Latest Offenders

Description

A paedophile who sexually abused a teenage girl and had more than 15,000 indecent images of children and animals on his laptop has been jailed for more than a decade.

Police raided the home of registered sex offender Russell Duncan Frederick Weatherley in 2022, after receiving information he possessed indecent images of children.

Officers recovered a laptop with more than 15,000 indecent images and arrested the 62-year-old, of Bearpark, County Durham.

Detectives also found a folder on the device named after the victim, who Weatherley had preyed on decades earlier.

Weatherley had forced the girl to carry out sexual acts, often photographing or filming them.

The 62-year-old was charged with more than 30 offences and in court, pleaded not guilty to six counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl and five counts of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity.

He went to trial and was found guilty of all the offences as well as changing his plea to guilty for a further 18 counts of making indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography with an animal.

He was sentenced to ten years and six months in prison at Teesside Crown Court on Friday (December 6).

Following the sentencing, DC Liam Padget, who led the investigation, said: “Weatherley is a monster in every sense of the word and that is how the victim described him so we hope this sentence allows her to finally start to heal from this ordeal.

“I would like to commend the victim and her family for their bravery and perseverance during the investigation.

“She has had to carry the burden of abuse for many years, and this sentence reflects society’s abhorrence of crimes such as this.

“Durham Constabulary will always investigate offences of this nature and place victims at the centre of everything we do. If you have been a victim of abuse, please reach out. We will believe you.”

Description

A sexual predator followed a vulnerable woman as she got a taxi home from a night out before assaulting her for over an hour in a dark alleyway.

The young woman had been out with friends in Fallowfield when her friends ordered her an Uber home using her phone. But a car began to follow them.

CCTV showed Abbas Ahmed, 32, following closely behind the taxi before the woman stopped the journey home short. She then got out of the cab and began walking home, appearing to ‘walk into a parked car’ and seemed ‘clearly drunk’, prosecutor Geoff Whelan said.

“The defendant parked further up and noticed her walking down the road and quickly caught up with her,” he said.

“He grabbed hold of her hand and put his arm around her. She was unsteady on her feet.”

At one point the woman was seen to point towards her address, before Ahmed led her towards an alleyway. He then kissed her hand to encourage her, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Whilst walking over to the alleyway she was seen to push him away before he grabbed her hand. In the alleyway he sexually assaulted her.

The woman would later tell police that she had no memory of the taxi journey and only vague memories of being bent over and feeling something pulling her shorts and underwear down before pushing against her.

“The Crown’s case is that she was simply too intoxicated to consent,” Mr Whelan said.

The woman thought the assault took place over the course of five and ten minutes. However, CCTV revealed the ordeal lasted an hour before Ahmed left the woman alone in the alleyway.

She could be seen on the footage briefly illuminated by a passing car’s headlights as she was propped up against a wall with her dress pulled up to her waist.

As Ahmed left the scene, the young woman managed to find her way home where she met up with her friend. She had her underwear in her hand, it was said.

Whilst she got ready for bed, she mentioned to her friends about a ‘man in an alleyway’, but as they were unsure of what happened they thought to let her rest. A couple of days later she informed the police that she had been sexually assaulted.

In footage of the incident played to the court, the taxi is seen driving up the road to make sure the woman was OK. As he had seen she was ‘not in distress’ he drove away.

During the hour-long assault, the woman was seen to momentarily stumble out of the alleyway looking disorientated and dazed.

Ahmed’s DNA was later found on her genitals, the court heard.

In a statement, the woman said she struggles with fear, anxiety and sadness. She said she had struggled with friendships and whilst she had no physical injuries, she suffered a ‘mental toll’.

She added that she now doesn’t drink and feels unsafe around men. “I’m doing my best to move forward, but the effect still lingers," she added.

The court heard that Ahmed had a previous conviction for sexual assault, in which he had followed his victim in a car.

Mitigating, Gemma Maxwell said: “Parts of the journey, she was kissing him and holding his hand.

“The offences began upon losing his job. He was at a low ebb and was lonely and had time on his hands.”

Sentencing him as a ‘dangerous offender’ under sentencing provisions, Judge Patrick Field KC said: “The evidence shows that you are a sexual predator. You preyed upon a lone female unknown to you.

“She was alone and vulnerable. She was very drunk, so drunk that she was unable to consent to what you did and unable to remember what happened.

“You were fully aware of her condition. She tried to resist but was overpowered by force or persuasion.”

He described the offence as ‘thoroughly organised, planned and premeditated.

Ahmed, of Meade Grove, Longsight, was handed 50 months imprisonment with an extended licence period of 48 months.

He was also made subject of the Sex Offenders Register and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further order.

Description

A man raped a woman in her own home after travelling to Wales to meet her. Sean Murphy then assaulted his victim a number of times including by banging her head against the wall.

Swansea Crown Court heard an impact statement from the victim of the sexual violence in which she said the experience had left her feeling "broken" inside. The 52-year-old defendant has been jailed for seven and a half years and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life. Police have praised the bravery of the victim and said without her coming forward "a very dangerous man would still be on the streets".

The court heard the rape happened in May last year in Swansea. Murphy sexually assaulted and raped the woman in the bedroom of the property then subjected her to a number of physical assaults in different rooms. The offending was subsequently reported to police and Murphy admitted the physical assaults but denied the sexual offending. He was convicted at trial in October this year.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Alycia Carpanini, the complainant said she was trying to be strong for the sake of her daughter but inside she was "broken". She said the pain and damage of what Murphy did would live with her for the rest of her life. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter here.

Sean Murphy, of Stanbrook Road, Burford, Shropshire, had previously been convicted at trial of sexual assault and rape when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He had also previously pleaded guilty to three counts of battery. Megan Fletcher-Smith, for Murphy, said the defendant maintains his innocence and was "devastated" by the verdicts of the jury. She said seven personal references submitted to the court – including two from former partners of Murphy – speak of him "in the most glowing of terms" and said those who wrote the references are finding it very difficult to reconcile the man they know with the offences he has been convicted of. The barrister said her client's family had attended court during the trial but Murphy had not wanted them present for his sentencing such was his shame.

Judge Catherine Richards said it was clear that on the night in question Murphy had been "determined to have sexual intercourse" with his victim despite her protestations. She said following the sexual assault and rape the defendant had then subjected the woman to a series of assaults and that Murphy was fortunate that the decision had been taken to charge him with assaults by beating and not assaults occasioning actual bodily harm.

Murphy was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. He will serve two-thirds of that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Murphy will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective inspector Sharon Gill-Lewis said: "Sean Murphy’s offending was despicable and he has rightly been sentenced to a lengthy jail term. I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim in coming forward without whom a very dangerous man would still be on the streets."

Description

The "predatory and manipulative" actor is facing a lengthy jail term after being convicted of 26 sex offences against women and children on Tuesday (December 10). 

The 24-year-old, of Albrighton, Shropshire, was found guilty of all charges brought against him, including raping a teenager during acting classes, following a four week trial.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how he forced pupils in his drama class to recite Shakespeare naked and also engaged in nude role-play scenarios. 

The actor  - who starred in BBC's Doctors and was an uncredited student in Netflix's Sex Education - sexually assaulted one girl over a seven-year period and also filmed budding teen actress naked on his iPad. 

Jurors were told he had been a sexual predator from a child with his criminality stretching back to when he was aged just ten. 

Through out the course of his trial, pictures began to surface from his public Instagram - featuring some of his past works and trips to premiers. But some of them hit a strikingly different tone in light of his predatory actions. 

One photo shows him posing for selfies with beloved British actor Asa Butterfield, who played a lead role in Sex Education, while Westwood appeared only in the background. 

Others showed him dressed as iconic characters popular films and TV shows - including one of him dressed like David Tennant's tenth doctor from the BBC series Doctor Who - which may have inspired the actors choice of coat for his trial. 

Another, which set a stomach-churning tone following the conviction was a snap of him dressed like the children's fairy-tale character Peter Pan, who whisks kids off to Neverland to never grow up. Westwood played the leading role in Peter Pan The Musical at Birmingham's Blue Orange Theatre back in 2018. 

Prosecutor Andrew Wallace said: "When giving acting lessons, he again used this as an opportunity to touch his pupils inappropriately. These are schoolgirls we are talking about, teenagers. Imagine asking Dame Judi Dench to recite Hamlet naked - she would tell you where to go."

Westwood sexually assaulted and raped one pupil who described how he would hold her down by the wrists, forcing her to bite him to get away. He also called the police on one of his victims whilst harassing her.

When one of the girls complained to her parents about his behaviour Westwood told her mum she owed him £18,000 due to the contract he made her sign, including a clause which said she had to pay for missed lessons. His victims watched on in horror as he continued to work on television and frequently boasted about having stars as friends on social media.

After parents reported Westwood to the police, so did the college he was teaching at, and from his first police interview he lied and blamed the victims. Mr Wallace told the court: "Alexander Westwood is a supreme manipulator. "All these charges have a common theme, of inappropriate touching and predatory behaviour."

Instead of pleading guilty to the raft of sexual abuse and rape charges the actor lied to the bitter end, forcing his victims the horrific ordeal of facing him in court.

After cross-examination by Westwood's lawyer James Bloomer KC, several of the young women giving evidence against him left the court in floods of tears. Westwood looked on from the dock, showing no emotion. He will be sentenced on February 25 next year.

Description

A “DANGEROUS predator” recorded himself as he sexually assaulted a woman in her own bedroom.

Anurag Sharma, 21, from Abertillery, was found guilty of rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault of his victim by a jury following a trial.

After he attacked her, the defendant fled to France in the back of a lorry when he was on bail.

He was arrested at Dover when he tried to return to the UK undetected, Cardiff Crown Court was told.

In a moving victim impact statement, the woman said that Sharma was a “dangerous predator” and described her ordeal as “horrific”.

She told him: “You no longer have power over me and I'm not your victim. I have survived.”

The offences happened last summer.

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, said: “The victim was vulnerable and there was a degree of planning on the defendant’s part to achieve his offending.”

Dale Beeson representing Sharma asked the judge to show his client “mercy”.

His barrister said the defendant had arrived to live in the UK from India and was the son of a heart surgeon.

“This is a young man who has no previous offences and he comes from a good family background and had a good education,” Mr Beeson stated.

“He had been dating a girl for quite some time. He was very much in love with her and thought his future was going to be with her.

“Unfortunately, that lady moved to Canada for her education.”

Mr Beeson added: “Mr Sharma has ruined his life. He’s relatively resigned to that fact that he's lost his good character.

“He's going to lose his liberty, he’s lost the respect of his family and brought great shame upon them.

“His actions have brought the whole deck of cards tumbling to the ground.

“He knows that deportation will follow.”

The judge, Recorder Paul Hartley-Davies, told Sharma: “You knew she was intoxicated.

"I'm also concerned to read that you're assessed as posing a high risk of harm to the public."

He jailed the defendant for nine years and told him he would serve two-thirds of that sentence in custody before being released on licence.

Sharma will have to register as a sex offender for life

After the defendant was taken to the cells, Recorder Hartley-Davies commended the woman for her courage.

Description

A man has been jailed for 12 years after he was found guilty of multiple child sexual offences.

Stephen Prestidge, 58, of Burton-on-Trent, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment last Friday (13 December) after being found guilty at the same court on Tuesday 10 December. 

He was found guilty of four counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching, three counts of causing/inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and three counts of sexual assault on a female. 

Prestidge has also been put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The offences took place in Staffordshire. 

Description

Matthew Wiles, 34, was found guilty of 11 child sexual offences and two physical mistreatment charges for raping two children under 13.

The court found Wiles guilty of no remorse for the pain and suffering caused to the children. One of the children has been diagnosed with autism, and their education has been significantly affected.

Wiles was jailed for 18 years and given an extended license period, bringing his total sentence to 19 years.

He must register as a sex offenders' register for the rest of his life and be subject to a 25-year sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A paedophile has been jailed for historical sexual offences he committed 30 years ago, thanks to the actions of his brave survivors. 

John Corby has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he targeted three young victims in the Newcastle area, subjecting them to appalling abuse.

The case came to light in November 2021, when one of Corby’s victims came forward to Northumbria Police.

This led officers from the Safeguarding Department to launch a comprehensive investigation.

In January 2022, Corby was interviewed and subsequently charged with two counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault, and one count of gross indecency. He denied all the charges.

After an eight-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court in September, the jury found Corby guilty on all counts.

On Monday, November 18, Corby, 66, of Hallow Drive, Throckley, Newcastle, was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

He was also placed under a sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Description

A grandad tried to arrange a meeting with a supposed mum, setting out his sick intentions to rape her six-year-old daughter.

Vile Stephen Parker wanted the child to wear a “sexy outfit” and brought gifts including sweets and chocolate.

The perverted 60-year-old was actually talking to an undercover police officer and he was arrested at a pre-arranged meeting point - the car park of a Spar shop in Wakefield.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the paedophile’s mobile and other internet devices were seized which showed he had spent more than a decade downloading thousands of child-abuse images.

Prosecutor Brian Russell said that Parker, of Baslow Crescent, Barnsley, first made contact with the decoy profile on August 28, and when the woman said she had a six-year-old daughter, he replied: “What a beautiful age.”

Description

A HIGH-RISK sex offender from west Cumbria is back behind bars after online monitoring software alerted police to his latest spate of offending.

Jonathon Fell, 27, whose previous offending earned him a 45-month jail term in 2021, is now under the terms of a strict sexual harm prevention order designed to restrict his online activity.

But at Carlisle’s Rickergate court, Fell, who has lived in Carlisle and west Cumbria, admitted eight new offences, including two allegations of downloading indecent child images and two of possessing child abuse images.

He also pleaded guilty to four allegations of flouting his sexual harm prevention order by accessing online platforms such as YouTube and Instagram.

Prosecutor George Shelley said the indecent child images involved were classified as Category B, the second most serious kind, and Category C, of which there were eight images.

In one online conversation, said Mr Shelley, Fell spoke to a person about the age of their child, asking for the age.

His original offending, the court heard, involved sexually abusive behaviour towards babies and other very young children.

He spent days looking for victims online, on one occasion giving nine-year-old boy detailed instructions on sexually interfering with his three-year-old sibling. After that conviction, police described Fell as “manipulative.”

He had lied to both them and other agencies about his online activities, they said. All eight of Fell’s latest offences were committed in the Cockermouth area.

“This defendant is a high-risk sex offender,” said Mr Shelley.

“His previous convictions of a sexual nature involved child contact and it is reassuring that the [police] e-safe monitoring software has flagged these matters up at a very early stage.”

Fell, of Mawsons Court, Cockermouth, asked his lawyer Duncan Campbell to apply for his release on bail. The court heard Fell had 11 previous sexual offences on his record.

Mr Campbell told magistrates it was not "inevitable" that Fell would be jailed for his offending when the case goes to the crown court.

The defendant no longer had access to his digital equipment as it was seized by the police.

“He was fully aware that the e-safe monitoring equipment was on his electronic equipment and that everything was monitored,” said Mr Campbell, suggesting Fell did not hide what he was doing.

Magistrates remanded Fell in custody.

He will be sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court on January 14 next year. In the meantime, probation staff will prepare a background report for the sentencing judge.

Description

A sex offender who transported an unconscious woman from Camden to Kent to rape her has been jailed.

Seyi Odeyemi, 23, offered to take the victim home for half the price of a taxi that she was trying to book while in Camden on September 3 last year, at around 10pm.

She agreed to the proposition and got into his car, but instead of taking her home he took her to a hotel near Northfleet, Gravesend.

By the time they arrived the woman appeared semi-conscious and was able to stand, but Odeyemi had to carry and drag her to a room.

Once inside, he raped the victim.

She woke up in the morning confused and not recognising Odeyemi.

After it was reported to police, Odeyemi was arrested days later on September 7.

Police established he breached the conditions of a sexual risk order he was under at the time by failing to make the victim of the order and failing to seek consent for sexual activity.

Odeyemi, of Adams Drive, Willesborough, Ashford, was charged with rape and breaching the order.

He pleaded not guilty and was convicted with both counts on August 14 after a trial at Maidstone Crown Court.

On Thursday (December 4), he received an extended sentence with a total of 10 years and six months' imprisonment.

On his release he is required to complete an additional five years on licence.

He will also have a sexual harm prevention order for 20 years and will have to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

Description

A man from Gosport will serve time in prison following a number of 'horrifying' child sex offences.
Lee Matthews, aged 39, has been handed a 17 and a half year prison sentence after appearing at Portsmouth Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, November 22.

Matthews previously pleaded guilty to a number of offences including:

• Sexual assault by penetration of a child aged 13 or over
• Three counts of sexual assault
• Recording an image under clothing to observe another without consent (also known as ‘upskirting’)
• Production of an indecent image of a child on June 4, 2022
• Making indecent images of children on June 4, 2022

DC David Sloan, from the Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “Lee Matthews is a dangerous individual who poses a clear threat to the wider public, particularly children.

“This catalogue of horrifying offences will have a devastating impact on the victim, who despite Matthews’ devious attempts to dissuade her from speaking out was able to bravely report this to police.”

The offences all relate to a girl who was known to Matthews, and took place when the girl was under the age of 16 between July 17 and July 19 of last year.

Matthews had also tried to blackmail and bribe the victim into not disclosing the abuse, the court heard.

During the investigation, police officers also seized a mobile phone and a Samsung tablet from Matthews where they uncovered 70 category B images – one of which was a video – and 28 category C indecent images of a child.

Matthews, of Forton Road in Gosport, was given a 17 year and six month extended sentence, made up of 10 and a half years in prison and a 7 year extended licence period.

Further to his prison sentence, he was also handed an indefinite restraining order against the girl, an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and ordered to sign on to the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Passing sentence, His Honour Judge Ashworth remarked how Matthews took advantage of the girl and ‘exploited her trust’, and noted that he had a ‘morbid and sexualised desire’ towards the child.

The judge went on to say that Matthews’ actions would likely result in a mental violation that ‘outstrips and outlasts any physical harm’ caused to the girl.

DC Sloan added: “Because of her courage, Matthews will now spend a lengthy period of time in prison, and will also be subject to an extended period on licence after the Judge determined that he was a particularly dangerous man.

“I hope this case provides confidence to anyone else who is being abused that police are here to support you and ensure those responsible for causing serious harm to children are brought to justice.”

A spokesperson for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “We want to encourage anyone who has been affected by child sexual abuse to contact police on 101, where you can speak to an officer in confidence.

“We recognise that not everyone has the confidence to talk to police about what they have experienced. Please be reassured that there are other services available that can offer you specialist support to help you deal with the impact of abuse.”

Description

Two brothers have been found guilty of raping vulnerable girls as young as 13 in Rotherham 18 years ago.

Mark Evans, 36, and Robert Evans, 40, manipulated their victims and plied them with drugs and alcohol before luring them to locations where they attacked them, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Two victims, aged 13 and 14 at the time of the offences, told the court how they were raped by both brothers on separate occasions. Another woman was raped by Mark Evans when she was 13.

The brothers will be sentenced on 16 January.

The pair were arrested in August 2020 as part of Operation Stovewood, set up after the Jay Report found at least 1,400 girls were abused, trafficked and groomed by gangs of men in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

The court heard that two of the victims had been plied with alcohol by the brothers on separate occasions before they were lured to different locations, including a barn and an alleyway, where they were raped.

The third victim was groomed by Mark Evans, who gave her drugs and alcohol before he raped her in an alleyway.

'Courageous testimonies'

National Crime Agency senior investigator Kim Boreham said: The victims bravely described how the brothers abused them in the worst ways, showing no remorse afterwards."

She said it was extremely difficult for the women to recall their abuse but that their "courageous testimonies" meant the brothers had faced justice.

Mark Wayne Evans, of Wharncliffe Hill, Rotherham, was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of assault by penetration.

Robert George Evans, of Thompson Close, Rotherham, was found guilty of two counts of rape.

Description

A man who tried to rape a teenager as she slept in her home has been jailed for four years.

In October 2020, the girl awoke to find Aiden Battye on her bed, pulling her underwear down and attempting to rape her.

Battye, who was 17 at the time of the offence, was ordered to leave after the girl told her family what had happened.

An investigation was launched by officers from Darlington Safeguarding Team, and Battye, who is now 21, was charged with attempted rape.

He was also charged with a second count of sexual assault in relation to a separate incident involving another teenage girl.

He denied both charges but was found guilty of attempted rape following a week-long trial at Durham Crown Court in October.

A jury found him not guilty of the sexual assault.

In a victim impact statement, the attempted rape survivor said: “I feel my life changed when Aiden tried to rape me – I am a different person and not in a good way.

“There has not been a day where I don’t have thoughts about what happened to me, and this has caused me to feel depressed and experience suicidal thoughts.

“Other changes in my personality are an inability to focus, probably because I cannot get these events out of my head. A physical effect is that every day since the attack I have showered for up to an hour a day – I scrub myself to the point of making my skin raw. I know it’s not about being clean, I just want to scrub the memory of it off my skin.

“I have struggled with my own guilt; I had thoughts that it was my fault. Him being found guilty has helped me to believe that other than my immediate family, there are people – in this case, the jury – who also believe me.” 

Today, Battye, of Darlington, appeared at Teesside Crown Court where he was jailed for four years and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

He was also handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and restraining order.

Description

A convicted sex offender who assaulted a child in Gillingham has been handed a further prison sentence.

Ben Hanger, 34, of St Agnes Gardens, Sheerness, was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday 4 December to four years in jail after he admitted sexual assault against a girl under 13 and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. He was also ordered to serve an additional five years on licence.

He abused the young girl at a property between 2016 and 2017 and the offences were reported to Kent Police in 2021.

He was arrested at HMP Elmley, where he is serving a 15-year extended sentence after he was convicted following a trial in December 2022. He was jailed after he attempted to kidnap a schoolgirl in January 2021.

This additional sentencing will be added to his total years to serve.