Latest Offenders

Description

A paedophile arranged to pick up who he thought was a 13-year-old girl from her Liverpool school for sex. Paul Ellis, 64, thought he was speaking to a girl called Courtney, but it was actually a police decoy.

He cancelled the meeting with the "girl", but was later arrested. The defendant, of Market Street, Abergele, admitted arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence in September 2021.

A judge at Mold Crown Court said he poses a risk of serious harm to children and jailed him for five and a half years. The judge - Mr Recorder Simon Mills - said: "The risk of serious harm to children is obvious."

The court heard Ellis had received a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for earlier offending. But he started to re-offend within three months of the end of his Probation Service supervision.

Prosecutor Simon Mintz told how in September 2021 Ellis started an online conversation with "Courtney", claiming he was a 45-year-old man called Dave. Ellis used WhatsApp to ask sexualised questions and whether she was in a school uniform.

He arranged to pick up "Courtney" from her school in Liverpool on September 24 and take her back to his flat in North Wales. He also offered to help get her on the pill.

Days before the meeting he cancelled it but asked "Courtney" to keep it a secret. Mr Mintz said Ellis was arrested and initially claimed he did not know "Courtney" was a child.

But he later admitted the arranging offence and also breaching a SHPO. One of two iPhones, which police seized and which "mirrored each other", had had a virtual private network on it, the court heard.

Sarah Badrawy, defending, said her client had admitted his offences and that there had been a lack of offending since these crimes in 2021. The judge told Ellis he had lied about his name and age and had had "sexualised" online conversations with the "girl".

He had then arranged to have sex with her. The judge said: "You pose an imminent risk of serious harm to children.

"I accept your offending revolving entirely around decoys (but) you believed you were talking to a child and arranging to meet them. The risk of serious harm to children is obvious.

"You are now and you will continue to pose for the foreseeable future a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public and small children." The judge said if Ellis offended again he could face life imprisonment.

Imposing the five and a half year prison term he said he would be supervised for an extended period of four years. He also gave Ellis a ten-month concurrent jail term for breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

The SHPO will continue for life, he added.

Description

A sex offender has been jailed after lying about an illegally-held phone to access indecent images of children.

North Cumbria-based Bruce Chandler, 57, was previously given a two-year suspended prison term in 2021, and was also required to curb his online use after making sexual advances online to whom he believed were young girls.

Earlier this year however, he was found to have viewed several indecent images.

The judge said Chandler had made "no attempt" to mend his ways.

Chandler of St Martin's Close, Brampton, was originally handed a suspended prison term by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court in 2021 after making sexual advances online.

He believed he was approaching young girls and requested topless photos and attempted to meet one female.

'Deceitful'

Earlier this year, police visited Chandler who told them he was not in possession of any prohibited devices capable of connecting to the internet.

During a further, unannounced home risk assessment visit a fortnight later however, Chandler was seen trying to hide a smartphone.

"I've had it for over a year," he confessed to police. "I know I shouldn't have it. I thought I could get away with it. I lied about it the last time you were here."

It emerged Chandler had used the phone from December 2022, 14 months into the two-year suspended prison sentence term, to access nine indecent images of children.

Chandler was also found to have accessed one extreme pornographic image featuring a dog and logged into Instagram using an undeclared online alias.

In addition, the court heard he had deleted almost 4,500 web browser searches.

On Monday, Chandler admitted seven offences including four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), possession of nine category C indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and breaching sex offender notification requirements.

Defence lawyer Andrew Gurney, mitigating, said: "He wishes to apologise to the court for what he has done."

But Judge Michael Fanning observed that Chandler had been guilty of "deceitful" and "dishonest" conduct.

The judge imposed a new SHPO which will run indefinitely.

Description

A paedophile who groomed youngsters online and shared "grotesque" images of horrific abuse later blamed his vile behaviour on alcohol and drugs.

Former Ashford resident Ross Carver took to social media platforms such as Kik to fuel his depraved sexual interest during a Covid lockdown which “seriously compounded his mental health issues”, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

Over a six-month period he engaged in multiple, explicit conversations in which he asked for indecent photos, distributed child abuse images and videos – and even encouraged others, including children, to carry out sexual acts on younger siblings and cousins.

The 33-year-old's depravity sank so low that he claimed he was the adult filmed abusing children as young as four in the videos he had shared, and even boasted of having raped toddlers.

In one chatlog he also referred to having "trained" two young girls, adding "I find it easier with littles".

The court was told however that the female relatives he spoke of having molested do not exist, and police have not identified him as being the abuser in any of the videos or images.

But although Carver's sickening assertions proved to be nothing more than the warped fantasies of someone his barrister described as being "in the grip" of alcohol and drug misuse during Covid lockdown, a judge told him at his sentencing hearing there was still "grave concerns" he posed a direct risk to children.

Carver, who now lives with his parents in Bearsted, Maidstone, admitted three offences of attempting or arranging the commission of a child sexual offence, nine of distributing indecent images of children and three of possessing indecent images.

Prosecutor Lucy Luttman said the multiple Kik chat logs and indecent images were discovered on an iPhone and Samsung seized by police during a search of his then-home in November 2020.

The devices revealed he was also a member of several chat groups with names related to his foot fetish, such as "Teen feet 10-16" and "Teen feet anything goes", and had carried out internet searches using terms including "Young feet".

In online communications between June and October 2020, Carver spoke with users who gave their ages as being 12, 13, 14 and 20. Having described himself as "laidback, bored and fancies some fun", he asked one girl, who was traced to Los Angeles, for indecent images, adding he was "one of the good guys".

"He tells her she is what he has been looking for and assures her he will pay before asking a series of questions about her feet," Miss Luttman told the court. "He specifically asks if her feet smell of vinegar."

"He was living alone in Ashford and lockdown seriously compounded his mental health issues...”

Others were asked about taking photos of younger relatives while one boy was sent a picture of an explicit image and encouraged to show pictures of his feet. Carver also offered to pay up to £15 per photograph, vowing to be "a loyal customer".

Miss Luttman said however that the ages stated by those he was grooming had not been verified and so it was not known if they were in fact children or adults posing as children.

The court heard Carver also shared 79 still and moving abuse images multiple times among 42 different chat groups between July and November 2020. They depicted children aged between four and 10 being subjected to the most serious of sexual acts, including rape.

It was in these chats that Carver detailed in "grotesque and vile" terms the sexual acts he claimed to have perpetrated and encouraged others to do the same. He described raping a toddler as "great, like a dream".

Other indecent images found on his phone which he had not distributed included ones of a two-year-old girl and some of "animated" babies.

Following his arrest, Carver confirmed he used Kik for foot fetish groups and, although he may have used the word 'teen' in some of his internet searches, he told police he never looked for child pornography.

He even claimed he had reported other users for posting what he described as "pretty bad" images.

Carver, who has no relevant previous convictions, was said to be "sickened and ashamed" of his actions and, urging the court to take an exceptional course and spare him jail, his barrister Victoria Meads spoke of the significant progress made in the past three years.

This included joining Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, obtaining work at the Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset, seeking support from child protection charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation and being treated for previously undiagnosed ADHD.

"These offences took place when it was a totally different time of his life and he was in a totally different place," said Miss Meads.

"He has battled with depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harming issues over a significant period of time and was in the grip of alcohol and drug abuse during the lowest point in his life in 2020, a period of isolation for many people when the country was in the grip of Covid lockdown.

"He was living alone in Ashford and lockdown seriously compounded his mental health issues."

Referring to his graphic accounts of abuse he claimed to have carried out on non-existent child relatives, the barrister said they "clearly demonstrated" he was a fantasist.

"While grotesque, despicable and sickening, some of that language is indicative of his drug use at the time and his fantasist behaviour," she added.

Jailing Carver for three years, Judge Simon James said that despite "commendable inclinations" to address his offending, immediate custody was inevitable for what was an "extensive use of the internet to satiate his sexual interest in children".

"You were looking to share your own warped desires and sexual fantasies… You were making a conscious effort not just to seek out like-minded adults but also children to discuss in the most graphic terms the rape and sexual abuse of very young children," he told Carver.

"You boasted of having raped toddlers and explicitly described your own sexual abuse of children. However, your depravity didn't just involve you expressing your own fantasies but also encouraging others to abuse and violate children.

"Any right-minded person who heard the summaries of the vile descriptions associated with the imagery you were openly distributing would struggle to react with anything other than revulsion.

"Describing images of children being raped is indicative of extreme sexual depravity that, despite the fact there is no evidence of you having actually carried out, must give rise to grave concerns about you being an individual who poses a direct risk to children."

On his release from prison Carver will be subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order

Description

A FORMER soldier who works in the movie industry has been jailed after a jury found him guilty of child sex offences with a girl he thought was just 14.

Paedophile Michael O’Mahoney, 38, was convicted following a trial of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

The offences were committed in Newport and London between November 22, 2022, and March 28 this year.

O’Mahoney had denied the charges against him.

His barrister Peter Donnison told Cardiff Crown Court: “He does have previous convictions but none for offences such as this nature and they are of a particular age and it is some length of time since them.

“The most serious offence was of a completely different context as well and it was committed whilst he was serving in the army.

“Having been released from that previous sentence he has worked for a number of companies in different areas and in particular has been working on movie sets for Movie Guard in terms of providing security in that industry.”

The judge, Recorder John Hardy KC, told O’Mahoney: “It's wholly unnecessary for me to lecture you about these offences.

“You know what it is you've been convicted of doing by the jury whose verdicts were returned, if I may say so, with some considerable degree of promptitude.”

He jailed the defendant, of High Street, Stratford, London, for 18 months and told him he would serve half of that sentence before being released on licence.

O’Mahoney will have to register as a sex offender and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

He will also have to pay a statutory victim surcharge following his release from custody.

The attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act offence happened in Newport and the attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child charge occurred in London.

Description

A MECHANIC has been jailed after cops caught him raping a schoolgirl in a seaside car park.

Niall O'Sullivan, 28, has now been locked up for 10 years after the horror sex attack in Brighton in May.

The monster - who was 15 years the girl's senior - was caught in the act after the youngster's pals frantically called 999.

East Sussex's Lewes Crown Court heard how O'Sullivan had groomed the 12-year-old after they met online.

The pair spoke on Snapchat and WhatsApp for months before the then-27-year-old drove from Birmingham to Brighton to meet her.

Tim Forster, prosecuting, told the court the girl was in her school uniform the first time they met.

He added: “She was clearly under 16 by a significant margin.”

The pair had met on three occasions until O'Sullivan raped her in his car.

On that horror day, the young girl had told her mum she was seeing her friends.

And while she did meet her pals, it was them who called the cops on O'Sullivan.

Police were scrambled to the car park in Brighton Marina at about 2pm on Sunday May 7.

Jailing O’Sullivan, Judge Christine Laing, said: “You drove all the way down from Birmingham just to have sex with this child.”

The victim told police O’Sullivan became angry with her when she tried to speak with or go out with other friends.

Kevin Light, defending, said: “He knows what he did was wrong.

"He has mentioned throughout that he did not know how young she was although he admits that he knew she was under-age.”

Judge Laing, the Honorary Recorder of Brighton and Hove, said: “Sexual abuse of young children often gives them a life sentence. None of us knows the impact that it will have on (the victim) as she grows up.

“The law is there to protect children … and that’s why the sentences are as severe as they are.

“You knew full well you shouldn’t have been doing what you were doing. You drove all the way down from Birmingham just to have sex with this child.

“It would have been very obvious that she was very young and somewhat naïve.

“You didn’t even bother forking out for a hotel for this child but just had sex with her in your car. You knew full well that if you took her into a hotel, you would very likely have been challenged.”

You drove all the way down from Birmingham just to have sex with this child.

The Judge locked O'Sullivan up for nine years and four months, and made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

The judge also recommended that the two friends who called the police should receive a £200 award from the High Sheriff of East Sussex.

Detective Constable Stewart Cameron, from Sussex Police, said: “This was a highly distressing case which has had a lasting impact on the vulnerable young victim.

“O’Sullivan knew what he was doing was wrong and had no choice but to plead guilty when confronted with the evidence.

“His behaviour was brazen, often taking the victim to public locations in daylight in order to commit the appalling offences.

“This case demonstrates our determination to catch offenders and to get justice for vulnerable victims. We are pleased that a dangerous sex offender is now off our streets.”

Description

Christopher Foulger, 34, of Fort Cumberland Road, was sentenced on November 24 at Winchester Crown Court to two years imprisonment.

The sentence is for causing a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The offence took place at an address on Albert Road in Southsea on August 28 of this year.

Description

A man already serving a long prison sentence for sexual violence, has received a further jail term of 11 years for multiple rapes on another woman.

Mark Newton received a 14-year and three-month sentence, with five years’ extended licence period, after being branded as, “posing a high risk of causing serious harm to women”, by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court, in March, 2021, for subjecting two victims to sexual and physical violence.

He was back before the crown court, this time at Durham, today (Friday November 24), to be sentenced after admitting four further counts of rape, one of attempted rape and two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm weeks before a scheduled trial for the offences.

The court heard the now 32-year-old defendant, previously of South View Gardens, in Annfield Plain, near Stanley, has an earliest possible release date for his previous offences in January 2030.

But he may have to serve until October 2034 before being eligible for release on parole, before now starting his sentence for the latest offences before the court.

His offending with the victim in this case happened during the period of him committing the offences for which he has already been convicted, but did not come to light until after he was taken into custody.

Dr Chris Wood said the rapes were accompanied in some cases by physical violence, in one case placing his hands tightly around his victim’s neck and telling her: “I hope you have said goodbye to the kids”.

It caused her to black out, but when she came around Newton dragged her to a bedroom and tried to rape her, but she struggled and attempted to climb out of a window to escape.

She repeatedly told him she did not want sex, but he told her: “You’ll do what I say. You’ll live by my rules.”

It was only after Newton was taken into custody for the other offences that the victim came forward and gave a detailed account of the abuse she suffered.

Dr Wood said she was left “mentally and physically traumatised” by her experiences and now does not go out or have a social life.

She described herself as, “always looking over my shoulder” and struggles to sleep, often suffering panic attacks, and is trying to work through her problems with therapy.

Dr Wood said when interviewed, Newton was, “effectively in denial”.

David Callan, in mitigation, said once medical reports confirmed the defendant was fit to plead, he made his admissions, several weeks before the scheduled trial.

He said Newton suffers with adhd, even as an adult, for which he receives medication.

Mr Callan said since his client was transferred from HMP Northumberland to Durham Prison he now has, “a positive attitude” to seeing out his sentence.

“He’s taking it on a day at a time basis and just wants to get his head down and await going before the Parole Board.”

Judge James Adkin said he has no doubt that the defendant fits the criteria of being, “a dangerous offender”, posing a highly significant risk of committing further serious offences, particularly with women.

He told Newton: “You have now shown yourself capable of serious sexual offences against three women.”

Imposing an 11-year prison sentence with three years’ extended licence period, the judge said it should run consecutively with the defendant’s existing sentence.

He will have to serve at least two-thirds of the 11-year sentence before being eligible for release by the Parole Board.

Description

A convicted paedophile made friends with a series of unknowing parents under false names and spent time with their children. Gareth Hill, 43, was previously jailed for the possession and distribution of child abuse images and on release formed a series of friendships without telling the parents about his convictions.

Hill, from St Austell, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of a sexual harm prevention order between 2019 and 2021.

Prosecuting the case, Heather Hope told the court how Hill formed a new relationship in Callington under the name Thomas Smallcroft. This relationship brought him into new social groups and one woman he came to know would leave her child with the defendant. She said after discovering Hill's history that, had she known about his past, she'd have never let her child anywhere near him.

In 2019, Hill and his partner struck up a friendship with a mother in a pub. They would spend time together with a child present. On a number of occasions Hill and his partner would babysit the child and even took the child to Plymouth for a day out.

Further offences included Hill being invited to a child's birthday party and other social visits to mothers, and one father - with children. One woman said she felt "sick to the stomach" when Hill's past came to light.

The final charge related to Hill lying to police about being in possession of a phone. Two mobile phones were later found at his parents' house during a visit.

Representing Hill, Rupert Taylor said: "He wanted to rebuild his life and there is no suggestion of any inappropriate behaviour with children. He was afraid to tell anyone and his past caught up with him.

"He has been gardening for elderly people and his plan is to reattend college for a landscaping course."

Sentencing Hill, Judge Simon Carr said the offending was "a long-term systematic breach of a sexual harm prevention order". Judge Carr went over Hill's offending history before saying: "Over a period of years you befriended predominately women with young children. The pattern is consistent and not a single one had a child over 10.

"You were seen as so trustworthy you were allowed to be with their children, were invited to birthday parties and on limited occasions spent time with children alone.

"You gave a false name and lied about the reason you had been sent to prison, saying it was for violence. Each and every parent was horrified when they found out about your entrenched sexual interest in children.

"You told a probation officer it was unfair you were subject to such an order and it was a breach of your human rights - it is not. You are someone prepared to manipulate the system and after all these years you will purport not to have a sexual interest in children. Your sexual interest in children is entrenched and it will never go away."

Hill was jailed for five years. 

Description

A man has been jailed for nine years after raping a woman who was on a night out with friends in Cornwall.

Frankie Mann, 27, of Bridge Road, St Austell, was riding his moped on 28 May when he spotted the mother looking for her lost house keys and mobile phone in the town.

Mann offered to help before he later pulled her to the ground and raped her.

He was sentenced to nine years in prison, with three years on licence, after admitting the offence at Truro Crown Court in September.

The court heard how Mann had offered to help the woman find her keys and put his jacket around her to keep her warm.

He then carried on riding up and down the road while staying close to where the victim was.

CCTV footage showed Mann waiting for the victim who was walking along Alexandra Road.

Prosecutor Heather Hope told the court he "pounced on her" and raped her as she lay "frozen with fear" with his hand over her mouth.

The court heard the next day Mann went up to a police cordon at the scene and told police he had heard a woman screaming - and gave details of an older man with grey hair to throw officers off the scent.

But Mann had been seen riding his bike earlier on the night of the rape on a pavement weaving around pedestrians - and a woman reported him to police and gave his registration plate.

'Dirty and humiliated'

A specialist police dog found his semen on the pavement where he raped the woman.

After his arrest, Mann changed his story, and said when he went to the police cordon he asked an officer what was going on and told her he had consensual sex with a woman there.

The victim told the court she felt "numb, repulsed, dirty and humiliated".

"That night killed me inside," she said.

Ms Hope said Mann posed as a "Good Samaritan" who gave the victim a false sense of security.

Judge Simon Carr said the effect on the victim had been "catastrophic".

"You targeted and stalked this individual," he said.

"You pretended to assist her."

Mann will be placed on the Sex Offender Register for life.

Description

The family of a youngster who was sexually abused at a holiday park have told of their horror after learning her attacker was on bail for an identical crime at the time.

Police were already hunting for Bryan Shields when he struck again.

Shields, of Lanark, appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court in April where he admitted molesting the five-year-old on four occasions over a three-day period in September last year.

The abuse happened in a caravan at Southerness Holiday Park, near Dumfries, where the girl was staying with her gran.

Last week Shields, 45, was jailed for four-and-a-half years. The victims family members who watched him being sentenced said they were outraged he had been free to target the girl while due to stand trial for abusing the other youngster.

In court, Shields also admitted sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl on three occasions at a house in Cumbernauld in June 2019. He was on bail for an unrelated matter when he carried out the first sex assault.

Despite that, he was again freed pending trial, but failed to turn up at court three times in July 2021, February 2022 and August last year. A warrant for his arrest was outstanding when he sexually assaulted the second victim.

After Shields was jailed, a relative of the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said: Its outrageous. We werent aware of the 2019 sexual assault. If he had been jailed earlier for that, the second assault might never have happened.

I was so angry when I heard this in court. I had to hold myself back because I wanted to punch Shields. That poor wee girl has to live with what he did to her for the rest of her life.

The court heard Shields had befriended the girls gran in Lanark but turned up out of the blue at the holiday park. He told them he was planning to buy a caravan himself but in the meantime was camping on the beach.

The relative said: The girls gran was hoodwinked by him. She is the sort of person who would give you her last penny and she let him stay in the caravan because she felt sorry for him lying in a tent on the beach. It was an act of kindness.

The relative said: It was only later that the girl told her mother what Shields had done to her and the police were contacted.

Sheriff Paul Haran told Shields he would have been jailed for six years but for his guilty pleas. The sentence was backdated to October 3 last year.

Description

A London Underground worker was snared by paedophile hunters as he tried to groom a 13-year-old girl for sex and promised to “deflower” her, a court has heard.

Garret Kelly, 62, exchanged hundreds of messages with the girl called Saskia on Facebook and WhatsApp over the course of six weeks before setting a meeting up at Paddington Station.

Kelly had cleaned his house in preparation for her stay, urged the schoolgirl to start taking the contraceptive pill, and promised “to make you a woman, sexually”.

However, Kelly was confronted at the train station by a so-called paedophile hunter who had created Saskia online using a digitally de-aged photo of her own face.

At Southwark crown court on Wednesday, Judge Martin Griffith sentenced Kelly to 21 months in prison and agreed to suspended the term for the next two years.

The court heard Kelly, a London Underground worker for more than 20 years, has lost his job since his arrest in December last year.

Prosecutor Carol Summers said Kelly, a father of two, starting communicating with Saskia on Facebook last October, where she had a profile clearly indicating she was 13-year-old.

He gave out his mobile phone number and messaging switched to WhatsApp, where repeated references were made to the girl’s school, mother, and homework.

“Slowly and methodically he made reference more and more to sexual contact, her clothing, being in the bath”, said Ms Summers, adding that he asked “how good were her sex education lessons”.

“He was putting himself forward as a confidante, a helper, and an instructor.”

The prosecutor said Kelly started making references to “deflowering” the girl, before discussing their upcoming meeting when he suggested she wear stockings and a suspender belt.

When Saskia messaged saying she did not “know how I’m supposed to feel”, Kelly replied: “That’s OK, you are open to the idea, not opposed or repulsed by me”.

Ms Summers added: “He was encouraging her to go to the doctor to obtain contraception.”

Kelly travelled from his home in Tooting to the meeting on December 2, when he was met by the paedophile hunter, caught on camera, and evidence was handed over to police.

On police bodyworn video Kelly is visibly angry and upset, and complained: “They have tried and sentenced me”, and suggested it had been “sold” to him that the girl’s mother was away.

Lee Sergent, for Kelly, urged the judge not to send him to prison to allow for rehabilitation in the community.

“The fallout and impact of being caught has been already punitive – he has lost his long-standing work, and his relationship with his two daughters at the moment is non-existent.

“This is a man who, as a result of facing up to these charges, is on the point of giving up.”

Kelly was ordered to carry out 125 hours of community service and 45 days of rehab as part of his suspended prison sentence. He will be added to the sex offender’s register and under a sexual harm prevention order.

He pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with a child and attempted grooming.

Description

A paedophile sent a picture of his genitals to someone he believed was an 11-year-old girl and told another girl to think of sex "like kissing Harry Styles". At least one of the accounts he was speaking to was a decoy being run by an undercover officer.

Joel Jones, 38, began talking to domeone he believed was an 11-year-old girl called but it was in fact a decoy account run by an undercover police operative. Their initial conversation took place on social media site MyLOL which is for teenagers aged between 13 and 17 years old.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Jones told the decoy his name was James and he said he was 15 years old and from Swindon. He asked her: "Do you want to see my d***?" and asked her if she had a boyfriend. The defendant also asked her if she masturbated and told her she had a "great butt".

The conversation moved to Wickr where Jones again instigated messages of a sexual nature. He went on to send images of his penis and testicles on Snapchat. He messaged her: "Any pics of you? Let's see."

Information was passed to South Wales Police who identified Jones from his MyLOL and Wickr profiles. He was arrested on July 22, 2021, and his Samsung mobile phone was seized.

On the phone was a Skype application which was found to contain a series of messages in 2018 from a profile belonging to what appeared to be a 13-year-old girl. Attempts were made to identify the girl, which were unsuccessful, so police were unable to ascertain whether it was a real girl or a decoy.

During the conversations the defendant claimed to be a 17-year-old boy and asked the girl if she liked older boys and told her she had a "cute body and bum". Jones added: "Do you ever role play, where you act out roles and have sex?" He told the girl he "fantasised" about sisters and mothers and asked her if she fantasised about her dad or masturbated.

The defendant incited her to masturbate and to use her fingers and a hairbrush to perform sex acts. Prosecutor Owen Williams said Jones told the girl to think of sex like "kissing Harry Styles". He also asked if she was "home alone", told her to strip naked, and said he was masturbating and told her to do the same with a cucumber and a hair brush handle.

When he was interviewed by police Jones claimed he committed the offences "out of curiosity". Jones, of Danygraig Street, Pontypridd, pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to communicate with a child in a sexual manner. The court heard he had one previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol.

In mitigation Matthew Comer said there was no evidence to suggest his client had interacted with a real child. He said the defendant was concerned about the stress caused to his wife who knows about his offences and stands by him. The barrister added: "This is something that he's never going to do again and he will stop being so selfish. He has some insight into the triggers and causes of his offending behaviour and accepts responsibility."

Judge Shoman Khan sentenced Jones to a total of three years imprisonment. He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification requirements.

Description

A man from Chippenham has been jailed after admitting to raping a young boy multiple times. James Morrison, of no fixed address, a 19 year and four month sentence – 13 years and four months of which must be served in prison and six years on extended licence - after carrying out the 'horrific' crimes and threatening his victim.

On July 18, Morrison, 31, appeared at Salisbury Crown Court and pleaded guilty to four counts of raping a child, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and engage in non-penetrative sexual activity with a child.

He was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday, November 22. As well as his jail sentence he was also issued with a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order and must sign the sex offenders register for life.

Wiltshire Police has praised Morrison's victim for his bravery in coming forward, after the offender threatened him, making him feel unable to tell anyone about the abuse. Detective Investigator Francesca Mason, of the Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: “After committing these horrific crimes, Morrison made threats towards his victim which made him feel trapped and unable to confide in his parent."

“Fortunately, the victim’s mum found messages on her son’s phone which led to her son disclosing exactly what had happened and the subsequent police report," DI Mason continued.

“I would like to commend the young victim for the bravery he has shown during the court process – maturity far beyond his years following what has been an incredibly traumatic ordeal.

“I am pleased Morrison has been given a lengthy custodial sentence, reflecting the horrific nature of his crimes. He took advantage of a vulnerable child, abusing him and then making threats towards him.

“As a member of the CAIT team, I would urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse to report it to police immediately so that we can put offenders like Morrisons before the courts.”

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A man has admitted indecently assaulting a young girl in Rotherham.

Ishtiaq Khaliq, 40, formerly of the town, pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault and theft of a mobile phone when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.

The offences are said to have taken place in Rotherham in the 2000s when the victim was only 13 or 14 at the time. The National Crime Agency [NCA] says the case was investigated as part of Operation Stovewood, its inquiry into allegations of non-familial child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

Khaliq is already serving a 17-year prison sentence for other child sexual abuse offences following a separate investigation. He will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on December 14.

A spokesperson for the NCA said: "A man has admitted indecently assaulting a girl in Rotherham in the early 2000s, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.

"Ishtiaq Khaliq, aged 40 and formerly of Rotherham, pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and theft of a mobile phone at a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday (22 November).

"The charges relate to a victim who was aged only 13 or 14 at the time. The case was investigated as part of Operation Stovewood, the NCA’s inquiry into allegations of non-familial child sexual abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Khaliq, who is already serving a 17-year prison sentence for other child sexual abuse offences following a separate investigation, will be sentenced on 14 December."

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A man from Halifax has been jailed for 16 years after he was found guilty of multiple sexual offences against 14 child victims.  

Aidan Firth, 26, of HMP Armley, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court earlier this week (Tuesday, 21 November) for offences including rape of a child, sexual activity with a child inciting a child into sexual activity, and sexual assault. In addition to the custodial sentence, he was also made the subject of a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.  

The offences took place between 2015 and 2020 and involved 14 victims, who were all under 18 at the time of offending.    

They came to light in 2015 when a victim approached police to report offences and an investigation was launched by Calderdale Child Safeguarding Unit.   

During the investigation, further victims came forward and disclosed further offences.

He was arrested in 2020 and was subsequently later charged. Following a three week trial at Bradford Crown Court in September 2023, Firth was found guilty by a jury for multiple sexual offences and jailed.