four counts of child sex offences.

The 31-year-old was found guilty of sexually assaulting the young girl two years ago.

At his sentencing at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (February 11), Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane told Johnson: "Victim impacts statements have shown how your victim now finds it hard to trust people.

"It has affected her friendships. her mother says it has destroyed her confidence."

The court heard how the young girl messaged a friend after the incident, who then alerted the girl's mother to what happened.

Johnson was jailed for 10 years and nine months. He will remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

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A paedophile from Rushden has been sentenced to prison at Northampton Crown Court today (Wednesday, September 16).

Philip Jackson, 32, formerly of Rushden, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for sexually assaulting a young girl in April 2019.

He showed no remorse and forced the case to go to trial, making the child take the stand and give evidence.

Jackson was unanimously found guilty at Northampton Crown Court in August.

Lead Investigator, Detective Constable Paul Lilley, from Northamptonshire Polices Child Protection Team, said: I hope Jacksons punishment brings some closure for this young girl and her family and I am pleased this individual will now serve time behind bars for his actions.

Northamptonshire Police takes reports of sexual assault very seriously and will always treat reports of this nature with the confidentiality and sensitivity they deserve.

At the time of the guilty verdict, DC Lilley described Jackson as a remorseless liar who had repeatedly tried to discredit the account of the young girl.

DC Lilley said: Im very pleased that the jury saw through his lies and as a result, a dangerous paedophile who no doubt poses a risk to children going forward, has been convicted.

What is most incredible about this case is the bravery of the young girl who stood up in court and gave evidence.

I hope Jacksons conviction brings some closure to this young girl and her family who throughout the investigation and trial have shown great courage and dignity.

Jackson was also handed a 10-month Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

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A Corby paedophile who downloaded 5,000 vile images of children failed in a last-minute bid to keep his identity secret.

Alexander Bailey, 56, made an application before Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday) to prevent the Northants Telegraph from reporting his name.

His legal representative Caroline Stewart said he was vulnerable and "incredibly concerned about repercussions" - but Judge Crane blocked the request because it did "not amount to good reason", citing the principle of open justice.

The court heard police, acting on intelligence, raided his York Road home at about 10am on November 26, 2016.

They seized two laptops and found thousands of images of child abuse dating from between May 2014, including some depicting babies and toddlers.

In total 5,150 files were recovered - 543 in category A (the most severe), 643 in category B and 3,964 in category C. Of those files more than 350 were videos. Search terms also recovered showed evidence he had been seeking images of young boys.

When he was interviewed Bailey admitted viewing the images and said he had been doing it for years.

Prosecuting, Ben Gow said: "He said he did not get any sexual gratification from them and he said he was not sure why he kept them."

The paedophile said he had been on a Russian website and had been "bombarded" with images.

He also admitted getting rid of a hard drive just weeks before he was arrested. He later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and one charge involving extreme pornography at Northampton Magistrates' Court.

Mitigating, Ms Stewart said Bailey had since stopped using the internet as much as possible.

She added: "This is one of those cases where there is a sufficient prospect of rehabilitation."

Sentencing, Judge Crane told the disgraced paedophile: "You have denied a sexual interest in children...it seems to me that you are not being honest with yourself."

Bailey was sentenced to a three-year community order with rehabilitation requirements.

He must take part in the Horizon programme, a scheme designed for sex offenders, and has been barred from working with children.

He will also be on the register for sex offenders for five years and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

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A sex pest who has "repeatedly proven he is a danger to women" has been jailed again.

Richard Enderby Hall-Trafford, 24, was jailed for 34 weeks last year after he admitted sexually assaulting two women, flashing at a jogger and performing a sex act in public in Corby.

He was deemed so dangerous magistrates banned him from approaching, touching or attempting to engage with any unknown female for five years through a sexual harm prevention order.

But on May 23, just months after he was released from prison, he sexually assaulted another woman in Spencer Street, Burton Latimer.

He admitted sexual assault and breaching the order by touching his victim and he has now been jailed for 18 weeks.

A further two weeks in prison was added to his sentence because he failed to meet supervision requirements after he was released earlier this year, meaning his risk was "unmanageable", making his total sentence 20 weeks behind bars.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: We are pleased to see Richard Hall-Trafford given time behind bars as he has repeatedly proven that he is a danger to women.

Everyone in this world deserves the right to go about their business without fear of being approached inappropriately and Hall-Trafford has continuously threatened that right.

Northamptonshire Police is committed to taking action against sex offenders and we hope that Hall Traffords conviction demonstrates that commitment.

As part of his sentence Hall-Trafford, of Dumble Close in Corby, will also be on the register for sex offenders for seven and must not contact his most recent victim because of a restraining order.

The pervert must also pay his victim 200 in compensation, court costs of 145 and a surcharge to fund victim services of 128.