Latest Offenders

Description

A man who followed a woman down an alleyway after she left a bar and then raped her has been jailed.

Loui Cadman, 25, filmed the woman on his mobile phone before attacking her in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, on 20 November.

He was given an extended sentence of 12 years and three months by Luton Crown Court.

Overseeing the hearing, Judge Rebecca Herbert told Cadman: "Your behaviour was predatory."

CCTV footage revealed Cadman followed the woman down an alleyway from Lake Street towards Duncombe Drive after she left a nearby bar at about 01:30 BST.

The court was told the woman had become separated from her friends that night and had lost her mobile phone.

After the attack, the woman reported what had happened to door staff at a nearby pub, which was reported to Bedfordshire Police.

Cadman was found near the scene and arrested.

Secret filming

When officers examined his phone, the intimate footage he had shot of the woman was discovered. They also found other video clips Cadman had secretly shot of young women.

The court was told since the attack the woman could no longer socialise or sleep and had suffered panic attacks.

Judge Herbert said: "I have no doubt you were walking the streets hoping to come across a vulnerable female who was very much the worse for drink."

Cadman, of Meadow Way, Leighton Buzzard, was found guilty of rape earlier this year. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism, possession of indecent images and possession of cannabis.

He was told by the judge the extended prison sentence comprised of nine years and three months in custody and a period on licence of three years.

Det Sgt Shona Birkby, from Bedfordshire Police's rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO) team, said: "All the evidence shows Cadman had deliberately preyed on what he viewed as a vulnerable woman."

Ms Birkby commended the bar staff for helping the woman.

She said: "We all have a responsibility to help tackle male violence against women and girls.

"And their actions in supporting her and reporting what had happened to us has played a big part in this outcome."

Description

A Yorkshire woman says she has "lost track of the amount of times" she has cried when thinking about how she was raped, and suffers from nightmares years after it happened.

Last week, sick Vira Hussaini, 35, of Bradford, was jailed for four years at Leeds Crown Court after he raped a woman who was left with serious injuries in the terrifying attack in 2018.

Following the sentence, the woman told YorkshireLive she is now being supported by family and friends, but has suffered the effects of the attack since. She said: "He held me down by my wrists and raped me. He tore me, causing bleeding, which led me to seek support from the health sector. I was worried about the safety of other women and built up the courage to report him to the police in August 2019...

"We all thought he would have been given a longer sentence, however we are grateful that a level of justice has been served after many years suffering in silence."

In her victim impact statement, the woman told how she has "struggled tremendously" since the attack and said: "I feel that I have either no appetite, or spend time comfort eating. In relation to sexual health, I was worried about whether or not I had been passed a disease...Fortunately I was given the all clear."

The woman said she has since left work and has used her savings to pay for her mortgage and bills. She added: "I feel that my emotional wellbeing has been greatly affected, as I have lost track of the amount of times that I have cried when this incident has come into my thoughts. I have also suffered with graphic sexual abuse nightmares, to the point where a close friend has heard me screaming in my sleep. I must add that I have also felt panicked at times, like I am having heart palpitations."

In her statement, the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said she had to have photographs taken of her genetalia and said she felt she lost her dignity during this. She said: "I feel that I have no privacy left and I am embarrassed that so many strangers from the court process are now aware of my personal matters. Sadly, the stigma of rape will always remain with me and I have to learn to continue living with that...

"I feel that my social life has been greatly affected too, as I have become more insular over the past few years. This has been due to the fact that I no longer feel confident or safe, which has left me feeling socially isolated at times. I have seen a negative impact upon my loved ones too....I have seen close and treasured family members and friends cry when taking the time to support me."

The woman said she has accessed support, including counselling, reiki, group therapy and has also engaged with an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor since the attack. She said: "Overall, the past four-and-a-half years have been immensely stressful and taken up so much energy. It has also taken up a significant amount of time, when trying to work through this trauma.

"I makes me feel sad that he could have admitted what he did and shown both acceptance and remorse a long time ago. This would have allowed me to access justice and closure, but instead I have had to endure the criminal court process, in order to fight for justice to be served.

"It is hard to describe in full how I feel after the sexual violence that I was subject to, although I have tried my best to explain...Ultimately what I am really trying to say is, I have air in my lungs, but feel like I can't breathe. And I have a heart that works, but feels broken. I now plan to rebuild myself and not allow this man to destroy me any further."

Description

Mohamed Elshamy met the victim in The Crypt, Robertson Street, in the early hours of Sunday 18 December 2022.

Within minutes, he was seen leading her out of the club and through an underpass to the seafront, where CCTV cameras captured him forcibly trying to kiss her and pulling at her clothing.

Footage then showed him further sexually assaulting the 24-year-old woman on the beach before walking away and leaving her alone and in distress.

Elshamy, 41, unemployed, of Carlisle Parade, Hastings, was identified through those CCTV images and arrested on suspicion of sexual assault.

He pleaded not guilty but was convicted following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

At the same court on June 26, he was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and was added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.

 Investigating officer DC Kelly Yates said: “Mohamed Elshamy had only met the victim for a matter of minutes before taking advantage of the fact she was intoxicated and in a vulnerable state, and sexually assaulting her for his own gratification.

Elshamy’s behaviour was dangerous and predatory and we’re pleased to see the severity of his actions reflected in a custodial sentence.”

Description

A paedophile attempted to rape a girl under the age of 10 in a sickening attack which she reenacted to police by using dolls. He went onto to grope a teenage girl after trying to convince her to send naked photos of herself.

Adrian Offer, 36, of Cardiff, was discovered after his youngest victim told her mother about the attack, which left her in pain and crying. When confronted, the defendant lied about committing the offence and blamed one of the victim's family members but he was disproved by a jury who found him guilty.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard attempted to rape his first victim by forcing her to straddle him, but he was unable to do so. He then sexually assaulted her.

When the victim told her mother, she described another incident when Offer sexually assaulted her. The police were called but the defendant denied the accusations.

It later came to light that Offer had sexually assaulted a teenage girl after she told her teacher he had groped her breasts. He also send her messages in which he tried to encourage her to send naked photos of herself, but she refused to do so.

Offer, of Kirkwall Court, Tremorfa, denied a count of attempted rape of a minor, two counts of sexual assault and sexual communication with a child, but he was found guilty of the charges following a trial at Cardiff Crown Court. The court heard he had previous convictions but none of them were relevant.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the young victim's mother described how her daughter was seeking reassurance from staff members at her school, and will have days when she isolates herself from friends. It is was also said she had been reenacting what had happened to her with dolls, like she did in her police interview. The victim's mother said her daughter's behaviour had worsened, her routine and schooling had been disrupted.

She added: "I have been affected by this and so has my family. My mental health has suffered, I have been prescribed anti-depressants and I am unable to sleep.... I feel guilty I never knew what was happening and feel disgusted (Offer) did that. I just hope (my daughter) can forget about what has happened."

In her victim personal statement, the second victim said: "I feel safe now Offer has been arrested... My school has told my mother my behaviour has changed. I am not sure how it has made me feel. I don't like school as much as I used to and I go to my room and don't stay downstairs anymore."

The court heard there was little mitigation to be put forward on the defendant's behalf as he still maintained his innocence and accepted no responsibility for his offences.

Sentencing, Judge Lucy Crowther said: "This was brazen and persistent offending against two children.... Probation has said you are at high risk of committing further sexual offences against female young children. I am quite satisfied you are a dangerous offender and pose serious risk of harm to female children."

Offer was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of four years. He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he is considered for parole, and was made subject to sex offender notification requirements for life.

Description

A "sexually deviant" pensioner stood on furniture while performing sex acts out of his bedroom window as horrified children watched on.

Robin Cunningham repeatedly flashed kids outside his home over a period of more than a decade. The previously convicted sex offender was said to have "derived sexual gratification from being seen" by the youngsters, who were left "corrupted" by his sickening actions.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Wednesday, how he regularly exposed himself from the window of his home on Burnthwaite Road in Knotty Ash while masturbating. Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, described how his perverted behaviour - which persisted for some 11 years - was witnessed by children wearing their school uniform and aged as young as four, while one recorded him with her mobile phone.

Cunningham would "sometimes stand on the bed or dressers" to "become more visible" to his victims. The 68-year-old has one previous conviction for indecent exposure, being fined in 1998 after "masturbating in the street towards females".

A statement read out to the court on one complainant said he had shown a "calculated pattern of behaviour" and that she would be left "struggling for the rest of her life" as a result. She added: "I was inducted into a dark and malicious world I was not ready to experience."

Cunningham, who was said to suffer from diabetes and anxiety, formerly worked for an insurance company before taking redundancy aged 50. Tom Watson, defending, told the court: "This is a deeply troubling case.

"He has caused very severe distress by his behaviour over a considerable period of time. The evidence is that his particular sexual deviance is exhibitionism, and that anyone can be targeted.

"It may be a step too far to say it is targeted rather than sexual excitement from the knowledge someone is watching. It seems to fit someone who has become entrenched in non-consensual exhibitionism and that sexual deviance.

"He understands that has included children here. This sexual deviancy does need to be addressed.

"It seems there has been, by him, a complete cessation in this behaviour. We are now over two years from that point in time.

"He is keen to explore what is going wrong in his life. He had been a working man up until the age of 50.

"He appears to have become ever more isolated and removed from the rest of the world. His isolation appears to be a significant factor in this sexual deviancy, which is something he felt from an early age.

"He has come to court today with his bag packed. He is deeply concerned, and in particular fearful, for his wife - who is 76 and depends on him.

"He has come with the right attitude, and he has not come expecting favours. What is required at this stage is intensive and meaningful intervention. This is not a life he wants for himself. It is deeply humiliating for him and for his entirely innocent wife.

"This needs to be addressed. Although he is on the thinnest of thin ice, it might be a sentence that could be suspended.

"He has been staying out of trouble. The signs are good."

Cunningham admitted five counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and three of exposure. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Sentencing, Recorder David Knifton KC said that the defendant had engaged in "disgusting behaviour" and added: "On numerous occasions over a period of 11 years, you deliberately masturbated while standing naked in your bedroom window so you could be seen. It is clear to me that you derived sexual gratification from being seen in these circumstances.

"Your actions undoubtedly had a corrupting effect. You have frankly admitted that you have had a sexual interest in exhibitionism from an early age.

"You became bored and socially isolated. To your credit, you have demonstrated a commitment to seeking to change your behaviour."

Cunningham was told to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order preventing him from contacting the complainants, both of which will run for the next 10 years.

Description

Sex offender Luke Jackson who stayed in the same house as a child without informing the police has been spared jail. The 34-year-old was convicted of sexual assault and intentionally touching a woman in 2018.

He was sentenced to a community order and placed on the sex offenders' register for five years. But he failed to comply with the notification requirements of the register by staying 12 hours or more in a house without telling the authorities; spending seven nights or more at an address in Fegg Hayes without notifying the police; and failing to register a Snapchat user name of 'Jacko01p*sshead'.

Now Jackson has been sentenced to 24 weeks in jail, suspended for two years, at North Staffordshire Justice Centre. Prosecutor Shelley Galluccio said Jackson was convicted of sexual assault on October 24, 2018 and was placed on the sex offenders' register for five years.

She said Jackson completed his notification with the police on February 4. Miss Galluccio said: "However, he did not provide any alias names he had used.

"On April 20 police were made aware he had been in a relationship with a woman and was having contact with her child and staying over at an address he had not given them.

"The woman said she had met him in a bar in Newcastle. He used a social media name of 'Jacko01p*sshead' which had not been notified to the police.

"He stayed at the woman's house for five to seven nights in one block and her son had been present.

"On April 20 her ex-partner arrived and made him leave the property. The child had been present at the address during this time. The woman was not aware of Jackson's history."

Jackson, of Vale Street, Stoke, pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders' register.

Janice Sain-Reiners, mitigating, said: "It was a new relationship. He did not want to tell her of his past. That was his error. He should not have been in the company of a child without any proper notification or exploration by the authorities.

"There are alcohol issues which affect his way of thinking. He self-referred to Stoke-on-Trent Community Drug and Alcohol Service (CDAS) but they did not phone back."

She added that Jackson has the offer of work with a fencing and timber company.

Magistrates suspended the sentence as they believe there is a good prospect of Jackson being rehabilitated. As part of the suspended sentence Jackson must complete a six-month alcohol treatment requirement; an accredited sex offenders' programme and a rehabilitation activity requirement for 55 days. He was ordered to pay £185 costs and a £154 surcharge.

Description

A man who was caught by a paedophile hunting group after he attempted to meet a 14-year-old girl in Grantham was today (Wednesday) jailed for 16 months.

Steven Slater, 59, was apprehended after he attended Grantham railway station on July 24 last year and in fact met a 46-year-old woman who was acting as a decoy to target sex offenders.

The paedophile hunting group made a citizen’s arrest of Slater, who was living in Grantham at that time, and contacted Lincolnshire Police.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Slater had been in contact with the decoy on social media for two months.

The decoy had made it clear during their very first contact that Slater was talking to someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl, the court was told.

Phil Howes, prosecuting, said Slater caused the decoy to watch a sexual video on the very first day of their contact and later asked her to take a photograph of her breasts.

Mr Howes told the court: "There was evidence the defendant had tried to cover his tracks by removing many of his messages.

"He did not realise those live conversations had been recorded."

In total 23 video recordings were made over 14 different days, the court was told.

Mr Howes said there was also talk on July 8 of the girl travelling to Grantham railway station and meeting the defendant, who would take her fishing.

This progressed to the decoy telling Slater that she had bought a £45 open ticket.

"The defendant tells her he was looking forward to meeting her," Mr Howes added.

"The arranged meet on 24 July took an unexpected turn after the group contacted the police to say they had carried out a citizen’s arrest in Queen Street, Grantham."

During his first interview, Slater said he thought the girl was 17.

The court heard that since his arrest, Slater had moved to an address in Gains Close, Canvey Island, Essex, and his marriage had ended.

He admitted five offences between May 20 and July 24, 2022.

They included causing a 14-year-old girl to watch sexual acts, attempting sexual communication, attempting to cause or incite a girl to engage in sexual activity of a non-penetrative nature and attempting to meet a girl aged under-16 following grooming.

Neil Sands, mitigating, told the court Slater entered his guilty pleas at the very first opportunity when he appeared before Lincoln magistrates and argued a suspended sentence would allow him to work with the Probation Service.

"All of these offences arise during the same 61-day period," Mr Sands added.

"I have seen his shame [over] what he has done and Your Honour can no doubt see that over my shoulder.

"He is not a man who lied about his age. It was on his Facebook profile. He wants nothing more to do with the internet."

Passing sentence Recorder Graham Huston accepted no real child was involved but said the communications ran to hundreds of pages.

Recorder Huston told Slater: "In this case you attended Grantham railway station to meet a 14-year-old girl who you had been communicating with. In fact it was an adult."

"It is clear you deliberately set out grooming this girl," the Recorder added.

"You viewed her as a sexual object from the beginning."

Slater was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and must register as a sex offender for the same period.

Description

A pervert driving instructor has been convicted of sexually assaulting more teenagers during lessons after a fresh investigation.

Findlay Munro preyed on young women learning to drive in Edinburgh, touching them and making inappropriate comments.

Munro dodged a jail sentence last year after admitting targeting four victims while giving them lessons.

The 63-year-old appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Wednesday to plead guilty to offences against a further four pupils.

Two of the victims were just 17 when creepy Munro took advantage of being alone in a car with them.

The court heard how he sexually assaulted the teens by touching their legs.

Munro also made inappropriate comments to another two women while teaching them to drive.

Sheriff John Cook deferred sentence until next month for reports.

Munro appeared in court last September for sentencing after admitting the four earlier charges.

He was given two years supervision with a conduct requirement to undertake “offence-focused work”.

He was also put on the sex offenders register for two years.

But the court heard on Wednesday how further offences dating back to 2014 had been uncovered.

Munro admitted touching a 17-year-old’s leg without consent during lessons between August 2014 and April 2015.

He also pled guilty to sexually assaulting another 17-year-old by repeatedly touching her leg without consent during lessons between September 2015 and March 2016.

Munro admitted making inappropriate remarks and comments about a third pupil’s appearance for the purposes of gaining sexual gratification between September 2015 and April 2016.

And he admitted the same charge against a fourth woman between December 2019 and March 2020.

Last year the court heard how Munro, of the city’s Baberton area, repeatedly targeted four victims before a police investigation landed him in court.

Those offences took place between 2017 and 2021.

A mother previously told the Record how her 17-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by “scumbag” Munro. She paid for her daughter to receive weekly two-hour lessons from him when he was an instructor through Red Driving School.

She said: “She came back after the first lesson and told me Munro called all his pupils his ‘girlfriends’. I thought it was bizarre, but my daughter said it was fine, she just wanted to pass her test.

“Looking back, she would get really, really anxious before every lesson but I put it down to nerves.

“Then another girl said police were speaking to Munro’s pupils and my daughter said some things had happened to her.

“I got her to write it down, because it was difficult for her. It was awful to read. I was so angry and contacted the police myself to report it.”

Munro pled guilty to sexually assaulting the teen on various occasions on Edinburgh roads between December 2020 and August last year by touching her on the head and rubbing her thigh.

Description

A vile pervert who sent his partner a video of himself performing a sex act in front of a young girl said "what have I done" as police stormed his home.

Three months after Phil Hudson, 33, and the woman broke up, she went to Huyton police station and reported he was saying things about a child that disturbed her. She told officers “he started to disclose his fantasies and desires around children”, said Kate Morley, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, August 15.

She said he sent her a video of him engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. She still had the video on her phone and gave it to officers for investigation.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the 33-year-old university graduate, who had been working at Pets at Home and had a partner, was arrested on June 15 this year at his home in Garston. When being arrested he said “What have I done?”

He said he had had “a fling” with the woman and “had to leave his job and she was accusing him of serious offences.”

Miss Morley said when Hudson's phone was forensically examined, officers found seven indecent images of children as well as extreme pornography. When interviewed the man, who has no previous convictions, claimed to have no interest in children but he subsequently pleaded guilty to nine child sex offences and possessing extreme pornography.

His lawyer, Peter White said: “Clearly something unhealthy has been lurking in the background and eventually shown its ugly face.”

The court heard the video, lasting just over one minute, which he had sent to his former lover, showed Hudson performing a sex act in front of a young girl, while he was naked and holding his phone recording the incident.

When his own phone was examined a similar nine second video was found, said Miss Morley. She said the indecent photographs also found on his phone showed girls and boys aged between eight and 14.

Hudson, formerly of Lincoln Street, Garston, pleaded guilty to two offences of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, taking the indecent video and distributing it, four offences involving taking, making and possessing indecent photographs of children, possessing a prohibited image of a child and possessing six extreme pornographic images.

In interview he said he had sent the video to his former girlfriend as he thought she was interested in things like that, but had deleted it from his own phone as “he was mortified.” He went on to say he had had thoughts about bestiality “but that didn’t mean that he was going to do it".

Mr White said Hudson no longer maintained denials about the offences in a pre-sentence report and accepts his guilt.

He said: “Clearly there has been an unhealthy interest which needs to be addressed.”

He added it was hoped the defendant could be helped by rehabilitation courses.

Jailing him for 27 months the judge, Recorder Eric Lamb, said: “It will come as a considerable surprise to discover someone such as yourself, who had not been in trouble before, at the age of 33 comes before the court for such serious and grave offences.”

He said he had treated the girl “as an object you considered suitable to satisfy your own sexual requirements.”

Recorder Lamb told him: “You told police you did not have a sexual interest in children. Your actions belie that which you said to the police.”

He ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years and imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same length of time.

Description

A man who secretly filmed two children in a bath and then shared severe child sex abuse images has been jailed.

Lee Bowdler, 52, of Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire, admitted using a hidden camera in a bathroom and owning 271 indecent images of children, some of which he posted on Twitter.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Bowdler had a "clear sexual interest" in children.

He was jailed for one year at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday.

Bowdler was also and handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order

The NCA identified Bowdler after he posted indecent images of children on Twitter using an online moniker.

He was arrested at work in Colwick in May 2022.

Officers said they found 271 indecent images, some in the highest severity category, on eight of Bowdler's devices.

A secret recording of two children taking a bath, which Bowdler had filmed using a hidden camera, was also recovered by the NCA.

At Mansfield Magistrates' Court on 7 February. Bowdler admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of distributing images and one count of voyeurism.

NCA operations manager Adam Sprague said: "Lee Bowdler clearly had a sexual interest in children, shown both by the footage he shot in the bathroom and the child abuse images he'd accumulated.

"There is a global demand for such material, so the NCA will never waver in its commitment to protect children from sexual abuse and bring perpetrators to justice.

An NSPCC spokesman said in the East Midlands, child abuse image offences, recorded by UK police, "have surged by 81% in just five years".

"Behind every one of the indecent images Bowdler downloaded and distributed are children, many who will have suffered abuse which could cause lasting harm," he added.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE drug dealer who raped three teenage girls -- one just days after her THIRTEENTH birthday - has been jailed.

Karl Calder-Harley, 26, targeted the 13-year-old after finding her on TikTok.

He messaged her on Snapchat, and she after agreed to meet him, he drove her to a spot near Throsk, Stirlingshire.

He told her he had a knife and then assaulted her in his customised Ford Mondeo.

The High Court in Stirling heard that he gave the "naive" youngster money, took her phone off her while she was in his car, and after the rape told her not to save any of the Snapchat messages they had exchanged.

The rape occurred in December 2020 just two to three days after the child's 13th birthday, when Calder-Harley was almost 24.

The incident came to the attention of police.

Calder-Harley was arrested and gave a "no comment" interview.

Officers spoke to other girls he might have associated with.

The court heard a 15-year-old girl revealed that she too had been raped by Calder-Harley, who used to collect her in her school uniform from her Stirlingshire high school.

At the time, in April to June 2016, Calder-Harley -- who has since been convicted for being concerned in the supply of cocaine and has a previous conviction for an offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act -- was 20.

He was only 18 when he raped his first victim, a woman, also 18, with whom he had been in a relationship between June 2013 and June 2016.

The woman, who gave evidence from behind a screen, said the incident had left her crying and she had pleaded with him to stop.

He continued through her tears.

She told jurors: "I was saying stop, stop, but the minute I would move he forced me back down on the bed."

She said she had been manipulated, had her phoned smashed, her clothes ripped, and had been punched and pushed downstairs by Calder-Harley during their relationship in Stenhousemuir, also Stirlingshire.

After a four-day trial at the High Court in Stirling, a jury of eight women and seven men took less than three hours to find Calder-Harley, an unemployed dumper driver, of Stenhousemuir, guilty of three charges of rape and one of having under-age sex. He had denied the charges and said the rapes never happened.

He sobbed and blubbered as the verdicts were returned and judge Lord Colbeck revoked his bail.

He was remanded in custody for reports until October 3rd at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Prosecutor Chris Macintosh said Calder-Harley had "preyed on three naive and immature young girls to satisfy his own needs".

Solicitor-advocate Simon White, defending, reserved mitigation.

Description

A man who subjected a young girl to a three-year "campaign of rape" has been jailed for over 19 years.

Anthony Reynolds, 42, from Melton Mowbray, pleaded guilty to charges of raping a girl aged 13 and two charges of raping a girl under 13.

He was sentenced to 231 months in prison at Gloucester Crown Court.

Judge Ian Lawrie told the girl: "You should be proud of your courage. You didn't budge an inch."

In a victim-impact statement the girl, who is from Gloucester, said: "I was wondering why this was happening to me and what I had done to deserve it?"

Prosecutor Ellen McAnaw told the court that the victim was about 10 years old when the offending started and was 13 when she told a school friend in January of this year.

Ms McAnaw said it was "effectively a campaign of rape".

Police were alerted and the girl told them how Reynolds had been raping her about once a fortnight for three years or more.

She said: "After he did it to me I would just sit there crying and terrified. At school, I couldn't concentrate and it was all I could think about.

'I lost confidence'

"Now I have told someone about it, I know I will never see him again and I feel safe."

"I lost confidence in myself," she said. "I thought I was fat and ugly. I just wanted to be someone else. I didn't like who I was."

The girl's mother said in a statement: "My daughter will, without doubt, carry this with her for the rest of her life.

"What this man has done to my daughter has completely broken me."

Reynolds initially denied the offences and pleaded not guilty to charges of raping a girl aged 13 on 21 January and two charges of raping of a girl under 13 between 21 December 2019 and 20 December 2022.

But he changed his pleas to guilty when the girl attended court, ready to give evidence against him to a jury.

Emotional pain

Shenaiya Kharegat, defending, said that although Reynolds had not admitted the offences from the start he now "accepts full responsibility and has made no attempt to minimise his behaviour...

"He has reflected on his actions and fully understands the effect of his offending on the victim and her family."

Judge Ian Lawrie told Reynolds that the statements he had heard had made clear the "pain, emotionally and psychologically, that your abuse has caused".

He imposed jail terms totalling 231 months as well as a lifelong sexual-harm-prevention order and a restraining order.

The judge said he had allowed a discount of 12.5% on the sentence to reflect that Reynolds had belatedly pleaded guilty, sparing the girl the "torture" of giving evidence.

Judge Lawrie added that Reynolds will have to serve two-thirds of his sentence before he can be considered for parole.

"It takes courage to come forward about things like this," the judge told the girl. "I know the appalling strain it puts on everyone.

"You should be proud of your courage. You didn't budge an inch and that made him feel he didn't have room for manoeuvre."

Description

A former Hackney councillor has avoided jail after admitting possessing indecent images of children.

Recorder Jonathan Ashley-Norman told Tom Dewey: “You have taken considerable steps since your arrest to address your offending behaviour.”

Handing him down a 12-month suspended sentence, he said: Your actions have had a devastating impact on your life and your closest family.”

He gave him credit for an early guilty plea and the work he had done to overcome his problem in looking at indecent images of children.

He also ordered devices to be forfeited, told Dewey to pay £500 costs and put him on a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which will restrict his contact with children.

Thomas Dewey, who was elected as a Labour councillor for De Beauvoir ward, was arrested by detectives from the National Crime Agency who seized laptops and tablets at his home in Hertford Road in Hackney, just days before May’s local elections last year.

He had a “huge problem” with looking at indecent images of children from the internet for his own use, Wood Green Crown Court heard.

Last month, the 36-year-old admitted a charge of making five category A indecent images of children, a further charge of making 41 category B indecent images, as well as making 203 category C indecent images of children, on 29 April 2022 in Hackney.

Images are graded with category A considered the worst.

Dewey, now of Hampshire, also admitted a charge of possessing 78 extreme pornographic images of children on 29 April 2022 and having 1,523 prohibited images of children in his possession on or before 20 January 2022.

The court heard images date from between 14 January 2008 to 27 April 2022, two days before his arrest at home in Hackney where he was “the sole occupant.”

The NCA seized two laptops, two tablets and a hard drive and Dewey was arrested and cautioned at 7.03am.

They had identified four “CyberTipline” reports which has user ID to a google drive and Dewey had uploaded indecent images of children to his personal account

Description

A former well-known Manchester DJ has avoided jail after being caught with indecent images of children breaching a court order. Scot Reedy, 36, had previously been before the courts for similar offences when he was sentenced to a suspended prison term in February 2021.

Along with the sentence, he was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which stated he must inform his offender manager of any devices he owns that are capable of accessing the internet.

However, during an unannounced visit from Greater Manchester Police, officers found twelve devices, with one containing computer-generated indecent images of young children.

Appearing at Manchester Crown Court today (August 14), Reedy admitted to breaching the order and was sentenced to a community order.

Brendan O’Leary, prosecuting, told the court that on September 5 2020, Reedy appeared before Tameside Magistrates in relation to offences of possession of indecent images of children. He was sentenced for those crimes on February 15, 2021, to a 16 month jail term which was suspended for two years, and ordered to complete the Horizon programme, which is delivered to male sex offenders who are at risk of reoffending.

He was also handed a SHPO to run until February 2031, with a number of conditions including that he must inform his offender manager of any devices that can connect to the internet.

“On March 23 of last year, the offender manager from GMP’s Sex Offender Manager Unit along with another officer attended his home address to conduct an unannounced visit to assess the defendant’s behaviour in the community,” the prosecutor said.

“Found on the defendant’s phone were photos which were prohibited. As the phone was seized, the defendant said: ‘I can prove to you I didn’t download them on purpose’.”

The phone was examined, and officers found 330 inaccessible prohibited images of children, along with social media searches for indecent images which took place on one day in December 2021.

The searches included ‘paedo bait’, ‘minor NSFW’, ‘incest’ and ‘IRL shota’. The court heard that ‘shota’ is a term used to describe sex between a child and an adult.

Reedy was arrested, and a further 12 devices were recovered, each capable of accessing the internet. They also found a ‘childlike’ sex doll in his possession, for which he was not subject to prosecution.

He was said to have three previous convictions for 16 offences including for making indecent images of children.

In mitigation, Joshua Bowker said the 12 devices found did not have any criminality on them. Of the images recovered, he said they were 3D generated images, and so no actual children were pictured.

“There is significantly more harm in actual images of children, rather than computer generated ones,” he said.

He said his client had a ‘lax attitude’ towards the court order and said there was a degree of ‘forgetfulness’ in his compliance with it.

Mr Bowker added that Reedy has an autism diagnosis, of which he is still coming to terms with, and is willing to work with probation to assist him. “He is ashamed of himself,” he said.

Sentencing, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said Reedy had served the equivalent of a 10 month sentence in custody whilst waiting to be sentenced, and there would be ‘greater protection to the public’ if dealt he was with in the community.

“It will be hard to find anyone who will take a risk that I have today, in the hope that you will be rehabilitated or that you will be able to manage the addiction that you currently have,” she said.

“You have cooperated well with the course in the past, and the probation service are satisfied you can be sentenced in the community.”

Reedy, of Meadowgate Road, in Salford, was sentenced to an 18 month community order, 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirements and 130 hours of unpaid work. He previously pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited image of a child, failure to notify with the requirements of the Sex Offences Act and breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He remains under the terms of the Sex Offenders Register and Sexual Harm Prevention order for 10 years.

Description

A BRAZEN sex offender nicknamed himself “Amapedo” when he contacted what he thought was a 14-year-old girl online.

However, William Wilson later discovered that “Sophie”, the target of his predatory behaviour, was actually a fake identity set up by a paedophile hunter group, a court heard.

After making disgusting requests of the decoy “schoolgirl” and sending her indecent images of himself he was confronted by members of the Wolfpack group at his home in West Lothian from where video of his confession was streamed live on Facebook.

Wilson, 51, from Kirknewton, pleaded guilty on Monday to attempting to communicate indecently with a person he believed was an under-age girl.

He attempted to cause her to participate in sexual activity and asking her to photograph of the genitals of a seven year-old girl and send the image to him for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming her.

Christine Brownlie, prosecuting, told Livingston Sheriff Court that the fake profile picture posted on the website Meet24 around 20 March 2022 was of a young white girl aged 12-14. She said it was clear that the photo was of someone under the age of 18.

Within a few hours of setting up the account it was contacted by Wilson, calling himself 'Amapedo' and stating "I like you”, quickly followed by explicit messages.

The decoy replied as Sophie telling the accused that she was 14 years old and from Birmingham.

'Amapedo' then sent Sophie a message stating: "I just love young girls your age. Any pics of you in your school uniform with skirt? Can I see?"

When she replied that she didn't think she had any pictures he asked, "Any of you with your legs open?"

The decoy told 'Amapedo’ that she didn't have pictures like that on her phone, but she was then asked if she had a younger sister and if she did would she be willing to provide a picture for him.

The accused asked to take the conversation to WhatsApp, and the decoy provided a phone number and told the user to add her on WhatsApp, but rather than communicating via WhatsApp, she received a phone call from someone asking to speak to Sophie then began to receive text messages.

Two days later further contact was made with the profile Sophie on Meet24 with someone using the username Grampa70, who also turned out to be the accused.

The user Grampa70 also sent her explicit messages.

The child profile was thereafter contacted by a user also identifying themselves as Grampa70 on the app Meet4u and she asked him to confirm the last 4 digits of his phone number to confirm it was the same person.

Wilson did so and again sent her sexual messages in which he asked if she could take pictures of her seven-year-old sister due to having "a big thing for young girls".

Following this the user Grampa70 told to her to forget it and asked her to delete his number.

Details of the chat between the decoy and Wilson were passed on to the West Lothian Wolfpack paedophile hunting group, as was the accused’s home address.

At about 7.30pm the same day three members of the group – one woman and two men – knocked on Wilson’s door and the woman streamed his reaction live on Facebook.

When she informed Wilson she was at his address because of his online activity he replied “Aye, aye” and invited them in.

Police were contacted and screen shots of the messages and images sent by the accused were handed to them.

They also watched the video stream which showed the accused sitting within his living room admitting to communicating indecently with who he believed to be a child aged 14 years old.

The accused was cautioned and charged and replied: “I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say.” He later added: “Yes, I done it. I put my hands in the air.”

Sheriff Susan Craig called for a background report before sentence, warned Wilson that he may face a custodial sentence and added his name to the sex offenders’ register.

She said he would be told the length of time he would remain subject to notification requirements when he returned to be sentenced on 14 September.