Latest Offenders Yorkshire

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Simon Pritchett needed to go and 'get some fresh air' at the coast instead of sitting in his room looking at images involving child abuse, Hull Crown Court heard.

Pritchett, 46, of Withernsea, East Yorkshire admitted three offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing extreme pornography, involving animals.

Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that police were alerted about images on the internet, including Snapchat, in February 2022 and they went to Pritchett's home. 

They seized his mobile phone, laptop and a computer and hard drive.

'All four were found to have illicit images in varying numbers,' said Mr Hammersley.

There were 157 images of children in the most serious Category A, 82 in Category B and 91 in Category C. There were also images of bestiality.

Pritchett originally denied distributing the images and he had been due to face a trial on August 27 but that charge was dropped. 

He claimed that he was sent images by a stranger but closed them and sent them back, telling the person on Snapchat to 'f*** off'.

He later denied knowledge of the indecent images and having a look at them and claimed that he had been sent links but that, when he realised that they involved children, he deleted them.

He admitted having an interest in bestiality.

Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Pritchett pleaded guilty and he was willing to comply with a community order.

He had no previous convictions.

Judge Mark Bury told Pritchett: 'I suggest you get out more. 

'What you have been doing over an 18-month period is downloading and retaining indecent images of children and extreme pornography images.

'You have no history of contact sexual offending. There is no suggestion that you are a risk of it.

'You must understand that the seriousness of this offending is that each image that you have possession of represents an image of an abuse of a child. 

'Okay, you didn't take the photograph of the abuse and you, even less, were not the abuser but if there wasn't market for this sort of offending, then fewer children would be abused in the first place. That's why it's serious.'

Pritchett was prepared to admit that he had an interest in bestiality. 

'You need to stop doing that as well,' said Judge Bury. 

Pritchett lived in a coastal area and there were plenty of things that he could do to 'get some fresh air and meet people' rather than 'sit in your room and access images like this'.

Pritchett was given 30 days' rehabilitation and a five-year sexual harm prevention order. 

A deprivation order was made for his computer equipment.

'It's very important that you put behind you this offending,' said Judge Bury. 

'If there is any repetition of it, next time it won't be a community order, it will be a prison sentence.'

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A convicted UK paedo who served five years for his disgusting crime is currently touring Ireland in a camper van - and is heading for the west of Ireland.

The English man informed Garda in Ireland upon his arrival in the country that he would be travelling the country in a camper van for three months and is set to leave the east of the country with his intended next stops set to be around the Wild Atlantic Way including a possible stop in Galway.

56-year-old Neil Wood was sentenced in 2019 to five years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16. Wood, from Knaresborough, was also given a 15 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), and was then also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely after his 3 June 2019 sentencing.

The convicted paedo landed in Ireland in June 2024, and, according to a source, informed Gardai in Bray of his intention to stay for three months in Ireland. Wood was also reported as travelling the south west of the Ireland, before heading to the west.

Wood is obliged to sign in with local Gardai at every location he visits, with Gardai furnished with details on the make, colour and registration of the camper van in which Neil Wood is travelling the country. Failure to register with Gardai as he travels will lead to his arrest. It's also known that Wood will be arrested should he make advances to young girls.

Speaking in June 2019 about the sentence handed to Wood, investigating officer Detective Constable Rebecca Prentice of Harrogate CID said: "Neil Wood has caused the victim and their family unimaginable distress and upset.

"The sentence handed to him reflects the seriousness of the offence he committed against an innocent child. I’m also pleased that the court saw fit to place him on the sex offenders register and impose a sexual harm prevention order on him, reflecting the severity of his offence."

"I would like to take this opportunity to also thank the victim for coming forward and showing incredible bravery throughout both the investigation and trial. I hope the result provides the victim and family with some sense of closure, allowing them to move on to more positive times.

"Finally I hope that this result reassures and provides confidence to anyone who may have been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward and report it to police.

"It doesn’t matter when the abuse happened, whether it’s happening now or occurred decades ago. Even if it is not possible to put an offender before the courts, it’s important that you are offered the support and advice that is available."

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A Calderdale warehouseman who preyed on a young girl has finally been jailed.

Martin Gorman, now 54, committed his crimes more than two decades ago, but he only pleaded guilty midway through his own evidence to a crown court jury at a second trial earlier this year. Gorman’s first trial had to be “aborted” in 2023 due to disclosure issues and Bradford Crown Court heard on Thursday that the woman had to then undergo pre-trial cross examination procedures for a second time.

The second trial got underway in April, but Gorman, of Springfield Road, Elland, changed his pleas to guilty and finally admitted two offences of sexual intercourse with a child under 13. The woman - who says she is a survivor - was at court for Gorman’s sentence hearing and described in her powerful victim impact statements how she had fought to be heard for years and the abuse had left “a massive scar."

She said Gorman had taken her childhood from her and she needed to get justice. In a statement read by prosecutor Jayne Beckett the woman, who must not be identified, said she felt she had been heard for the first time in her life and hoped the sentencing would bring her closure.

She said she had been in a daze for the last four years and now wanted to heal and move on with her life. The court heard that Gorman had told a pre-sentence report author that he regretted his offending and was ashamed of his actions.

Recorder Abdul Iqbal KC sentenced Gorman to a total of 14 years and three months in jail and added an additional one-year licence period due to the nature of his crimes. He said the woman had described the abuse as “horrific” and she had lived with the consequences for many years.

The judge said the woman “plucked up the courage” to go to the police in 2020 and their investigation began. Recorder Iqbal said the psychology impact on her had been severe. Gorman will have to serve almost a decade behind bars being considered for release by the Parole Board and he will now have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Commenting after the sentencing, Detective Constable Jo Hamilton of Calderdale’s Child Protection Unit, who led the investigation for West Yorkshire Police, said: “This case just goes to show how important it is to report sexual offending to us, regardless of how much time has passed, as we will do all we can to get justice.

“It took immense courage for the survivor to come forward and report the terrible sexual abuse that she suffered as a child. She has shown great strength and bravery throughout this process, and I hope the sentencing helps her get some closure on the awful events of her childhood.

"I welcome the custodial sentence handed to Gorman today and hope it will give anyone who has been subjected to sexual offending the confidence to report it to us. We take all reports seriously and have dedicated specialist safeguarding teams who will be able to offer support throughout the investigation.”

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A serial sex offender has been jailed for 11-and-a-half years after he targeted two young girls during separate incidents of sexual abuse and caused them serious emotional damage.

James Staves let his "sexual interest" in children "overwhelm" him during the "grave" offences and the victims were caused "profound and long-lasting" pain and anguish, Hull Crown Court heard.

Staves, 66, formerly of Dalwood Close, Bransholme, Hull, but recently of Southwood Avenue, Cottingham, admitted raping a girl under 13 as well as two offences of sexually assaulting another girl under 13 and another offence of inciting her to engage in sexual activity.

Graham O'Sullivan, prosecuting, said that Staves sexually abused one of the girls and raped her after taking off her clothes and kissing her on her neck and face.

Staves left the second girl scared after he touched her intimately. He asked her: "Do you want me to stop, then?" and she replied: "Yes, I don't like it."

Staves tried to stop the girl reporting what had happened to her but she did so anyway. He was arrested but, during police interview, he made no comment to all questions.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that there were "concerning aspects" in a pre-sentence report about Staves. "He did express to me genuine shame at what he had done and bitter regret at his actions," said Mr Godfrey.

They were "grave" offences because of the shattering effect of them and the pain caused. "With these sorts of offences, defendants do often chance their hand and have a trial," said Mr Godfrey.

"He fell on his sword quite late in the day but he wants to say sorry." Staves suffered from medical difficulties and he had problems with his mobility and heart. He suffered a stroke in 2019 and this had a significant effect on him.

"Custody is going to be extremely hard for him," said Mr Godfrey. "He hasn't been in that environment before. He acknowledges that he is the author of his downfall through his own actions.

"He knows that what he did was wrong. He is working through the process of that now. He is sorry." Staves had no previous convictions.

Judge Alexander Menary said that the rape had a "profound and long-lasting effect" on the victim and she had to cope with being wrongly accused of telling "horrific lies" against Staves.

There were "serious echoes" of what happened to her in the later offences against the second girl. "You let your sexual interest in children overwhelm you again," said Judge Menary.

The second girl was forced to pre-record evidence that would have been used in a scheduled trial. "That is to your shame," said Judge Menary. A trial was not, in the end, needed after Staves pleaded guilty.

"You are going to be a much older man by the time you are released," said Judge Menary.

Staves will be on extended licence of one year after his release from prison. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.

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A RAPIST has been jailed for eight years at Bradford Crown Court.

Luke Fox, 37, of Mornington Road, Bingley, pleaded guilty on the third day of his trial to rape, strangulation, battery, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

The court heard that Fox had previous convictions for violent conduct and harassment and had served time in prison, but Judge Nadim said: “You appear to have learned little from that experience.”

Judge Ahmed Nadim treated the rape as the lead offence, which was aggravated by the charges of strangulation, battery, and ABH, and sentenced Fox to a total of eight years in prison.

He told Fox, who appeared via video link from HMP Leeds, that the victim was scarred by his actions and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

“You will serve two-thirds of the sentence that I have passed upon you in custody whereafter you will be released on licence,” he said.

Fox will be added to the sex offender’s register for life.

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A 39 year old man has been jailed for 18 years after he spiked a woman’s drink, dragged her to his hotel room and raped her.

Following a British Transport Police Investigation dubbed Operation Milkwort, Siyabonga Dunga, of Sweet Street, Holbeck, Leeds, was found guilty of committing an offence with the intention of committing a sexual offence, rape, kidnap and administering a substance with intent by a jury at Leeds Crown Court on Friday 19 April.

He was jailed for 18 years today, Thursday 13 June and must sign the sex offenders register indefinitely.

The court heard how, in the early hours of Saturday 21 January 2023, Dunga gave the woman a drink at the Back Room Bar in Leeds and shortly afterwards she became disorientated and confused.

On the pretence of coming to her aid, Dunga helped the woman outside to get some air and in a bid to separate her from her friend, asked the friend to go back into the club telling her the woman had left her phone inside.

In fact, he had the woman’s phone in his pocket.

While the friend was inside looking for the phone Dunga took the woman, who could not walk unaided, back to a nearby hotel.

CCTV from the hotel shows the woman collapse and become unresponsive while Dunga dragged her back to his room where he carried out the rape.

Investigating officer DC Andy Jones said: “Dunga is a dangerous and calculating sexual predator who is thankfully now off the streets.

“By her own admission the woman has been left a shell of her former self. Her last memory is of being in the club and saying to her friend she wanted to go home before waking up in a hotel room with Dunga.

“I commend her bravery and strength throughout the investigation – she has supported us every step of the way despite struggling with the trauma which she still endures. She remained insistent that this should not happen to anyone else.

“The events of that night continue to haunt her and it is hoped that now Dunga is behind bars where he belongs it will help in some small way to her getting her life back.

“We take all reports of sexual offences seriously and I hope this sends a strong message to offenders that we will do everything in our power to ensure that justice is served.”

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Steven Kerley, 36, of Park View, Brierley, in Barnsley, has been sent to prison for a series of offences including sexual assault.

Officers responded to a report of a sexual assault of a 25-year-old woman in Barnsley on 2 May 2021.

An investigation was immediately launched, and a scene established at the location of the assault, attended by CSI. House to house and CCTV enquiries were also carried out.

In addition, officers put safeguarding measures in place to ensure the wellbeing of the victim.

Officers arrested Kerley on 5 May 2021, and he was bailed pending further enquiries. Kerley was charged with assault by penetration on 10 August 2022.

Kerley was convicted of sexual assault by penetration, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and engaging in coercive/controlling behaviour, at Sheffield Crown Court court on 24 April, and was found not guilty of six other counts.

He was handed an extended sentence of 21 years comprising of 18 years imprisonment and an extension period of 3 years at the same court on Friday 7 June.

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An online sexual predator who thought that he was exchanging messages with a young girl aged under 16 was later found with more than 1,600 indecent images of children on his phone.

Daniel O'Connell believed that he was chatting with a real girl when he became involved in sexualised conversations on Snapchat – but really it was an undercover police officer who was working covertly to identify possible sexual offenders. The haul of indecent images that was discovered included 466 in the most serious category, Hull Crown Court heard.

O'Connell, 26, of Hull Road, Withernsea, originally denied attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, for the purposes of sexual gratification, via online chat between March 28 and April 10, 2021 and three offences of making indecent images of children between January 1, 2019 and April 22, 2021.

The case had been adjourned on September 28 last year for a trial that was due to be held on May 7. Defence barrister Benjamin Donnell told the court at the original hearing that O'Connell denied the offences at that time because he claimed that the IP address that had been linked to his device had seemingly been "cloned" by someone else.

But at a resumed hearing on April 30, arranged ahead of the scheduled trial, the court was told that O'Connell was now pleading guilty to the charges and he was abandoning the cloning claims. He accepted the full prosecution case and he now did not want to take the case to trial.

The court heard that O'Connell was in communication with a decoy 12-year-old girl whose profile on Snapchat had been set up by undercover police in a bid to catch possible online sexual predators.

Messages were exchanged between the fake girl and O'Connell. He believed that he was chatting online with a real girl. The conversations became sexual and O'Connell asked the fake girl to send him a picture of her chest.

No suggestions of a meeting between them were made and nothing of that type was arranged. The conversations came to an end and O'Connell was later arrested.

Police found indecent images of children on his phone. They included 466 in the most serious Category A, 384 in Category B and 791 in Category C – a total of 1,641 images. The pictures were said to have been inaccessible because they had been deleted previously.

O'Connell, a carer, had no previous convictions. Mr Donnell was not asked to provide any mitigation after the judge indicated that he intended to impose a suspended prison sentence.

O'Connell was given credit of 15 per cent for his late pleas of guilty, which was less than he would have been given for early pleas. He lost some credit because the case had originally been listed for trial.

O'Connell was given a 66-week suspended prison sentence, 31 days of a sex offender treatment programme and 20 days' rehabilitation. He was given a six-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years. The images on the phone will be erased.

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A 70-year-old man who carried out an "appalling catalogue" of sexual abuse against boys over three decades has been jailed.

Keith Lockwood, of Park Lane in Keighley, was described as a serial child abuser by detectives.

His offending took place in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s across the Kirklees district.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Lockwood had committed sexual offences, including gross indecency with a child and indecent assault, against seven boys aged under 16.

He was jailed for 23 years after being found guilty of 23 non recent sexual offences committed over a 30-year period.

The pensioner is currently on the Sex Offenders register and will remain so for life.

DC Gilly Hodds, who investigated the case, said: "Lockwood was found guilty by a unanimous guilty verdict of an appalling catalogue of offending against victims who were young and vulnerable.

"He forced those victims to relive the dreadful offences he committed against them by putting them through the ordeal of a trial, and I am pleased for them that the jurors saw through his attempts to evade answering for what he has done."

She added: "Victims in this case demonstrated exceptional bravery in coming forward and supporting both the police and CPS in taking action against a man who has been a serial abuser of children whilst in a position of trust."

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A Cleckheaton man who sexually abused children over three decades has been jailed after being found guilty of more than 30 sexual offences.  

George Thorley (74) of Moorbottom in Cleckheaton was sentenced to 27 years at Leeds Crown Court on May 8 for committing 32 sexual offences, including rape, between the 1970s and 1990’s in locations across England.

The 74-year-old was described as posing a genuine danger to children by detectives who welcomed his conviction for offending in Durham, London and West Yorkshire.  

He was jailed for one offence of rape, multiple indecent assaults and other serious sexual offences and will also have to register on the sexual offences register for life.  

Leeds Crown Court heard that Thorley had committed offences against seven child victims, both boys and girls, with the first offence taking place in 1973 and the last occurring in 1995.  

The matters came to police attention after three of the victims, one each from West Yorkshire, London and Durham, came forward independently of each other to their respective police forces over a 12-month period, with the West Yorkshire report being made in 2021.  

These reports led to police enquires being launched in all three police force areas, resulting in seven victims being identified in total; two in West Yorkshire, four in the London area and one in Durham.  

Due to the suspect living in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire Police took primacy for the investigation.  

Thorley was arrested in March 2021 and eventually charged with multiple sexual offences in 2022.

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Former Next warehouse worker Barry Lester had no clue that the teenage profile was run by a hunter group, using the internet to catch out predators. The 31-year-old contacted the profile on the chat app, MeetMe in October 2021, before asking for her number so they could swap their conversation to WhatsApp, Leeds Crown Court heard.

She told him from the outset that she was just 14, but he turned the conversation sexual, asking if she knew “how sex worked” and talked about having sex in the bath. He sent her explicit pictures of himself and told her he wanted sex with her in a hotel room.

He told her he was sterile so did not need to use contraception, prosecutor Ashleigh Metcalfe said. Lester, of Whitmore Street, South Elmsall, arranged to meet her in Newcastle and on October 28, 2021, made the journey north. However, he was met by the hunter group at Newcastle Central Station. He was then arrested at that location. Lester gave a no-comment interview to police.

He later admitted a charge of facilitating a child sex offence, and a charge of breaching the sex offender register rules by failing to notify the authorities of a new bank card he had obtained. He has one previous conviction but for an unrelated matter.

Mitigating, Peter Malone said: “At the time he was at the lowest point ever. He was in a bad relationship. There was the issue of Covid and he was restricted to live with that person. It was the start of severe depression.

“It’s something that he deeply regrets. He is ashamed to have behaved in that manner. It’s quite clear it’s something that should not have happened.”

He said that Malone had been homeless for a spell, and had worked at the Next distribution centre in West Yorkshire, but was now working in a vape shop.

Judge Tahir Khan KC told Lester: “You travelled to Newcastle expecting to meet this girl. It’s clear to me that had it not been for the fact she did not exist, you intended to carry out a child sex offence.

“It’s so serious that only an immediate sentence of custody can be justified.”

He jailed Lester for two years, put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to curb his internet use.

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A Keighley man has been locked up for more than three years for sex offences involving an underage girl.

Daniel Want was found guilty at Bradford Crown Court of two charges of sexual activity with a girl under 16, possession of a folding pocket knife, and sexual communication with a child.

Want, 33, of Parkwood Court, Parkwood Rise, Keighley, was jailed for three years and four months.

He was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

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A Keighley man who sent an indecent image of a child to her relative and filmed himself engaging in sexual contact with another has been jailed.

Aidan Whittingham, 21, distributed the nude photograph to a relative of one of the girls and secretly recorded some of the sexual activity he had with another under-age girl. He also had sex with a third teenage girl, but Bradford Crown Court heard on Monday she had been branded a "liar" by others - despite Whittingham being convicted.

Whittingham, of Whinfield Avenue, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child. He was found guilty of voyeurism and sexual activity with a child following a trial in October last year.

In addition to the five-year jail sentence Recorder Jackson KC also told Whittingham that he would now be subject to a sex offender registration with the police for life and he must also comply with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Barrister Abigail Langford, for Whittingham, highlighted his learning disability and other issues and said her client had already spent over a year in custody on remand. She said expert reports from a psychiatrist and a psychologist had referred to her client’s lack of maturity and his vulnerability.

But Recorder Jackson said Whittingham’s pattern of offending had escalated and he was satisfied that he had targeted young females. He said Whittingham knew what he was doing, and intended to do, and it was not a consequence of his learning difficulties.

The judge explained that Whittingham would have received an even longer sentence for his offending but for his young age and the difficulties that he had. Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Paul Maxwell from the Child Vulnerable to Exploitation Team in Bradford said: “We welcome the sentence handed down to Whittingham today. He is a danger to children.

“I would like to praise the bravery of the victims in coming forward and reporting these crimes to us. Offences of this nature are always taken very seriously, and we have a dedicated specialist safeguarding team who will support victims to get them justice.”

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The victim of a perverted serial sex offender has been damaged so badly by his "terrible ordeal" that it has "blighted his life in every way imaginable".

He still suffered nightmares and sometimes "shut himself away" from others, Hull Crown Court heard. He found it difficult to show his emotions and trust people and he believed that the problems he had endured had affected him for life.

Anthony Jones, 40, formerly of Bridlington, admitted raping a boy and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

Andrew Petterson, prosecuting, said that the offences took place in Bridlington. The victim did not report them at the time but, when he became an adult, he felt strong enough to tell the police. Jones was arrested, but during police interview he denied that any sexual activity took place.

In a statement, the victim said that the offences made him feel "terrible". He felt that nobody would believe him. The offences had affected him for life.

"I find it really hard to trust anyone," he said. There had been a "devastating effect" because of the offences.

Jones previously served two jail sentences for sexual offences. He was jailed at York Crown Court for nine years in April 2014. In April 2015, he was jailed at Hull Crown Court for 11 years. He was known at the time as Anthony Vowles, but he later changed his name.

Helen Chapman, mitigating, said that offences of this type inevitably caused damage to those who suffered it. Jones had served two lengthy prison sentences, but he had been at liberty for about three years since then and he had committed no further offences. "He has served an enormous period of his life in custody," said Miss Chapman. "That period of his life is well and truly over."

Recorder David Kelly said of the victim: "Your actions have blighted his life in every way imaginable. Even now, he continues to have nightmares about what you did to him.

"He finds it difficult to trust others. He finds it difficult to show emotion and has periods of low mood when he shuts himself away. All this continues to blight his life after the terrible ordeal that you subjected him to. He is determined to see himself as a survivor and not a victim."

Jones, recently of Kings Road, Harrogate, was jailed for nine years. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order.

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A pervert will spend the next two years in prison following a Teesside sex attack.

George Reeves, 26, appeared at Bradford Crown Court on Friday to be sentenced following an assault on a woman in Stockton. The Whitby man pleaded not guilty to "assault by penetration" but was convicted following a trial.

The charge states the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - "did not consent and the defendant did not reasonably believe that she was consenting." Reeves, of Rosedale Close, listened on videolink from Durham Prison as the case was outlined by prosecutor Ian West.

He appeared to be sobbing as the offence details were heard in court and was handed a two-year prison sentence. The defendant was also made subject of sex offender notification requirements for ten years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge.