Search results for Stoke-on-Trent

Description

Convicted sex offender Stephen Proctor has dodged prison for breaking a court rule - four years after being jailed for a similar offence.

The 58-year-old was caged for 30 months in 2021 after setting up fake social media profiles on Facebook. It followed his conviction for sexual activity with a child after kissing a 15-year-old girl on the lips in 2021.

Now Proctor - who has eight convictions for 34 offences - has been sentenced yet again.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how Proctor, of Leek Road, Stoke, failed to tell police that he had obtained a new passport ahead of a trip to Turkey.

Prosecutor Gurdit Singh said: “The defendant notified police he was planning to go to Turkey. He planned to use a passport which he had not notified police he had received and was arrested. In an interview later that day, he told police he wasn’t aware he needed to.”

But Rashid Mohammed, mitigating, argued that Proctor’s failure to comply was a genuine oversight.

He said: “The real question of this case is whether we need to send Mr Proctor to prison. There wasn’t a total disregard to inform authorities of his actions - he had notified police of where he was going. But he had overlooked the need to tell police about his new passport. He is currently on referral for help with ongoing mental health issues, including a suspected personality disorder. He is trying to keep himself busy with volunteer work and is trying to secure employment at a takeaway which is dependent on the outcome of this case.”

Proctor was handed an 18-month community order. It includes 20 days of rehabilitation and 200 hours unpaid work. He must also pay £1,000 costs.

Judge Richard McConaghy said: “You failed to notify police of your new passport in September. You did tell them you were going abroad. I acknowledge that your old passport was set to expire in January 2025, and you feared the passport would no longer be valid for travel. I also understand that you assumed it would be fine as it was using the same passport number. But it was your responsibility to notify police. I consider this a serious breach as you have been convicted of failing to notify police on a previous occasion, resulting in your imprisonment in 2021.”

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A sex offender stripped naked and then touched a 'screaming' little girl in a Stoke-on-Trent street in a terrifying New Year's Eve incident.

Daniel Clift - who has 69 previous convictions for 135 offences - was completely nude when he spotted the six-year-old child getting out of a car in Fenton.

As the youngster tried to get back in the vehicle, 36-year-old Clift touched her on her head and shoulder and grinned and laughed as he did it. Police arrived and found him still naked talking to people outside a pub.

He was arrested and later told probation he was under the influence of monkey dust at the time. Now Clift has been jailed for three years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Antony Longworth said the incident happened at 9.40pm on December 31 as a mum was taking her child to a shop. The girl got out of the car as the mum was getting her purse from the passenger seat footwell.

Mr Longworth said: "She saw the defendant naked walking on the street. She shouted to her daughter to get back in the car. The child was standing by the front window of the car.

"She was making her way into the car and had one hand on the door handle when the defendant placed his right hand on the child's head and moved his hand down the side of her shoulder. He was seen to be grinning, smiling and laughing as he did it.

"It was a deliberate act. The mum called 999. The child was upset and screaming, 'When can we go home? Why did he touch me? Is it safe for me to get out of the car?'.

"Police went to the scene. They found the defendant naked. He was arrested. He was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His eyes were very wide and his pupils dilated."

In a victim statement the child's mum said the youngster was traumatised and too scared to get out of the car. She said: "She keeps asking me why a man was walking around naked and touching a child like he did to her.

"I cannot believe he has done it before. I do not feel safe taking her out or letting her play out with her friends."

Clift, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to exposure, breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and common assault. The court heard he has numerous previous convictions for exposure.

Adam Watkins, mitigating, said Clift lost his parents when he was aged five and six and he grew up in the care system. He has significant mental health issues and has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. Mr Watkins said: "He has not helped himself by taking illegal substances up to and including monkey dust.

"He has been in custody for six months or so. He has been reflecting. He wants to work with the authorities and groups to get his condition and his behaviour regulated. The girl was harmed psychologically. It was fleeting.

"He cannot explain why he acted as he did. He cannot explain, let alone justify, but the evidence has roots in substance misuse and mental health difficulties. There was no pre-planning or forethought in this offence."

Judge Richard McConaghy said: "On May 5, 2022 you were made the subject of a SHPO. It restricted your contact with children. On the evening of December 31 you were walking naked on the street. You saw a girl who had just got out of a car. Because of your appearance she was getting back into the car. You touched her on her head and down on to her shoulder. You were grinning and laughing as you did it.

"When the police found you were standing still naked outside a pub talking to people. The girl was traumatised.

"This is the 70th time you have found yourself in front of a criminal court. This is the fourth time that you have been convicted of an offence of exposure.

"I take the view that this is a very serious breach of the SHPO. Not only did you have contact with a child. You did so by approaching the child while you were naked and you committed a criminal offence of assaulting her. Your offending is aggravated significantly by your previous convictions and by the fact you were intoxicated by monkey dust at the time."

Description

A man has been jailed for after he pleaded guilty to child sexual offences.

Akhtar Gul Rhamani, 52, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to three-years-and-two-months’ imprisonment at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Tuesday (10 June) after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a boy at an earlier hearing.

Rhamani was arrested in October 2023 after the crime was reported to us.

As part of his sentencing, he was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the Sex Offenders Register.

Description

A man has avoided an immediate prison sentence after he tried to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex.

Mitchell Taylor messaged several accounts of girls under the age of 16.

He began speaking to 'Ellie' who he planned to meet at Stoke Railway Station on May 28, 2021.

But Taylor, who was 22 at the time, found that he had been duped by a paedophile hunter group.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard how he told a 13-year-old he 'liked young girls,' StokeonTrentLive reports.

Taylor - who has 13 previous convictions for 27 offences - was later arrested while on bail for threatening a security guard with a six-inch kitchen knife at a housing support premises.

Prosecutor, Syed Ahmed, told the court: "Predator group STOP set up a fictitious social media profile posing as a 13-year-old girl called Ellie.

"Mr Taylor contacted the account on March 20, 2021, with a message saying ‘Hey’. The conversation quickly turned sexual. The decoy informed Mr Taylor she was 13. He replied saying he was 22.

"He asked her if she would like to be his girlfriend. She said she didn’t know as she might get into trouble.

"He asked to see ‘sexy pictures’ of her. She said she didn’t know what this meant and asked Mr Taylor what he would like her to do."

Taylor then described the pictures she could send and offered to share intimate images of himself with her.

Mr Ahmed continued: "The girl said she didn’t know as she didn’t think her mum would be happy with it. Mr Taylor told the decoy that her mum didn’t need to know.

"The defendant arranged to meet with the girl at Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station on May 28, so she could come back to his house. He was instead met by paedophile hunters.

"He denied having sent any messages to the decoy and told the hunters that ‘Kieran had been sending the messages’.”

Taylor was interrogated by detectives on May 28, 2021 and answered ‘no comment’ to all questions.

On December 17, he admitted he knew he was speaking to a child - but denied having any intention of sexual activity.

Taylor, of Greenhead Street, Burslem, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming on May 28, 2021.

Matthew Ness, mitigating, said that while Taylor had an extensive criminal record, this was his first sexual offence. He said the crimes were a result of his 'vulnerable' mental state.

He said: “At the time of the offending he was in early 20s - but he had the sexual and mental maturity of a teenager.

"Mr Taylor’s psychiatric reports show he suffers from significant learning disabilities.

"It is no coincidence that his offending completely stopped in 2021, ever since he started working with the learning disability support services.”

Taylor was given a two-year suspended sentence, a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, 100 hours of unpaid labour, and ordered to pay £500 in court costs. He was also ordered to complete a sex offender rehabilitation course.

Description

A man has been jailed after he was convicted of nine child sexual offences.

John Davies, 45, from Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to 20-years behind bars at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 27 May).

He pleaded guilty in May 2024 to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, distributing an indecent photograph of a child, three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and three counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). A jury later found him guilty of arranging / facilitating the commission of a child sex offence – rape / assault by penetration of a child under 13.

Our Public Protection Unit carried out an investigation after we received intelligence that Davies had breached a SHPO in April 2024.

Description

A 'dangerous' sex attacker made a chilling threat as he grabbed a 'petrified' woman around the neck. Ben Cotterill pounced as his victim made her way home alone and told her: "I could f****** rape you right now."

The woman was walking from Stoke-on-Trent railway station at 10.15pm when she saw Cotterill standing in the middle of the road. He shouted at the woman before running towards her, Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Barry White said: "He wrapped his arm around her neck and pressed himself against her back and bum. She said, 'Get off me', several times. He said, 'I could f****** rape you right now'. She was terrified and continued to scream."

Mr White continued: "He held on to her for a minute, rubbing his crotch against her backside. He pushed her into a fence with force. She continued to say, 'Get off me'.

A delivery driver came to the terrified woman's aid and pushed Cotterill away and the woman ran home, StokeonTrentLive reports. Mr White continued: "The driver said, 'What are you doing? Do not be touching girls'. The defendant replied, 'I can touch who I want'."

Cotterill, of The Moat, Weston Coyney, denied assault when he was arrested but later pleaded guilty to sexual assault. He also admitted two charges of theft from a shop after he stole a hot tub from B&Q, Meir Park, and a bottle of vodka from Bargain Booze, in Trentham, on October 15, 2024.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said the ordeal had left her shocked and extremely shaken and in need of counselling. She said her mental health had suffered and she feared she would never be the same person again.

The court heard Cotterill had been diagnosed with psychosis and suffered from depression and anxiety. Rashad Mohammed, mitigating, told the court: "It was an isolated one-off incident which is unlikely to be repeated. This was an unpleasant incident.

"His memory at the time was extremely poor. He was behaving irrationally. The reason for that was because of the substance he had consumed. He had taken drugs at the time. It was opportunistic. He asks me to express his regret and remorse. He has not taken drugs for a number of months. That is something he is proud of. It has blighted most of his life."

Cotterill - who had four previous sexual offences on his lengthy criminal record of 66 convictions and 149 offences - was jailed for 32 months and placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.

Description

A man from Stoke-on-Trent who asked an underage boy on Snapchat for sex has been jailed.

Jack Box, 22, of Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years in prison at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (30 October) after he previously admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child and distributing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.

We arrested him after the victim, a teenage boy, came forward and told an adult what happened on 2 December 2022.

Box messaged the boy asking about what he looked like. Box then further messaged the boy and asked him for sex.

The boy blocked Box’s account after this and told someone about the messages.

We seized Box’s phone and found indecent images of children on it.

As part of his sentencing, Box was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

Description

A child sex offender from Staffordshire has been sentenced to 16 years after the survivors came forward.

Kris Middleton, 39, of Baddeley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (4 September) after he was found guilty at an earlier hearing.

Our detectives questioned him in March 2021 after one of the survivors bravely came forward.

Since then, we’ve been working tirelessly to secure all of the evidence required to bring Middleton to justice.

Through the bravery of the survivors and our evidence, a jury found Middleton guilty on 15 counts following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 21 May this year. These include eight counts of sexual assault of a girl under 13 and seven counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Middleton was sentenced to 15-years imprisonment for his crimes, with an extended license period of one year, given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

A child sex offender from Staffordshire has been jailed for more than two years after he was found guilty on three counts in court.

Shaun Willcocks, 63, of Bagnall, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to two-years-and-four-months imprisonment at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 23 August after he was found guilty of three child sexual offences:

• Two counts of the sexual assault of a girl under 13
• One count of causing a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity

We started investigating Willcocks when the survivor bravely came forward in June 2021 and told an adult what had been happening to her.

The abuse happened in 2015.

Detectives worked hard to gather all of the evidence possible to take Willcocks to court and support the survivor as much as possible.

Willcocks denied the offences but was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent in July this year.

As part of his sentencing, Willcocks was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for ten years.

Description

Sex pest Ross Madeley attacked a woman at a Covid lockdown party. The defendant was drunk and out of work when he carried out the attack.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the victim had tried to scream. But no noise came out of her mouth, the ordeal eventually came to an end, and she called in Staffordshire Police the following day.

Now Madeley - who is 25 years old - has dodged jail and been placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. He had admitted two charges of sexual assault as well as three other sexual offences connected to the same incident.

Brian Williams, mitigating, said: "He behaved in the most appalling way. He accepts that. He said to me what he did was unforgivable. He is remorseful. There is a huge difference in many people between a 21-year-old and a 25-year-old. In the intervening period he has matured considerably. He can look back at what happened four years ago with a sense of shame. It was during Covid and he was not working. It led him to drink more than he should have done."

Recorder Sunil Khanna sentenced Madeley, of Guy Street, Bucknall, to two years in prison, suspended for two years. The sentence includes a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 150 hours unpaid work.

Recorder Khanna said: "These events occurred at the time of lockdown. You were feeling low and drank too much and described yourself as very drunk that evening. You behaved in an appalling way. I have no doubt she suffered psychological and personal harm as a consequence of your actions. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."

Description

Dangerous sex offender Callum Townsend has been jailed after he tried to meet up with a 15-year-old boy for sex. The 32-year-old - who has a history of committing sexual offences - pretended to be a 20-year-old woman named Amy in a bid to lure his victim into meeting him.

The offence happened shortly after he was released from jail on licence. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard he also asked a 15-year-old boy to send images of himself and used other alias names.

Now Townsend has been sentenced to a 10-year extended jail sentence to protect the public as he is deemed to be a dangerous offender.

portraying himself as a 12 or 13-year-old girl to another pervert on Kik was 'stoking the flames of his warped cravings and your own'

Prosecutor Hunter Gray said the defendant was jailed for 38 months in 2021 for three charges of causing a child to engage in sexual activity; sexual activity with a child; and failing to surrender to custody. He was placed on the sex offenders' register and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for life.

He was released on licence on November 18, 2022. But on March 12 last year police attended Townsend's home and he was asked to hand over his devices, an iPhone and an Acer laptop.

"The defendant had accessed a number of apps which were not showing on his phone - gaming apps, CryptoCurrency apps, a drop box cloud app and Telegram Messenger.

"An examination of his phone revealed he had been exchanging messages with a 15-year-old boy between February 9 and March 2, 2023. The messages had been deleted. The defendant posed as a 20-year-old woman called Amy. The boy told him he was 15 and still at school. The defendant asked for images of him.

"He sent a video of a couple having sex. He asked the boy if he had Telegram, a more secure application. They arranged to meet up for the purpose of meeting for sexual activity. The defendant sent the boy images of a woman. He pretended to be Amy."

Townsend asked the boy to send him a picture and the victim sent an image of his lower half. Townsend persisted and asked him to take his shorts off. Mr Gray added: "It was a breach of the SHPO to be in communication with someone under 16. He arranged to meet someone under 16 for the purpose of a sexual encounter."

The defendant also sent out messages asking to be added on Snapchat under an account name Nevexx200 and messaged someone under another alias, sending images of a blonde woman and encouraging the recipient to send images of himself.

Townsend, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching a SHPO; arranging the commission of a child sexual offence; and failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders' register.

Robert Holt, mitigating, conceded Townsend has a 'substantial record of similar matters'. He said the defendant pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. He was subject to licence and was recalled to prison after his arrest.

He said the offending period was 'relatively short'. Mr Holt said: "I have to accept the young person was 15, quite a disparity in age and the person was a child rather than a decoy and there were further concerns due to his autism and ADHD. He accepts there is an element of grooming and he used it to try and obtain images."

Mr Holt said Townsend had not had any access to any accredited programmes. He said: "He is happy to comply with the Horizon (sex offender) programme and has put his time in custody to good use, completing the first year of an Open University degree in business management."

Mr Holt added: "He accepts his behaviour is inappropriate and he accepts there needs to be some considerable change in his behaviour and his outlook. He seems to be in a revolving door. He is preparing for his release and hopefully will not return to court in the future."

Judge Graeme Smith told Townsend: "Upon your release on licence there was a rapid and worrying return to some of the activity. You were posing as a younger female and corresponding via the internet with a 15-year-old boy. You used another alias, Neve, to communicate with people.

"There was an attempt to obtain sexual images but you were also proposing to meet up with the boy for sexual activity. It would have been obvious you were not 20-year-old Amy but a 32-year-old man. You have a sexual interest in teenage boys. You also encouraged the boy to try and recruit others to what was going on.

"You are a dangerous offender. You are sexually preoccupied and sexually attracted to children. This happened within a matter of weeks after your release from prison."

The extended sentence is made up of five years custody and an extended licence period of five years. He must serve two thirds of the custodial element before he can be considered for release.

Description

A man who was convicted of several sexual offences in Staffordshire has been sentenced to 15-years.

Kieran Huthwaite, 31, of Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent, abused the survivors who eventually came forward and reported what had happened.

He was reported to police and arrested in November 2021. He denied what happened.

We started work to gather evidence which resulted in Huthwaite being charged and sent to court.

Following a trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, the jury reached a verdict on 31 January 2024 that Huthwaite was guilty of two counts of assault of a female under 13, one count of rape of a female under 16, one count of attempted rape of a female over 16, one count of sexual assault of a girl under 13 and one count sexual assault of a female over 16.

On Tuesday (21 May), he was given a 15-year extended sentence. He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Description

Rapist Mustafa Musa has been jailed for eight years. The 23-year-old, of Lionel Grove, Hartshill, has been locked up after earlier being convicted of separate charges of rape and sexual assault.

It was one night when a woman woke up to find Musa sexually assaulting her. He then raped her - despite her shouting for him to stop.

Cheshire Police were called in following the Crewe attack.

Following the Chester Crown Court sentence, a police spokesman said: "I would like to commend the victim for the courage she has shown throughout this case. Musa lied his way through this investigation and subsequent trial, showing absolutely no remorse for the ordeal he put the victim through. But thanks to the victim’s bravery and the evidence we gathered, the jury was able to see through his lies and he is now finally being held accountable for his actions.”

Musa has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for the rest of his life.

The police spokesman added: “If anything can be achieved from this case, I hope that it encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward and report them to us. We treat all reports extremely seriously and any allegation will be thoroughly investigated with the wishes and needs of the victim as our main priority.”

Description

A pensioner who volunteered at an attraction popular with families has been caught with hundreds of child abuse images. David Donkin, who had helped out at Foxfield Railway, near Blythe Bridge, since 1966, viewed sickening photos of children as young as three being exploited over a six-year period.

But it came to an end when police visited his home in December 2022 and seized his electronic devices. They were found to contain a total of 2,430 indecent images of youngsters at categories A to C and 295 prohibited images of children.

Now 79-year-old Donkin, who has undertaken a lot of work through the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a child protection charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse, has been sentenced to a two-year community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. As part of the order he must complete a rehabilitation activity requirement for 20 days and 80 hours unpaid work.

Prosecutor Salek Ahmed said police from Operation Safenet attended at Donkin's Blurton home on December 14, 2022, after receiving intelligence that the occupant had uploaded a category C image of a child.

Mr Ahmed said items including a computer tower and a mobile phone were seized and analysed. They were found to contain:

• 239 still indecent images of children and 39 moving images at category A, the most serious;
• 234 still images and 43 movies at category B;
• 1,858 still images and 17 movies at category C;
• 265 prohibited still images of a child and 30 prohibited moving images of a child.

Mr Ahmed said Donkin made full and frank admissions in his police interview. He added that some of the children in the images were as young as three or four and the offending spanned six years, from 2016 to 2022.

Donkin, of Waterside Drive, Blurton, pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of a child and one charge of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said when the police seized Donkin's devices officers provided him with the details of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. Mr Muldoon said: "He started engaging and did not replace the items seized by the police. For almost a year he was involved with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

"At the moment he has no devices that can access the internet. The offending has a lot of stigma."

He said Donkin, who worked at Creda, has been involved with the steam railway since 1966. But he has been suspended as a result of the police investigation. Mr Muldoon said: "There is no suggestion there has been any contact with children. He is hopeful he will be able to go back there.

"He is very proud of his achievements in his paid working life and his voluntary working life. He is ashamed, guilt ridden and upset that he is before the courts.

"He accepts he became desensitised to what he was looking at and became addicted to pornography."

Recorder Julian Taylor said: "You are 79 and of previous good character. These are real children. These disgraceful, horrible images are exploitation of children. Some were as young as three or four."

Donkin was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and was placed on the sex offenders' register for the same period.

Description

Sex offender Niall Griffiths breached a court order - by using an app which does not track internet searches. The 31-year-old used the DuckDuckGo app which allows devices to not retain internet history.

And he also breached a community order by missing unpaid work appointments. Now Griffiths has been ordered to carry out a further 30 hours unpaid work and been hit with a £479 court bill at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.

Griffiths was handed the Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in 2016 after admitting two offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. But he breached the order on December 1, 2021 by using DuckDuckGo.

Prosecutor Suzanne Swindail said: "The police attended the defendant's address to conduct a routine visit. They checked his mobile phone. It was suspected an app, Bumble, had been deleted. A further download showed Kik had been deleted and Bumble had been deleted, placing him in breach of the SHPO. It also showed he had accessed DuckDuckGo which allows the phone not to retain internet history, placing him in breach."

Griffiths, of Anchor Road, Longton, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the requirements of a community order and breaching the SHPO.

Mark Harrison, mitigating, said the SHPO breach was two years old. He said the probation service was anxious to continue to work with Griffiths.

He added: "He is anxious to cooperate with the probation service."

Magistrates fined Griffiths £200 and also ordered him to pay £185 prosecution costs, £60 costs to the probation service, and a £34 surcharge.