Latest Offenders

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A MAN who carried out horrific sex attacks at a children's home has been jailed. Willy John Gillham, 64, committed offences including rape and indecent assault at the former Palmerston House children's home on Botley Road, Romsey. After he was jailed for 15 years at Southampton Crown Court the NSPCC said Gillham's actions "betrayed [the victim] in the worst possible way". Gillham, who had moved to France, was found guilty of indecent assault and three counts of rape relating to incidents that happened in the 1980s. An NSPCC statement says: Gillhams victim was in a setting which should have been entirely safe. "Instead they were betrayed in the worst possible way by someone who should have been protecting them from harm. "His victim may have waited a long time for justice but it is in part thanks to their bravery that Gillham was brought before the courts, solid proof that it is never too late to speak out about past abuse. "Sexual abuse ruins childhoods and the devastating effects can last into adulthood without the right support. "We hope the victim in this case has received the available help so they can move forward with their life."

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A teacher who had a "full-blown sexual relationship" with a 15-year-old boy has been jailed for 16 months. Alice McBrearty, 23, admitted the four-month relationship with a pupil she taught at an east London school. Snaresbrook Crown Court heard McBrearty kissed the youngster in a classroom, and had sex with him at her parents' home in Wanstead Park, east London. She pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust. 'Besotted' Prosecutors said the relationship began when the teacher sent the boy a friend request on Facebook. Barrister Lisa Matthews said the teenager, who cannot be named, "felt special" and "appeared to be besotted" with McBrearty. The court heard the pair met in several locations, including a hotel room McBrearty had booked, and had sexual contact. Their relationship ended when the boy's father contacted police. McBrearty put her head in her hands and sobbed when she was sentenced by Judge Sheelagh Canavan. The judge described her as a "bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong," but who had committed the "grossest breach of trust". 'Fall from grace' "You engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child," she said. "I accept he was consenting - what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer? "I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didn't matter. But it did. "You were supposed to keep him safe, to help him make the right decisions. Instead, you helped him make all the wrong ones." Emma Shafton, defending, said her client, who is no longer a teacher, has had "a spectacular fall from grace". "She has been utterly disgraced by this," she added.

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In 2017, (Then aged 14-years-old) Casey cooke from Plymouth was locked up for at least four years and three months after he admitted raping a boy aged six and sexually abusing a two-year-old.

Cooke had pleaded guilty to a total of five offences four of causing or inciting a child into sexual activity and one count of rape.

The court was told that Cooke was left in the company of a two-year-old boy.

The toddlers mother returned to the room to find the younger boys privates out of his nappy and appeared sore and red.

Cooke who was 13 at the time was then discovered to have been telling people at school that he had performed an indecent act upon the toddler.

Police were called and interviewed Cooke who in turn made a full admission.

At the time, with input from a number of authorities including the NSPCC, his school, social workers and the Plymouth Youth Offending Team, police agreed that a caution was the most appropriate course of action.

However the parents of the toddler were not content with the caution being offered.

His sexual offending continued and a few months later Cooke had gone on a trip with a six-year-olds extended family and other children.

He took the younger boy to a toilet cubicle where he performed two indecent acts upon the younger boy.

Later that month, Cooke had again gone with the six-year-olds family and other children to a fast food restaurant as a treat.

As they were walking home, the adult accompanying the children realised they could not see the teen nor the six-year-old.

Retracing his steps he heard screaming and found the six-year-old pinned against a wall, being raped by the teen who had his hand over the younger boys mouth.

When the very very upset boy got home he revealed that 14-year-old Cooke had also performed an indecent act upon him prior to the rape. He also finally revealed the previous sexual assaults on when the teen had urged him not to tell anyone.

Cooke was sentenced to four years and three months. His release date is due within next few months.

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Police have arrested a paedophile who went missing on the same day he was convicted of 16 offences.

David Hart, from Morriston, Swansea, failed to show up at the city's crown court for the last day of his trial on Tuesday.

Hart, a 60-year-old taxi driver, was arrested by South Wales Police at an address in Morriston on Wednesday.

His victim was just 11 or 12 when he began a campaign of abuse, which lasted for 14 years.

Officers said the hunt for Hart was "immediately treated as a top priority".

Hart was convicted of 12 charges of rape, two of indecent assault, one of assault by penetration and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Tuesday.

'Life-changing consequences'

Judge Geraint Walters said his victim had described "some of the gravest sexual offences".

He adjourned sentencing, saying Hart faced "many years" in prison.

During the trial, the court heard some of the abuse was carried out in front of a camera with hundreds of people watching at times.

Hart's victim said the abuse had caused extreme pain and she thought she may have been drugged.

She told police: "I blame myself. I never did enough to stop him. I had opportunities to stop him but I was too afraid. I hate myself. I feel disgusted I let him do these things. I dream of it."

Judge Walters said it "obviously leaves a permanent psychological mark" and "someone can't be subjected to this behaviour without life-changing consequences".

It was thought Hart been admitted to Morriston Hospital, but police discovered he was not there.

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A HAMPSHIRE man is lucky be alive after a savage knife attack by his neighbour. Whitney Palmer was the victim of the attack by friend Peter Smith outside their homes in Woolston, Southampton, The 62-year-old could have died after he was repeatedly stabbed by convicted rapist Smith when he turned up on his porch late at night. Smith, of Radstock Road, is today beginning a 12 year jail sentence after a court heard how he lunged at the victim on his doorstep when he opened his front door, narrowly missing major arteries as he stabbed him twice. Winchester Crown Court was told the exact motive was unclear but that Smith seemed to have developed a grudge for the victim over money. The court heard the 53-year-old, who was found guilty of the attack at a previous hearing, was under the influence of alcohol at the time, but did not appear drunk to police officers when he was arrested. Judge Jane Miller QC said the attack was launched without any precipitating cause and that the victim had been amazingly lucky to survive the assault. It is quite clear the effect the attack has had upon him. He could so easily have died, she said. Prosecuting Dawn Hyland referred to Smiths previous conviction of rape for which he has served four years in prison. In a statement Mr Palmer said he had suffered nerve damage in his leg and as a result of the knife attack at around 10pm on March 5, and now found it difficult to move around. He added: I have not slept well since the assault and experience feelings of dread on a daily basis, he said. I still cant comprehend what happened to me really. I could easily be dead now. He added that Smith was, a very unpredictable and dangerous person. Mitigating, Jamie Swain admitted that Smith had caused nasty injuries, but that he would not want to hurt anyone in that way ever again. He added that Smith, a joiner, had been friendly to other neighbours, even offering to build items for them and buying them things. Smith remained expressionless when he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, hearing that he would serve at least nine years behind bars before being considered for parole.

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A 55-year-old man has been given a suspended prison sentence after he was caught attempting to groom under-age girls in sting operations by two separate groups of vigilante paedophile hunters. Mark Gaudion pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and a count of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. Dawn Hyland, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court that Gaudion had contacted the fake profile of a teenage girl called Becksy Baby on the online dating website Waplog. She said the profile had been set up by a vigilante group called Predator Hunters and clearly stated the age of the girl was 14. Ms Hyland said that the defendant sent 57 messages to the profile, including an explicit photograph. She said that Gaudion went on to arrange for the girl to come to stay at his home but at the rendezvous in April he was confronted by four members of the group Predator Hunters, and the police were called to arrest him. Ms Hyland said that when police searched his home, they found that Gaudion, of Bordon, had engaged in similar online conversations with another fake profile, a 13-year-old girl called Amy, set up by a different group called Dark Justice. Karen Dempsey, defending, said that Gaudion was a "vulnerable man" with borderline learning disabilities and a low IQ. She said: "He has accepted his guilt, it has been difficult to explain to him, he is a vulnerable man who has challenges both in terms of his learning difficulties and his IQ." Judge Jane Miller QC sentenced Gaudion to 15 months' imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of community service. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order. She told him: "This is your first offence, you are clearly a man with difficulties and I believe you deserve at least one chance. "I think you need some help to understand what you have done so you do not do it again." She said that the defendant had denied having sexual interest in children and said that the messages had been just his "wicked sense of humour". Judge Miller said that the defendant had attended a special school as a child and had been "bullied enormously" and she had been advised that he could be subjected to "sexual exploitation and bullying" if sent to prison. Earlier this week, the BBC Inside Out programmed revealed a rise in similar cases involving online vigilante groups. Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for child protection, told the programme: "I'm not going to condone these groups and I would encourage them all to stop, but I recognise that I am not winning that conversation and I am not winning that moral argument."

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A SEXUAL predator who encouraged young girls to send sexually explicit images is now behind bars.

Craig Stewart, of Clay Lane, Burtonwood, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on September 14 after pleading guilty to a string of sexual offences.

The court heard how suspicions were raised about the 33-year-old’s behaviour as part of an investigation by British Transport Police in July 2016 into the exploitation of a 15-year-old girl.

When detectives examined the victim’s phone, they identified a series of conversations between her and Stewart.

He was then arrested in September 2016.

Using the alias of John Edwards, the defendant sent messages to a number of young girls, and asked them to share explicit photos of themselves.

Stewart used photographs of unknown teenage boys in order to persuade his unsuspecting victims to send explicit pictures of themselves to him.

He also made efforts to try to meet with his victims, who were from around the country, although this never materialised.

Stewart pleaded guilty to five counts of causing or inciting child prostitution or pornography, eight counts of making indecent images of a child and one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

DC Olly Saunders, from British Transport Police, said: “Stewart used an alias of a young boy in order to groom the girls.

“Over a period of time he exploited a number of young girls for his own sexual gratification. The steps he took in order to lure his victims into sharing extremely personal photographs was disgraceful.

“Stewart knew full well that the girls he was speaking with were below the age of 16.

“When we examined his mobile phone and laptop we uncovered some 120 indecent images and videos of children.”

Stewart was also handed a sexual harm prevention order by Judge Anil Murray.

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A man jailed for more than three years for grooming what he thought was an 11-year-old girl took condoms to meet 'her' at Baths KFC restaurant.

David Taylor, aged 45, of Rodwell Park in Trowbridge, made online sexual approaches to the fictional 11-year-old girl before arranging to meet her in Bath in April.

However, when he arrived at the fast food chain he was confronted by a self-styled paedophile hunter who had been pretending to be the girl.

Taylor admitted attempting to meet a girl under the age of 16 following grooming and attempting to cause/incite a female child to engage in sexual activity at Swindon Crown Court on August 1.

He was due to be sentenced on August 25, but the hearing was adjourned until Friday (Sept 14), where he was jailed for three years and four months.

The court heard how police launched an investigation and traced Taylor from a video of the confrontation posted on Facebook.

After being arrested at his home in Trowbridge, Taylor told police he had taken condoms with him to the meeting outside the KFC restaurant.

James Haskell, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court: "It seems this person had effectively sought to emulate what is referred to as 'paedophile hunters' and that person engaged in online chat conversations with the defendant pretending to be an 11-year-old girl.

"The defendant engaged in conversations with that person believing it was a child under 13. He sent photographs of himself and he engaged in conversations of a sexually explicit nature."

Simon Goodman, defending, said Taylor was an inadequate man and had been suffering recently from mental health problems and had probably never had a proper relationship.

Taylor was jailed for 40 months for attempting to meet a girl under the age of 16 following grooming.

He also received another 40-month sentence to be severed concurrently for attempting to cause/ incite a female child to engage in sexual activity.

He denied a third count of trying to meet a child after sexual grooming and that was left to lie on the file.

Taylor was also given a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

An NSPCC spokesman for South West England said: Taylor groomed his young victim with the sole intention of earning her trust so he could meet her, and go on to sexually abuse and exploit her.

He was fully aware of her age but continued with his despicable behaviour regardless.

This kind of predatory activity can ruin childhoods, with the devastating effects lasting into adulthood.

Taylor must be policed effectively on his release from prison to help reduce any risk he poses to children.

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Steven Joyce preyed on four vulnerable boys when he should have been looking after them A twisted pensioner who serially abused boys at a north Devon boarding school in the 1980s had his too soft sentence doubled by senior judges today. Steven John Joyce, 66, preyed on four vulnerable schoolboys when he should have been guarding their welfare, London's Appeal Court heard. He cynically groomed the youngsters by giving them sweets and chocolate eggs, and encouraged them to think of him as a father figure. Joyce's job at the school was to act as "house-parent" with special responsibility for the pupils' pastoral care. One victim claimed Joyce had "ruined his life", Lord Justice Davis told the court. Another told how Joyce regularly took him out of his dormitory at night to abuse him. Joyce, of Erme Drive in Ivybridge, faced investigations in 1991 and 2011, but it was only in May last year that he was finally brought to book. He was handed a sentence of seven years and two months after admitting a string of sex crimes - including 11 indecent assaults and two attempts at buggery. But his case reached the Appeal Courtas lawyers for the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, called for a much tougher sentence. Lord Justice Davis ruled that the sentence was "far, far too low" - and doubled it to 14 years and four months. Joyce's own lawyers conceded that his sentence was "low", but insisted it was "not unduly lenient". Lord Justice Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Stuart-Smith and Mr Justice Soole, took account of Joyce's age and poor health. But he ruled: "With all due respect to the judge, we have no doubt at all that this sentence was unduly lenient."

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A former Church of England priest has been found guilty of torturing and sexually abusing two schoolboys in the 1980s and 90s.

Jonathan Graves, 60, of Eastbourne, East Sussex, restrained the children, who were aged between 12 and 14, using belts and straps, and then beat them.

At the time, he was the vicar at St Luke's Church in Stone Cross.

He was convicted at Hove Crown Court of 12 offences between 1987 and 1992 and will be sentenced on Monday.

Graves, of Jervis Avenue, was cleared of five similar charges, including one offence of indecent assault on a 50-year-old woman in 2002, following a nine-day trial.

The court heard how he groomed the boys, plied them with alcohol and tricked them into playing sadistic forfeit games.

Graves was first arrested by police in 2005 following a single complaint.

He was temporarily suspended from working in Sussex churches three years later.

Det Insp Jon Gross, of the Sussex Police Public Protection Command, said the past had "caught up" with Graves.

"The evidence in this case has revealed how he used his position to select his victims and befriend them before callously abusing them for his own sexual gratification.

"His crimes have had a lasting impact upon those he abused.

"The hurt caused by the sexual abuse itself has undoubtedly been compounded by the psychological scars of the abuser being a trusted and influential figure in each of the victims' lives."

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A man who "savagely" murdered a college student at a beauty spot has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years.

Mark Buckley, 52, killed 18-year-old Ellen Higginbottom in a "chilling" and "sexually motivated pre-meditated" attack in June at Orrell Water Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

Buckley, of New Hall Lane, Preston, admitted the charge at a previous hearing at Manchester Crown Court.

Miss Higginbottom was planning to marry boyfriend Ryan Warren, the court heard.

Judge David Stockdale QC described the murder as "cowardly and callous".

The murder was sexually motivated, the court heard, but the victim was chosen at random, police said.

He said the facts of the case were "frankly chilling".

Ellen was reported missing on 16 June after failing to return home from Winstanley College.

A post-mortem examination confirmed she died from multiple wounds to the neck. Police said she was killed at about 14:00 BST.

Her body was found the next day.

'Beyond imagining'

Slightly-built Miss Higginbottom, who did not know her attacker, was not able to physically offer much resistance in the attack, the judge said.

The Honorary Recorder of Manchester told the defendant: "Despite that, her wounds indicated that she tried albeit in vain to defend herself."

He said Buckley who was armed with a knife subjected her to a "savage and brutal attack".

"She would have had no idea it was coming" and was "caught entirely off her guard".

"She simply did not stand a chance. What must have been going through her mind is beyond imagining."

The court heard Buckley took the psychology student's laptop and mobile phone and fled.

Buckley later returned to the park and moved her body which he then intended to bury when it was dark, the court heard.

He was thwarted as a police helicopter with heat-seeking equipment hovered overhead and he made off, the court heard.

Buckley was later arrested and admitted killing Miss Higginbottom but could offer no explanation for his actions.

Neil Fryman, prosecuting, told the court at a previous hearing: "There was a sexual motivation for this offence and also it was pre-meditated."

'Pointless and idiotic'

The court heard Miss Higginbottom was planning to marry her boyfriend.

The judge said: "Although they were young, the couple was already planning to marry and they were planning ahead to having children.

"All that is now lost to Ryan Warren."

Following sentencing, Ellen's father Mike Higginbottom said: "There can never be anything even remotely approaching justice for what was done to Ellen."

He continued: "We were tremendously lucky to have shared 18 years with her and everyone else who knew her will identify with that feeling.

"She made the world a better place with pretty much everything she said and everything she did."

He said having her taken away in such a "pointless and idiotic fashion fills us with an anger and resentment that does not represent who we want to be".

Mr Higginbottom added: "But we wrestle it under control and learn to be better at being people. Because that's what adults do."

"So if there's anyone else out there thinking of doing anything even half this stupid, just take one piece of advice. Grow up."

'Random attack'

David Graham from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Mark Buckley went out that day equipped with a knife to carry out a violent assault.

"He spent a number of hours that morning looking for a lone female to attack."

He said: "We believe he selected his victim at random, and Ellen Higginbottom was simply walking through the park at the time he chose to attack, with tragic consequences."

Det Supt Howard Millington from Greater Manchester Police said: "Buckley callously killed Ellen in broad daylight.

"He attacked her in the most brutal way as she was walking around Orrell Water Park before going to meet her friends who were taking their exams."

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A man who was jailed for trying to meet schoolgirl Kayleigh Haywood for sex in the days before she was raped and murdered will be freed after top judges reduce his sentence.

Bruce John Cordwell, of Raleigh Street in Nottingham, was locked up for 43 months at Chester Crown Court in February.

He admitted trying to arrange the commission of a child sexual act.

But his case reached London's Appeal Court today as he successfully challenged his sentence - which was cut to just 12 months.

Given automatic deductions, the court heard Cordwell has now "served his sentence" and is due for immediate release.

20-year-old Cordwell, sent 15-year-old Kayleigh a series of sexually explicit texts just days before she was raped and murdered by 29-year-old Stephen Beadman.

Her body was found dumped near a lake in Ibstock in Leicestershire.

The discovery came five days after Kayleigh, who was from Measham, was last seen getting off a bus near Ibstock Community College.

Beadman was last year handed a life sentence after he admitted the teenager's murder.

An accomplice, 28-year-old Luke Harlow who initially made contact with Kayleigh, was jailed for 12 years for grooming and falsely imprisoning her.

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Paul Mountain, 26, was sentenced to five years and three months at the conclusion of his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court A Great Baddow "menace" jailed for the rape of a 15-year-old girl and the sexual touching of a 14-year-old was on bail for grooming a vulnerable teen when he was arrested, a court heard. Paul Mountain, 26, was sentenced to five years and three months at the conclusion of his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (February 27). Mountain, formerly of Park View Crescent, was arrested by Essex Police after raping a girl, on June 1, 2013 and sexually touching another girl on three occasions between July and September 2013. Neither victims can be named for legal reasons. Mountain was found guilty by a majority jury for rape, and unanimously on the three counts of touching, which the jury found to have a sexual element. Prosecutor Emma Nash spoke of the rape victim's particular vulnerabilities, and claimed that Mountain was well aware of them. The court heard that Mountain, who has ADHD and is on anti-depressants, was on bail for another sex crime at the time of his arrest and has only recently completed a custodial sentence for grooming and sexually abusing another 14-year-old girl. Defence counsel Jacqueline Carey said: "Mr Mountain is actually extremely vulnerable himself. He gets on better with young people than with people his own age. "He cuts a rather forlorn character. He hoped for a career in biking. There's a concern for his well-being in custody. He's not been placed on a sexual offences course or rehabilitated. "He's someone with not a positive outlook but he does have the support of his mum and step-dad." Sentencing Mountain for rape, Judge Emma Peters said: "You were a grownup and she was a child. As well as that, she was a vulnerable child. "It is clear you are in a category of low intelligence, and have a number of psychological problems. It is also clear you are a man with vulnerabilities, but at times you are manipulative when you want to get your own way. "You took her for a walk, you knew what you were doing. When you sat opposite her you produced a condom and said 'let's have sex'. "She didn't want to have sex, she told you she didn't want to do that. She is more damaged now than she was before she met you." Commenting on the sexual touching charges, Judge Peters added: "You came into contact through friends. At no point did she ever tell you she wanted more from you than to be a friend. "To find herself receiving unwanted attention would be very upsetting for her." A sexual harm prevention order was already in place against Mountain, who will remain on the sex offender's register for life. "You have been a menace to young girls, young girls whose innocence you have taken away. I very much hope that you will be rehabilitated so that when when you're released you can start to associate with women of an appropriate age," said Judge Peters. "If you keep coming back to young girls, it will come back to you. For the rest of your days you will have to register with the police. Young girls will be safe from you." Commenting on the fact the case took more than three years to reach trial, she said: "I make no criticism of Essex Police. But this particular team in this particular case took far too long. You should have come to court much earlier." Mountain was sentenced to four years and nine months for rape, and six months for each count of sexual touching, to run consecutively to each other, but concurrently to the rape sentence. He will serve 31 months in custody before being released on licence.

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A MAN from Doncaster who had sex with a 14 year old girl in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been placed under supervision for one year. Neil Bolton, of Norfolk Avenue, Bircotes, was also given 150 hours of unpaid work and was placed on the sex offenders register for one year when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday. He previously pleaded guilty to using lewd, indecent and libidinous practises and behaviour towards the girl at a Lerwick address on various occasions or between 14 March 1989 and 13 March 1990, and repeatedly sexually penetrating her. Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie previously told Lerwick Sheriff Court that the complainer was 14 when she began a relationship with the man, who was aged 21-22 when the offences were committed, and is now 50. They were aware of each others ages, he said, adding that the relationship developed a sexual element. It ended a couple of months after the man was caught with the girl by his own mother, who expressed concern about the age difference. The offences came to light in 2015 when Bolton initially denied knowing her at all. At the court on Wednesday, defence agent Tommy Allan said a social work report prepared after his clients plea noted that there had been nearly 30 years since the offence. The solicitor said the report recommended that a period of supervision could be a suitable sentence. Sheriff Philip Mann said it was not an isolated incident as Bolton had a conviction for a similar offence committed not long after. But this was a consensual activity, so there was no element of coercion, he said. The sheriff said after taking into account the time since the incident and Boltons lack of offending since, he was persuaded that jail wasnt the only option.

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A man has been jailed for rape after his 19-year-old victim recorded herself pleading with her attacker to stop, and him later confessing to the crime, on her mobile phone.

Rhys Roser, 24, has been sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison for the 2015 attack.

Roser denied the charge when first arrested by police but then went on the run after hearing about the recording of the attack, and later pleaded guilty in court.

The attack took place in a flat in Maida Vale. The teenager managed to switch on her phones audio recorder when Roser first made unwanted advances, before she locked herself in a bathroom.

The recording proved that the victim, who was 19-years-old at the time, had told Roser to leave me alone, the prosecution said in court, the Daily Mirror reported.

After raping the teenager, Roser is heard saying on the recording: Youre not going to stand up in court and tell everyone you were raped, way too embarrassing.

Dont f****** tell anyone, its real simple.

According to Metro.co.uk, Recorder Matthew Lowe told Roser: You were heard saying that you had gone mad and were wrong in every way, and went on to plead with her not to report what happened and put pressure on her.

She describes it as emotional blackmail. What you did to her that night has had significant psychological and emotional effects.