Latest Offenders

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A Strathaven masseur is facing jail after he was convicted of indecently assaulting 10 female patients.

Alistair Bennie, 61, denied molesting the women while treating them, but a jury returned guilty verdicts after a week-long trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

One victim said she felt “very violated” after Bennie touched her inappropriately and others told the court they were “very embarrassed” and “mortified”.

One woman said she “froze”.

Bennie denied any wrongdoing and his lawyer questioned why it had taken several years for most of the women to report him.

But prosecutor Neil Thomson said the case against him was “compelling”.

Most of the women didn’t know each other but there were “striking similarities” in what they said Bennie had done to them.

Mr Thomson told the jury: “This was a persistent course of conduct.”

The assaults happened between September 2017 and June 2022.

Mostly the women were targeted in their own home, often when someone else was also in the house.

One victim told the court she didn’t report Bennie immediately because she doesn’t like confrontation and felt sorry for him.

She said: “When we were chatting he told me about his personal life and problems he was having. I believe mentally he was not well and I felt sorry for him.”

After the guilty verdicts Bennie was put on the sex offenders’ register.

Sheriff Linda Nicolson deferred sentence until May for background reports, an electronic tagging assessment and a risk assessment.

Bennie, of Hamilton Road, Strathaven, remains on bail.

One of the bail conditions prevents him working as a masseur.

The sheriff told him: “The charges you have been convicted of are very serious and at this stage custody is uppermost in my mind.”

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A Peterhead exhibitionist has been locked up after videos and pictures of him pleasuring himself around Buchan were discovered on his mobile phone.

Rory Kerr first hit the headlines in 2021 when it was revealed he appalled neighbours by spending up to four hours a day carrying out sex acts in his Boddam back garden.

Description

A man caught trying to meet a teenage girl to engage in sexual activity has been jailed for nine years and six months.

Officers who arrested Giles Croucher, of Grove Lane, Ipswich, last June, found three white lace thongs, condoms and two phones in his car.

During his trial, Ipswich Crown Court heard how Croucher had claimed he was on his way to "catch out" and "confront" undercover police officers, who had been posing as a teenager online.

But a jury found him guilty in December 2024 of attempting to engage a child in sexual communication and attempting to cause or incite a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity.

During Croucher's trial, the jury heard how he had been in contact with an online account whose user was claiming to be a 14-year-old girl, but was actually an undercover police officer.

Croucher, who was 49 at the time of his arrest, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday, placed on the sex offender's register indefinitely, and fined a £228 surcharge.

Description

A North East paedophile has been jailed for 14 years after being convicted of raping a child.

Kenneth Dick, of Ryde Terrace, Dunston, Gateshead, was charged with four sexual offences in March 2023.

The charges included rape of a child, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity with a child and causing a child to watch a sexual act.

Police interviewed Dick after a complaint was made by a schoolgirl who had disclosed the abuse to a family member.

When interviewed by police he denied all allegations, but a jury trial found him guilty of all four offences in November last year, for which he was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday (March 17).

The sentence means that 66 year-old Dick will spend 14 years locked up with a year on licence once he is released.

Detective Constable Claire Ashurst of Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding Department led the investigation and praised the victim for her “courage and composure” in coming forward.

She said: “It is thanks to her bravery in disclosing what happened to police that a dangerous offender like Dick is now behind bars and will be unable to harm anyone else.

“I absolutely welcome this sentence and hope it provides this courageous individual in this case with some comfort in knowing he’s now locked up for a significant period.”

She added: “I hope this conviction serves as a stark warning to those who think they can take advantage of a vulnerable person – we won’t tolerate this type of behaviour and there are serious and lifelong consequences.

“No one should ever have to endure this type of assault and support is available from our officers and the many fantastic charities we work closely in collaboration with day-in, day-out."

Dick will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for the rest of his life, and was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order as well as a Restraining Order to protect the victim.

Description

A man from Tuebrook has been jailed for five years after sexually assaulting a girl under 13.
 
John Thompson, 46 years, of Pennsylvania Road was convicted of three offences of sexual assault against a child under 13 and one of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Thompson was arrested in March 2022 after the victim came forward and reported his actions.

Description

A convicted Medway sex offender who breached the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) has been jailed.

Ian Collard, formerly of Station Road, Gillingham, downloaded banned apps and set up online dating profiles despite being forbidden to do so.

Court order

Collard, 34, became the subject of a SHPO after pleading guilty to attempting to cause a girl to engage in sexual activity in 2018. The court order included conditions that he must not access the internet without informing the authorities and must make any devices available for inspection by officers when asked.

The SHPO also stipulated that the offender must not use any form of social media, dating apps or dating websites; install any app capable of automatically deleting messages or making messages disappear, or contact any person without their expressed consent.

Order breached

Following a routine visit by Kent Police officers, Collard was found to be in breach of the court order. An examination of his mobile phone uncovered prohibited activity, including that he had downloaded Snapchat and was using several different aliases for various dating app profiles.

Collard was arrested on 17 May 2024 and charged the same day with seven breaches of the SHPO and three breaches of the Sex Offenders’ Notification Requirements.

Jailed

He pleaded guilty and on Friday 14 March 2025 at Maidstone Crown Court, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Description

A prolific sex offender who stole an innocent man’s identity and spent almost three decades on the run has been found guilty of numerous sexual offences against young boys.

Richard Burrows was found guilty of 54 offences on Monday 17 March 2025 at Chester Crown Court, including indecent assault of boys, buggery, attempted buggery and indecency with a child.

The 80-year-old, of HMP Altcourse, had already pleaded guilty to 43 offences, including indecent assault of boys,  making indecent images of children, possession of indecent images of children and four counts of possession of false identity documents with intent, at an earlier hearing.

Burrows has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Monday 7 April for a total of 97 offences.

The court heard how between 1968 and 1995 Burrows systematically abused 24 young boys across the Cheshire, West Midlands and West Mercia areas. 

The offences in Cheshire occurred between 1969 and 1971 while he was working as a Housemaster, looking after vulnerable children at Danesford Children’s Home in Congleton.

His victims in the West Midlands and West Mercia areas were also all young boys who were abused between 1968 and 1995, the majority through local Scout groups where Burrows worked as a leader.

In each case, he befriended the victims by using his position of trust over them and their personal interests, such as radio communications or boating. After gaining their trust, and in many cases the trust of their families, Burrows then went on to sexually abuse the boys.

While some of his victims attempted to speak out at the time, many simply did not feel that they would be believed.

It was not until the 1990s, following revelations in relation to offences at other children's homes and institutions, that many of the victims had the confidence to come forward.

Following the allegations in relation to the offences at Danesford Children’s Home, a large-scale investigation was launched by detectives from Cheshire Police in 1994.

Burrows was initially arrested in April 1997 and was subsequently charged in May 1997 with two counts of buggery and 11 counts of indecent assault in relation to the offences in Cheshire and some in the West Midlands. 

After his initial appearance in magistrates’ courts, he was released on bail by the court and was due to attend a further hearing at Chester Crown Court on Monday 8 December 1997. 

However, Burrows failed to attend and officers subsequently discovered that he had disappeared.

Over the past 27 years detectives from Cheshire Police have been carrying out multiple enquiries to locate him. This included several wanted appeals and four Crimewatch appeals on national television as well as following up numerous leads, none of which indicated Burrows had left the country.

The investigation also included enquiries with various agencies and institutions within the UK as well as border and international checks, however there was no trace of him either within or outside of the UK.

Burrows remained on the Cheshire Police wanted list throughout the 27-year period and his case was regularly reviewed.

Despite the officers’ best efforts, there was no trace until April 2023 when detectives from the force's Serious and Organised Crime Unit used specialist software to search for any possible images of Burrows online.

After searching through billions of images, the system came back with a match for a man using the name of Peter Smith who was living in Chalong in Phuket, Thailand.

‘Peter’ had an active interest in sailing and had previously been working at an advertising company in Phuket. He had even featured in the local news in 2019 when he retired from his job.

Following further enquiries, officers discovered that Burrows had stolen the name Peter Smith from an acquaintance who was terminally ill. This allowed him to fraudulently obtain a 'genuine' passport in 1997 and so leave the country without detection.

After confirming that ‘Peter’ was in fact Burrows, officers contacted the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and began the process to extradite him to the UK.

Before that process was formally commenced, officers became aware of Burrows’ intention to return to the UK travelling under the alias of Peter Smith. The NCA informed Thai authorities and monitored his travel back to the UK. He was arrested as soon as he landed at Heathrow.

Following his arrest, Burrows was subsequently charged in relation to further offences in Cheshire, the West Midlands and West Mercia which had been reported since his disappearance.

A number of victims had come forward at different times to different police forces over the years as a result of media and Crimewatch appeals and because they felt the time was right for them to tell their story. Some victims also came forward on seeing that Burrows had been arrested.

Description

A man has been jailed for five years for a string of sexual offences against children dating back to the 1980s.

Edward Riley, aged 56, of Pitway, South Petherton, Somerset appeared at Worcester Crown Court today (14 March) for sentencing, following his conviction in February.

Riley was convicted of six counts of indecent assault against a girl under 14, two counts of indecent assault against a boy under 14 and two counts of inciting a boy under 14 to commit an act of gross indecency

The offences were committed between 1982 and 1986 in Kidderminster .

Riley has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Description

A Met investigation into a man who sexually assaulted four teenage girls in Barking has seen him jailed for 18 and a half years.

Mark Franklin, 56 (10.03.68) of Westrow Drive, Barking was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 14 March. He has also been placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

The investigation was launched in April 2024 when a 15-year-old girl reported that she had been sexually assaulted by someone known to her.

Through building a rapport with the victim-survivor, officers discovered that Franklin had also abused three other girls.

On 22 October 2024 at the same court, Franklin was unanimously found guilty by a jury of:

• One count of rape of a child under 16
• Two counts of sexual assault by penetration
• Three counts of sexual assault
• One count of causing a child to engage in a sexual act

Detective Constable Jodie Singer, who led the investigation, said: “Today we achieved justice for these four girls and I hope the severity of the sentence can provide some comfort to them and their families.

“Throughout the entire investigation, Franklin showed absolutely no remorse. He was so comfortable in his offending that even after he filmed the horrific assaults, he never believed he would be caught.

“The young victim-survivors have shown remarkable bravery throughout this process, their strength and willingness to work with us has been vital in securing his conviction. I want to thank them for their trust in the police and for their resilience during such a distressing time.”

Between August 2023 and January 2024, Franklin sexually assaulted the four victim-survivors who were aged 15 and 16 when they visited his home. He would plie them with drugs and alcohol, and once they were inebriated, he would sexually assault them, often filming his actions.

He described the transformation when they took the drugs as ‘incredible’ and ‘absolutely breath taking’.

The court heard how Franklin attempted to minimise the abuse and said it was ‘just a bit of fun’.

Officers also uncovered extensive messages where Franklin confessed his love for one victim-survivor, telling her he had a secret crush on her and how beautiful he thought she was.

The Met are doing more to address violence against women and girls. Listening to victim-survivors, and working together with charities and partners across the criminal justice system, we’re working to ensure that all victims-survivors have the confidence to report these most awful crimes.

At the heart of our new approach in investigating rape, the Met have a greater focus on the suspect’s life, with a shift away from the ‘credibility’ of the victim-survivor. This means that the victim goes through a less invasive process when reporting an incident such as rape, which officers know is already an incredibly difficult time for them.

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A former coach at St Andrews Rifle Club has been placed on the sex offenders register after being found guilty of touching female students.

Volunteer Patrick Jess was found guilty of a string of sexual assaults at the Fife shooting club.

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Daniel Albertina was caught in the act filming a teenager on his mobile phone underneath the walls of a cubicle.

A lad was left 'feeling sickened' after spotting a taxi driver filming him in the toilets at an Odeon cinema.

The police unravelled a series of heinous offences by Daniel Albertina following his capture on camera as he recorded the young lad on his mobile from under the toilet cubicle partition.

The sordid list of crimes included covertly capturing footage of a girl showering and hoarding a disgusting collection of indecent child images. In court yesterday, the paedophile hung his head in shame as his true nature as a "monster" with a "secret life" filled with wicked acts was laid bare.

Liverpool Crown Court was told on Tuesday that a 16 year old boy had gone to Odeon Switch Island last year and popped to the gents during his film. It was there he clocked a mobile phone poking out from under the wall of the next stall.

Prosecutor Paul Becker recounted how the teenager confronted Albertina, from Eastbourne Road in Aintree, in the restroom before alerting staff. The 39 year old, who had driven to the flicks in his Delta cab, was later identified through the taxi firm.

This led to the confiscation of a laptop and two mobiles from Albertina. On these devices, cops found 165 indecent snaps of kids, some of which were videos Albertina had taken of a teenage girl in the shower, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Officers also discovered a number of extreme pornographic images depicting sexual acts involving cows and mice. During questioning, he confessed to detectives that he had "committed offences of voyeurism over six weeks on about six occasions" at the same cinema and "stated that he had an attraction to young males and females".

In a statement read out in court on his behalf, the boy said: "Following the incident, I didn't leave the house for a couple of weeks on my own. I used to go the the cinema on a regular basis, but I no longer feel safe.

"I'm now worried about using public toilets. It still makes me feel sick knowing what this monster did to me. I feel like this was an invasion of privacy. I should be able to use them without something like this happening to me. This should have been a private area where I should have been able to use the toilet in privacy."

Albertina has no previous convictions. Ken Heckle, defending, told the court: "He understands that he has destroyed many lives. He is, however, a man of 39 years of previous good character.

"While he sits in your lordship's court full of guilt, shame and embarrassment, he wants assistance with regards to these matters. This defendant has been brutally honest in not only accepting the case against him but saying that his sexual issues and problems have been there for some considerable length of time, effectively a secret to all concerned - a secret life separate from his family, who he was providing for in full time employment.

"He is not full of self pity. He is an intelligent person. This was previously his dark secret. It is no longer secret. It is out in the open. He can discuss it with people rather than harbouring these terrible thoughts. He wants to get help so that he does not find himself in this position."

Albertina admitted two counts of voyeurism, four charges of possession of indecent images of children, nine offences of making indecent images and four matters of possession of extreme pornographic images. Appearing in the dock wearing a turquoise jumper, he was seen with his head in his hands at times during the hearing before he was jailed for 18 months.

The Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Andrew Menary KC, delivered a scathing rebuke during the sentencing and said: "All of this came to light as a consequence of an incident which happened at the Odeon cinema at Switch Island. What came to light was a quite disgraceful, appalling catalogue of conduct, committed by you and arising out of your obsession, which you have had for many years, in relation to sexual gratification in relation to young children.

"This was not the first time that you had done this. It is clear from what you said to the police that you had got into the habit, having used the toilet after dropping off a customer and realised that it was possible for you to go into the toilets and use your telephone to take a picture or record what was happening in the adjacent cubicle.

"This is outrageous conduct. It is not often that this court is shocked. Sadly, we have seen it all. But these are really bad images of their type."

Alongside the condemnation, Albertina received a five-year restraining order and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. Additionally, he must sign the sex offenders' register for a decade.

Description

A sex offender has been jailed  for four years after detectives discovered a large amount of child abuse images at his home.

Philip Cliffe, aged 41, came to the attention of Nottinghamshire Police in October 2023 when his IP address - the unique reference code linking an individual account holder to the internet - was linked to images of child sexual abuse.

Detectives carried out a search at his home address and recovered several electronic devices including a laptop and a memory stick.

Forensic analysis of the devices revealed thousands of images showing the sexual abuse of children - some of them babies.

Around 1,000 of the images were graded as Category A - depicting the most serious abuse that can be perpetrated by adults against children.

Cliffe's devices were also found to contain extreme adult pornographic material.

Cliffe, of  Carlton, declined to answer officers' questions in his police interview, but later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, possessing a prohibited image of a child, and possessing extreme (adult) pornographic images.

Appearing at Nottinghamshire Crown Court on Friday he was jailed for four years.

Description

A "callous and prolific" child abuser who used his flat and cafe to groom and then rape vulnerable and underage girls has been jailed.

The attacks 56-year-old Ajaz Ahmed inflicted on his five victims were discovered as part of a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) investigation into historical sexual abuse in Rochdale.

In January 2016, detectives identified the first of his victims when a woman disclosed she had been raped by several men at a party at Ahmed's flat on Drake Street in the town when she was aged 13.

Ahmed, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 28 years in prison at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court.
He was convicted of 23 offences, including the rape and sexual assault of children, following a trial.

When officers first spoke to Ahmed about the rape at his flat, he admitted he owned the property but said he did not know who his tenants were at the time, GMP said.

Police spoke to another woman who said she had been in a coercive and controlling relationship with Ahmed at the age of 15, and he had raped, sexually assaulted and assaulted her on several occasions.

The force said Ahmed subjected her to a "horrific and sustained" period of control and physical and sexual abuse.

A friend of the first victim also told police Ahmed sexually assaulted her the first time she met him, just before her 16th birthday.

Fearing for her safety, she never reported it at the time, police said.

'Vulnerable'

A third woman also reported she was raped by Ahmed.

She met him at a cafe he owned and he offered her one of his flats in exchange for work at the cafe.

Police said he sexually assaulted her whilst she was in the kitchen.

Ahmed also took the vulnerable girl to nightclubs and bought her alcoholic drinks. When she returned home, he took her into the basement of the Drake Street property and raped her.

A fourth victim, aged 15, was also identified during the inquiries.

Ahmed, who she knew as AJ, offered her a room in his Drake Street flat and would let himself in unannounced. She said he regularly raped her.

She said one night Ahmed laughed as he raped her in front of several men he had invited over for a drink.

'Abhorrent'

A fifth victim told officers she met Ahmed when she was 17.

He offered her a place to stay as it was late but said she would have to give the men something in return.

She refused and he took her back to his flat, where he sexually assaulted her.

Det Con Ann Cooper Poole praised the victims' bravery for helping to put Ahmed behind bars.

She said: "It took just one brave survivor to come forward and detail her abuse and it opened up an entire case which resulted in us obtaining evidence that Ahmed was a callous and prolific sex offender.

"These girls had their childhoods and teen years tainted in the most abhorrent way, and they experienced what no one should ever experience."

Description

A prison sentence has been imposed on a man who downloaded thousands of indecent images of children.

Paul Redford, 64, from Melbourne Avenue, Ramsgate, joined a social media application in 2022 where he used the platform to download and share the images with other users.

On 1 March 2024, officers from Kent Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team attended Redford’s home address following information received that indecent images of children were being accessed from the property.

Upon arrival and when officers told him why they were there, he admitted he was responsible.

After his phone was downloaded, officers found 730 of the most serious category A images and videos, 642 category B and 944 category C. They also found he had distributed 40 images and videos through the social media application.

Charged

Redford was later charged with making and distributing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography and prohibited items. He pleaded guilty to the offences and at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday 6 March 2025 he was jailed for two years and four months.

He was also given a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and is subject to strict sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.

Description

A rapist wept in court as a judge jailed him for raping a woman as she slept at a Travelodge hotel. James Cox subjected his victim to the 'horrible' attack the morning after he had binged on alcohol and cocaine.

Police attended his room to find him bloodied, having self-harmed with a shard of glass. A judge told him that he will have to "live with the shame for the rest of his life".

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Tuesday March 11, that Cox was staying at a Travelodge hotel in the city at the time of the incident and had spent the night drinking. The following morning, another guest woke up at around 7am to find the 29-year-old, of Sherwood Avenue in Rhyl, North Wales, kissing her neck and raping her, having removed her pyjama bottoms while she was sleeping.

Gareth Roberts, prosecuting, described how officers then attended his room after the incident was reported to Merseyside Police but received no answer. When the door was unlocked by a member staff, PCs found Cox with a "deep laceration" to his wrist and holding a piece of glass.

The defendant was then taken to hospital in order to receive treatment for this injury. His criminal record shows entries for drunk and disorderly behaviour, resisting arrest, a public order offence and possession of cannabis.

Callum Ross, defending, told the court: "This is a defendant who knows and understands the seriousness of what he has done. To put it bluntly, he has to live with that for the rest of his life and he will.

"He has a positive working history. He clearly has issues with drug use. The defendant has been very candid about his cocaine addiction. He tells me that he feels better already as a result of his remand and being abstinent from drugs. That is perhaps a positive of custody and will assist in his rehabilitation in due course."

Cox admitted one count of rape. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a grey Under Armour tracksuit top, he was seen wiping tears away as he was jailed for five years and three months.

He will be required to serve two thirds of this term behind bars before becoming eligible for release. Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC told him that the "horror of what he did no doubt had a profound and lasting effect" and added: "You had a relatively long standing addiction to cocaine, which was compounded by your use of alcohol. It may be that that explains what happened that night.

"This was a horrible offence. You have been in trouble with the police before, but not for anything on this scale. It is said that you will have to live for the rest of your life with the shame of what you have done, and I accept that.

"It may well be that drink and drugs have a large part to play in what happened. That was largely self induced. It was your choice to abuse alcohol and drugs, and so you have to take the consequences of your behaviour when you were under their influence."