Latest Offenders

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A former Fleetwood councillor has today been jailed for a total of seven years after previously being found guilty of rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Tony O’Neill, 59, formerly of The Esplanade, Fleetwood, was convicted of the charges following a trial at Preston Crown Court in July.

He appeared at the same court today for sentencing for the historic offences, which prosecutors say occurred when the defendent was a younger man.

O’Neill, formerly of The Esplanade, became a well-known figure in Fleetwood after serving on the town council and co-founding the local branch of the charity Men’s Shed in 2018, a support group for men who have experienced mental illness.

He left the charity in 2022 and is no longer involved.

He was also familiar to many from his years working as a taxi driver and running a pub in the town.

But in 2022, O’Neill was arrested and charged with four counts of rape of a female, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and a charge of burglary in a dwelling with intent to rape.

He pleaded not guilty to all counts but was convicted by jury who found him guilty on two counts of rape and both counts of ABH.

Judge HHJ Mathieson jailed O’Neill for seven years for the rape counts and one year for the assault, but ordered that these be served concurrently rather than consecutively, meaning the total sentece was seven years.

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A Bedford man who groomed a 13-year-old boy on Snapchat and drove to Worthing to rape him has been jailed.

Thomas Crabtree, 35, of Sundew Close in Bedford, was sentenced to serve ten years in prison, followed by six years on licence, when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on 12 September.

He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

Detective Chief Inspector Carrie Williams said: “Thomas Crabtree is a predator who, thanks to the bravery of this young boy, is now safely behind bars.

“He manipulated and took advantage of the boy, who suffered an unimaginable ordeal over several  hours. The boy was incredibly courageous in helping bring his attacker to justice and ensure he poses no further risk to anyone.

“I would like to thank him and his family for their determination.”

Crabtree contacted the boy on Snapchat, using the name Will, and repeatedly sent him sexually explicit images.

He arranged to meet his victim in Worthing on 3 April, 2024. He picked him up in his car, drove him to a remote area near Goring Gap in Worthing and raped him.

Crabtree then drove the boy around in his car in silence, before dropping him off in Worthing and returning to Bedford.

The victim was subjected to an ordeal lasting several hours.

Snapchat data showed Crabtree blocked the victim and deleted all the messages between them, before attempting to make contact again the following month.

The victim reported to police and he and his family were given specialist support that continued throughout the court process.

Crabtree was identified through the Snapchat account and arrested.

He was subsequently charged with two charges of rape; assault by penetration; causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; sexual communication with a child; causing a child to watch a sexual act; meeting a child following sexual grooming; and abducting a child.

He pleaded guilty to all counts and was remanded in custody when he appeared at Hove Crown Court on Wednesday 10 July.

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A man who sexually abused two young girls has been sentenced.

Jack Nepean sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl left in his care in Crawley on New Year’s Eve.

An investigation in Devon also revealed how he had also abused a five-year-old girl there.

The victims have been praised for their “extraordinary bravery” for reporting their experience to police.

Nepean, aged 30, was jailed for a total of 12 years when he appeared for sentencing at Hove Crown Court on September 11.

He was told he would have to serve a minimum of two thirds of the sentence before he can be considered for parole.

The court also imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order to restrict his future access to children and devices.

Sussex Police investigated Nepean, who admitted sexual assault be penetration of a girl under 13 In Crawley, sexual assault by touching of a girl under the age of 13 in Crawley, making indecent images of a child in Sussex.

This took place when the girl was in Nepean's care on New Year's Eve from December 31, 2022, into January 1, 2023.

The offences were disclosed to police in early January 2023. Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police identified further offences linked on Nepean’s mobile phone and investigated further sexual offences committed by Nepean.

He admitted sexual assault committed on a five-year-old girl, making indecent images of the child, three counts of voyeurism, and three counts of possessing indecent images of children in category A, B and C.

Nepean, formerly of an address in Devon, has now started his prison sentence.

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A convicted sex offender who accessed Facebook under a false name after being released from prison was today (Friday) jailed for two years.

Jamie Barton, of Spring Street, Spalding, was caught after the authorities were notified by monitoring software which was installed on his mobile phone.

Barton, 29, was convicted of offences including sexual communication with a child and engaging in sexual activity with a child aged under-16 at Norwich Crown Court in December 2022.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Barton was released from prison in May this year under the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prevented him from accessing social media.

Barton was also ordered to report any alias names used by him to the police.

Following his release from jail it was discovered Barton had been using Facebook under the name 'Tom Green' and also accessing Facebook Messenger and SnapChat.

Numerous chats were exchanged with women but none were children, the court heard.

When the authorities were alerted by monitoring software on his mobile phone Barton admitted clicking on Facebook in a "moment of stupidity."

Barton said he had been using the Tom Green name before his prison sentence and reactivated it when he was released.

Rebecca Freitas, mitigating, said Barton had no friends and was seeking company. She stressed none of the new contacts were under-18.

Barton admitted two charges of breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to notify a change in the use of his name.

The court heard Barton is currently back in custody after being recalled to complete his original jail sentence.

Passing sentence Recorder Simon King told Barton he would now have to serve a two year jail sentence alongside those matters.

"You need to understand that courts need to take very seriously breaches of your order," Recorder King said.

"It is clear to me you represent a very real potential risk if you breach these orders."

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A predatory paedophile molested teenage girls at his Perth home after showing them Marvel movies and teaching them sex education.

Ryan Kinnear forced himself on his three young victims, using a massage gun on one and preying on another while she slept.

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A “devious” sex offender who admitted downloading thousands of indecent images of children dumped his mobile phone into a lough in disgust at what he had done, the High Court heard on Wednesday.

William Mullan told police his addiction then drove him to access and store more photographs of babies and other youngsters on a second device.

The 42-year-old, of Old Rossorry Park in Enniskillen, used an alias to set up social media accounts in order to obtain the material online.

Details emerged as he was refused bail on charges of breaching a Sexual Offenders Prevention Order (SOPO) and possessing indecent images.

Prosecutors said police were alerted earlier this month that he had used Snapchat to post a Category A video of a child online in October last year.

Mullan had used an alias to register an account on the messaging platform.

A phone seized from the defendant was examined and found to contain 2,500 images of children ranging from babies to teenagers, the court heard.

By that stage, a 10-year SOPO had been imposed on him following a previous conviction for having indecent photos.

Crown counsel said Mullan freely admitted during interviews that he had purchased two mobiles without permission, with the intention to go online and feed his addiction to child pornography.

“He created an alias username to set up a Snapchat account and then engaged with children he believed to be aged between 15 and 17,” the barrister disclosed.

Referring to the undiscovered device, she added: “He said he threw that phone in the lough as he was disgusted with what was on it, [but] admitted it contained a lot of bad things, namely indecent images of children.”

Mullan then purchased the second mobile and used it to access the Telegram messaging app, again intent on accessing similar illegal material.

“He said he downloaded up to 2,000 images onto the app and then, after a period of time, he would delete them due to his disgust with himself,” the prosecutor submitted.

“He has done this at least five times.”

The court also heard Mullan changed the SIM card twice after being banned from the app for being involved with indecent images.

Opposing bail, she argued that he is a Category One registered sex offender who poses a high risk.

“He is saying that he has an active addiction,” counsel stressed.

Mullan’s barrister suggested he could be safely managed and should be released from custody due to anticipated delays in the case.

However, Lord Justice Horner refused bail, based on concerns about potential re-offending.

He told the defendant’s legal representatives: “He’s quite obviously devious and prepared to take steps to access images he should not be accessing.”

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A man who approached young children in Blackburn town centre, kissed a painting, and racially abused a security officer who intervened has been jailed for six months.

Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard Yves Tempels' bizarre behaviour caused great distress to the parents of children, one of them thinking he was trying to snatch her four-year-old son.

Tempels, 40, of Hermitage Street, Rishton, pleaded guilty to using threatening behaviour and racially aggravated threatening behaviour towards Mubeen Khalifa.

He was jailed for 26 weeks and ordered to pay £80 compensation to each of the three victims.

Nicola Mills, prosecuting, said the incidents occurred in the early afternoon of Sunday, August 4.

A mother with her two children, aged seven and four, was outside Holland and Barrett in The Mall when Tempels approached.

He spoke to the four-year-old child and said “come on” before crouching down and reaching out for the boy’s arm.

“She was deeply  concerned about what he was trying to do,” said Miss Mills.

“Her initial thought was that he was trying to take her child away from her.”

Shortly after a man in McDonalds with his two children noticed the defendant, who was clearly intoxicated, talking to himself.

He took a painting that had been done by children down from the wall and started kissing it.

“He was using foul language and the man asked him to stop swearing before moving away,” said Miss Mills.

“The defendant followed and the man saw him touch his daughter's hair and then he appeared to be sniffing her hair.

"He then touched the foot of a baby who was in a pram nearby.”

Miss Mills said when Mr Khalifa, a security guard, intervened Tempels racially abused him by calling him a “monkey.”

“There is a worrying undertone to the offences, made more concerning because he has previously been convicted of sexual offences and is on the sex offender register,” said Miss Mills.

“He has appeared by video link from prison because he is serving a sentence for breaching sex offender registration requirements."

Richard Prew, by way of mitigation, said his client had suffered a fall and sustained head injuries which required hospital treatment.

“When he was discharged he went for a drink which probably exasperated his concussion,” said Mr Prew.

“He already has mental health issues and its concerning that he doesn’t remember what he did that day.”

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A Fife paedophile pensioner caught with almost 100,000 child abuse images had a price list and a manual giving instructions on how to download them.

Graham Dickie from Kirkcaldy also amassed a video collection with a run-time of more than two-and-a-half days.

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A known pervert who nicknamed his penis “Frank” told a 13-year-old that he “wanted to hide him” after grooming the youngster on Facebook.

Leeds Crown Court was told that the remark was Ronald Ling’s way of suggesting he wanted sexual intercourse with the girl.

The convicted paedophile, who is already on the sex offender register for life, also said he wanted to play strip snap with her, and suggested they meet but she bring a change of clothes because it “could get messy”.

The girl was in fact a decoy profile run by the online hunter group, Predator Exposure. Ling, 53, was suspicious of the supposed girl and even suggested he may be getting set up, but continued to message.

Prosecutor Nick Adlington said the profile received a friend request over Facebook from Ling on May 1 this year.

Despite her telling him she was only 13, he persisted in calling her “sexy”, even though he admitted to her he may get called a “nonce” and raised questions over the legitimacy of the profile.

He sent an indecent image of a child and a picture of an erect penis. He told her be had bought her a mobile phone and confectionary. He even suggested what bus she could get to reach his home on Wykebeck Road in Halton.

Ling then referred to his penis as Frank and her vagina as Cat, before making the euphemism about hiding Frank.

A video call took place between him and member of Predator Exposure on May 19, even though the decoy told him her camera was not working on her phone. Ling gave her a guided tour of his home and the garden, even telling others living there that he was on the phone to his niece.

He was approached and detained by members of the hunter group two days later at his home, after they recognised it from the video call. The police were called and he was arrested.

Ling admitted it was his Facebook profile, and that he had been communicating with the girl, but said he knew he should have not taken part. He claimed he had no intention of meeting her, and tried to claim he had no sexual interest in children.

The court heard that Ling had been jailed in 2007 for 44 months for eight counts of sexual activity with a child. He was put on the sex offender register for life and given a life-long sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

For his latest offending, he admitted attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to arrange or facilitate a child sex offence, and breach of his SHPO. He has been held on remand since his arrest.

Mitigating, Michael Walsh said: “He tells me he got carried away with what was happening. On one level he was enjoying the interaction with the other person.

“On another level he did think that this maybe is some decoy or an attempt to dupe him. He is a man of significant health problems and he is awaiting various medical procedures.”

The judge, Recorder Alex Menary, said that given Ling’s history and previous offences, only a custodial sentence would suffice.

He jailed him for 32 months, and said he would continue to remain on his SHPO and the sex register for life.

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A "prolific" sex offender who was arrested after an indecent image of a child was uploaded to Snapchat has been jailed for six years.

Liam Crosby, of Harewood Rise in Keighley, was found guilty of numerous sex offences against children after a trial at Bradford Crown Court.

These included making and distributing indecent images of children and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Crosby, 31, was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in custody with a three-year extended licence period.

'Victim's bravery'

Bradford Crown Court heard he was arrested on 11 July 2022 following a referral from the National Crime Agency after an indecent image of a child was uploaded from a Snapchat account linked to him.

West Yorkshire Police said his phone was seized, and further indecent images of children and numerous sexualised communications with children were found.

After he was charged and summonsed to court in relation to a number of offences, police received information that Crosby had been linked to similar offences involving a 15-year-old victim.

He was further arrested and another device seized, and police found more images and sexualised communications with children.

He was charged with additional offences and remanded into custody.

Det Sgt Craig Stevens, of the Bradford District Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: "He is a prolific offender who deserves to be behind bars for a long time.

"The victim has shown immense bravery throughout this process, and I hope the conclusion of this court case brings them some closure on an extremely difficult period in their young life."

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A pig farm worker who "hunted out" hundreds of "sordid" and "obscene" images of children for more than 14 years hurriedly tried to "scuttle" upstairs and shut down his laptop after police arrived at his home.

John Floater told officers that he did not want them to follow him upstairs but his panicked plan "didn't succeed" and his laptop screen was seen showing an open "pre-teen" website page. He was still involved in "serial, perverted activity" that had lasted for an "inordinate and sustained" period of time, Hull Crown Court heard.

John Floater, 57, of White Horse Lane, Ottringham, near Withernsea, admitted three offences of making indecent images of children between July 12, 2008 and October 4, 2022.

Curtis Dunkley, prosecuting, said that all the images had been accessed online and the website data was retained on Floater's laptop. The images were not immediately accessible to Floater or saved to his laptop.

Police received information on May 30, 2022 about an online account linked to Floater that was suspected of uploading indecent images of children. They visited Floater's home on October 4, 2022 to execute a search warrant.

He said that he "wasn't any good" with computers and police told him that a search of his entire home would be made. "The defendant stated that he needed to go upstairs to his laptop," said Mr Dunkley.

"When he was told that officers would need to go with him, he stated that he didn't want to be followed. He was followed upstairs into his bedroom and officers saw that his laptop was open on the bed.

"The defendant attempted to close the screen on his laptop. The laptop was inspected by police at the scene – and the screen was illuminated with a 'pre-teen' web page open."

Indecent images of children, prohibited images of children and extreme pornography images were found on all four devices seized.

There were 788 images but they were not accessible. They included 135 still images and 26 videos in the most serious Category A, 155 still images and 19 videos in Category B and 395 still images and one video in Category C.

There was search activity for young models and bestiality. The images included girls aged between three and six months old and between three and six years old.

During police interview, Floater claimed that he was not very technically able and he denied having a sexual interest in children. He claimed that he did not know that the images were illegal.

Marc Luxford, mitigating, said that it was serious offending but Floater had no previous convictions. He had recently been doing a part-time job working three hours a day at a pig farm. He had worked nearly all his life.

Recorder Sam Green KC said: "He had been at this serial, perverted activity for well over a decade. This is a long-standing habit. Rather than recoiling the first time he went online and treated himself to these images in 2008, he kept at it until he was caught."

Recorder Green told Floater: "You tried to scuttle upstairs and shut down your laptop so you could conceal what you had been doing. You told the police that you thought there was nothing illegal about it. You attempted to cover your perverted tracks.

"You didn't succeed and multiple images were found of various degrees of criminality, many involving children, some involving bestiality, some involving bestiality and children."

The images were "sordid" and involved deliberate hunting out of "obscene" images of young children of the most serious kind over an "inordinate and sustained" period of time of more than 14 years.

Floater, who had been on bail, was jailed for 20 months. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years.

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A paedophile who sexually abused two young girls was convicted thanks in part to innovative software which recovered incriminating videos he had attempted to delete from his phone.

This software was purchased and funded in part by illicit profits recovered from criminals by the police.

Barry Larkin, 32, was described by sentencing judge Richard Wilkin as a “paedophile and a complete coward” after he was unanimously convicted of eight charges following a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

An investigation, led by our specialist Child Abuse Investigation Team, established Larkin, of Barn Mead, Harlow, had groomed and abused two young girls in 2022.

The mother of the two girls raised the alarm after her suspicions were raised and detectives launched immediate enquiries.

With support in place, the two victims revealed the extent of the abuse they had suffered.

It was revealed on one occasion Larkin had threatened one of the girls, advising her if she told anyone, then “she would be sorry”.

Police investigation

Larkin was arrested in June 2022, his mobile phones were seized and analysed using new software purchased by Essex Police that year.

This software was partly funded by money recovered from criminal enterprise through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

We were able to recover some footage Larkin had captured of his abusive behaviour.

The trial judge allowed the unusual step of showing some of the abusive material to the jury, playing distressing videos in court.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Rachel Horton explained:

“This was not an easy decision made by the court.
“It was decided that a verbal description of the videos was never going to prove the true extent of what the girls suffered.
“The jury is made up of everyday members of the public and understandably the videos caused the jurors to experience a high level of distress.
“The judge has therefore excused them from any form of jury service for the next 10 years.”

The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on six counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching and one count of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Larkin admitted taking an indecent photograph of a child at an earlier hearing.

At the same court on Tuesday 3 September, Larkin was deemed to be a dangerous offender and handed an extended sentence.

Jailed

This sentence will comprise 12 years imprisonment, with an extended licence period of two years.

Judge Wilkin said:

“You took away their innocence for your own sexual gratification.
“You are dangerous in my assessment.”

'Dangerous and opportunistic'

DC Horton added:

“These convictions are the positive result of hard work across a number of different teams within Essex Police, together with the commitment of 12 ordinary men and women who sat through a difficult trial before delivering just verdicts based on the evidence.
“We would first pay tribute to the victims and the family of the victims, who have stuck with us and displayed strength and patience in their wait for justice.
“These two girls suffered awful abuse at the hands of a despicable individual, who was rightly judged to be a dangerous and opportunistic paedophile.
“Both girls have shown remarkable maturity during this investigation and are a credit to their family.
"It is my hope they can now put this case behind them, to some degree, and rebuild their lives.
“This conviction was in part helped by pioneering work by the civilian staff at the Harlow Digital Media Hub to keep Essex Police as a frontrunner amongst other forces when it comes to the recovery and review of digital evidence from devices.
“New equipment and software that was purchased in 2022, some of which is provided through funds recovered from criminal enterprise through the Proceeds of Crime Act, allow us to use criminal profit against other criminals and in support of vulnerable victims.
“These convictions relied heavily on digital evidence, some of which would not have been recovered if not for these improvements.”

The two victims were supported throughout this case, from initial disclosures to sentence, by an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA).

An ISVA operates entirely independently of the police, providing emotional and practical support to victims and survivors of both recent and non-recent sexual abuse.

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A creep who sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl and then walked along train tracks asked police "what's the problem?"

Karol Jaworski, 40, approached the child, who was wearing her school uniform, in a shop and remarked "good arse". The victim then felt a hard slap on her bottom which caused a sting and when she turned around she saw Jaworski looking at her.

A court heard, in a separate incident, the sex fiend walked along train tracks - after missing a lift - actions which led to severe delays on the line near Port Talbot, south Wales, and which cost National Rail £30,749. He initially told police: "I do this in Poland all the time – what's the problem?"

Jaworski appeared in court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and obstructing an engine or carriage of a railway. He was sentenced to a total of 16 months of imprisonment. He was also made subject to a restraining order for 12 months and to sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.

Sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "What is it coming to when a young schoolgirl cannot go into a shop without being sexually assaulted in the way in which she was by somebody like you?" In reference to the railway offence, the judge said: "You might be doing this regularly in Poland but you do not do it in Great Britain."

Following the sex attack, Jaworski shouted: "F*** off, f*** off" as he left the shop in Bridgend, south Wales. Police were called but the sex fiend said it "came out of the blue" he could go to prison.

In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins, the victim said: "I feel anxious about attending the town centre as it's where the incident took place. I feel different about attending the town centre and I have not been back since the incident took place. I feel like I can't attend school as I don't feel comfortable about older men.

"I had a mark on my bottom which made me feel disgusted and sickened. It upset me about the force used. It left me feeling cautious of older men. I was wearing a school uniform and obviously I was a child."

On February 21 this year, the British Transport Police received multiple reports of a man walking on the train tracks from Briton Ferry railway station towards Port Talbot Parkway. Jaworski was located trackside near the car park of Port Talbot Parkway, reports Wales Online. He initially told police: "I do this in Poland all the time – what's the problem?" and said he had been walking along the railroads after missing a lift.

Ms Smith-Higgins said due to the defendant's actions trains had to be held and stopped for 56 minutes. Three trains were immediately affected and there were further delays throughout the evening. There were a total of 375 minutes of delays which cost National Rail £30,749.

In mitigation, the court was told the sexual assault was "short-lived" and the defendant, who lives in Bridgend, was heavily intoxicated at the time through drugs. In reference to the railway offence it was said he left the tracks as soon as he was asked.

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A County Durham rapist who carried out the "hideous" sexual abuse of a child while drunk has been caged for 12 years.

James Smith left his victim "uncomfortable" in their own skin and battling feelings of "disgust" after raping and sexually abusing them. The 43-year-old carried out the abuse when he was drunk and maintains his innocence, despite being found guilty by a jury.

On Monday, Smith, of Spennymoor, appeared at Durham Crown Court via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for rape, sexual assault of a child, and sexual activity in the presence of a child. He was convicted after a three-day trial on August 2. Prosecutor, Shaun Dodds told the court that Smith carried out the offences "under the influence of alcohol".

In a statement, Smith's victim, who was a child at the time of the offences, said that they only began to "process" what happened to them when they got older. They said they felt "disgust in the pit of my stomach" and "uncomfortable in my own skin". The victim also made attempts to take their own life, the court heard.

Thomas Sherrington, defending, told the court Smith "still maintains his innocence". He said: "The offences were completely out of character. He has no previous convictions for sexual matters."

Mr Sherrington added: "It appears [the offences] were unplanned. There is little personal mitigation as he continues to deny the offences...he does suffer from depression and anxiety."

Sentencing Smith, Judge Adams said: "You had chronic alcohol problems at the time, which you were in complete denial about."

Judge Adams said that Smith's alcohol abuse was an aggravating factor in the offences as he "knew what you were doing" and that he acted in a "hideous manner". He added: "I accept you may have no memory of the offences given the state you were in."

Smith was jailed for 12 years and made subject of a lifetime restraining order. He will also be on the sex offender register for life, and a 20 year sexual harm prevention order was also imposed.

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A Southampton man has been jailed for rape and coercive and controlling behaviour towards a woman in her 30s.

Luke Ross Cromar, 30, of Bramley Crescent, appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Friday (6 September), where he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

We were called in January this year by the victim, who reported that Cromar had been mentally and physically abusive towards her on many occasions since the summer of 2022.

During this period, incidents included Cromar monitoring the victim’s whereabouts by setting up a smart speaker inside her home, assaulting and threatening her, causing her to fear violence. She was also forced to have sex with Cromar, for fear of violence and assault if she did not do so.

An investigation by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Western Operation Amberstone team, which specialises in rape and serious sexual assault, led to the arrest and charge of Cromar.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of vaginal rape, oral rape, assault by penetration and coercive and controlling behaviour, however a jury found him guilty of all counts following a trial at Southampton Crown Court.

He has now been sentenced to eight years in prison for these charges, with an additional year for breaching an existing suspended sentence.

Detective Constable Marie Leather, who led the investigation, said: “Cromar’s prolonged period of abuse, violence and coercive and controlling behaviour, which spanned two years in total, has understandably had a severe impact on the victim, which will stay with her forever.

“While nothing can take that away, I hope that this sentence goes some way into helping her move forward with her life, knowing that Cromar is now behind bars.

“Coercive and controlling behaviour is an act or pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. This controlling behaviour is often designed to make a person dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence and regulating their everyday behaviour.

“I am so grateful to the victim and commend her courage in coming forward and reporting what had been happening to her. Her bravery throughout the investigation and criminal justice process has helped us put Cromar in jail for what he has done.