Latest Offenders

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Victims of a sexual predator who posed as a photographer and set up hidden cameras in changing rooms to film hundreds of aspiring young models said they felt utterly violated as their abuser was jailed.

David Glover, 48, made secret recordings of his victims who came to him for portfolio shoots over at least four years and cataloged them on his computer, Peterborough Crown Court heard.

After admitting five counts of voyeurism concerning 35 women identified by police, Glover was jailed for 20 months.

One of his victims, who waived her right to anonymity, said it made her "skin crawl" to think she had trust the defendant, to take photographs of her baby.

Francesca Rowden told the court that she no longer worked in the modelling industry.

Another victim, breaking down in tears, said: "I thought about how this could affect my career now if they [the images] ever got leaked."

In a statement to court another woman said she felt "utterly violated" and another said "the guy is an absolute creep".

Glover, 48, of Tallington in Lincolnshire, admitted at an earlier hearing to five counts of voyeurism concerning 35 women identified by police, but prosecutors said a further "70 or so" women were in footage that police found on Glover's electronic devices.

Thomas Brown, prosecuting, said these women had not been identified and Glover was not being sentenced over images of these further women - but could face further proceedings if any of them came forward.

Glover, who also worked as a wedding photographer, was "well thought of" said prosecutors. He would shoot in his home and sometimes hired studio space.

"There was private space provided by the studio for people to change from their outdoor, everyday clothing into whatever they were wearing for the shoot," said the prosecutor.

"As a private space, it was used for exactly that purpose by people who were to be photographed."

His voyeurism was uncovered by a woman's partner who investigated the changing room to find "an alarm clock that looked remarkably out of context".

He investigated further and found it was a covert camera, and that the memory card in it had footage of his partner getting changed on it.

After a police investigation was triggered, more women came forward.

Judge Matthew Lowe said: "Following the breakdown of his marriage in 2011, this defendant sought to turn what had been a hobby into a business and began working as a professional photographer."

He said the offending took place over at least four years, was "clearly planned offending" and some of the women in the footage appeared "completely naked".

Glover was jailed for 20 months for his offending, and was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register, and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

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A WEST Cumbrian man who was convicted of raping a schoolgirl when he was a 16-year-old has been jailed.

Josh Atkinson, who is now 22, had pleaded not guilty to the offence but he was convicted by a jury after a trial at Carlisle Crown Court. Prosecutor Tim Evans outlined how the defendant committed the offence in 2017.

The girl was of primary school age at the time. “She told him no and tried to push him away but he was older and stronger than she was,” said Mr Evans. The girl’s ordeal lasted for about 15 minutes in total.

It was at a later stage, when the girl was having a sex education lesson at school, that she became upset and realised the enormity of what had happened and disclosed it to her mother, said Mr Evans.

The barrister went on to outline the impact of the rape on both the girl and her mother, who said it had been hard watching her daughter “go into herself and struggle with her emotions”, becoming upset and angry.

Speaking of the victim, Mr Evans said: “Being raped made her feel more insecure about herself; it plays on her mind. She can’t trust boys and she is scared of all matters sexual.”

The girl had also isolated herself and did not leave her home for a long time.

She also self-harmed on a couple of occasions, said Mr Evans.

The barrister explained that because the defendant, of Cockfield Drive, Workington, was 16 when he committed the offence, just a few months away from his 17th birthday, he would have to be sentenced as though he were still a youth.

Peter Wilson, defending, said maturity issues which affected the defendant’s consequential thinking and impulsivity were factors in the offending.  There were also other issues which arose from his childhood.

“There was significant instability in his young life,” said Mr Wilson.

The defendant had suffered violence in his family home and this led to illicit substances being used there. “He describes his father as a career criminal who has his own drug dependency issues,” said Mr Wilson.

As a result of childhood trauma, Atkinson had suffered depressive symptoms from the age of 12 and had experienced suicidal thoughts throughout his life. But he was now taking medication and using his time in prison positively.

Judge Guy Mathieson said the defendant, who still denies his offence, was convicted by the jury on “compelling evidence.”

He jailed Atkinson for four years  - half the sentence he would have been given had he been an adult when he committed the offence.

The defendant will be on the Sex Offender Register for life and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years. A restraining order forbids any contact with his victim for the same period.  

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A Southampton man has been jailed for committing rape and a number of sexual assaults.

Bradley Herring, 30, of Bracklesham Close, Southampton, was sentenced to six years and two months in prison at Southampton Crown Court on Friday (24 March).

This comes after he pleaded guilty to offences including rape and two counts of sexual assault.

On 22 January, Herring raped a woman in her 20s at a different address in the east of the city.

The assaults happened on 1 January last year, when Herring carried out sexual acts in the presence of a teenage woman at an address in the east of the city.

Since the incidents were reported to us, both women have been supported by specialist officers.

A 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also imposed on Herring which means that when he is released, he will have to abide by strict conditions or face being sent back to prison. He was also made to sign the sex offenders register for life.

DC Marie Leather works in Operation Amberstone, the specialist team which deals with rape cases, and investigated the rape. DC Daisy Green from Southampton Investigations was the officer in the case for the sexual assaults.

They said: “Firstly we would like to praise both women for the bravery they have shown for coming forward and reporting these horrific crimes to us, and during the investigation and court process.

“Herring is a sexual predator and now he is locked up, he cannot harm another woman.

“Our teams work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice and I hope this result encourages other women or men who have been victims of sexual offences to speak to us, no matter when the incidents took place.

“You will be listened to, respected and supported by us.”

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A serial sex offender has been sentenced to 34 years in jail after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences.

Danny Owen, 47, of Maddover Crescent, Liskeard. was sentenced to 34 years by Judge Robert Linford for offences against women and girls over a 20-year period.

The sentence comes following a 17-day trial in February 2023 where the jury found Owen guilty of 24 offences against four victims. He was found not guilty of five offences against a further two victims.

Owen was sentenced to a custodial sentence of 28 years with an additional six years on licence.

The court heard accounts of how Owen would inappropriately touch some of the young victims and tell them it was normal. Owen’s behaviour escalated to rape in some of the cases after forcing himself on the victims, he told them not to tell anyone what had happened. The victims were aged between five and early teens when the offending occurred.

The controlling and abusive behaviour was sustained over months and even years in some cases.

Owen continually denied the allegations in interviews and told officers he didn’t know why the victims would make such claims against him.

Praising the victims for coming forward and telling their stories, Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Amy Wooldridge, and Former Detective Sgt Tim Wright, said: “We are delighted with the sentence passed by the court today following a four-year investigation into offences committed between 1990 and 2011.

“We hope this outcome will bring comfort and closure to the brave women who not only reported what happened to them but supported a long-running and complex investigation. I admire the strength of these women who stood up in court and faced him, in order to tell their stories.

“We would like to thank everyone who supported this investigation and allowed us to achieve the outcome that all those who suffered from his sexual attacks deserve.”

The officers continued: “I hope the outcome secured from this case serves as a reassurance to others who may have been sexually abused that we will investigate thoroughly and do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.

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Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard the way James Thomson targeted young, vulnerable females was 'despicable, deplorable and disgusting'

The mother of an 11-year-old girl sexually assaulted by a Peebles publican is speaking of her relief after watching him being jailed.

James Thomson, who's 68, has today (Monday) been sentenced to 46 months behind bars and placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely, after being found guilty of the attack on the youngster in 2017.

He's also been convicted of a separate sexual assault on a woman, who he also indecently assaulted when she was just 15; and making sexually humiliating comments to two other women in a series of charges dating back to 2003.

However, the details of the charges are too graphic to share.

"It's justice for his victims - every one of them," the woman told Radio Borders. "We know that there are victims who haven't been able to make it to court today because they're so traumatised. And they've all got justice, and he's got what he deserved.

"Would I have liked it to have been more? Quite possibly. But at least we know we can move on and he's not going to be walking the streets; we're safe while he's inside."

Thomson was convicted of a total of seven charges following a week-long trial and returned for sentence today with his bags packed.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard the first offender - who was hounded out his home following his conviction last month - had shown no remorse and was a "medium risk" of re-offending.

After reading the victims' impact statements, Sheriff Robert Fife said the way Thomson targeted young, vulnerable females was "despicable, deplorable and disgusting", adding the damage he had caused was "immeasurable".

He said there was no alternative to a custodial sentence - provoking tears, and a "thank you", from the public benches.

The mother of Thomson's youngest victim, who we're not naming to protect her identity, revealed her child now suffers from anxiety and PTSD as a result of the abuse.

She added: "She has suffered terribly, keeping friendships and relationships because of trust issues, so I'm just hoping this (sentence) will give some closure to all his victims."

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A wheelchair-bound pervert was told he had brought 'shame' on his wife after appearing at court for possessing extreme pornographic images. Bryan Flack was already on the Sex Offenders' Register before he was arrested by cops.

He was detained after downloading images of people having sex with a horse and a dog. Due to the 71-year-old suffering lung cancer, Parkinson's and kidney and heart failure, magistrates could only hand Flack a fine.

Flack, of Scotia Road in the Burslem area of Stoke, had previously been imprisoned for sexual assault, which was committed on a woman while he was a masseuse. He admitted to possession extreme pornographic images at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, reports StokeonTrentLive.

His wife wheeled Flack into court, where it was said he had brought 'shame' on her. Magistrates fined him a total of £465.

They told him: "Whatever punishment we impose, the main punishment is the shame you have imposed on your wife. The only option is a fine."

Prosecutor Zaine Riaz said: "The defendant is a registered sex offender and is on the register until 2027. He was visited by a manager of the sex offenders' probation service for a routine check. He provided his mobile phone. He appeared to be nervous.

"The officer saw videos of animals and humans engaging in sex acts with each other. He was arrested. Eighteen images were found. He admitted the content. He's not sure why he accessed the content."

The images were discovered in March, 2022. Andrew Turnock, mitigating, said: "A lot has happened in terms of his physical health and its deterioration since then. He's in terrible physical state. He is dependent on his wife for his care.

"Whatever was going on a year ago has changed dramatically. He has no access to any devices and he's not physically able to operate a device. He poses no risk of further offending and little risk of causing any harm."

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A MAN travelling on a bus from Carlisle city centre left fellow passengers shocked as they saw him expose his genitals and touch himself sexually.

Police identified the culprit after two women reported what they had seen and police examined the bus’s CCTV footage, which allowed them to identify the offender, 43-year-old Carlisle man Scott Barton.

At Carlisle Crown Court, he was sentenced after earlier pleading guilty to an allegation of outraging public decency.

The court heard that two young women boarded the bus in the city centre and, a few stops later, Barton arrived, taking the seat immediately behind them.

One of the women later reported that she noticed Barton touching himself in the groin area, at that stage on top of his clothing. She looked away, but when she glanced in his direction a short time later he was she realised he had removed his genitals from his shorts and appeared sexually aroused.

He was continuing to touch himself, the court heard.

Shocked by this, the two women immediately moved seats, doing their best to ignore him. As they left the bus a short time later, they alerted the bus driver to what they had seen before running home and calling the police.

Judith McCullough, for Barton, of McIlmoyle Way, Denton Holme, said he accepted that his behaviour that day was unacceptable but he denied that he was performing a sex act. His shame and regret for what happened were genuine.

The barrister said: “He has cut down his alcohol intake and no longer misuses drugs.”

At work, said Miss McCullough, Barton was a valued member of his team. The barrister added: “This offence was out of character, an isolated incident.”

Judge David Potter noted that Barton had been medicating his ADHD by regularly using alcohol but what he did on the bus had “clearly caused alarm and distress” to the two females who saw him.

He did what he did in broad daylight, on public transport. “Clearly, it outraged public decency; and it is therefore, in my judgement, serious enough to warrant a community penalty,” said the judge.

Judge Potter imposed a three-year community order, with 20 rehabilitation activity days, a 100-day tagged alcohol abstinence monitoring order, and a requirement to complete an accredited sex offender treatment programme.

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A PERVERTED west Cumbrian man who fled the country after trying to rape a sleeping woman has been given a nine year jail term.

The dock of Carlisle Crown Court was empty as Judge David Potter passed sentence on 38-year-old fugitive Alan Adam, who had denied sexually assaulting the victim and attempting to rape her.

Still on the run, the defendant, formerly of Harrington Road, Workington, failed to turn up for his own trial last week and was convicted in his absence.

The jury heard that the victim reluctantly agreed to have a drink with Adam, during which he plied her with drinks.

She recalled suddenly feeling unwell, something which made her suspect that her drink had been spiked, though there was no medical evidence of that. The woman had made it abundantly clear that she had no sexual interest in Adam.

She had retired to a bedroom to sleep – and then to her horror awoke to find that Adam was sexually assaulting her.

As he summed up the case, Judge David Potter said: “She wasn’t used to drinking that quantity, but none of that was her fault.  I am sure that the defendant took full advantage of the obvious incapacity her condition presented.”

The woman had fallen asleep on a bed, and it was as she slept there that she was woken by Adam as he first assaulted her and then tried to rape her.

“She immediately protested... and told him no,” continued the judge.

Despite this, said Judge Potter, Adam forcefully pushed the woman on to the bed and made a “concerted effort” to rape her, his attempt frustrated only by the woman’s determined physical resistance.

Adam later told police that the sexual contact was consensual.

But a medical examination of the woman revealed she had suffered intimate injuries which supported her account of what happened, and showed that Adam had indeed used force as he tried to rape the woman. Prosecutor Robert Smith then read a detailed victim impact statement from the woman.

“When I think of what happened, I find myself having flashbacks to the moment in time when I was taken advantage of,” she wrote.

“I continue to have nightmares, crying. I am a broken person because of that man; I can’t even say his name and never will. He has broken me and I don’t think I will ever trust a man again. This will cause me issues for the rest of my life.

“He took advantage of me while I was asleep and intoxicated; he tried to rape me and that will live with me forever.”

She said she was no longer able to leave her home without fear and she doubted whether she could ever be truly happy again. She said she was pleased that the jury had returned guilty verdicts on Adam.

She hoped that he will eventually face justice should he return to the UK. But the legacy of his crime continued, she suggested, given that she had been humiliated and hurt but she now hopes to rebuild her life.

Judge Potter noted that the woman had been 'particularly vulnerable', and while he rejected the notion that her drink was spiked, the defendant had encouraged her to drink in the hope that she would be incapacitated.

He jailed Adam for nine years, pointing out that when he does serve that term he will not be eligible for released until he has served at least two thirds of the full term. The defendant will be on the Sex Offender Register for life.

Adam’s current whereabouts are unknown, but police have confirmed that he boarded a ferry for France in July of last year.

It took the jury just 90 minutes to convict him of the two allegations he faced. 

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A convicted rapist has admitted an evil and wicked assault on a man who was winding him up about his past convictions.

Darren Butler, 42, previously admitted punching Ernest Boundy on the head and kicking him on the body outside The Beath Inn, Cowdenbeath, in December last year.

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A MAN who groomed, repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted a girl over a number of years has been jailed.

Glyn Jones appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday, March 24, where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, for which he must serve at least two thirds before being eligible for parole.

The 62-year-old, of Bradley Lane, Malpas, had previously been convicted of 17 counts of sexual abuse against a child following two trials at Chester Crown Court.

The offences include sexual activity with a child aged 11 to 15, rape of a child under 13 and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

In addition to his prison sentence, Jones has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

During the trial the court heard how Jones sexually abused his victim, who cannot be named, over a sustained period between March 2014 and March 2019, beginning when she was just 10 years old.

Prosecuting at the sentencing hearing, Myles Wilson read through a victim impact statement written by the girl, in which she described what had happened was "totally wrong" and she felt "disgusted and angry" for what had happened.

She explained she felt her world "crashing down" and had suffered panic attacks and stress, as well as regret and feeling manipulated.

A relative of the victim said the victim had "got a life sentence for what he has done to her" and there would "always be a shadow for the memory of the past few years".

Jones had no previous convictions.

Defending, Maria Masselis said Jones had not been in the best of health, having angina, undiagnosed growths in his stomach, arthritis, and had caught Covid-19 on a number of occasions which had affected his memory.

The court heard the sentence passed may be "longer than the years he has left".

Recorder Lawrence McDonald said it was "clearly a case of grooming and abuse of trust...in the grossest possible way".

He added: "You wanted her so you could rape her, interfere with her sexually, for your sexual gratification."

Jones was jailed for 15 years and, as "an offender of particular concern", would have one extra year on licence.

He was also handed an indefinite Sexual harm Prevention Order, preventing him from contact with girls aged under 16, and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Following the sentencing Detective Constable Beth Colbourne, who led the investigation, said: “This case has left the victim and their family distraught, and I hope that the sentence will help bring some closure to then.

“Jones preyed upon a young child for his own sexual gratification and refused to take responsibility for the crimes he committed, making the victim and their family have to relive the horrific experience again through two trials. But thanks to the victim’s courage, he is now facing the consequences of his actions.

“The sentence handed to Jones reflects the severity of his crime and I hope that his conviction will encourage other victims to come forward.

“As this case demonstrates, we treat all reports of historic sexual offences seriously and we will always do our best to ensure offenders are brought to justice.”

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A ‘lonely’ convicted paedophile appearing before a crown court judge for the fourth time in 10 years was spared a spell in prison – for having McAfee anti-virus on his laptop.

But Anthony Edwards was warned that the ‘only sanction available’ if he breached his sexual harm prevention order again or committed further offences in the next two years would be an immediate jail term.

On Thursday, Oxford Crown Court heard that 63-year-old Edwards was originally given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offender register for life after he was convicted in 2013 of sexually assaulting a girl.

He was later convicted of having indecent images of children and, in 2018, of flouting the court order designed to limit his access to the web.

Prosecuting, Robert Lindsey said a police officer installed monitoring software on Edwards’ HP laptop in October 2018.

Three months later, in January 2019, Edwards asked his supervising officer if he could ‘defragment’ the laptop’s hard drive. “The officer said no,” the prosecutor told the court.

By 2020, the defendant raised concerns that his laptop was running slowly and that it might have been hit by a computer virus. The officer was ‘somewhat suspicious’ of Edwards’ explanations, Mr Lindsey said – prompting the judge to add: “I’m not surprised.”

Checks showed that although the police monitoring software was still installed on the computer, it had not been working since April 2019.

Edwards had downloaded McAfee anti-virus software and the computer’s hard drive was ‘empty’, indicating that the convicted sex offender had deleted his internet browser history in spite of a court order banning him from doing so.

Edwards, of Ballards Close, Shipton-under-Wychwood, pleaded guilty to breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

He also admitted breaching sex offender notification requirements by failing to attend a police station within three days of his annual requirement to ‘re-register’ his details in 2021.

Mitigating, Gordana Austin said her client felt ‘isolated and lonely’. His mother, with whom he lived and for whom he cared, sadly died last year and the council was looking to move him to supported accommodation.

Sentencing him to a two year community order, Recorder John Hardy KC told Edwards: “Courts impose orders upon you and people like you for reasons.

“Where those orders are breached, courts normally take the view that a person who’s been leniently sentenced in the past is being contemptuous of the order of the court and therefore immediate custody is the only sanction available.

“That will be the case if you breach the order I am now about to impose.”

Edwards was ordered to complete up to 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and was banned from deleting his internet history or tampering with ‘e-safe’ software installed on his devices by the police.

He must pay £200 in costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.

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A sex offender who pretended to be a police officer and kidnapped a girl has been convicted.

David Young, 33, wore a high-vis jacket and used a fake police badge to lure a 14-year-old to a secluded area in Crawley in October 2021.

After searching the girls bag, coat and blazer, Young let her leave - but after being spotted the next day he was found with latex gloves, lubricant and a packet of condoms.

Following a trial at Lewes Crown Court, Young was found guilty of committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Jayne Cioffi, senior crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: This was clearly a traumatic experience for a young girl on her way to school.

David Young went to great lengths to make himself look to the untrained eye like a police officer, so that he could lure a child away for his own depraved needs.

A convicted sexual offender, he was already prohibited by law from approaching any children, such was the danger he was considered to pose to them.

We understand the trauma felt by the victim and commend her bravery in supporting this prosecution. I hope this guilty verdict provides some comfort to her and her family.

Following the incident, the girl and her mother alerted the police and later spotted the man on his bike the next day.

Young later was involved in a collision with a car but continued to cycle up the road before disposing of the gloves, lubricant and condoms.

After he was arrested, police linked the condoms and lubricant to Young via DNA evidence and also found plastic handcuffs and a stab vest.

He also had LED light on his bike which looked similar to a police siren.

Young previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The order was imposed after he was found guilty of rape and other sexual offences in 2012.

He is due to be sentenced on May 12 at a court yet to be determined.

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A paedophile who directed and recorded appalling sex attacks on young girls over the internet from his home Lochinver has been jailed for 12 years.

Gary Campbell, a former retained firefighter, paid for adults in the Philippines to abuse children as young as four as he watched it in "real time" on a livestream from more than 6000 miles away.

The filmed sex attacks included the rape of two girls aged eight and nine by an adult male who Campbell was told was 25. He said: "He is very lucky getting to do a show with these girls."

Campbell (59) paid as little as £10 ahead of sessions in which young girls were molested and performed sex acts for his gratification.

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday: "You used the advantage of the comparative wealth of our society in order to pay people to corrupt children."

Lord Beckett said: "Over a period of more than two years you were intermittently sexually corrupting young children."

The judge said: "You will appreciate these are grave crimes indeed, for which there is no alternative to a prison sentence."

He ordered that Campbell should be under supervision for a further three years during which he can be returned to jail if he breaches licence conditions.

The judge told him that he would have faced a 15-year prison term but for his guilty pleas.

Campbell, now of Windsor Court, Perth, earlier admitted 13 charges including rape, sexual assault and inciting children to become providers of sexual services.

The sex crimes were committed between June 2012 and August 2014 while he was living at Culag Gardens, Lochinver.

Advocate depute Margaret Barron told the court: "On May 10 in 2021 officers from the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit in Inverness received information that on September 23, 2020, a female living in the Philippines had been arrested for producing, possessing and distributing indecent images of children and for livestreaming child abuse."

The prosecutor said: "Information was received that the accused Gary Campbell had made payments to this woman on 13 separate occasions."

Police seized a laptop, Macbook, iPod, USB sticks and micro cards from his home and discovered that he had a Skype account with the user name "gary24pucket".

The advocate depute said videos and chat logs that were recovered showed Campbell provided directions to adults in the Philippines to assault the children.

She said: "On occasion during the livestreaming of the assaults the accused advises those broadcasting the livestream if he is having difficulty seeing the children, which results in the children and adults repositioning themselves to enable the accused to see what is being done to the children."

The prosecutor said it indicated that Campbell was not only watching the children being abused in "real time" but that he was directing those in the Philippines to assault the youngsters.

During one Skype conversation with a Filipina woman he told her: "I am always excited to see young girls." In another call he asked another woman: "What is the youngest you can get me?"

The former water treatment operative was arrested by police in June 2021 and during an interview made "no comment" replies to questions.

Defence solicitor advocate Shahid Latif said Campbell was a first offender who has seen a psychotherapist and undertaken work to deal with the factors that led to the offending.

He told the court: "There is no doubt he is thoroughly ashamed and disgusted by his behaviour."

Campbell was told that he will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely following his sentencing.

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A MAN from Abergele was sentenced to prison after making more than 800 indecent photographs of children.

Gary Johnson, 53, of Tegfan, was jailed for two years and eight months at Caernarfon Crown Court today (March 23).

He was also handed an indefinite restraining order and a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), while he was made subject to sex offenders register notification requirements indefinitely.

Prosecuting, Rosemary Proctor told the court that Johnson’s home was searched by North Wales Police officers on January 5, 2022 following a referral from the National Crime Agency.

This resulted in his phone and laptop being seized, and the following was found:

• 591 Category C indecent images of a child.
• 100 Category B indecent images of a child.
• 130 Category A indecent images of a child.
• 23 images which portrayed a person performing oral sex with a horse.

The majority of the images, which Johnson had made himself, depicted females aged between three and seven, with the youngest child being two years old.

In a small number of images, the child depicted was shown to be in distress, while in others, a different child was tied up while being abused.

Others were pseudo images, namely digitally modified photos of childhood photographs.

Johnson then set up an online message thread inviting people to share similar photos with him via the app “Kik”.

When interviewed by police in October 2022, he denied being sexually attracted to children, but admitted being sexually attracted to one of the people he made digitally modified images of.

A statement from one of Johnson’s victims read that they had suffered serious mental health issues as a result of his actions.

They were said to have “really turned my life around”, but then added their “life has turned upside down” once again following a visit from the police in October 2022.

The victim felt “completely betrayed", “angry”, “scared” and “violated”.

They added: “This whole process has made question who I trust. These images were made on a public forum, and I had no control over who viewed them.”

Johnson had one previous conviction for actual bodily harm more than 20 years ago.

Defending, Elen Owen said Johnson had told her: "Whatever punishment I get, I deserve it”.

His life was said to have changed after more than two decades in the Armed Forces, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he found himself alone and working from home.

There was also evidence that the Kik app had been deleted from his devices prior to the police seizing them.

Johnson has lost his job since this matter came to light, and was said to be fearing also losing his home.

His actions had “torn the family apart”, Ms Owen said, with his adult children now estranged from him.

She added that Johnson had “shown extreme remorse” and has completed a course with Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse.

Sentencing, Judge Nicola Saffman told Johnson: “(There were) images of real children being raped, being abused, being tortured… this is not a victimless crime.

“Real children suffered as a result of what you sought out.

“You then joined this online community of like-minded individuals - I’ll call you all paedophiles, because that’s what you are.

“You had an active involvement in a network that facilitated the creation and sharing of images of children.”

The terms of Johnson’s SHPO include him being prohibited from:

• Using any computer or device capable of accessing the Internet unless notifying police, who must ensure it has the capacity to retain and display Internet use.
• Deleting his Internet browsing history.
• Withholding his devices from being investigated by police on their request.
• Using “incognito mode” or “private browsing”.
• Using any social media profile under any name other than Gary Johnson, or another police-approved name.
• Living in any household with a child younger than 18, or entering and remaining in any such household, unless express approval is provided from social services.
• Engaging in unsupervised contact or communication of any kind with a child younger than 18, other than that which is inadvertent, or with the consent of the child’s parent or guardian, who has knowledge of his conviction, and with social services’ express approval.

Johnson must also notify police of any changes to his address and name.

His indefinite restraining order prohibited him from contacting one of his victims directly or indirectly, attending any premises where he knows or believes they reside, work, or study, or referring to them on the Internet directly or indirectly (or encouraging any third party to do so).

To the victim in question, who appeared in court, Judge Saffman added: “It has taken a lot of courage for you to attend court today. Don’t be crushed by this.”

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A tearful mum told a court she wished the "monster" who subjected her young daughter to a hideous campaign of rape, which he filmed, would stay behind bars for life. The mum gave her emotional impact statement at the sentencing of Steve Sutton today, (March 23, 2023), which moved everyone including the judge.

Sutton, 60, an electrical engineer from Knowle, had been of previous good character but came to the attention of police for downloading images of child sexual abuse. He ultimately pleaded guilty to 30 offences including rape of a child. They included:

• Five counts of rape of a child
• Twelve counts of sexual assaulting a child under 13 by penetration
• Five counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity
• One of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child
• Three of taking indecent photographs of a child
• Three of making indecent photographs of a child
• One count of possessing extreme pornographic images

The Recorder of Bristol His Honour Judge Peter Blair KC jailed him for life with a minimum 13 years. He told Sutton: "You were committing unspeakable crimes against her." The judge commended police for their investigation, especially DC Fiona Currey and PC Rosie Murrell.

Sutton was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order designed to stop further offending. He was also told to register as a sex offender for life and was barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.

Ian Fenny, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court Sutton sexually abused the little girl, when she was aged five to six, for some eight months. He not only subjected her to severe sexual assaults, he also filmed hours of abuse in which he was violent and tied the child up. Police trawled through the heinous footage to compile a comprehensive catalogue of evidence against him.

The victim's mum sat behind a screen as she gave her impact statement, with Sutton using a hearing loop in the dock. She described him as a "monster who robbed her child of her innocence".

Fighting back emotion, she said: "When the officers told me, the words to me felt surreal. I was numb. Life will never be the same again and it feels overwhelming.

"My child will never be care-free and running wild again. I hope that with years of support, we may get better. I will do everything I can to make sure [we] are okay, but it should never have happened.

"He has destroyed my family. He has broken us all in different ways. He has changed her life, changed her future and given her trauma that will affect her for the rest of her life.

"He is a danger to any child and to society. He doesn't deserve to be free. But I want Sutton to know, he won't break us forever. We will get stronger; we will get better."

She added: "I wish I could have protected her from the monster who was abusing her."

Giles Nelson, defending, said his mitigation focused on Sutton's prompt guilty plea as opposed to taking the case to trial. He said: "It is a very disturbing case, there is no argument regarding the context of the sentencing guidelines."