Latest Offenders

Description

A man who committed a "terrible" early hours sexual assault on a young woman in a Suffolk town has been jailed. Constantin Tulba, aged 34, of Edgecomb Road, Stowmarket, carried out the attack at approximately 1.15am on Sunday, June 4 earlier this year.

The victim, a woman aged in her early 20s, had been walking away from Stowmarket town centre towards Combs Ford. She was on Ipswich Road, when she became aware of a man walking close behind her.

The man grabbed hold of her, before sexually assaulting her. The woman resisted and escaped to an approaching car and the suspect ran away.

The male who was driving the car that disturbed Tulba then drove the victim to a nearby police vehicle that was on patrol. Officers conducted enquiries and the following day Tulba was arrested and subsequently charged. Tulba appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Monday (August 21), where he was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.

He had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault at a previous hearing on 5 July. The incident took place at approximately 1.15am on Sunday, June 4.

The court heard how police enquiries at Tulba’s property found the clothing which matched the description that he was wearing on the evening of the assault, and forensics linked him to the assault. Detective Sergeant Naomi Harger said: "This would have been an extremely concerning and frightening assault for the victim and I praise her for the courage and strength she has shown.

"I am extremely pleased to see Tulba behind bars after being handed this sentence, and hope this reassures the local community. However, it will be of little comfort I am sure for the victim who showed immense courage in speaking to police about the terrible ordeal she experienced. No prison term will ever make up for the trauma she suffered.

"I’d also like to thank the members of public who came forward as witnesses and who provided CCTV or dash cam footage for the case. This evidence is always really valuable in securing convictions.

"Anyone who is a victim of any sexual offence can be reassured that they can and should come forward and contact us. All complaints are taken seriously and we continue to work with partner agencies to provide victims with appropriate support whilst conducting a robust and thorough investigation."

Description

A rapist taxi driver who preyed on two teenage passengers has been jailed.

Saifal Zaveri, 42, attacked a 17-year-old student after picking her up as a fare from outside her home in Dundee.

The married father-of-three, who has a previous conviction for stalking, also molested a 16-year-old passenger during a journey from Dundee to Monifieth.

Zaveri, of Mayfield Grove, Dundee, denied charges of rape and sexual assault but was found guilty following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in June.

Appearing for sentencing at Glasgow High Court, Zaveris actions were described as opportunistic and predatory.

Zaveri, who quit as director of Abertay Cabs in April 2021, continues to maintain his innocence, the court heard.

The former newsagent was handed an extended 11-year sentence and will serve eight years behind bars.

The former shopkeeper was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Description

Lancashire Police say they could not have predicted violent sex offender Anthony Stinson would go on to kill.

Stinson, 31, was jailed for life and must serve a minimum term of 24 years and two months before he can apply for parole, after killing Charlotte Wilcock on her doorstep in Blackburn.

No motive has been given for the attack on Charlotte, who was a complete stranger to Stinson. She suffered almost 100 separate injuries and was left to die behind her front door while her baby daughter was alone upstairs.

Det Ch Insp Mark Haworth-Oates, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said: "The nature of the offence was so random. We saw him in a shop 20 minutes before the murder, acting reasonably normally. He was with his friends rapping on a video half an hour earlier, acting reasonably normally."

Although Stinson was unknown to Charlotte he was no stranger to the police. As a registered sex offender he was monitored in the community by the police and Probation Service. At his sentence hearing, the court heard he has 11 previous convictions for 25 offences including rape, ABH and criminal damage. Many of those crimes were against women.

In 2010, Stinson assaulted an ex partner at her home by pushing, grabbing and spitting at her, after entering her flat through a window.

In 2013, he raped a teenager at a house party in Clitheroe. He admitted abusing the girl while she slept and was jailed for five years. In April 2019 he was handed a suspended sentence for two attacks on his ex partner within days of each other. On both occasions he strangled the woman, and during the second attack, Stinson put a pillow over her face, saying: "I swear to God, I could happily bury you." The victim said she thought she was going to die.

Stinson admitted he had been drinking and taking drugs when he attacked his partner in 2019 and was ordered to take part in rehabilitation to address his offending. He remained under supervision until his arrest for Charlotte's murder in March 2023.

Det Ch Insp Haworth-Oates said: "He was managed like any registered sex offender because of his rape conviction. He had served his prison sentence (for rape) and like numerous other people, unfortunately, he was managed in the community.

"Clearly, that doesn't lend itself to us following someone round or being with them 24 hours a day, or being able to predict a change in mood or a change in circumstances on that night that caused him to go and do what he did.

"He made a decision on that night to take an awful lot of drugs, all day - drugs he knew and he admitted caused him issues mentally and caused him anger issues."

Stinson claimed he was suffering psychosis and had seen the devil when he attacked Charlotte, but psychiatrists concluded he was acting rationally at the time he claimed to be impaired. However Stinson also admitted he had been taking drugs and drinking and had argued with his dad, before taking a Stanley knife onto the street to 'rob a drug dealer'.

"It could have been anybody sat on that doorstep that night", DCI Haworth-Oates said. "It is so sad it was Charlotte this has happened to. One person is responsible for that and that is Anthony Stinson."

Description

A paedophile was caught red-handed by a dog on a 'routine' police visit to his home.

Andrew Contento, a serial sex ofender, thought he had been able to hide his phone from officers when they visited his house after he had previously been handed a sexual prevetion order. But Contento was rumbled once again following the introduction of a police dog specifically trained to find hidden devices.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, that the 54-year-old is subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order as a result of his previous convictions. Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how the terms of this SHPO require Contento to hand over any electronic devices he owns upon request by police officers, the Echo reports.

Merseyside Police made a routine visit to his home on Rock Lane East in Rock Ferry, Wirral, on the morning of July 24 this year as part of the order. He let the PCs into the address and handed over three such items.

Contento claimed he had no other devices to disclose, and was then told that a "specialist digital media search dog" would be brought into the property to ensure that he was complying with his SHPO. The pervert maintained his denials, but PD Monty entered and swiftly sniffed out a further mobile phone inside a rucksack situated beside his feet.

At this, he replied: "You're going to lock me up. I know what's on it."

Contento interrupted Mr Jones at this stage in proceedings by saying: "Liar. That's a lie."

The prosecutor continued addressing the court however, saying that the defendant confessed under interview that he had been collecting indecent images "for his sexual gratification". Contento then made a further outburst, saying: "No, I didn't."

When the extra phone was analysed, it was found to contain 24 indecent videos graded in category A - those showing the most serious forms of abuse. These included a 31-minute "compilation" showing a girl aged as young as 12 being raped and a five minute and 35 second clip of a four-year-old being forced to perform a sex act on a man.

The device also contained 15 category B indecent images, including 13 videos, and 34 category C pictures - five of which were movies. A further 29 "cartoon or CGI images" were discovered on the hard drive.

Contento was first handed a sexual offences prevention order in 2009, when he received a community order for making indecent images. This was amended to a SHPO in 2015 when he was again found with a vile stash of child abuse material.

John Weate, defending, told the court that his client "disputed a number of comments attributed to him" but added: "He accepts through me that it is inevitable that an immediate custodial sentence is going to be passed in his case. He does not come forward with any limp excuses for his behaviour.

"He is a man who, at this point in time, is behaving himself in custody. He understands there is a requirement for him to tackle the obvious problems he has.

"If he doesn't want to be back and to into custody, he has got to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I ask your honour to pass a sentence that does not crush the resolve he appears to have to challenge the issues he has in life, so that at some stage he can come out of custody and learn his lesson."

Contento admitted three counts of making indecent images, possession of prohibited images of children and breaching a sexual harm prevention order. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for 20 months.

Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "Clearly, your past amounts to an aggravating feature in this case. Unfortunately for you, police dog Monty is a specialist in finding electronic devices and did just that.

"You know this has to be an immediate custodial sentence. I am told you hope to have access to therapy and intend to try and change upon your release.

"I hope you do. Otherwise, you are going to serve more and more sentences of imprisonment."

Contento replied: "I understand. Thank you your honour."

Description

Police chiefs have paid tribute to 'each survivor' of a horror Ayrshire sex attacker after he was caged for 12 years.

Hugh Derby was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for non-recent sexual offences against young females in Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

The 52-year-old was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday for crimes that happened between 1999 and 2014.

Now, top detectives who probed the sex offender have thanked victims for coming forward to help with their investigations.

Detective Inspector Gavin Chisholm said: "I want to thank each survivor of Derby's crimes who assisted us with our investigations. This has been a very lengthy and distressing time for them to finally see their perpetrator face justice. He will now face the consequences of his despicable actions.

"I hope this provides some form of comfort as they try to move forward with their lives.

Description

A former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) mayor has been stripped of his MBE following a conviction for a sexual offence.

Thomas Hogg, now 34, was found guilty in 2021 of an offence against a teenage boy in 2019.

He had been made an MBE in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list.

He served as mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Council in 2014-15, but resigned from the council after charges were brought.

Hogg had also resigned from the DUP at the time charges were brought against him.

The Cabinet Office can advise the King to revoke honours for a range of reasons.

Suspended sentence

On Tuesday it listed Hogg among 12 people to have had their honours forfeited., external

He received the award in 2016 for services to local government.

Hogg was given a suspended sentence after being found guilty of attempting to engage a child in sexual behaviour.

He had offered to perform a sexual act on a 15-year-old boy and asked the boy to perform a similar act.

Hogg had claimed he was tipsy but the judge said alcohol was no excuse for what had happened.

The judge said Hogg's proposal came as a shock to the boy, who vehemently rejected it and reported the matter to the police.

The court heard the incident had a serious effect on the victim.

Description

A 29-year-old man has been jailed for eight years after being found guilty of a number of serious sexual offences.

Ruaraidh McCartney was guilty of a number of serious sexual offences. on Wednesday, 5 July at the High Court in Glasgow.

The offences were committed in Stirlingshire and Perthshire between 2011 and 2021.

He was sentenced today (Tuesday, 1 August) at the High Court in Lanark.

Detective Inspector Forbes Wilson said: McCartney is a dangerous and predatory individual who has committed serious sexual offences against a number of women over an extended period of time.

His conduct has been appalling and I hope his conviction will allow the women involved to move forward with their lives.

I would urge anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence to come forward and report it to us, regardless of the passage of time.

We, working with partner agencies, will support you through the process, investigate thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice.

Description

A beach beast who took pictures of a naked young girl playing in the sand had thousands of indecent images and liked to wear children's underwear.

Russell Buglass took vile snaps focusing on the genitals of an unidentified girl aged between four and six as she played with a bucket on a beach in Tynemouth, later filing the pictures in a folder he titled "beach babes". That disturbing behaviour came to light when police turned up to investigate him downloading more than 40,000 indecent images online.

Officers also found he kept knickers for underage girls near his bed, had made a video of himself using a sex toy which he had put inside a babygrow and sent messages to a family member about how images of young girls aroused him. Now the 55-year-old pervert has been jailed at Newcastle Crown Court.

Police went to his then-home in Whitley Bay in January this year after receiving information that indecent images had been downloaded at the address. When cautioned and arrested, he replied "I've been so stupid, I'll lose my family and my job."

Officers seized his devices and also found a large number of children's underwear in a cabinet in the main bedroom. It was discovered that he liked to wear the underwear and sometimes carried out sex acts in them.

On the devices, there were 323 of the most serious, category A images, 555 category B and 40,679 category C. There were also 4,305 prohibited images and 1,025 extreme pornography images.

An example of the most serious images was given as a girl aged between eight and 12 being raped. The age range of the children featured overall was between five and 17.

In addition to the material downloaded online, he had taken category C indecent images of two children, including one aged between four and six on a beach in Tynemouth. There were 21 images of the unidentified child, in a folder titled "beach babes". Neil Pallister, prosecuting, said: "The girl was naked and holding a bucket. Her face could not be seen and the images focused on her genitals."

There was also a video showing him carrying out a sex act involving a pair of children's knickers. He was also seen putting his penis into a jar of sweets.

When quizzed by police he denied having a sexual interest in children but said he may have a sex addiction. He went on to say looking at mainstream pornography had escalated as he "looked for the next hit".

Buglass, 55, of no fixed address, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images, one of taking indecent images, possessing prohibited images and possessing extreme pornography. He was jailed for two years and ordered to sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order, for ten years.

Sentencing him, Judge Tim Gittins said: "It's been said time and again that the making of each image is an act of abuse on top of the abuse the image captures. Then there's a further abuse of the victim when each image is viewed each time by someone like you.

"They have to live with the knowledge those images have been taken and that people like you are prepared to possess them and take sexual pleasure from them."

Mark Harrison, defending, said: "He understands there are a number of extremely troubling aspects to his behaviour, which will cause the court significant concern. He recognises his behaviour has been utterly reprehensible. The court and wider public will rightly consider them repugnant.

"He had lost his moral compass over a number of years. He has always expressed his shame and his absolute regret at the pain he has put people close to him, and those who are strangers to him, through, as a result of his selfish behaviour."

Mr Harrison said he has ruined the relationships he had with his family, his professional career, his family's finances and his standing in the local community. He has been living in bed and breakfast and shared accommodation and relying on benefits and "understands he is currently unemployable".

Mr Harrison said Buglass did not want to use his autism and ADHD as an excuse and has sought help, including joining Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous and is taking medication to "check whatever impact his various conditions have had".

Description

A PERVERT has been put behind bars for his vile chats with someone he believed to be a young teenager.

Daniel Kelly engaged in sexual discussions with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and encouraged her to send raunchy photos.

But the 36-year-old was in fact talking to an adult member of a paedophile hunter group, with members confronting him in public.

The defendant was later charged with attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and two counts of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity.

He appeared before Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced, with the court hearing how the discussions took place in June last year.

Kelly, as an adult, intentionally attempted to communicate with someone he did not reasonably believe to be 16 or over for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.

He thought he was speaking with a 13-year-old girl, but it was actually an adult member of a paedophile hunter group seeking to root out offenders using the internet to satisfy their sexual interest in children.

During the online chats, he requested nude photographs from the child, referred to her as being sexy and sent her a photograph of himself in his underwear.

The defendant was confronted by members of the Saving Our Children Online paedophile hunter group at Patten Arms Hotel.

They discussed his online activity with him before Cheshire Police arrived and officers put him into the back of a police car.

Kelly, of Wrexham Close in Callands, was sentenced by recorder David Knifton to 30 months immediate imprisonment.

He was also issued with a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offender register both for a period of 10 years.

Description

A "predatory" 51-year-old man who would "take advantage of young girls" in an abuse of his position has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Craig Spencer, of Owston Ferry, was recently sentenced for six counts of historic sexual activity with a girl, which dates back to 2005 and 2006 when he owned a tattoo parlour on Robert Street, Scunthorpe.

He will serve a minimum of four years in prison and has been ordered to sign on the sexual offenders register for the rest of his life.

Detective Constable Lindsey Blake of Humberside Police said: “This was an appalling abuse of his position and responsibilities. Spencer is clearly a predatory offender who would take advantage of young girls.

“His victim has been extremely brave in coming forward to provide the details which has secured this prosecution and has put a dangerous sexual offender behind bars.

“I would like to praise her for her bravery and fortitude in coming forward and I would always encourage any victim of an historical sexual crime to come forward, we will listen, and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice."

Description

Predator Philip Lane, who has previous similar offences in the past, latched onto the girl’s Facebook profile, but which was run by an online hunter group London Overwatch.

The 56-year-old spent five days chatting with the ‘girl’ at the end of July after sending her a friend request. He began asking her questions and even told her he was “old enough to be her grandfather” and could “get done” for talking to her, prosecutor Emily Hassell told Leeds Crown Court this week.

Predator Philip Lane, who has previous similar offences in the past, latched onto the girl’s Facebook profile, but which was run by an online hunter group London Overwatch.

The 56-year-old spent five days chatting with the ‘girl’ at the end of July after sending her a friend request. He began asking her questions and even told her he was “old enough to be her grandfather” and could “get done” for talking to her, prosecutor Emily Hassell told Leeds Crown Court this week.

He told her he was sleeping naked and named his penis ‘Sid’, and told her what he wanted to do to her with him. He sent her a photo of his genitals and said he would use a condom so she would not get pregnant.

Land, of Huntwick Drive, Featherstone, told her that in some countries children of her age get married and it should be her choice if she wanted to engage in sexual relations.

He was confronted by paedophile hunters who livestreamed the meeting live over the internet. He was arrested but tried to hide his Samsung mobile phone. He later admitted a charge of attempting to incite a girl under 13 into sexual activity.

Land has seven convictions for 38 offences, including sexual offences with children over the internet. He was already on the sex offender register for life.

Mitigating, Anastasis Tasou conceded he had little to say on Land’s behalf, other than that he “had the good sense to plead guilty as early as he could”.

He added: “He struggles to explain his behaviour. He is a stereotype for this kind of offending and lives a very solitary life. He would like to apologise to the court for his actions.”

Judge Andrew Stubbs KC jailed Land for four years and told him: “You are a cliché for this offending and you’ve done it before. There are many people who sit behind their keyboards and fantasise about what they want to do. You were involved in inciting her in to penetrative activity. You have done it before so it makes your offending much more serious.”

Description

A predator who raped a woman in the City of London on New Year’s Day has been jailed for six years and nine months.

Awet Solomon, 24, attacked the victim as she alighted a bus on Mansell Street, near the Tower of London, and walked towards Whitechapel High Street.

He dragged her into an alleyway, beat, strangled and then subjected her to a violent sex attack.

When Solomon, who was not known to the victim, fled she contacted the police and an investigation was launched on January 1.

He was arrested, charged and remanded in custody within 36 hours of the report.

Solomon, of Bath Road, West Drayton, pleaded guilty to rape, strangulation and actual bodily harm and was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday.

Detective Superintendent Richard Waight, of the City of London Police, said specialist officers worked closely with the woman.

He added: “I would like to thank the victim for showing tremendous courage and strength to come forward to report such an abhorrent incident and in supporting this investigation.

“City of London Police take allegations of rape and sexual offences extremely seriously and we investigate them with the utmost sensitivity.

“We will believe you, listen and support you throughout every step of the investigation and do everything we can to bring the offender to justice.

“I would also praise all those who investigated this crime. Their diligence and hard work has contributed to making the City a safer place.”

Description

A Ramsgate man who carried out sexual offences against girls has been jailed for 10 years.

Victor Walkom, formerly of Dumpton Park Road, was charged with five counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act.

The offences took place in 2016 and 2017, when the two victims were aged less than 15 years old.

Investigation
The victims later reported the offences to Kent Police, prompting an investigation by detectives from the Vulnerability Investigation Team.

Walkom denied the charges but was found guilty of all six counts by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court.

The 84-year-old was sentenced to 10 years at the same court on Tuesday 15 August 2023. He was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

A WEST YORKSHIRE man described as a dangerous sexual predator by police has been jailed for attempting to rape a child.

Kristian Annus, 29, from Lincoln Street, Wakefield, was jailed for 10 and a half years at Leeds Crown Court today (Wednesday), after pleading guilty to an attempted rape offence in the Kirklees area.

The 29-year-old was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will place restrictions on his activity following any release from prison and will remain on the Sex Offender Register for life.

Officers arrested Annus on February 19 of this year after receiving a report he had sexually offended against a child.

He was charged two days later and was remanded in custody by the courts.

PC Jay Laughton of the Kirklees District Child Safeguarding Team said: “Annus is without doubt a dangerous sexual predator and we welcome his conviction and sentencing.

“He took advantage of his young victim in the most appalling way and subjected him to what has clearly been a dreadful offence.

“I want to praise the bravery of the victim and his family in reporting what took place and then supporting the prosecution which has put this man behind bars.”

Description

An ex-Royal Marine commando who started having sexually-charged online conversations with a fake 13-year-old girl later claimed that their chats were no worse than what was taught in schools.

Retired lorry driver Frank Turner also pretended that he was gathering evidence before taking it to the police station and that he only asked the girl for explicit pictures so that he could be sure that she was definitely over the age of 18.

But it was clear "grooming" behaviour and he had previously been jailed for distributing sick images of children, Hull Crown Court heard.

Turner, 73, of Tennyson Street, Goole, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order between November 29 and January 16.

Benjamin Donnell, prosecuting, said that undercover police set up an online profile of a non-existent 13-year-old girl and Turner began exchanging messages with her.

The fake girl told him that she was only 13 but he continued the messages and they became highly sexualised. He asked a series of intimate questions about sexual matters, made explicit suggestions and asked if she wanted sexual pictures of him.

He told her that he would only do so if she promised him that she would not save them on her phone. He asked for intimate pictures of her but he was not sent any. "It was clear grooming behaviour," said Mr Donnell.

In a later online conversation, Turner asked the decoy girl: "Have you been practising what I taught you?" He was arrested and material linking him to the conversations, including naked pictures of him, was found on his devices.

Turner later told police that he had no sexual interest in children. He claimed that he asked for photographs of the girl so that he could check that she was over 18 and, that if she was not, he would terminate the conversation.

He claimed that the conversations were no more than what would be taught in schools. "He said that he was doing this to gather evidence to take to the police station," said Mr Donnell. Turner suggested that he was involved in "fantasy".

He had convictions from 2017 for making and distributing hundreds of indecent images of children, including 132 in the most serious category, and possessing extreme pornography of bestiality. He had been jailed for 20 months and a sexual harm prevention order had been made.

During that hearing, the court was told that Turner, a former Royal Marine commando, claimed that he was lonely and was looking for a girlfriend. He shared images of children as young as two.

There was a risk of very serious sexual harm in the new offences, said Mr Donnell.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that it was "quite troubling recent behaviour" but the conversations took place over a relatively short period of time. Turner had worked as a lorry driver for many years.

"He is somebody who has been quite isolated and that's come through in his online activities," said Mr Godfrey.

"He was living alone with his dog. He found some solace in the internet. There was not a victim but this was luck not judgement on his behalf."

Judge Kate Rayfield said that Turner was told at a very early stage by the fake girl that she was aged 13 but he was "undeterred" and told her not to mention her age in messages.

"You quickly engaged her in sexual conversation, asking her about her own sexual experiences and asking her questions about what she had and hadn't done," said Judge Rayfield.

A sexual harm prevention order had been made in 2017. "This is a deliberate breach," said Judge Rayfield. "There was a significant disparity in your respective ages. There was no harm, in fact, and this was attempted conduct. It was a deliberate breach of your order and there was certainly some risk."

Turner was jailed for four years and one month and he was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. He will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.