Latest Offenders Wiltshire

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A Melksham man has been jailed for attacking a teenage girl in the street in the dead of night.

Scott Davis accosted the stranger as she walked home from a party on New Years Day 2022, putting on a knight in shining armour act and claiming he wanted to protect her from sick men.

The 39-year-old first approached the 15-year-old in the A350 Beanacre Road underpass at around 5am claiming to be an ex-firefighter and said he wanted to make sure she got home safely.

He kept going on about other men [being a danger], I was agreeing with what he was saying; it wasnt wrong. I was feeling like reassured, the victim told detective Sarah Greenman in interview.

But things took a turn when Davis wouldnt allow her to walk away from him in the Murray Walk area of Melksham. The girl said she felt scared and didnt know what was going to happen.

In the Forest Road area, the former rugby player took her down an unknown lane where he launched a sex attack lasting approximately two minutes. Davis grabbed her around the waist, pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips.

Youve got a good figure, he told the girl whilst proceeding to put his hands down her trousers and squeezing her buttocks. He raised her leg and held it up with one hand.

I tried to leave, but I couldnt really move because of how tight he was holding me around my waist, she told police. I was scared, I didnt know what to do.

After the assault, Davis repeatedly told the girl his full name and asked her to add him on Instagram giving her the username Scotty Bear.

The defendant, of Portman Road, said it was a case of mistaken identity and did not give evidence at his trial at Salisbury Crown Court in September where he was convicted by a jury.

On Friday (10 November), Judge Angela Morris jailed him for two years and ordered him to register as a sex offender for ten years. Hell serve half the sentence behind bars.

He was also slapped with a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Davis will effectively swap prison places with his sister Stacey, who was jailed for leaving her one-year-old baby boy at home to die in a heatwave. She could be released as early as next month.

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A Swindon meals on wheels delivery driver has been jailed for repeatedly sexually abusing a 93-year-old woman with dementia in her own home.

59-year-old Frank Greco, of Leighton Avenue, pleaded guilty to seven sexual offences including attempted rape, assault by penetration and five counts of sexual assault.

While working for Enterprise Works Community Meals in Gipsy Lane, the defendant targeted the frail victim between late-March and mid-April this year.

Unbeknown to Greco, the womans son had installed CCTV cameras in her kitchen and living room over concerns about her safety due to deteriorating health.

When he logged in to check the footage, he saw his mother being sexually abused by a man and alerted the police. An investigation was launched and Greco was arrested.

Swindon Crown Court today (Friday) heard how the defendant, on one occasion, had brought moisturising cream with him applying it to his victim before attempting to rape her. After failing to carry out the rape, he proceeded to digitally penetrate her.

In another incident, Greco removed the womans trousers and underwear before performing sexual acts. On other occasions, he touched her breasts under her clothing or kissed her on the lips.

Footage also showed him leading the victim upstairs, out of view of the cameras. On his return to the kitchen, he was seen to wash his penis over the sink and dry it with tea towel.

Two of the offences were carried out whilst a member of the womans family were present at her address, but in another room.

He told initially pleaded innocence to detectives, but when he was told about the CCTV footage, he claimed sexual activity had been consensual despite the victim being assessed a six out of seven on the Global Deterioration Scale for dementia.

Her family said that she can no longer tell the time, confuses her son with her father, struggles to recognise family members, and has confusion and forgetfulness.

Judge Jason Taylor KC said the womans son is still traumatised by what he saw, adding that it was hardly surprising.

Adding: He could not have imagined what it would record and I cannot imagine the revulsion [his family] must have felt when they discovered what had been recorded.

Regrettably, my duty as sentencing judge means Ive had to watch it as well. It is deeply disturbing.

Judge Taylor handed down a prison sentence of 14 years and four months. Greco was also classified as a dangerous offender and given an extended licence period of five years and eight months.

Continuing, he said: Your behaviour that was calculating and controlling. In stark contrast, hers was childlike and compliant. giggling like a teenager, simply responding to you and doing what she was told. Because according to Dr Warner she would have been unable to understand what was happening or make informed decisions.

[She], like any dementia sufferer, was highly vulnerable to the influences of others. Sadly, your influence was malign and self-serving.

I am sure you deliberately targeted her because she would not indeed, could not resist. And having tested the waters on the first and second occasions, you returned repeatedly. In my judgment, you actions were predatory and depraved.

Greco has a previous conviction for arson with intent to endanger life dating back to 2001.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rachel Hardy said: These crimes represent the ultimate betrayal of trust, Frank Greco chose to repeatedly target a vulnerable woman in her own home.

The impact of the offending on the victim and her family has been enormous. It was extremely difficult for her family to learn of the abuse perpetrated by Greco whilst he visited their mother.

This has been a distressing case for the investigating team to work on. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the family of the victim who have conducted themselves with dignity throughout such a harrowing ordeal.

Our thoughts are with the victim and her family.

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A man has been jailed after breaching his sexual harm prevention order by sexually communicating with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl.

Daniel Thomas, 33, of Westbury, was caught following a Wiltshire Police investigation supported by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU).

Between May 4 and June 27 this year, Thomas – a Registered Sex Offender – was communicating through a social media platform with a teenager, who was actually a specially trained officer.

Thomas turned the conversation sexual and he was subsequently arrested on June 28 on suspicion of engaging in sexual communications with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch a sexual act, and for breaching his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

He was subsequently charged and remanded into custody.

On Wednesday at Salisbury Crown Court, he was sentenced to four years and four months in prison, plus three years on extended licence.

PC Whittaker of the Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) unit said: “Thomas is a repeat offender who has persistently targeted children and attempted to engage them in sexual activity.

“Through actively managing his SHPO, we were able to monitor his behaviour and implement a decoy which allowed us to successfully bring this prosecution and protect children from him.”

Detective Inspector David Wells from the Online Investigations Team at SWROCU said: “The repeated attempts by Daniel Thomas to engage young children in sexual activity online show the high level of risk he posed, and the sentence handed down this week reflects that.

“This is challenging but vital work. Law enforcement agencies are across the internet determined to ensure offenders like him don’t succeed in abusing and exploiting children.  It is crucial parents and children themselves take steps to protect against the threat.”

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A well-known Wiltshire auction house has issued an update on its future after a former director was jailed for sex crimes.

Richard Edmonds, who previously ran Richard Edmonds Auctions Limited and Chippenham Auctions, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was found guilty of five counts of sexual activity with a female child, whose identity is protected by law.

Following sentencing, the 47-year-old’s family business updated on the future of the auction house at Showell Farm, and Edmonds’ wife Tora confirmed he had left the company.

In a statement on Facebook, she wrote: “Day-to-day management has been by my husband Richard Edmonds Jnr with responsibility for valuations, cataloguing and auctioneering.

“I have been responsible for the customer accounts, marketing, and involved with the preparation of the catalogues. Richard Jnr is no longer involved with the business nor a director.

“I now assume responsibility for the general management of the business in addition to my previous roles. Richard Snr, his wife Margaret and daughter Sarah will continue to be part of the business.”

She added: “We believe this will provide a continuing sound business structure.”

The firm changed its name on Companies House to Showell Business Park Ltd in September, after Edmonds resigned as a director, but has retained the name Richard Edmonds Auctions Limited on Facebook.

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A woman ‘pretended to be asleep’ during a sex attack perpetrated by a Chippenham man.

42-year-old Nicholas Hodges was convicted of assault by penetration and sexual assault by a jury at Salisbury Crown Court on 14 September.

At a previous hearing, prosecutor Asha Seenauth said the defendant had been invited back to a woman’s address with another man following a night out in Chippenham in 2022.

The woman put her children to bed and continued drinking with Hodges and the other man. When she went to bed, he sent her a message asking if he could come and give her a hug.

After she ignored his message, Hodges entered her bedroom and kissed her neck and lips as she pretended to be asleep. The other man is said to have told Hedges to leave her room and he did.

A short time later, he have returned to her bedroom – where he started kissing her neck before lifting her leg and sexually assaulting her digitally.

 The victim “froze” during the sex attack, which is said to have lasted approximately two minutes.

Hodges, of Charter Road, Chippenham, will be sentenced on 17 November. An offence of assault by penetration carries up to 19 years imprisonment.

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A ‘violent and emotionally abusive’ rapist has been jailed for more than two decades.

61-year-old Dirk Weissenbruch was found guilty of sexually abusing two females by a jury – and could now spend his final days behind bars.

The defendant, of Bradford on Avon, was convicted of five counts of indecent assaults on a girl under 14 years, two counts of rape of a woman and one count of indecent assault on a woman.

At Salisbury Crown Court on Friday (15 September), he was handed a 24-year term of imprisonment and will remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

“Weissenbruch was an intimidating man who was physically violent and emotionally abusive towards his victims”, Wiltshire Police detective Laura Barwood said.

Adding: “The abuse has caused them a huge amount of trauma for many, many years and he has continued to put them through pain by taking this case to trial.

“I want to thank his victims who have been incredibly brave and courageous at seeking justice for Weissenbruch’s crimes.”

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A former teacher at a historic Gloucester grammar school has been sentenced to a three year community order for communicating sexually with a boy whom he was privately tutoring.

Gloucester Crown Court heard yesterday (August 29) that 30-year-old Joseph Nicholson had always wanted to be a teacher and, following his training, he gained a position as an English master at The Crypt School.

He was later contacted by the parents of a boy who wanted private tuition in English for their son and Nicholson agreed to help during his spare time.

Prosecutor Alex Daymond said that, in the spring of last year, Nicholson offered to loan the boy some of his own books for additional reading. The boy and his tutor then began exchanging emails but at that time nothing untoward occurred.

Mr Daymond said: "But when Nicholson loaned the boy a copy of The City and the Pillar, a novel by American writer Gore Vidal, about a young man who is coming of age and discovers his own homosexuality, he wrote a note inside the back cover, which included his phone number, but it was incomplete as it had one digit missing. Nicholson said he wasn't sure how the boy would feel about that.

"After a subsequent exchange of emails, the missing numeral was given and the boy made contact with Nicholson. They began to message each other by WhatsApp.

"Nicholson told the boy to change the contact name for him on his phone to an alias and the name Joe Richardson was chosen.

"The boy then received numerous messages from Nicholson, asking him what books had he read. He began thinking that some of the messages were a bit weird in the way they were written. He said he would expect that sort of language from some of his friends, not from his tutor.

"On one occasion at the beginning of the summer, the boy was attending a family celebration and received his first blatantly sexual message, which stated that Nicholson was masturbating himself. Throughout the day, he received further messages from Nicholson and he began feeling uneasy and forwarded one of the text messages to a friend for his opinion.

"A few days later, the boy spoke to Nicholson about speaking language development and asked him for some pointers about it, to which Nicholson responded, 'You can do something to sweeten the deal', to which the boy made a throwaway remark about getting a bag of sweets.

"Nicholson then asked to see the boy on his own away from his home. It was at this point the boy realised that things were taking a turn for the worse. He felt strange and anticipated what was coming next, because he had seen this scenario in television dramas.

"The boy then got the courage to start saying 'no' to Nicholson, who sent another text, 'I want to see you without your top on' to which the boy said 'no' again.

"The boy then approached his mother to tell her about what was going on with his home tutor. The police were contacted about the boy's family's concerns, who in turn contacted the school about the actions of one of its teachers."

Judge Ian Lawrie KC commented: "The actions of Nicholson were an act of manipulation on many aspects. He was a teacher who behaved in a totally inappropriate way out of school. His brief teaching career is now at an end. He would have known from his training and life experiences in general, that his actions are not acceptable.

"Additionally, I know Gore Vidal's book that was referred to, which was published in 1948. It was ahead of its time, but I question its validity in this day and age. As I recall, It's not pornographic, but a journey of emotional torture.

"Why did Nicholson choose this book for the boy to read? Was there a hidden message? I feel the underlying message was an element of careful manipulation into the subject."

Ross McQuillan-Johnson, defending, said that Nicholson's career as a teacher has ceased and his current employment is also at risk, as it depended on the sentence he receives. He said Nicholson faces the possibility of further disciplinary proceedings.

Nicholson, of Fairway, Calne, Wiltshire, told the judge from the dock: "I spent the last year feeling broken. I've struggled with what I've done and have tried to rectify this with counselling for much of the past year. I've spent a lot of time waiting on the Crown Prosecution Service's charging decision.

"I now have a better understanding of things and have been able to talk to counsellors about my own issues. I've been helping others with their problems before facing up to my own mental issues.

"The sessions have enabled me to deal with my own grief and create stronger relationships. However, the biggest worry for me has been the prospect of being sent to prison. I went into teaching later in life because I wanted to wait until I was ready. I felt very good at being employed at the Crypt Grammar School."

Nicholson pleaded guilty to intentionally communicating with a boy under the age of 16 in a sexual manner, namely requesting a topless picture of the boy and making reference to masturbation.

Judge Lawrie told Nicholson: "Your public humiliation is extreme and complete. No doubt this sentencing will be reported in the media. Your teaching career, which you obviously spent time qualifying for, is now over.

"You committed a series of offences which breached the trust that the boy's parents had shown you. Two things concern me about your case. You sent that book, The City and the Pillar to your victim and I feel there was a hidden sexual motive to your actions. This causes me some concerns and makes your offending cross the custody threshold.

"However, the guidelines for this would only result in a short prison sentence, while your mitigation places you within a community-based sentence. This is both a punishment and the chance of learning your lesson."

The judge sentenced Nicholson to a 36-month community order, which includes 200 hours of unpaid work, 40 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 30 programme sessions and a monthly judicial review. He ordered that Nicholson pay a contribution towards court costs of £425 and a mandatory surcharge of £90.

The judge placed Nicholson on the sex offenders register for five years and made him subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same time period.

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A Wiltshire man who was caught by paedophile hunters has escaped a prison term.

46-year-old Gary Edge was convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

It came after Wiltshire Police received information that between March and May last year, the defendant had been conversing with what he believed to be an underage girl.

The girl – an adult decoy set up by a group of paedophile hunters – had informed Edge that she was only 14, but he continued trying to engage her in a sexual conversation.

At Salisbury Crown Court last Monday (3 July), the defendant was sentenced to an eight-month prison sentence – suspended for two years.

He must also comply with a six-month alcohol treatment requirement, attend 20 rehabilitation activity days and pay a court surcharge of £156.

Edge, of Swaledale Road, Warminster, was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years and was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.

DS Sam Hopkinson from CID said: “I’m pleased that Edge has been sentenced and has been given a lengthy sexual harm prevention order and must be on the Sex Offender’s Register for the next decade.

“Wiltshire Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm.

“While there was fortunately no victim in this case, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone who has suffered a sexual offence to please come forward and speak to us as soon as you can.

“Our specially trained officers will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.

“I would also urge anyone who has concerns that a child they know may be being abused or exploited, to report this to us.”

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A Wiltshire man caught by paedophile hunters twice has escaped a prison sentence after spending over four months behind bars on remand.

Michael Wadley, 69, asked what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl for naked photographs, stating he wanted to print them off and put them on his wall.

The defendant also sent the girl a photograph of a penis and encouraged her to masturbate.

Unbeknown to him, he was actually talking to paedophile hunters posing as the youngster who attended his home in December 2021 and confronted him about his behaviour.

During a 40-minute-long live stream, police attended the defendants home in Bancroft, Bradford on Avon, and arrest him. He was released on police bail before being charged in late 2022.

Later appearing at Salisbury Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and making four indecent images of children three in the most serious category.

Having been released on bail again ahead of sentencing, a different group of paedophile hunters arrived at his address to confront him over new offending claiming that he had been communicating with a child online again.

He was arrested and put before Swindon Magistrates Court the following day. He admitted breaching his bail conditions by initiating contact with a 14-year-old girl and telling her she was stunning.

He was remanded into custody ahead of sentencing and subsequently, his health deteriorated significantly which resulted in the sentencing hearing being delayed multiple times.

On Monday (26 June), he was finally sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court by the judge, Recorder Neil Millard.

He said: Of concern in this case, whilst on bail you breached your bail by contacting a 14-year-old girl, resulting in you being remanded in custody.

You have served a four-month custodial sentence, which is equivalent to an eight-month sentence.

Mr Millard took into account his time spent in custody and imposed a 15-month prison sentence suspended for two years. He also imposed a ten-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

As part of the order, Wadley is banned from having unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16 excluding one person named on the order and is prohibited from wiping his internet history.

He can continue to use the internet, including social media, but has to seek prior approval from the police and must provide them with his usernames and passwords.

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A Calne father who downloaded child abuse images has narrowly avoided prison.

43-year-old Martin Tyrrell was caught with the vile content after police officers seized and later examined devices taken from his former home in Devizes in late 2022.

The raid came after the force received a tip-off about his perverted digital behaviour – with a report that an email address linked to the defendant was being used to access illicit material.

Eleven indecent images were discovered on one of his electronic devices and he was subsequently charged. In an interview, he lied to officers by claiming he wasn’t home when the files were downloaded.

But at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court in March, he admitted the offending. During that hearing, defence solicitor Matthew George said his client was referred to the mental health team after his arrest.

He was referred to Stop It Now, an organisation that helps people worried about their thoughts and behaviour relating to child sexual abuse, and he completed a programme with them.

Mr George said that Tyrrell, of Lambourn Court, has “learned a good deal about himself and his offending behaviour” and added that he is “now able to stop it himself”.

On 1 June, at the same court, he was handed a 26-week prison sentence suspended for two years. Tyrrell must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 40 rehabilitation activity days.

The magistrates also imposed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for seven years, which bans the man from using internet devices unless approved by the police, deleting web search history and using social media or chat rooms without asking the Public Protection Unit prior and providing them with his passwords.

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A convicted sex offender has escaped prison despite carrying out yet another attack.

29-year-old Jason Collins was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Marlborough following a trial held at Swindon Magistrates’ Court in January.

At a sentencing hearing in March, prosecutor Keith Ballinger said that the defendant squeezed the victim’s bottom following a verbal altercation in September 2021.

The woman – who knew Collins through family – responded by shouting: “Don’t touch my f**king bum” and police were called to the scene.

In a victim personal statement, she said that she had left her hometown as a result of the incident and now suffers from depression and anxiety, which has put a strain on her relationship.

She spoke about the assault having an impact on her eating – stating that she doesn’t eat for days or weeks at a time due to feeling disgusted with her body.

The court heard how, in January 2021, he was convicted of sexual assault and received a suspended prison sentence. Already a registered sex offender at the time of that attack, he was also prosecuted for a breach of the sex offender notification requirements.

Mr Jones, defending, said that Collins “still maintains that he did not engage in this activity at all”.

He added that this allegation is very different from his previous offending, but accepted that Collins has “a significant history of sexual offences”.

Mr Jones added that his client – who suffered a “very traumatic childhood” – has made “significant progress” over recent years. He said he had stopped drinking, is learning to drive and looking for work.

Magistrates accepted that his behaviour has improved since the date of the incident and imposed a 36-month community order. He must pay £200 costs and a £95 surcharge.

Collins, of Avro Close, Upavon, must register as a sex offender for five years. This will run concurrently with any existing registration. A 12-month restraining order was also imposed.

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A retired Wiltshire police officer has admitted offences relating to indecent images of children.

Robert Gabbott, 64, also known as Bob, pleaded guilty to collecting and distributing hundreds of vile child abuse images when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court.

The married defendant, of Elizabeth Close, Melksham, was told to register as a sex offender within 72 hours of the hearing in late November.

The case was deemed too serious to be dealt with by magistrates, with the case sent to Swindon Crown Court. He will be sentenced in January 2023.

Gabbott – who is also a member of Wiltshire Freemasons and helped out marshal at the Melksham vaccination centre – accepted two charges of distributing indecent images of a child in categories A and B.

He also accepted three charges of making (collecting) indecent images of a child – including 200 in category A, 199 in category B and 457 in category C.

Category A images – which can be moving or still – involve penetrative sexual activity, category B involve non-penetrative sexual activity and category C includes images not falling within categories A or B.

The offences were dated between 18 September 2021 and 14 January 2022.

Gabbott was released on unconditional bail until sentencing.

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 A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed after he downloaded indecent images of children within weeks of a suspended sentence lapsing for similar offending.

Stuart Keith Waghorne, who lived in Bournemouth at the time of his crimes, was caught with more than 3,000 images obtained across a four-month period last year.

This criminal behaviour started less than a month after a suspended sentenced he received back in 2019 had expired.

Judge William Mousley KC jailed the 50-year-old defendant for 21 months at a Bournemouth Crown Court Hearing on Friday, November 4.

Waghorne, now of Bramley Hill, Mere, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and breach of a sexual harm prevention order. 

 Prosecuting, Sophie Johns said the defendant, who has worked most of his life as a butcher, was arrested on December 14, 2021, after police received information about his suspected behaviour. An analysis of his phone was carried out by officers.

A large number of still of moving images were found – 2,342 category A (the most serious), 414 category B and 249 category C.

Ms Johns said the material, which was downloaded between August and December last year, included children as young as two, with visible destress expressed by the victims.

The images were found across two applications on the phone as well Waghorne’s email application, with the majority of the files still accessible. 

 Prosecuting, Sophie Johns said the defendant, who has worked most of his life as a butcher, was arrested on December 14, 2021, after police received information about his suspected behaviour. An analysis of his phone was carried out by officers.

A large number of still of moving images were found – 2,342 category A (the most serious), 414 category B and 249 category C.

Ms Johns said the material, which was downloaded between August and December last year, included children as young as two, with visible destress expressed by the victims.

The images were found across two applications on the phone as well Waghorne’s email application, with the majority of the files still accessible. 

 The court heard Waghorne received a suspended sentence in July 2019 for similar offences of possessing indecent images.

The offences which brought him back before the courts started just weeks after the suspended sentence had lapsed. 

 Mitigating, Rob Griffiths said his client’s actions all stemmed from the breakdown of his marriage, which he described as an “unpleasant break up”.

Mr Griffiths said the defendant had set about trying to restore his masculinity following the seperation. After starting out watching adult pornography, the offender ended up at the “taboo” which brought him before the courts.

The barrister said the suspended sentence Waghorne received in 2019 did not contain any targeted programme to work on his sexual interest in children. He asked the judge to give his client a final chance, with there being a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Judge Mousley KC said he had concluded only the only appropriate punishment in the case was immediate imprisonment.

Alongside the prison sentence, the judge extended the sexual harm prevention order to run for 10 years from the date of the hearing. Waghorne was placed on the sex offenders register for the same period of time. 

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A Wiltshire rapist who treated his "terrified" victim like an "inanimate object" has been jailed for six years.

James Rumney raped the female victim twice after they met on a night out.

Rumney was out with a group with friends in September 2020 when he met the victim.

When they moved on to the home of one of the friends in the group, Rumney and the woman had consensual sex.

But, during the evening, Rumney, of Poulton Hill, Marlborough, demanded more sex which his victim didn’t want.

He forced himself on her and raped her twice before she eventually managed to leave the bedroom to get away from him.

A jury at Swindon Crown Court unanimously found the 29-year-old of guilty of two counts of rape last month.

The victim has been praised by the sentencing judge and police for her bravery in reporting the crime.

Today, two years after the incident, Rumney was sentenced to six years in prison and will be on the sex offenders register for life on release.

Judge James Townsend said during sentencing: "I do not take you had consensual sex earlier, a mitigating factor.

"The impact on your victim has been devastating. I want to pay tribute to her for revealing these matters and to go through the trauma of giving evidence."

Detective Constable Sally Booth from Wiltshire Police said: “This case has highlighted how a relatively typical situation, where a man and woman have consensual sex together after meeting up on a night out, can quickly change to the awful crime of a serious sexual assault.

“Our victim asked the perpetrator to stop on more than one occasion but he refused and continued to force himself on her, at times treating her like an inanimate object.

"She was terrified and very distressed and it took an enormous amount of bravery for her to get away from him and then report it to us.

“Situations like this where something starts out as consensual but quickly turns to non-consensual I believe are not uncommon.

"However, often a victim will feel like they cannot report it because they agreed to sleep with the perpetrator in the first place and so no-one will believe them.

“This is just not true. If you have been or ever are in situation like this, you must report it – a serious crime has been committed.

"You will be believed and treated by specially trained officers. We will investigate the crime and take every action possible to bring the offender to justice.

“I’d like to thank the victim for having the courage to come forward and report this in the first place.

"It’s not an easy thing to do but her bravery in doing this helped us investigate this crime which led to this jail sentence.”

Description

A sex offender has been locked up after using Facebook to share "extreme" indecent images of children.

Richard Baker was jailed on Thursday, March 10, for 28 months after pleading guilty to seven charges. All of his offences were connected to distressing pictures of kids.

Wiltshire Police's Child Internet Exploitation Team went to Baker's address in September 29, 2020 after receiving a tip off that the 66-year-old, of no fixed address in Bratton, Westbury, had been uploading photos to the internet. He was arrested and his home was searched.

Indecent images were discovered on two mobile phones - they were classed as 'category A', meaning they were of the most serious type. Officers described them as among the "most extreme" images shared by sex offenders online.

Det Con Sadie McCoy said: This investigation began when we received information that Baker had been using his personal Facebook account to distribute indecent images of children. We then seized multiple devices to fully understand the scale of the offending and as part of our enquiries we found some of the most extreme type of indecent images of children.

"Baker admitted to not only possessing extreme pornographic images and making indecent images, but also distributing these indecent images. The Child Internet Exploitation Team at Wiltshire Police is dedicated to identifying offenders like Baker and ensuring they are brought to justice.

"Every child pictured in the images he accessed and distributed will be a victim of real abuse and needs protecting and safeguarding. We will continue to put these victims at the heart of what we do.

As well as his prison sentence, Baker was also issued with a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to pay a 181 victim surcharge. To report child sex abuse to Wiltshire Police, call 101. More information for members of the public who suspect someone of accessing indecent images is available online.