Latest Offenders

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A Liverpool University archaeologist tried to arrange sex with a 13-year-old girl while her mum watched.

Jason Hall discussed how he wanted to molest the girl - and the 50-year-old even took a train to Chester to fulfil his twisted sexual fantasy.

But neither the woman nor her daughter were real and he was instead met by police waiting outside the station.

Officers searched his rucksack and found a pack of condoms and an Easter egg he bought for his intended victim.

And when they searched his home, they discovered a sick stash of more than 2,000 indecent images of children.

Hall, of Greenbank Road, Mossley Hill, was a senior archaeology technician at the university's School of Histories, Languages and Cultures for more than a decade.

Liverpool Crown Court heard undercover officers set up a decoy profile of a woman calling herself Poppy on an adult website.

Neil Bisarya, prosecuting, said she was contacted on the site by Hall, who said he noticed she was based in Chester and that he was in Liverpool and worked at the university, on March 26, 2018.

Poppy told Hall she was a mum-of-two with an eight-year-old son and a daughter aged 13, before two days later telling him she was interested in young teens.

Hall replied "lovely, about your girl's age?" and she agreed and told him her daughter was called Natalie, before Hall said he would like to have sex with her and Poppy said she would like to be present.

Their conversations continued on Skype and an encrypted chat service called qTox and on April 16 that year they discussed him coming to Chester.

Poppy sent Hall two photos, supposedly of her and Natalie, and he sent one of himself in return, before on April 26 they talked about arrangements.

She then set up chats between Hall and Natalie on Skype from May 1, when he called her a "cutie", then on May 8 discussed having sex with her.

Mr Bisarya said Hall sent her of a photo of his erect penis when he was in the bath and said he wanted to have sex with her while her mum watched.

On May 10 he asked for a photo of her bottom and after confirming the arrangement with mother and daughter and promising to bring some chocolate, on the morning of May 11 set off to Chester but was arrested at 11.48am.

Mr Bisarya said his mobile phone was seized along with his rucksack, containing "a packet of condoms with a receipt that had been recently purchased and a Twirl Easter egg".

Officers went to his home and seized 17 items - laptops, computers, hard drives and mobile phones - and found next to his bed a transcript describing sex with a 12-year-old.

Hall, who had no previous convictions, made no comment in a police interview, but later confessed after his devices were analysed.

They revealed 102 Category A images - the worst category showing child rape - plus 271 Category B and 1796 Category C images.

In total he had downloaded 2,169 child sex abuse images between September 2005 and May 2018, plus 13 animal porn files.

He admitted arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child look at an image of sexual activity, three counts of downloading indecent images of children, and possessing extreme porn.

Rebecca Smith, defending, said Hall knew he would receive a "lengthy" jail sentence and made admissions to police in a second interview.

She said despite the contents of his rucksack, no sexual activity was ever going to take place because Natalie was a "fictional character".

Ms Smith said Hall was "co-operative" and "candid" and had shown a willingness to "explore and understand his criminal behaviour".

She said he completed work with child sex abuse prevention charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, plus other courses and counselling.

The lawyer said Hall had references from his parents and sister, who talked of his "introverted and isolated adulthood" and now he had received assistance and been "honest and truthful" with them, they hope to provide him with the support he needs when he leaves prison.

Ms Smith added her client had been "held in high regard" at the university faculty, won awards, and they had been "proud" of his achievements.

Judge Anil Murray noted the "high disparity of age" between Hall and his intended victim, along with his "grooming behaviour".

He said: "The absence of a real victim does not reduce culpability."

However, the judge said he had to make a downward adjustment to recognise the absence of actual harm, as the child didn't exist.

Judge Murray said the pre-sentence report concluded that Hall demonstrated "entrenched sexual interests in children" and assessed him as a "high risk of sexual recidivism and a high risk of causing serious harm to children".

He said: "I agree completely with those assessments."

The judge also noted that Hall's mum said he was "usually a caring son" and his sister said he had expressed remorse to her.

He jailed Hall for two years and eight months, of which he will serve half behind bars.

Judge Murray ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register and to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

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A monstrous abuser took advantage of two teenage boys while he worked at a children's home in the 1970s.

Robert Murray 'breached the trust' of his victims while he was employed at the home, abusing the boys on a number of occasions.

The 76-year-old was found guilty of 12 counts of of indecent assault at Liverpool Crown Court after putting his victims through the ordeal of a trial.

Murray, of Harrismith Road in Fazakerley, was jailed for a total of 11 years for the sex offences against the boys.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Merseyside Police described Murray as "disgraceful and cowardly".

The force said: "Merseyside Police has today, Friday, 12 February, welcomed the sentencing of a Liverpool man to 11 years in prison for sexual offences against two teenage boys.

"76-year-old Robert Murray of Harrismith Road, Fazakerley, was jailed after being found guilty of 12 counts of of indecent assault following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

"The offences relate to two male victims, both teenagers at the time, and date back to the 1970s, when Murray worked at a Liverpool residential home for boys."

Speaking after the sentencing, a Merseyside Police spokesperson said: Murray is a disgraceful and cowardly individual who seriously breached the trust of the two victims, and its pleasing to see him jailed for a significant amount of time today.

He continued to deny his crimes right throughout the investigation, putting the victims through the stress of a trial, but was found guilty by unanimous verdict on all charges against him.

I want to commend the victims for the courage they have shown, not only in coming forward to report Murray, but throughout the investigation and court process too.

"Murrays actions have no doubt significantly affected their lives, but I hope today brings a sense of closure on the traumatic experiences they have both been through, and allows them to continue moving forward knowing Murray wont be released for a significant amount of time.

I would also like to take this opportunity to reach out to victims of sexual abuse, and to let them know that time should never be a barrier to obtaining justice.

"We have specially trained officers ready to listen to you and treat you with respect and compassion. If you are suffering in silence, there is help and support available, both from Merseyside Police, and from reliable and trusted support groups who will stand with you.

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A paramedic who was found guilty of multiple counts of rape and sexual assault against three victims has been jailed for 21 years.

Andrew Wheeler, 46, of Mill Green, Warboys, was convicted of six sexual offences between 2009 and 2018 following a trial which began early in December.

Today at Peterborough Crown Court, Judge Matthew Lowe said that Wheeler had shown an "arrogance and a belief that he was untouchable and protected, as he saw it, by his paramedic's uniform"

Wheeler had shown "not a shred of remorse", he said, adding: "He's demonstrated that he's a manipulative sexual predator, willing to exploit for his own gratification the vulnerabilities of three separate (victims)."

Judge Lowe also praised a "painstaking" police investigation which brought Wheeler to court and commended DC Amie Meston.

He also praised the courage of the victims for coming forward.

The trial had heard Wheeler's offending came to light after he raped and sexually assaulted a woman in September 2018.

He had responded as a single-crew paramedic to an emergency call to help the woman and reassured two other paramedics, who arrived as a dual-crew, that he had things under control.

He then took the intoxicated woman from a friend's home back to her home before carrying out the attack. The woman told a friend, the incident was reported to police and Wheeler was arrested later that day.

For this rape he received a 13-year sentence and for the sexual assault he received 10 years, to run concurrently to each other but consecutive to the others.

Another victim then came forward who Wheeler had raped in 2009 and sexually assaulted in the back of an ambulance in April 2010.

For this rape he was sentenced to six years and for the sexual assault he was sentenced to 30 months, to run concurrently to each other but consecutive to the others.

Wheeler was also convicted of two counts of sexual assault on a girl under 13, not connected to his work, between December 2013 and May 2014.

He was sentenced to 15 months and two years for these offences, to run concurrently to each other but consecutive to the others.

DCI Sherrie Nash, from the force's Protecting Vulnerable People department, said due to the length of time Wheeler had been offending it was possible further victims had not yet come forward.

Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Brunning said: "Andrew Wheeler is a predatory individual whose offending has spanned nearly a decade.

"We believe his decision to become a paramedic was influenced by the access it would give him to potentially vulnerable members of the public and this breach of trust makes his appalling offences all the more deplorable.

"He has caused a huge amount of suffering and trauma for his victims and I would like to pay tribute to their bravery in coming forwards and the patience and dignity they have shown throughout a lengthy legal process.

"I can't imagine what they have gone through but I hope today's sentencing allows them to continue rebuilding their lives knowing that justice has been done."

One example of his offending came from the trial when the court heard that the defendant was on duty as a single crew paramedic in a rapid response car when he was called to help a collapsed woman in Cambridgeshire in 2018.

When he arrived at the incident it became apparent that the woman, who was at her friend's house, was drunk, Peterborough Crown Court heard.

Wheeler sent away two other paramedics who arrived together in an ambulance, assuring them he had things under control, then drove the woman to her own house where he raped and sexually assaulted her.

Noel Casey, prosecuting, said the woman was "extremely intoxicated" and was "unable to properly respond or even resist what he did to her, and he did these things while she was alone in her own home, the defendant having taken her there".

"There was a gross breach of trust," he said.

The woman said, in a victim impact statement read to the court: "I have no faith in the NHS and I've avoided seeing a paramedic and attending the hospital just because of what happened."

She said she has flashbacks, adding: "I couldn't handle dealing with life. I became a recluse."

Jennifer Dempster QC, mitigating, said Wheeler had no previous convictions and was someone who has done a "great deal of positive work in his life".

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A "dangerous" and "obsessive" sex offender has been jailed after so-called paedophile hunters lured him into thinking he was grooming and meeting a 14-year-old girl.

Simon Landsberg, of High Street, Godstone, spoke to who he thought were three girls online and began grooming them before attempting to meet one of them at Ashburton Park, in Croydon.

The 68-year-old was confronted by the paedophile hunters on June 20 last year at the attempted rendezvous in the park, during which a court heard he had the "intent of committing sexual offences". The police were then called and he was arrested.

A video taken at the scene shows members of the public challenging Landsberg about the meeting, followed by officers leading him off in handcuffs. He first confirms his name is 'David' in reference to the name he used online before admitting to police later that he was called Simon.

He was charged with three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child; attempting to meet a child under the age of 16; and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

He had previously been convicted of facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, and was handed a three-year prison sentence in 2017. This, however, involved two real children.

A sentencing hearing at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday afternoon (February 11) heard how three people from various paedophile hunting groups posed as 14-year-old girls online.

Landsberg engaged in lengthy, predominantly sexual, conversations with these "entities", asking one of them about her body shape and telling her that he liked small breasts.

Judge Adam Hiddleston told the court: "You told her you loved her and wanted to kiss, cuddle and massage her."

He added: "You told her you had been in trouble before for falling in love with younger girls and you instructed her to delete all the communication between the two of you."

Disturbingly, Judge Hiddleston told the sentencing hearing that Landsberg had "told her that when you did [meet] you expected her to urinate in her pants".

He added: "When you turned up at the park you were confronted by members of the public who were part of a group who had communicated with you, pretending to be the victim."

The defendant engaged in similar discussions with the two other profiles, lying about his age, claiming he was 43, and discussing massaging and touching them.

All of his communications mainly focused on how the 14-year-old girls "might go about sexually stimulating themselves" before asking them to delete all of the messages.

After his arrest, police conducted a search of his person and discovered two mobile phones and a WiFi dongle. A property search uncovered a laptop, on which almost all of the conversations had been deleted.

The court heard that Landsberg is "dangerous in the way that he has conducted himself" and "has made efforts to hide his continuing sexual offending".

He committed these offences while he was on licence for his previous sexual offending and was in breach of a number of conditions of the SHPO imposed by Guildford Crown Court in 2017.

A pre-sentence report read aloud to the court said: "He exploited the apparent vulnerability of all three victims and his behaviour throughout was sexually motivated.

"He gave no thoughts as to the detrimental effects on them, and if not for his arrest, I believe his behaviour would have continued."

It added: "I would describe his behaviour as bordering on the obsessive."

Defence barrister David Stanton said Landsberg needs to seek help for his actions, as they transgress criminal law and could have affected many people, had the people he was speaking to not been decoys.

Mr Stanton said: "He very much regrets and is remorseful of his actions. He genuinely feels that what he has done is unforgivable."

Landsberg was handed a prison sentence of 44 months, with an extended licence period of 36 months. Judge Hiddleston made an order for a new SHPO, as well as the forfeiture and destruction of the items seized during police searches.

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A Northampton man who sexually assaulted a young girl has been locked up for 10 years.

Ryan Johnson, from Duston, denied all allegations against him during his trial - but last month, a jury convicted him on four counts of child sex offences.

The 31-year-old was found guilty of sexually assaulting the young girl two years ago.

At his sentencing at Northampton Crown Court yesterday (February 11), Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane told Johnson: "Victim impacts statements have shown how your victim now finds it hard to trust people.

"It has affected her friendships. her mother says it has destroyed her confidence."

The court heard how the young girl messaged a friend after the incident, who then alerted the girl's mother to what happened.

Johnson was jailed for 10 years and nine months. He will remain on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

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A man caught with so many indecent images of children that investigators 'gave up counting' has been spared jail time.

Pinky Caine, aged 31, had almost 4,000 illegal photos on his devices and 22,0000 more which were never classified.

He had a secret mobile phone and 'boasted' of hiding his internet history so police would not catch him, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

Caine was also in breach of a suspended sentence for identical offences.

But he avoided immediate custody after a judge heard that it was more than two years since he had last offended and the steps he had taken to tackle his perversion.

His family sacrificed their savings to pay privately for treatment at The Priory, a London psychiatric hospital famous for its celebrity clients.

Handing him a fresh suspended sentence, Judge William Mousley told Caine: “You have been given a huge chance on this occasion. You have come as close as it is possible to get to going straight to prison.

“I am prepared to accept that you do not constitute an immediate risk of harm to the public. There are still hopes of your rehabilitation through work which is ongoing.”

The judge said that there were 22,000 images on his devices which were “questionable”, but as they were not classified they cannot be seen as indecent in law.Caine, of St Johns Terrace in Totnes, pleaded guilty to four counts of possession of indecent images of children in 2018.

The vast majority of the 3,902 files found on his devices were in the lowest bracket, but 12 were in Category A - including videos and images depicting adults abusing children.

He also admitted breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by having an internet enabled mobile phone which was not declared to the police.

Ian Graham, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said that he was handed that order after he was convicted of making indecent images of children in July 2017.

He was given a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

Mr Graham said that police found indecent images on his devices in both May and December 2018.

The barrister added Caine was heard saying that he was "still viewing" indecent images during a group counselling session in August 2018.

Mr Graham said: “He said that he was covering his tracks and he was not worried at that stage about the police finding anything wrong.”

Lee Bremridge, Caine's defence, said that he had pleaded guilty at an early stage and showed “genuine remorse”.

He added that the judge should take into account the long delay in the case – with the defendant not appearing in court until September last year.

Mr Bremridge said that Caine had used the time to tackle his problems, including heavy drinking, on his own initiative.

The barrister added that his family had used their savings to pay for his treatment at The Priory.

Judge Mousley handed Caine a fresh nine-month prison sentence but suspended it for two years.

He ordered that he have six-month alcohol treatment and 35 days of probation’s intensive Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

Caine was also fined £1,000 for breaching his original suspended sentence.

The judge also ordered that his phones and computers be forfeited.

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A FORMER teacher has been deemed to pose a significant risk to members of the public after he made arrangements to commit sexual acts on an '11-year-old girl'.

Nigel Peter Grigg communicated on messaging platform Kik with a man called 'John' who had said he was willing to provide his 'daughter' for sexual activities.

'John' was in fact an officer from the police South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU).

Grigg arranged to meet 'John' and his 'daughter' with the intention of committing child sex offences.

The 69-year-old purchased presents for the 'girl', including items from Ann Summers.

Shortly after arriving at the agreed meeting point – McDonald's in Totton – he was arrested by police.

Sentencing Judge Robert Pawson said: "The facts of this case make chilling reading for any parent, or any person in fact."

Grigg was jailed for five years and issued with a two-year extended licence period at Bournemouth Crown Court after Judge Pawson deemed him to be a dangerous offender.

This was after he admitted a single charge of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence between March 4 and March 12 last year.

Prosecuting, Jane Rowley told the court Kik was being used by paedophiles and this activity was being investigated by the ROCU.

She said online communication took place between the defendant, using the display name Randy Peter, and the undercover police officer posing as adult male 'John'.

Ms Rowley said there was subsequent telephone contact between the two and two meetings were arranged.

The prosecutor said the evidence "clearly shows his sexual interests in children and efforts to groom the child".

Grigg posted on Kik he was "looking for anyone near Bournemouth and interested in taboo family fun".

"Conversation from the outset was sexual," said Ms Rowley.

Dorset Police's Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), a specialist team who work with partner agencies to identify offenders operating online and protect vulnerable children from sexual exploitation, assisted in the case, which culminated in Grigg being arrested and charged.

Mitigating, Kevin Hill said Grigg, of Croft Road, Poole, had no previous convictions and had shown "a lot of remorse".

Mr Hill said his client had referred himself to get help for his sexual offending since his crime was committed.

Summarising the case, Judge Pawson said Grigg had "boasted" on Kik that he had "done a 13[-year-old] in Thailand".

The defendant had time to reconsider his actions and time to realise the risk and the magnitude of what he was doing, said Judge Pawson.

Grigg was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

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A man who attacked a vulnerable woman after she confided in him about being sexually abused as a child has had his sentence increased.

Michael Smith, 26, from Bitton in South Gloucestershire, raped the victim following a party in August 2017.

Earlier in the evening she had told him she was very anxious about having sexual intercourse because of her experiences as a child, but he removed her clothing while she was asleep and attacked her.

When the victim threatened to report him, Smith made a false allegation to the police that she was harassing him, despite apologising for the incident in previous text messages to her.

Smith, who was employed by Bristol Ambulance Service, admitted to colleagues he had raped the woman and they also reported the incident to the police.

Police found four extreme pornographic images on his phone – one of which Smith had disseminated to his friends via WhatsApp.

Smith eventually pleaded guilty to one count of rape and four counts of possession of extreme pornography at Bristol

Sentencing judge Julian Lambert took into consideration Smith's age, his good character and his pleas of guilty, as well as the current problems in the prison system caused by the pandemic.

But Attorney General Suella Braverman argued at the High Court that Smith had been treated too leniently considering the impact of the offence on the victim.

During the appeal the court heard the victim was left feeling worthless and dirty, and even three years on from the attack could not contemplate having a relationship with a man.

Ms Braverman said the starting point should have been eight years, before both mitigation and the mandatory reduction in sentence due to guilty pleas were taken into account.

She also argued his four-month sentence for the extreme images should not run concurrently to Smith's sentence for rape, as the offences were unrelated to the attack.

Increasing Smith's sentence for rape to five years and three months, Lady Justice Macur said: "This sentence should not have been reduced below the bottom of the range before the discount was applied."

She added that the extreme images were a "separate category of offending" that call for consecutive sentencing, but reduced the sentence to three months to run concurrently on each count.

It brings Smith's total sentence to one of five years and six months.

Smith appeared at the hearing via video link, but could be seen with his head in his hands at the end of the ruling.

The Attorney General said after the hearing: "Smith's repulsive actions, and the extent to which he lied to cover up his guilt, were truly shocking and caused severe harm to the victim.

"I am pleased I was able to personally present this case and I welcome his sentence being increased."

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A "PREDATORY" man who lured a woman into his van and repeatedly raped her has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Shafiullah Zahid, 33, of Sirdar Road, Southampton, approached the woman, who was alone after a night out in Southampton, and spoke to her.

Southampton Crown Court heard that the victim was offered a lift home by Zahid, before he drove her to an unknown location and attacked her in his vehicle.

Zahid pleaded not guilty but was found guilty of two charges of rape after a trial.

Detective Constable Sue Hampton said: "I would like to commend the woman's courage for doing what she did and reporting the incident to the police.

"With her help, we have been able to identify a man who's behaviour we can only describe as predatory.

"From the start, Zahid completely disregarded his crime and at no point has he considered the impact he has had on this woman.

"We want to show you that no matter the circumstances, Hampshire Constabulary is committed to supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault and we will do everything we can to identify offenders and put them in front of a court."

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "If you've been the victim, please report rape or sexual assault as soon as possible.

"Even if you're not 100 per cent sure, we'd sooner hear from you so that we can make sure you're safe.

"If you're not ready to talk to the police just yet, that's OK.

"There are a range of places to get support, advice and medical help.

"You can speak to a number of organisations in confidence and what you tell them won't be shared with the police unless you ask for it to be."

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A SHOCKED mother discovered her 12-year-old daughter had exchanged sexualised messages and swapped indecent images with an older teenage boy, a court heard. Durham Crown Court was told she became concerned at her daughters secretive behaviour, being unwilling to allow her to scrutinise her phone early last year. When she finally insisted on checking its contents, she came across an unrecognised phone number and was told it was a mutual friend. It emerged her daughter had been exchanging messages via a chat room and text with a male, Shaun Williams, then aged 17, in which he inquired about intimate matters and asking her to send him sexual photographs, as well as mentioning that they should meet. Jane Waugh, prosecuting, said the girls mother immediately stopped her daughter communicating with Williams and inquired as to the nature of the photographs. The girl said he sent her pictures of his naked genitals and asked her to reciprocate. It was reported to police, who arrested Williams and seized his phone for analysis. Miss Waugh said the flavour of the messages became apparent, with Williams referring to the girl as, Babes, asking her about performing sexual acts. The exchanged pictures included one sent by the girl of herself in her underwear. Williams, now 18, of Westbourne Street, Stockton, admitted causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. The case was adjourned for preparation of a psychiatric report on the defendant. Chris Baker, mitigating, said the author was unable to confirm if Williams was on the autistic spectrum, but pointed to, other personality issues, as well as an adjustment disorder. But Mr Baker said he had jeopardised his future by his behaviour, having already affected his education. Judge Ray Singh said, in essence there was a form of grooming of a 12-year-old girl, which only ended when her mother discovered the nature of the messages. The judge said although Williams has some mental health issues, in my view these do not provide meaningful mitigation. He imposed a two-year sentence in a young offenders institution and ordered that Williams should be subject to restrictions under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, as well as registration as a sex offender, both for ten years.

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ANDOVER paedophile Callum Lee Bates has avoided a prison sentence after admitting to breaching his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to speak to a 13-year-old boy on the dating app Grindr. The 21-year-old, from Andover, was sentenced to a three-year community order at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday (February 4). The court heard how Bates is a unique case due to his complex learning difficulties and naivety. Wesley Potterton, prosecuting, told the court how Bates, having been sentenced to a five-year SHPO in April 2018, was prohibited from unsupervised contact with any male child under the age of 16. However, in February of last year, police had concerns about the contact Callum Bates had been having on Grindr, after it was raised by probation officers and other agencies. Officers seized his phone and computer and found messages on the Grindr app which indicates he had contact with a child who indicated that he was 13, Mr Potterton told the court. He added: They started off with some sexual messages, but on the basis at that point that Mr Bates was under the impression that he was 18. But it becomes clear that he becomes aware he is under the age of consent. There are no sexual messages from the point it is clear that Mr Bates knows that the child is under 18 years of age, but contact does continue when clearly it is prevented by the sexual harm prevention order. Speaking on the seriousness of the offence, Mr Potterton said: Crown accepts it cant be identified if the child exists or in fact, is under 16 or not, but would point out what he has done is carried on messaging the child and clearly should have stopped as soon as he became aware he was 13. Those are not just innocent messages about friendship. There have been previous sexually charged messages between them. In mitigation, Lucy Conroy, defending, called it a unique case and urged the judge to consider a community order and mental health programme requirement. She said: It is a unique case in this particular area of the law, in the type of defendant Mr Bates is. We see very regularly individuals who are out to prey on the young of society. That is not this defendant. Ms Conroy told the court that Bates has a low IQ and is functioning in only the third percentile of cognitive ability at 21 years of age. That in and of itself is cause for concern, she said. This is a case that is crying out for somebody to tackle the route cause of Mr Bates behaviour, which seems to be his cognitive difficulties. When the order was first put in place he had just come out as gay, was struggling with that, and turned to Grindr which reports to be an app for those over 18. There is a naivety, in my submission, to his behaviour online that needs to be addressed. The doctor who carried out a psychiatric assessment of Bates - who has been diagnosed with autism - recommended an 18-month mental health programme. It is clearly work, in my submission, that cant be done in a custodial setting, but it is vital, both to the community at large and Mr Bates, that it is done, said Ms Conroy. She urged the judge to allow professionals to strike while the iron is hot, as Bates has already begun weekly therapy sessions aimed at working on interests off the computer and developing tangible friendships in the real world which he does not currently have. Ms Conroy stressed the important role of Bates mother, Mrs Grant, in his life, and of carers who attend his house three times a week to help him control his diabetes. She said: That gives a flavour of how little Mr Bates can be responsible for his own care. Addressing Bates, Judge Angela Morris said: You are now 21-years-old Mr Bates and I must consider that usually doing what you did would mean that you would go to prison today. She added: But I also have to look at the reports. It is clear that you have a complex series of learning difficulties and that is a very strong factor in your case. I have come to the conclusion that imposing an immediate custodial sentence on you today would not in any real sense address your offending behaviour and protect other people in the future, particularly young people, and protect you from yourself. Judge Morris sentenced Bates to a three-year community order, with a mental health treatment requirement, also for three years. Bates must also take part in 60 days of rehabilitation activities, including the adapted sex offender treatment programme. He will remain subject to his existing sexual harm prevention order until 2023. I am satisfied that there is a doctor who will oversee your treatment, so there are many people that are going to look after you, said Judge Morris. If you do not attend, it will put you in breach of this order and you will come back before me and if that happens, Mr Bates, you will go to prison. You must help yourself in order for others to help you too.

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A Cheltenham man who racially and sexually threatened his female probation officer with a tirade of graphic hateful messages and phone calls has been jailed for two years and four months.

Gloucester Crown Court heard yesterday (Feb 2) that when the probation officer turned on her work phone on August 10 last year she had numerous messages and two voicemails from Sonny Rogers, 21, of Grosvenor Street, Cheltenham.

Prosecutor Lucie Stoker said the voicemails were 'particularly graphic' and added They were directed at the probation officer and contained threats of sexual violence towards her.

The messages were very graphic and threatened the woman with female genital mutilation. Rogers told her to 'get ready for nine inches of a prime 20-year-old manhood.'

Other messages included threats of terrorism acts towards her and other extreme acts of sexual violence towards her. This included stating that he was going to cut her womb and ovaries out and saying that he would smash her face in so it would be black and blue.

He suggested that the woman was subjected to sexual abuse when she was a child and he stated that he wanted to have sex with her as if she was a little girl.

Rogers also used the 'N word' towards the woman on numerous occasions and threatened to throw battery acid over her."

The court heard a recording of a seven minute call made by Rogers who vented his thoughts to the woman, without pausing.

Judge Ian Lawrie QC commented: While the content wasnt clear, the tone and the delivery certainly was.

The language is extreme and because of the nature of the threats it nudges the severity of this offending upwards.

The court was told that Rogers had previously been in prison for accessing child and extreme pornography and had been released on licence that required him to keep in contact with his probation supervisor.

The probation officer said she had been working in the sector for 14 years and had never been subjected to such abuse before. She is now uncomfortable in making home visits on her own, she said.

Joe Maloney defending, said: Rogers has a Jekyll and Hyde quality about him. He is a pleasant and personable man who has written to the court and the probation officer to apologise for his actions. "

Judge Lawrie interjected: His behaviour is so appalling that a mere apology does not cut any ice.

Mr Maloney added: Rogers accepts that he will receive a custodial sentence. However he is aggrieved that he was not properly assisted by probation in that they did not engage with him to address his sexual problems.

Rogers pleaded guilty to harassment by putting a woman in fear of violence between August 8 and 10, 2020 and sending the woman by means of electronic communications messages that were grossly offensive, obscene and menacing on August 11, 2020.

Judge Lawrie told Rogers: In sentencing terms you present the court with a dilemma as these offences cause me great concern. They demonstrate irrational behaviour, offensive behaviour in respect of a woman trying to help you.

Ive read all the messages you sent the woman and listened to that lengthy call. They are rampant, offensive and insulting. Your actions have installed an enormous amount of fear for the woman.

You went beyond the boundaries of decency because of your emotional graphic terms towards her.

I have no option that only an immediate custodial term will reflect the gravity of your irrational and alarming offending.

I take the view your actions were persistent, extreme in nature and I think in your current condition, you are dangerous."

Judge Lawrie sentenced Rogers to a jail term of two years and four months and imposed an indefinite restraining order not to contact the woman. He also ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of 190.

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A teacher and university worker caught with sick videos of children was finally jailed five years after being arrested.

However, despite possessing videos which were in the most serious Category A and lasted up to forty minutes, German national Olaf Raetzel is likely to be released within a matter of weeks.

Preston Crown Court, sitting at Burnley Crown Court, heard that Raetzel, 51, was arrested in Ormskirk in 2015 but failed to turn up for a police appointment.

He started a new life in Dublin where, despite his perverted past, he was working as a content moderator for a social media company.

He was detained again in September last year on a European Arrest Warrant and brought before a special High Court session which granted his extradition.

More than five years on from a police raid at his home in West Lancashire, he pleaded guilty in December to three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Prosecuting, Eleanor Gleeson said police seized a laptop, USB device and Samsung tablet in May 2015 and recovered 21 files containing the sick photographs and videos.

In total, there were seven videos classed as Category A, five videos in Category B and nine Category C photographs.

However, there were further inaccessible files whose names alluded to illicit content, while his browser history was also suggestive of illegal content.

The youngest children seen in the videos were estimated to be aged between five and eight, while the majority involved girls believed to be girls aged 9-15. The videos ranged between two to 39 minutes long.

Raetzel, now of no fixed address, gave no comment in interview and was released on bail, only to fail to turn up to an appointment at Ormskirk police station in November of that year.

Defending, Peter Holden said Raetzel came to the UK in the early 90s and had undertaken a degree in Theoretical Physics. He then started a PHD before moving into teaching and went on to a job as a learning technology development officer at Ormskirks Edge Hill University.

Mr Holden said: It was an unhappy time for him in Lancashire and he began to engage in the activities outlined in the pre-sentencing report.

Mr Holden admitted that the perverts refusal to attend a police appointment painted a picture of a man who panicked and fled justice.

But he said that Raetzel had no previous convictions in Europe or the UK and had committed no further offences in the Republic of Ireland.

His devices were searched upon his latest arrest and no further illegal images were found.

Sentencing, Judge Sara Dodd said that had Raetzel been brought before the court in 2015, he would likely have been handed a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

However, as that time has now passed and no further offences committed, this was no longer deemed necessary to protect the public.

She handed Raetzel a five month sentence, of which he will serve no more than half.

The two months already served in Preston since the hearing at the lower court count towards that time, meaning he is likely to be released within weeks.

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This is the face of a vile paedophile who has been jailed for sexually abusing a girl, toddler and a baby.

Christopher Mark Parkes has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the sickening offences.

The 48-year-old's offending came to light when the oldest of his victims, a teenage girl, told her mother that she had been assaulted by him..

She told her mum that Parkes had started "blackmailing" her, asking for sexual activity.

Further investigations into the paedophile showed he had also abused a toddler.

Parkes, from Vardon Way, Kings Norton, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on January 21, where he was jailed for 17 years and three months.

He had pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, one count of voyeurism and three counts of making indecent images of a child.

He will also be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Parkes committed the offences between January 2019 and August 2020 against his three victims.

When police raided his property, they found images of some of the abuse including that of the very young children on the defendants phone.

Parkes initially denied the charges but changed his plea after overwhelming evidence was presented to him.

West Midands Police released a picture of Parkes.

Julia McSorley, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: This was a distressing case and our thoughts are with the young victims and their families.

"Christopher Parkes is an extremely dangerous man with a perverted sexual interest in very young children, including a baby and a toddler.

"It is rightly so that he has received a lengthy prison sentence which reflects the seriousness of his offending. He will now be in prison where he can no longer be a danger to other children.

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A Norfolk man who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl was discovered after the victim's mother saw the offender on a phone watching her sleep, a court has heard.

Simon Price, 40, met a girl on a gaming platform in November 2019 when he said he was 26 and the victim said she was older than she was.

Norwich Crown Court heard after a while conversations between the two moved to Instagram and became more personal, including his medical illnesses and her difficulties.

Benedict Peers, prosecuting, said "conversation became increasingly flirtatious".

Price, of The Fallows, Taverham, began behaving as if they were in a relationship.

The conversation became more sexualised and they exchanged images and videos as well as live streaming each other.

Mr Peers said there came a time when the victim blocked Price on Instagram but he contacted her on other social media sites.

The court was told she was to tell police she felt "guilty" due to his medical history.

In March last year Price drove down to the south coast where he picked up the victim and sexually assaulted her in the back of his car on the sea front.

The victim told police she "froze" during the course of the assaults.

Mr Peers said following the sexual assaults Price "encouraged" her to self harm and said "he wanted to help her do it".

The offences came to light after the victim's mother came into her bedroom in May last year and found her asleep.

But "she could see a man watching her during a live stream video on her phone".

Police were contacted and Price was later identified.

A victim impact from the teenager described how she had been self harming more and did not feel safe being on her own anymore.

She said she found it hard to trust people because she did not want to be lied to.

A victim statement from her mother described the "horror" she felt at what had happened and how it affected her daughter as well as her, her partner and other daughter.

She also could not put out of her mind the picture of her daughter asleep next to the phone with the defendant watching.

Price appeared in court for sentence on Monday, February 1 having previously admitted an offence of an adult meeting a girl under 16 following grooming and two counts of sexual activity with a girl.

He also admitted an offence of engaging in sexual communication with a child and one count of making an indecent photo of a child.

Price was given an extended sentence of 10 years four months made up of five and a half years in custody with an additional five years on licence.

Judge Andrew Shaw said Price posed a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public.

He said Price had "lied about your age" and groomed her before committing the sexual assaults on her.

Price was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and put on the sex offenders' register for life.

Andrew Oliver, mitigating, said the best mitigation he could advance were his guilty pleas which demonstrated his contrition.

He said it was clear the victim was vulnerable to his grooming and had suffered a deterioration in her mental health.

But Mr Oliver said it was a deterioration in the mental health of the defendant, who suffers from multiple personality disorder, which precipitated these offences.

He added Price suffered abuse as a child himself during a severely traumatic childhood.

Mr Oliver said Price had believed the victim to be older but by the time he committed the physical offences against her "knew her true age".

He referred to it as the "biggest mistake of my life" and is appalled he harmed a child in the way he was harmed as a child.