Latest Offenders

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Caewen Ash tried to blackmail police into dropping the charges after he was caught

A former MasterChef contestant who downloaded sickening sex abuse photos of children has been jailed. Caerwyn Ash, who was a quarter finalist in the 2016 series of the popular BBC culinary series, claimed he was innocent and that a "whole list of other people” had access to his equipment, adding that “they had access to everything in the house”.

His trial heard that after the indecent images were found, he tried to blackmail the police into dropping the charges - bizarrely threatening to reveal sexually explicit material involving South Wales Police officers to the world’s media unless proceedings against him were stopped.

He was later convicted by a jury of having 20 indecent photographs of a child and five indecent videos of a child - the latter of which were all in the highest category.

On Thursday, a sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard that Ash, of Kilvey Terrace, St Thomas, Swansea, was also convicted of possessing 35 videos of extreme pornography, including acts of bestiality, and 50 still photographs in the same category. The images and videos were discovered and Ash was arrested in April 2019 following a report that had been made by his former partner, which resulted in a search of Ash's then home and the seizure of various pieces of computer equipment belonging to him.

He was interviewed by police in September 2022 and denied any knowledge of the images. The court heard he was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice - a charge which related to his attempt to blackmail police.

Prosecutor James Wilson said the aggravating features of Ash's offending included the age and vulnerability of the child depicted and the fact the collection included moving images. He said while there were no sentencing guidelines for the perverting the course of justice offence, it was "obviously a serious offence", though he noted that "nothing further happened" after the defendant presented to the police documents making the threats therein.

In mitigation, former university academic Ash, who was representing himself, first apologised to the court for his lack of preparation. He claimed that all his documents were "destroyed" the previous day and he "had no time to prepare this morning". He said he had found the experience of being prosecuted "overwhelming and traumatic" and maintained, as he had done from the start, his innocence and denied any knowledge of the images. "The defendant has always stated that if he had ever seen such an image, he would have been compelled to inform the police," he told the court.

He added that he had no previous convictions and that his and others' lives had been "destroyed" following his arrest in 2019. He also said he had done work for charity - such as for mental health and homelessness - had endured two decades in a "controlling" relationship and had been diagnosed with PTSD in prison.

Sentencing the defendant, his honour judge Wayne Beard said he did not accept Ash's statement that his threats to police was "simply an attempt to get things noticed in terms of any investigation" but that he had "no doubt that your intent was to try to bring the charges that you faced to and end." The judge said the blackmail "strikes at the heart of justice", describing it as "manipulative and cynical", though acknowledged it was "unlikely to ever succeed in any way, shape or form".

As for the images, the judge said noted Ash had continued to deny any knowledge of the images and did not accept the jury's verdict, adding: "In my judgement therefore there is no prospect at this stage of any rehabilitation taking place by means of the probation service and the types of courses they involve sex offenders in."

He noted that Ash was previously of good character and took into account his charitable works and that he had had "some level of diagnosis in prison of PTSD". He sentenced the defendant to three years in prison in total. Ash was also subjected to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, meaning, among other requirements, that he cannot live in the same household as any child under the age of 16 unless with the permission of social services, and he will also be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

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A man from Bradford who had more than 1700 indecent images of children on his computer has been sentenced to more than three years in jail.

Julian Barnes 50, of Haycliffe Terrace pleaded guilty to seven charges all relating to indecent images of children. 

Bradford District’s Police Online Investigation Team launched an investigation when 17 indecent images were uploaded to a google account in March 2022. 

The IP address came back to Barnes home address and he was subsequently arrested, charged and remanded on 25 January 2023. 

Today (22nd June) he was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court to 45 months in jail. 

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he must sign on the sex offender register for life.  

Officer in the case PC Kate Davis of Bradford District’s Police Online Investigation team said: 

“Barnes was in possession of the most disturbing child abuse material at the time of his arrest. 

“His collection included more than 1700 images of the most serious category. Behind every picture there is a victim of child abuse. 

“We welcome the lengthy sentence today which reflects the seriousness of his offending. 

“We are committed to protecting victims of child sexual abuse. We will find those people responsible and bring them before the courts.”

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A paedophile who abused a girl after grooming her with sweets has failed in a bid to have his prison spell reduced.

Shop worker Shibin Vimala Santhakumar, of Pipers Hill Road in Kettering, had sex with the schoolgirl and took an indecent picture of her after gradually building her trust.

In November at Northampton Crown Court he was jailed for 11 years with a further two years on licence, a sentence which he appealed against.

But on Tuesday (June 20) judges dismissed the bid and said 46-year-old Santhakumar had exploited his victim.

London’s Royal Courts of Justice heard the girl was taken advantage of when she was vulnerable.

Santhakumar gave his victim extra change and free treats before engaging in sexual activity with her. The court heard he told her he had ‘done it with a teenager before’.

Paul Webb, representing Santhakumar, said he had contributed in ‘many positive ways’ to the local community and that the circumstances which led to his offending were unlikely to happen again.

He said: "There is not a significant risk of the commission of further offences, simply because of the rarity of these circumstances that led him to make the advances he did to this poor young girl.”

The court heard that a pre-sentence assessment said Santhakumar had a low risk of reoffending but that the report’s author said she did not agree with it. Mr Webb said she should not have dismissed the assessment.

He also said that the decision to impose an extended sentence and find Santhakumar to be a ‘dangerous’ offender was inappropriate, adding that the starting point taken by the sentencing judge, using sentencing guidelines, was too high.

Mr Webb said: “These offences were isolated and opportunistic.”

When the victim reported the offences to Northamptonshire Police Santhakumar initially denied the allegations. He was later charged with sexual activity with a child, inciting sexual activity with a child and possession of indecent images of children, pleading guilty to some offences before his trial and being convicted of all remaining charges by a jury.

Appeal judges Lord Justice Males, Mr Justice Wall and Her Honour Judge Rosa Dean said they agreed with the sentencing judge’s assessment.

Lord Justice Males said: "In our judgement the sentence was not arguably manifestly excessive and the application is refused.”

Speaking after last year’s sentencing hearing lead investigator Detective Constable Chris Waterfall, from Northamptonshire Police’s child protection team, commended the victim for her courage and said her support was vital to their investigation.

He said: “This case shows that sexual offences against children do not often start with an immediate offence. Santhakumar gradually built trust with this girl through offering her free items and money off her purchases. It then escalated into this abuse.

“I welcome the sentence handed out to him as it means there is one less sexual predator on our streets and one less person able to harm children. I hope this result shows the seriousness with which Northamptonshire Police takes these offences and I want to reassure the public that we will continue to work hard to bring people like Santhakumar to justice.”

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A child rapist has been jailed after detectives led an international manhunt to track him down.

Abbas Alsaed, 28, from Kingsbury, pleaded guilty to eight counts of rape and sexual assault at Harrow Crown Court on 1 December 2022 and was sentenced on Wednesday to 14 years in prison.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for life.

The Met Police said Alsaed met his victim, an 11-year-old girl, in Fryent Country Park, Wembley in May 2021 when he told her he was a child protection officer and proceeded to befriend the victim before taking her mobile phone number.

He then met her in the park over the following year where he raped and sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions.

Police were called after concerns were raised by a member of staff at the victim’s school but Alsaed fled the country before he could be arrested.

Officers from the Met’s Predatory Offender Unit tracked him to the Netherlands and he was then arrested at St Pancras station when he returned to the country on August 15 last year.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Qamar Islam from the North West Command Unit said: “Alsaed is a dangerous and manipulative individual, who took advantage of a vulnerable child in order to carry out terrible crimes, which will live with the victim forever.

“I would like to commend the courage and bravery of the victim, who after enduring such traumatic abuse, spoke with officers and found the strength to assist with this investigation.

“These crimes were reported to the Met in June 2022 and resulted in an arrest less than two months later. A successful investigation ensued due to diligent and efficient work by a number of officers involved in this case.

“I truly hope that the result today will reassure victims of rape and sexual assault, that we will do everything within our power to investigate and prosecute predatory men at the earliest possible opportunity.”

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A 48-year-old man from Bushey is facing more than three years in jail after he was snared in a paedophile sting.

Peter McCann, of Pinfold Road, Bushey, was arrested in Watford on November 5 after attempting to incite a child into sexual activity.

He was jailed for three years and nine months on Monday (June 19) when he appeared at St Albans Crown Court.

Volunteer group Innocent Voices had carried out a sting after another team sent them an evidence file with messages he had exchanged with an adult “decoy”.

He was then detained by the group and arrested by Hertfordshire police, in Park Avenue, Bushey.

McCann pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a child into sexual activity on December 19, 2022.

He was also sentenced over making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child for an overall sentence of 45 months imprisonment.

A sexual harm prevention order was made and he was added to the sex offenders register, both indefinitely.

The indecent images fell under categories B and C, meaning images involving non-penetrative sexual activity and not involving sexual activity respectively.

Izzy Hunter, from Innocent Voices, said her team were “really happy” to see a prison sentence in the case.

The Hertfordshire resident said: “I’m glad it was dealt with relatively quickly but also that it was a prison sentence.

“Only with that is there really a deterrent. The sentences are getting more serious, more prison sentences and less suspended sentences, which are not really a deterrence as they carry on their lives as normal.

“I’m also really happy that he is indefinitely on the register as that will always be around with him.”

She added that it is often a “postcode lottery” whether people caught in similar stings are bailed or remanded, as well as whether the cases are dealt with quickly or drag on for years without sentences or restrictions.

Hertfordshire police is usually one of the more proactive forces, she added.

Mrs Hunter is involved in dealing with an offender once a week, on average, and said the amount of people attempting these crimes online is “non-stop”.

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A FORMER deputy head teacher at a prominent London school previously attended by royals has pleaded guilty to financially rewarding Indian teenagers for sending him indecent images of children.

Matthew Smith, 34, from East Dulwich, admitted to 22 charges, including having instructed teenagers in India online to abuse younger children while he was working in Nepal.

The “prolific offender” who appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday (20) will be sentenced on August 4.

Smith, who briefly worked at the £20,000-a-year Thomas’s Battersea school in London where Prince George and Princess Charlotte once studied, was arrested in November last year after investigators discovered that he had been sharing abuse material on the dark web during his stay in Nepal.

He was online at the time of his arrest, speaking to a boy living in India and asking him to send sexual images of a younger child, in return for money, the National Crime Agency said.

Officers recovered more than 120,000 indecent images of children which the Oxford University graduate had saved on a laptop, SD card and on his phone.

Smith was remanded in custody, charged with five offences, including causing the sexual exploitation of a child under 13.

Investigators established that Smith had paid the boy and another teenager, also based in India, £65,398 to abuse children over five years.

He worked in orphanages and non-governmental organisations across India between 2007-2014 before he shifted to Nepal where taught at Kathmandu’s British School.

He returned to London in July 2022 and started working at Thomas’s Battersea where he was a deputy head teacher and head of pastoral care before he was fired two months later.

Investigators found that Smith would instruct the young men via chat logs to perform sexual acts on boys and would send them images and videos as examples of ones he would like to receive in return.

He also told one of them how to befriend children and build their trust with a view to abuse them, the NCA said.

Information and evidence of potential offending by Smith against children while working in India have been shared with relevant law enforcement partners.

However, there is no evidence to suggest he committed offences against children based in Nepal or Britain.

Claire Brinton, a specialist in the Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service said Smith’s crimes were “particularly disturbing” given his role as a primary school teacher.

“Thousands of images and videos were recovered from his devices which showed an appalling catalogue of sexual abuse being perpetrated on children,” she said.

A Thomas’s Battersea spokesperson said the school was “shocked and appalled beyond measure” by Smith’s actions and thanked the investigators for bringing him to justice.

His employment at the school, which began in September 2022, was terminated soon after it learned of the charges against him in November, the spokesperson said.

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A sick barman used ‘JimmySavile’ as the password on the account he used to download 2,000 indecent images of children.

Iain Syme’s illegal hoard referenced the disgraced former television star, who is widely understood to be one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders.

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A Leeds man has been jailed after pleading guilty to ten child sex offences.

Simon Macfarlane-Smith, 43, from Tealbeck Approach, Otley, was charged with ten offences. These include three offences of making indecent images of children, three offences of sexual communication with a child, three offences of causing a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and one offence of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He was discovered when West Yorkshire Police received information in December 2020, indicating the user of an IP address was sharing images of indecent children. A warrant was then executed at the address and numerous items were seized.

Items from his devices were also sent off to the digital forensic unit. On his computer, hundreds of indecent images were found dating from December 2012 to February 2021.

The police also found information that he was engaging in sexual communication with a child. These communications offences took place form January 2021 to February 2021.

On Monday, June 19, 2023, he was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court to 40 months in jail. He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must sign on the sex offenders register for life.

Police Constable Kate Davis of Bradford District’s Policing Online Investigation team said: "Macfarlane Smith is a dangerous sexual predator.

"He went to extreme lengths to cover up his activities and his intentions to cause serious harm to children. We hope this sentence sends a clear message that we take all reports of online activity seriously and we"are committed to protecting children from sexual abuse."

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THE furious victim of a ‘despicable’ rapist who went AWOL before his trial ended has blasted the coward - as he was jailed for eight years.

David McCue, 40, absconded before the jury returned its guilty verdicts at the High Court in Glasgow was on the run for two months.

Defence counsel Sarah Livingstone told the court that the beast, from Springboig, Glasgow,  had a ‘mental health meltdown’  and camped in a forest to avoid getting caught.

But the survivor rubbished the pitiful excuses for his disappearing act which prolonged the agony for her and the child victim.

She said: “There are no forests in Springboig - it’s all complete lies.
“He’s protecting the paedophile and rapist lovers who let him stay in their homes for two months.

“Playing the mental health card is pathetic as well.

“The enormity of what he had done has hit him and he’s run away like the coward he is.”

McCue, also known as David Ross, had been found guilty of repeated attacks on a woman in the Glasgow’s  Townhead and Barlanark areas  including while she was asleep.

He was further convicted of sexually assaulting a girl with all  the offences taking place between 2010 and 2018.

His lawyer told the High Court in Inverness: “He was intending to come but everything came crashing down.

“A juror had been excused due to her conduct - shaking her head and he formed the view that matters were not going for him.

“He was overhwelmed and scared of going to prison. He also had suicidal thoughts, went drinking that day and didn’t stop. He was at rock bottom.”

On the sex offences, Ms Livingstone said her client still protested his innocence.

She added: “There can be no mitigating factors to these offences. But there is an absence of anything analogous and there was no evidence in the trial that this was premeditated.”

Sentencing him to seven years for the sex offences and an extra year for contempt of court by failing to appear, judge Olga Pastportikov told him: “Your actions were despicable.

“You robbed a child of her innocence and left a woman thinking she was responsible.

“Both of your victims will hopefully regain some of their lives. Crimes such as yours must attract a custodial sentence.

“Turning to the question of your absconding, you remained at large for two months, acting in wilful defiance of the court’s authority.”

McCue was also placed on the sex offender list indefinitely.

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A man shared images of children being sexually abused with "like minded people" during the Covid lockdowns. Leigh Davies also engaged in sexual conversations about children with contacts on the Kik messenger app. Swansea Crown Court heard that some of the indecent images which the 66-year-old defendant collected showed young girls who were clearly "in pain and distress".

Craig Jones, prosecuting, said on November 24, 2021, police officers executed a search warrant at the defendant's home address in Port Talbot in relation to an investigation into the possession and distribution of indecent images. The court heard a significant number of electronic devices were seized, and Davies said to the officers: "I'm on Kik and Snapchat and get sent all sorts of stuff".

The prosecutor said a forensic examination of the devices found 244 indecent images on an iPhone, including 166 of Category A showing the most extreme kind of sexual abuse. A number of the Category A images showed young females who were clearly "in pain and distress". Officers also found Davies had shared 20 images with people on the Kik messenger application and engaged in sexual conversations with contacts, while an examination of his internet history showed he had been making searches using the term "young boys". The court heard the ages of the children shown in the child abuse photographs ranged from around three to early teens. More than 220 images of extreme pornography were also found.

Mr Jones said it should be noted that a total of 1,214 illegal media files related to the Kik application were not visible during a manual examination of the iPhone, indicating that either the individual images or entire chat threads had been deleted.

Leigh Davies, of Fenbrook Close, Baglan, Port Talbot, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of Categories A, B, and C, distributing indecent images of Categories A, B, and C, and possession of extreme pornography when he appeared in the dock for for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Giles Hayes, for Davies, said though the defendant had been married for a long time he was "emotionally separate" from his wife, and he said his "coping mechanism" had been viewing pornography which had "foolishly" developed into looking at images which were unlawful. The advocate said Davies had always been a hard-working family man, and the offending took place during the Covid lockdown when his client was concerned about his job. He added that there was a reference before the court from the church which the defendant had attended for "many, many years", though he said that since his arrest his client had withdrawn from attending the place of worship.

Judge Catherine Richards said the defendant's offending lasted for a period of some 16 months and included distributing images of child sexual abuse as well as engaging in sexual conversations with "like minded people". With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Davies was sentenced to 26 months in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to manage his access to the internet for the same length of time.

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A CHILD abuser is beginning a four-year jail sentence for sexual offences committed against a teenage child in Bradford.

Andrew Carroll, 58, had denied two allegations of non-recent indecent assault, but a jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty on both charges following a trial.

Carroll, now of Northumberland Street, Salford, appeared before Recorder Christopher Rose and was jailed for his abuse of the teenager, who must not be identified for legal reasons.

In a victim impact statement summarised by prosecutor Camille Morland, the complainant described how the abuse had always been in their mind, but they were finally able to report the allegations because they felt more likely to be believed now.

Barrister Clare Walsh, for Carroll, said he had suffered brain haemorrhages in 2021 and he now had significant mental health and physical difficulties.

She said her client also suffered from claustrophobia and described him as a very unwell man with complex needs.

Recorder Rose said the complainant had been particularly vulnerable and had concealed the abuse for many years before finding the courage to make a complaint.

“The victim impact statement speaks of the lifelong effect that your abuse has had,” said the judge.

Carroll will also have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

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A former priest in North and West Yorkshire has been sentenced to a further eight and half years behind bars for sex offences against young boys.

David Leslie Crowley, 69, is already serving an 18 year sentence (extended by two years) at HMP Full Sutton for 13 similar offences committed between 1979 and 1985. Crowley appeared before Leeds Crown Court on Monday (June 19) and pleaded guilty to a further 15 offences.

The crimes took place between 1982 and 1993 when the defendant was a priest at St William’s RC Church in Bradford, Our Lady of Lourdes in Huddersfield and St Mary’s and St Michael’s RC church in Settle. There were five victims.

Crowley used his position of authority as a priest to groom the boys, taking them on day trips, plying them with gifts, alcohol and food, and visiting pubs. Some of the victims came forward as a result of media coverage of Crowley’s previous offending.

The abuse he suffered caused one victim to experience flashbacks and to attempt suicide as an adult and left another with drug and alcohol dependence. Graham Guest from the CPS said: “Crowley flagrantly abused his position of authority and trust within the communities he served to commit vile offences against young boys, leaving many of them with lifelong trauma.

“The true extent of his offending when he was in holy orders is now becoming clear. It is difficult to imagine a more appalling breach of trust and complete betrayal of the values of his priestly vocation. Our thoughts remain with his victims, as they have been throughout.”

In 1998 Crowley was given an 11-year sentence for 15 sex offences against young boys. The latest sentence will be served consecutively

Detective Inspector Oliver Coates, of Kirklees Child Safeguarding Unit, West Yorkshire Police, added: "This conviction follows a lengthy and comprehensive investigation by DC Moorhouse into the West Yorkshire offences. It ensures that this dangerous man will remain behind bars where he belongs.

"These offences were reported to the police many years after they occurred, and I hope the work that has been done to bring Crowley to justice shows that we will investigate historic offending. I would urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual offences, whether recent or non-recent, to report it. By doing so, we can ensure that you are supported and get the justice you deserve."

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A man who sent indecent images and videos of himself to what he thought were young girls has been jailed for more than nine years.

Adam Giles, 47, began contacting one of the girls on Snapchat in September 2020.

The girl, who was actually an adult, told him she was 12, but he persisted, sending her messages of a sexual nature, and suggesting he could book a hotel so they could meet.

He asked the girl if she was good at keeping secrets and told her not to tell anyone about their conversations, before sending her an indecent image of himself.

In November 2020 officers executed a warrant at his home in Paston, Peterborough. Giles was arrested and electronic devices seized for examination.

Analysis of two mobile phones and a hard drive revealed 12 indecent images or videos of children. Of these, seven were rated category A the most severe.

Giles was charged, but while on court bail he began sexualised conversations with four more adults he believed were children on the social media platform Kik.

Giles was charged and remanded in relation to these offences in January this year when examination of a new phone took place.

This revealed three other chat streams on the social media platform Kik, with three more girls aged 12, 13 and 14, who were also adults. Giles sent them sexualised content and discussed meeting two of them, despite them being clear about their age at the start of the conversations.

Analysis the phone also revealed 11 indecent images or videos of children five of which were category A.

Giles, of Havelock Drive, Peterborough, admitted attempting to cause or incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, five counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child, two counts of arranging or facilitating sexual activity with child and five counts of making indecent images of a child.

On Friday (16 June) at Cambridge Crown Court he was jailed for 115 months. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely.

DC Melanie Bull said: Giles behaviour was absolutely disgusting. He persistently went looking for young girls to approach on social media platforms and did not stop communicating with them when they told him how old they were.

Im pleased he has now appeared in court and faced justice for his actions.

Protecting the countys children remains one of our top priorities and we will do all we can to bring people who attempt to prey on them to justice.

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A SEX offender who poses a “substantial” risk to children has been sent back to prison.

Ashley Connock has a history of child sex offences and flouting court orders while living in Thatcham.

At Reading Crown Court on Friday, May 26, the 29-year-old was sentenced for his latest breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) designed to protect children from him.

The court heard that Connock was first convicted of sex offences in 2008 and by 2009 had committed the first breach of the SHPO.

He defied the order again in 2013 and was jailed in 2016 for breaching a restraining order.

There were subsequent, serious child sex offences and further breaches of the SHPO.

Judge Heather Nott remarked: “And here we are again.”

Gabrielle McAvock, prosecuting, said the latest SHPO breaches involved Connock, who was living in Pound Lane, Thatcham, repeatedly lying to his offender manager.

Connock admitted two SHPO breaches and three counts of failing to comply with the SHPO notification requirements.

He had been secretly using the internet without allowing his browsing history to be checked and without risk management software being installed, said Ms McAvock.

Connock also had several different bank cards without notifying his offender manager of them, she added.

Ms McAvock concluded that Connock had told a “catalogue of lies” to avoid scrutiny and had persistently flouted court orders designed to protect children from him.

Caroline Stewart, defending, said her client was “the author of his own misfortune.”

She said that Connock’s latest deceits had not been aimed at covering up paedophile activity but at concealing his gambling.

Ms Stewart went on: “It is foolish and self destructive behaviour because it makes people fear he is doing something far more serious.

“He had begun to use illegal drugs and got into financial difficulties.”

Judge Heather Nott told Connock: “These are serious offences; you know how serious they are.

“Your record highlights the risk you pose and that risk is substantial.

“You have a long history of committing sex offences and breaching court orders.

“These are persistent and deliberate breaches and I don’t accept that here the only risk was you gambling with your own money.”

Judge Nott pointed out that, since his initial child sex offences, “there have been further, serious offences against children and further breaches of the SHPO – and here we are again”.

She sentenced Connock, who had recently been living on Oxford Road, Reading, to 20 months imprisonment, half of which will be spent locked up and the remainder on licence in the community.

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A paedophile who had been performing sex acts outside the home of a woman he had become 'obsessed' with was snared after she set up a 'makeshift trap' using a bucket and a fishing line.

His victim turned detective when she suspected something was amiss. It later emerged Farhan Zafar, 22, had been seen standing naked in the woman's garden illuminating himself with a phone torch whilst performing the disgusting acts.

When he was arrested he was found with dozens of indecent images of children on his phone. Zafar had, a year earlier, had sex with a 14-year-old girl on multiple occasions during four months of abuse. He has now been jailed for over four years. He met the girl in the summer of 2021, the court was told.

"They began a relationship at the defendant’s suggestion about two weeks afterwards," John Close, prosecuting said. He said Zafar invited her to her his house to 'do what grown-ups do' and in August they had sex at his house, this was one of six occasions he sexually abused her with other encounters taking place in his car.

The girl told her mother what had happened in November that year and he was arrested. During his police interview he said he said he did not know it was a crime to have sex with a 14-year-old if both consented. However, a judge said he 'clearly knew' it was a crime as Spain has the same age of consent.

Zafar was released on bail and moved to Nelson in Lancashire. And it was in September 2022 that he became 'fixated' with an adult woman he met there. Several days after first meeting her, he knocked on her door and asked via Google translate if she would teach him English. The woman declined and thought this was a 'little strange', Mr Close said.

A few days later he returned and again using the translation app asked if she would go out with him. Despite her saying no he came back on numerous occasions, asking her to borrow things and asking her out again. She also saw him on numerous occasions near her back door.

"On several occasions, (the victim) had noticed residue on her back door which she initially thought was bird faeces but which she began to believe was semen," Mr Close said. "Such was her concern and suspicion, she set up a makeshift trap of a fishing line and a metal bucket which meant that any intruder to her backyard would cause a noise when entering.

"On one occasion in early November, she heard the bucket clatter late at night when she was in the bath and heard a male voice which sounded disgruntled. The backyard was walled and accessible only through a locked gate, so she thought the intruder must have come over the wall." She reported the incident to the police.

Police investigations found that during this period neighbours had seen Zafar wiping something on the woman's front window. "They had also seen him stood at the window in the early hours of the morning, completely naked, illuminating himself with a phone torch whilst masturbating," Mr Close said.

Police arrested him at his home on November 23 last year. His phone was seized and 384 indecent images of children as young as 12 were discovered. 137 of these were classed as most serious in nature. In a victim impact statement his adult victim, who lives alone, said he had left her feeling 'anxious and uncomfortable.'

Zafar, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to 16 offences; five counts of sexual activity with a child, one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four counts of outraging public decency, three counts of making indecent images of children, one of possessing a prohibited image of a child, one of possessing an extreme pornographic image, and stalking.

Sonya O'Brien, defending, said that Zafar came to the UK from Spain six years ago after his father discovered his cannabis habit. However, she said he had continued smoking strong variants of the drug here in the UK prior to and whilst committing the 'very peculiar set of offences.'

She said Zafar had now disclosed to a professional that he was the victim of a 'very serious sexual assault' himself as a youngster and that he 'carries a great degree of shame' regarding it. The offences were, she said, 'born out of isolation and drug misuse and his childhood trauma that he's carried into adulthood and that he's not yet addressed.'

Judge Maurice Greene told him: "You are still young, and were only 20 at the time of the sexual offences."

The judge added: "You were isolated at the time because of the fact your English was so poor. You have had a traumatic time in your youth. Perhaps as a result of that, you started using cannabis regularly, and to extremes, so much so it's clear from the psychiatric report that it has affected you.

"Although I don't accept that it reduces your culpability in any significant way as it was self-induced over a prolonged period of time. There's some remorse but I do note you seek to blame the taking of cannabis."

He jailed Zafar for four years and two months. He was also ordered to sign the sex offender's register and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years. A 10-year restraining order was also put in place preventing him from contacting in any way his adult victim.