Latest Offenders

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A Catholic priest who sexually abused two teenage boys at a seminary where he taught has been jailed for 18 years.

Michael Higginbottom, 76, was found guilty by a jury of five counts of serious sexual assault and seven counts of indecent assault following a re-trial.

The boys were abused as they boarded at St Joseph's College, a Catholic seminary in Upholland, Lancashire, which has now closed, in the 1970s and 80s.

During a two-week trial, jurors heard he 'regularly, systematically and horrifically' abused the boys.

Prosecutor David Temkin said: "They were both threatened with violence and both were struck with a strap or a belt."

The Crown Prosecution Service said he breached his position of trust 'in the most horrific way'.

Judge Andrew Woolman, sentencing Higginbottom on Tuesday, told him: "You were in the highest position of trust in relation to these boys, who you abused in a quite appalling way.

"I have no doubt that you specifically targeted these boys.

"These acts were accompanied, time after time, by threats or actual violence under the guise of a normal school punishment.

"The way you acted left them with a sense of shame and of guilt, as well as the sense that no-one would believe them if they complained."

The first victim came forward to police in 2016 to report he had suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse by Higginbottom between 1978 and 1979.

The second victim saw a TV news report on the initial trial in 2017 and recognised the priest because he sexually abused him too in the mid-1980s, the CPS said.

The boys did not attend the college at the same time and do not know each other.

But the CPS said they gave evidence of having suffered similar experiences when they were around the same age in Higginbottom's private quarters.

Wendy Chappell, a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Michael Higginbottom carried out a series of violent sexual assaults, often using a belt to threaten or hit them if the boys were not compliant.

"He carried out the offences whilst in a position of trust within the school and the community as a priest and a teacher, which he breached in the most horrific way.

"Through the case Higginbottom described the allegations as 'total lies' and claimed he did not remember either of the boys.

"However, after we presented the overwhelming evidence against him before the court, the jury found him unanimously guilty of all the charges he faced.

"I would like to pay tribute to the two victims for their immense courage in coming forward and re-living their traumatic experiences by giving evidence against their abuser, with the first victim having to re-live it a second time at the re-trial.

"I hope that following todays sentence that they will be able to find some closure.

Higginbottom, from Newcastle, denied all the charges he faced.

But after the re-trial at Burnley Crown Court, he was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault and seven counts of indecent assault in relation to the first victim, and one count of sexual assault in relation to the second victim.

Both victims can't be named for legal reasons.

The CPS said Higginbottom had originally been convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2017 of the offences in relation to the first victim, but faced a re-trial after they were quashed on appeal.

The re-trial included an additional charge in relation to the second victim.

Detective Sergeant Stephen Ollerton, of Lancashire Police, said: "This abuse has had a devastating effect on these boys throughout their now-adult lives and for many years."

The court heard Higginbottom would serve half his sentence in prison and half out on licence.

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A British army medic, who unwittingly bragged about sexually touching a child to an undercover Police officer in an online chat room, has been jailed for three years and ten months. Jersey-born Scott Robert Fitzgerald (41) appeared this morning in the Royal Court, where he was sentenced for touching a girl under 10 in a sexual way, and two counts of possessing indecent images of children. Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit, prosecuting, told the Court that Fitzgeralds offending was discovered due to contact between the defendant and an undercover Police Officer from the UK posing as a fellow sex offender on an online instant messaging platform using the pseudonym Chris. The Court heard that the defendant had unwittingly divulged his sexual interest in children to the undercover officer, believing him to be a like-minded man with a young daughter willing to meet up with Fitzgerald so that he could engage in sexual activity with her. The sexual touching offence took place when Fitzgerald was on leave from the British Army and after he and Chris had begun their online dialogue. Authorities in the UK alerted the States of Jersey Police when Fitzgerald had bragged to the officer about having touched the child sexually - which he described as tickling - telling him that she loved it." Fitzgerald had also sent Chris pictures of the girls underwear. The girl referred to in Court only as Child X was interviewed about the offence where she said that she and the defendant had had a little tickle". After Fitzgerald was arrested for the sexual touching offence, indecent images of children were found on his phone and laptop. There were 10 in total, but one was duplicated, meaning there were nine overall. Making recommendations for sentencing, Crown Advocate Maletroit said that Fitzgerald had positioned the child and tickled her in a manner that gave him sexual gratification. The prosecutor noted that during Fitzgeralds conversations with the Probation Service and with a psychologist and psychiatrist who were compiling background reports about him for the Court, he struggle[d] to take any responsibility for his actions. He claimed that he had made up a narrative to enable him to contribute to the chat room and attract others and that he was trying to catch the user out and right a wrong. The Crown Advocate also asked the Court to consider further evidence of alleged sexual misconduct carried out in the UK, including 31 more images found on a device at Fitzgeralds accommodation in the UK, and more online chat conversations purportedly showing he was seeking sexual contact with other children. He invited the Court to impose a prison sentence of four years as well as handing down orders which would restrict his contact with children under 16 and his internet use. Advocate Luke Sette, representing Fitzgerald, described the Crowns recommendation of a four-year jail term as excessive. He acknowledged that whilst the charge of sexual touching is unsavoury, it falls towards the lower end of the spectrum. Advocate Sette characterised his client as a broken man; a man that needed fixing, and, after attempting suicide in prison, someone now wanting to fix himself. The case was brought before a panel of five Jurats Austin-Vautier, Christensen, Blampied, Ramsden and Thomas who, sitting as the Superior Number only assemble to hear the most serious of cases. Handing down the Courts decision, the Deputy Bailiff addressed Fitzgerald directly, telling him: It is clear that you have a strong sexual interest in little children. He later added: It is of concern to us that you have minimised your behaviour. Deeming him to pose a threat of serious sexual harm, the Court sentenced him to a jail-term of three years and ten months. Fitzgerald will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for a minimum period of ten years. The Court also imposed a restraining order to prevent Fitzgerald from ever contacting his victim again.

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A Salford man has been jailed after an investigation into non-recent child sexual abuse.

Andrew Austin (03/11/1967), of Sumner Road, Irlam o’th Heights , has yesterday (Monday 29 July 2019) been sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to 26 years in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to-

• Four counts of rape
• Six counts of indecent assault
• Two counts of indecency with a child
• One count of sexual assault

He will also have to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Between 1998 and 2004, at a number of properties in Salford, Austin sexually abused four victims who were aged between eight and 16 at the time.

In August 2018, relatives of one of the victims – along with a charity worker – came forward to police and a full investigation was launched with Austin arrested.

During police interview Austin denied all offences but admitted his crimes before the case went to trial.

Description

A paedophile who forced a toilet door open to sexually assault a 13-year-old boy more than 30 years ago has been jailed for four and a half years.

Sick Ronald Webb, of Bath, befriended children in Swindon in the 1980s by forming a football team called Old Town United, which resulted in a number of them going back to his house in Winifred Street one lunchtime.

That day the victim, who is now in his 40s, went to use the bathroom when the now 76-year-old forced his way in and sexually assaulted him.

A court heard Webb, of Brook Road, Bath, also showed the children pornography.

He was sent to prison on Friday (July 26) after being found guilty of attempted buggery following a three-day trial earlier this month, according to Wiltshire Police.

The victim had reported the incident to police in 2017 after carrying the secret for three decades.

Webb was also given a 10-year restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.

Detective Sergeant Lawrence Billi, from Wiltshire Police, welcomed the jail sentence and said he hoped it showed justice could be served, even when offences were committed many years ago.

He said: "We know that very often in cases of childhood sexual abuse, victims do not feel able to talk about what happened to them, and can spend many years, even a whole lifetime, keeping their pain and trauma to themselves.

"I hope this case shows that if people do feel able to come forward and speak to police, that we will take them seriously and will do everything we can to support them and bring offenders to justice."

Description

Security guard, 53, who worked for One Direction, Stacey Solomon and Tulisa is jailed for seven years for pretending to be a taxi driver and sexually assaulting drunken clubber, 24 The 24-year-old victim told York Crown Court she believed her drink had been spiked during a night out in the city centre with friends. She said she felt mangy and totally out of it as she left Vudu. Dominic Spiteri, 53, Parliament Street, Norton, came up to her, said he was a taxi driver and offered to take her home on mates rates. Once they were alone in his vehicle, he started molesting her and took her to a lonely layby in the countryside, where he sexually assaulted her so hard, she was in pain for days afterwards. She said she couldnt stop him because of the state she was in but kept saying no. Spiteri, who worked as a doorman on city centre clubs, denied claiming to be a taxi driver or spiking her drink. He claimed from the witness box that she had introduced him to her friends inside Vudu. In the car, she had flirted with him and initiated sexual contact. He denied witness statements that the victim had vomited when they reached the hotel where her friends were staying. The jury convicted Spiteri, of sexual assault after four hours in retirement. The victim was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances, Judge Simon Batiste told Spiteri. She was alone in a taxi with you, late at night where she was obviously clearly incapable due to her intoxicated state.You took advantage of that. You have not shown one shred of remorse for your behaviour. This was a horrible attack. He jailed Spiteri for seven years, made a lifelong sexual harm prevention order forbidding him to have a woman alone with him in a car or contacting the victim in any way and put him on the sex offenders register for life. The victim cried as the jury returned their verdict at the end of a four-day trial. The judge said she had suffered considerable psychological harm . In a personal statement she said she felt violated, now couldnt trust men and didnt like to be alone with any man. Keith Allen, for Spiteri, said he was now suffering from depression and under the care of a psychiatrist. The victim told the jury she had been reluctant to go to the police initially because she had had a bad experience when she had been a complainant in a different case. The jury heard that the original police officer in charge of the Spiteri case had been taken off it. The victim said the officer had not carried out basic investigations or arranged for her to give her evidence via video link, as is standard in sex cases. The jury heard a second officer took over the case and gathered the evidence against Spiteri.

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A PAEDOPHILE ex-councillor who championed faster broadband speeds and blasted police as incompetent has been spared jail - despite downloading vile abuse images of children.

Damon Bower, who once served as vice-chairman of Haydon Wick Parish Council last year, had a short film on his iPhone showing a girl of between eight and 10 years of age being sexually assaulted. The 49-year-old had a small collection of indecent images on his mobile, together with fantasy stories detailing child abuse.

However, after hearing Bower had lost everything as a result of his conviction, a judge stepped short of jailing him – instead imposing a community order.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court police had visited the paedophile councillor's north Swindon home last June. They had received a tip-off that someone at the address had uploaded vile material to the internet, although no evidence was subsequently found to support that intelligence.

On Bower's mobile phone, detectives found a short film in the worst category, another short clip in the middle band and six images in the lower range.

He said, though not the subject of any charges, they also found a number of fantasy stories talking about child abuse on his devices.

"Once these were examined the defendant was interviewed. He admitted that he knew what indecent images of children were," Mr Meeke said.

"He accepted that he was the account holder and he said that he was vehemently opposed to child pornography because someone he knew had been raped at a young age and he would never let anyone hurt children.

"He accepted he had indulged in fantasy chat about child sex abuse. He couldn't remember how he received the images of child sexual abuse, he assumed it must have been through some sort of private messages. He accepted there would be some. He knew it was wrong and he apologised for it."

Bower, formerly of Oakhurst, but now living in Southsea, Hampshire, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

Emma Handslip, defending, said probation officers had assessed him as being a low risk of reoffending.

Bower had not had access to his children since last year and he no longer has a partner or his old job. Since his arrest she said he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and also made an attempt on his life.

"It is a man who has essentially lost everything," she said,

Imposing a three-year community order, Judge Peter Crabtree said: "It needs to be clear, if it isn't clear, this is a course I am taking which is a direct alternative to an immediate custodial sentence."

He pointed out that there was a relatively low number of images recovered by the police and probation believe he can be managed and rehabilitated in the community.

Bower must abide by a sex offenders' programme as directed, do 100 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation days and abide by a sexual harm prevention order.

He served as a Haydon Wick parish councillor from 2015 to July 2018, when he stepped down. He had served as vice-chairman of the council and subsequently as chairman of the planning committee.

Bower welcomed a parish revamp of children's play areas in late 2016, telling the Adver it showed what the council could do for the community.

In May 2017, he welcomed the prospect of faster broadband speeds as BT Openreach began installing new cables in north Swindon following a residents' campaign.

Later that year, he was quoted in the Adver grilling Wiltshire's police commissioner on the perceived lack of response from police in the face of gang violence in Haydon Wick. Residents were patrolling the streets because they felt police were "inept and incompetent".

Linda Brown, parish chairman said: "At no point in carrying out his parish duties had Damon reason to be alone with children. Whilst he was a councillor he gave us no cause for concern."

However, the sentence was welcomed by the NSPCC. A south west spokesman said: "The children in these abhorrent images and videos are victims of abuse and may have suffered greatly in order for them to be created.

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A paedophile who incited an 11-year-old boy to commit a sex act by targeting him online has been jailed for six years.

Sexual predator Kieran Reece Brosius was convicted of 17 different counts of sexual offences involving children before he was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Thursday (July 18).

Brosius, 22, who formerly lived in Milborne Port, near Yeovil , was also found to be in possession of indecent images and videos of children and had been bombarding a child with messages online under the pretence that he was 14 years old.

In addition to his prison sentence, Brosius will serve an extended licence period of five years, ordered to sign the sex offenders register and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Brosius' offending came to the attention of the police in October 2017 after his inappropriate messages were uncovered.

Following the sentencing, the NSPCC called on whoever succeeds Theresa May as Prime Minister to push ahead with plans to increase the safety of children online.

An NSPCC spokesman for the South West of England said: This case is a painful reminder of how children are being preyed on unknowingly in their online worlds by adults often pretending to be somebody else.

The NSPCC called on the Government to introduce robust new laws to keep young people safe on the internet, through its Wild West Web campaign .

Its crucial the new prime minister ensures the announced plans for new online safety laws include grooming alerts and an independent regulator to hold social networks to account.

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A TWISTED pervert who downloaded a ‘paedophile manual’ containing graphic instructions on how to abuse children, including babies, has been jailed.

Depraved paedophile Ross Clifford, of Toronto Road, Fratton, admitted downloading the manual onto a memory stick as well as thousands of indecent images of children – some showing toddlers as young as two – being abused.

Appearing via video link from Winchester prison, the 40-year-old, sat silently as his sickening list of offences was read out in Portsmouth Crown Court.

Sentencing, Judge David Melville QC said: ‘One cannot really have a more serious catalogue of offences before the court particularly bearing in mind you were before this court in the last part of 2017 for similar offences. 

‘You must know how the children who take part in these films are abused. If it wasn’t for the likes of you accessing this information those children would not have been abused. 

‘The pain and distress that they would have suffered is disgusting. It’s something that will probably be with them throughout their lives and it’s an appalling thought that that distress and upset will probably work its way out through their lives all because people like you want to view these images.’

After police raided Clifford's address on February 12 and seized computer equipment and mobile phones, examiners found 1,195 category A images – the most serious level, 786 category B and 3,001 category C. 

They also uncovered 221 category A moving images of children being sexually assaulted as well as 56 category B ones and 13 category C.

The 25-page paedophile manual was also found, which contained vile ‘diagrams’ of how to molest children.

Speaking of the most extreme images, Judge Melville said: ‘They are of the worst type. They show penetrative sexual activity with children as young as two years old.’

Clifford had previously been convicted of similar offences in 2017 and was sentenced to eight months in jail, suspended for two years.

For Clifford, Karen Walton said her client accepted his crimes but urged the court not to jail the 40-year-old and instead put him on a three-year community sentence and treatment programme.

She said: ‘He has accepted all of his behaviour and he has accepted he needs help.

‘I absolutely accept that is a hugely upsetting and most devastating offence for those young children. The difficulty with somebody who admits that kind of offence is that punishment doesn’t necessarily alleviate the risk when he is released.’

Judge Melville refused this and jailed Clifford for four years and three months. Clifford will serve half of this before being released on licence.

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John Edward Kilgannon, 66, sat behind his victims and reached through the gap between the bus seats in front of him to "stroke" the girls on their sides for periods lasting up to 20 minutes.

A court heard the perv committed the three offences between October and November last year on the Arriva bus service from Middlesbrough to Peterlee, County Durham.

One 17-year-old victim complained to police and CCTV evidence led to Kilgannon's arrest at his home in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.

But on Friday the warped sex fiend dodged jail at Teeside Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault.

Paul Harrison, chairman of the bench, said he took such matters "very seriously" but gave Kilgannon a two-year community order and ordered him to pay each victim 200 in compensation.

Paul Power, prosecuting, said the pensioner had been drinking on each occasion and admitted he stroked the girls "for his sexual pleasure".

One of the teenagers said the vile assault had a "huge impact from a confidence point of view in terms of public transport".

She added in her victim impact statement she "felt uncomfortable" when men looked at her.

The second victim said she missed a number of days of college and was "nervous around older men" following the attack.

Liz McGowan, defending, said her client had been a man of previous good character,

She added: He tells me that drink is something that has lessoned his inhibitions while on the bus.

Hes not saying its solely the drinks fault. Hes saying he did this for his own sexual pleasure.

He is remorseful he says that. He has not repeated his behaviour.

For some unknown reason he was bailed by police from November 26 until March 7 almost four months hes had this on his mind for all that time.

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A sex offender caught with nearly 1,200 indecent images of children aged as young as five was today spared jail following what a judge described as an ‘unjust delay’ by police in Sheffield.

Toni Prince, of Infirmary Road, Upperthorpe, downloaded 1,191 indecent images of children, including some of children being raped.

Police also found an ‘extremely unsettling' handwritten table in her bedside drawer, which contained words including ‘rape’ and ‘torture’, when they raided the 55-year-old’s home.

Prince, whose legal forename is Anthony but who identifies as a woman and goes by the name Toni, admitted her crimes after being arrested on June 14, 2016.

Sentencing her today, Judge Peter Kelson QC described it as a 'very serious case’ and voiced his concerns over the delay in bringing her to justice, which he said police accepted was ‘entirely’ their fault.

“When there has been, as there clearly has been here, an unjust delay which is not in any way, shape or form your fault, I’m bound by the law to take it into account, and I do so,” he told the defendant.

He sentenced Prince to six months imprisonment, suspended for one year, meaning she will not be jailed unless she commits a further offence during the next 12 months.

She was also made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and given a 34-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Prince had previously admitted making indecent images of children, possessing prohibited images of children, and possessing extreme pornographic images. In legal terms ‘making’ images can refer to downloading them, which is what she had done.

In total, she downloaded 108 images classed as category A, which is the most serious; 90 falling into category B; and 993 category C ones.

She also downloaded 53 images of ‘extreme pornography’ and 337 prohibited images of children, which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) defines as ‘non-photographic’ images including ‘cartoons, manga and drawings’. 

The court heard how South Yorkshire Police first submitted a file to the CPS on August 5, 2016 but officers were asked to provide details of the content found on the devices seized from Prince’s home.

Despite being chased by the CPS, it was another two years before police eventually resubmitted the file with this additional evidence on August 15, 2018, and Prince eventually appeared in court for the first time on April 16 this year.

Ian Goldsack, defending, told how Prince had been a victim of childhood abuse.

He said she had made ‘significant’ strides since being arrested, by voluntarily attending many hours of counselling in an attempt to address the problems which led to her accessing child pornography.

Judge Kelson read a statement from the counsellor who had seen Prince, who described her as the ‘most vulnerable client we have worked with in terms of the effect of her early trauma on her mental and physical health’ but added that she was also the most ‘committed’ to addressing her problems.

Mr Goldsack told how the University of Sheffield, where Prince was studying for a PhD, had been informed of the investigation following Prince’s arrest. When the university asked police for an update last year, he said it was wrongly informed that no charges were being brought and it passed this information on to Prince.

Gurdial Singh, prosecuting, said the delay was ‘down to negligence to put it bluntly’ on the part of those investigating.

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A lodger who raped and murdered a 13-year-old girl to stop her exposing him as an abuser has been jailed for life. Stephen Nicholson, 25, stabbed Lucy McHugh 27 times at Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre last July. He was found guilty of murder and three charges of raping Lucy after a trial at Winchester Crown Court and was ordered to spend at least 33 years in jail. Judge Mrs Justice May said Lucy had "unknown promise, cruelly obliterated" and described Nicholson as "depraved". The judge told Nicholson: "This was a pitiless attack on a child following months of sexual exploitation. "The prosecution has described it as an execution and I am satisfied this is correct. "The combination of [Nicholson's] cold narcissism and hot anger dictated that she had to be put out of the way and he saw to it that this was done." The trial heard Nicholson first raped Lucy, then aged 12, in May 2017 while living at her home, and on two further occasions over the following week. Mrs Justice May said Lucy had been "vulnerable, easy prey to someone satisfying his own appetites". She said Nicholson "encouraged and cynically exploited" Lucy's "crush" on him after he had moved into the family house, and called him "utterly selfish and depraved". Nicholson had later decided Lucy had "become a serious object to his comfortable life and there was a real threat of her outing him as a paedophile". The judge said teachers had "done the right thing" in raising concerns to social services but no action was taken. She added: "The [social services] team had investigated and had found nothing to concern them. The obvious question is, 'how could social services have arrived at that conclusion, not once but twice?'". Southampton City Council declined to comment due to an ongoing serious case review into the reports made to its social services department. The review is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Nicholson was also found guilty of sexual activity with another girl, aged 14, in 2012.

Children's home hostage

Victim impact statements from Lucy's mother and father were submitted to the court. The court heard Nicholson had previously been detained in 2009 for taking staff and residents of a Southampton children's home hostage, when he was aged 14. Prosecutor William Mousley QC told the court that while he was a resident of the home - under the influence of amphetamines - Nicholson threatened staff with a knife. He then locked them and other children in a room, before stealing £1,000 in cash and making off in a staff member's car. He was also later convicted of affray and damaging property after he barricaded himself in a room and threatened staff at a young offenders centre. Nicholson recorded a music video in 2012 as part of a music rehabilitation project after being released from prison that year, in which he rapped about turning his life around, having previously not cared about who he hurt. Defence barrister James Newton-Price QC said Nicholson had a "difficult" upbringing, having been placed in a children's home from the age of 13. Jurors heard Nicholson moved into the family home after being invited by long-time friend Richard Elmes, the partner of Lucy's mother Stacey White. The trial heard Lucy would later describe Nicholson to friends as her "boyfriend". Nicholson told police Lucy sent him a message the night before her murder, saying she was pregnant. After luring her to woodland nearby, he stabbed her 27 times, including 11 in the neck, in what prosecutors described as an "'execution-style" murder. It was later found Lucy was not pregnant. Nicholson was linked to the murder via DNA evidence found on clothing discarded in woodland about a mile from the murder scene. He was also convicted of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl in 2012, who he had taken to the same woodland where Lucy was found dead years later. Nicholson was cleared of one count of sexual activity with a child which related to Lucy after she had turned 13.

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A gross man who raped an East Riding schoolgirl and made her conceal the truth has been jailed.

Michael Billups, who worked for a major TV company, subjected the youngster to horrific sexual abuse over a two-month period.

The 52-year-olds campaign began when he unzipped the girls onesie to abuse her before going on to brutally rape her on more than one occasion.

Claire Holmes, prosecuting, said: He would unzip her onesie to touch her. She said that it had progressed to the defendant raping her numerous times and this lasted for two or three months until she told her mum.

The abuse happened in around 2011 but was only exposed years later when she confided in her boyfriend.

An educational welfare officer reported the abuse to the authorities and when Billups was arrested in September 2018 he immediately admitted to raping the girl.

Miss Holmes said: When he was arrested he was told not to talk about the offence but he said I dont need to it was statutory rape'.

In a statement, given to police following his arrest, Billings said: I accept the offence of rape and sexual allegations against me. I am truly remorseful and sorry for what occurred.

I have been living with this for six years and want to get this matter resolved. I believe I need help for what happened and I cant say why I did it.

Im truly sorry and wish I hadnt done what I did every day.

Sickeningly, Billups even said at on the stage that the girl wanted it...and enjoyed it.

The defendant, of Lilac Oval, Leeds, had a prior history of upskirting and engaging with prostitutes before raping the youngster.

During Wednesdays sentencing at Hull Crown Court it was revealed that Billups had put a camera between a womans legs on an escalator before taking a photo of another young woman up her skirt in Pocklington.

He was subjected to an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) which prevented Billings from having access to a mobile phone with a camera.

However, in 2009 he was found by police in Leeds Red Light District asking a prostitute to take pictures of her genitals on his phone in exchange for cash.

The girl told her friend that Billups had taken naked pictures of her but it was not until last year when she and her boyfriend were doing an online quiz that the truth about him raping the youngster was revealed.

Miss Holmes said: There was a mention of rape within that quiz and she went silent and began to cry. She confirmed she had been raped and her boyfriend was shocked by this and asked her if it was true.

She said yes but was so upset and could not give him any more information.

Her boyfriend suggested she go to see a doctor but she then revealed that years earlier Billups had told her not to seek any medical help.

Miss Holmes said: Mr Billups had objected to her going to the doctors and the Crown submits the reason for that is the fear that she may have disclosed the sexual abuse.

Billups wept in the dock at Hull Crown Court as the harrowing impact of the abuse was brought to light.

The girl suffers from anxiety and told doctors she had considered killing herself, leaving her mother heartbroken.

The victims mum said: It made me feel upset and angry and it made me overprotective and cautious. I used to dread pushing open her bedroom door and I feel remorseful towards the whole situation.

This is something my daughter will always have to deal with and its through no fault of her own.

Gordon Stables, defending Billups, said his client had spent years waiting for police to knock on his door prior to his arrest in 2018.

Mr Stables said: He has not beaten around the bush. He has admitted it and he admits that for that two or three months he committed the most awful criminal offences.

He is utterly ashamed and he is full of remorse.

Billups pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and another charge of assault against a child.

Judge Mark Bury condemned his crimes as gross before jailing him for ten years and handing him a five-year restraining order which prevents him from contacting the victim or her family.

He must also sign the sex offenders register for life and must serve an extra year on extended licence.

Detective Constable Becky McInnis from Humberside Police said: Investigations of this nature are always difficult and I welcome todays sentencing.

I hope that this offers reassurance that we will always work to protect vulnerable people, taking action against those that commit offences against them.

Where we have victims that are unable to be involved in the proceeding and we need to seek a prosecution without their participation - we will do so.

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A man who cloned a bodybuilder's Facebook profile so he could target and sexually abuse a boy has been jailed.

Brandon Cooper, 24, cloned the account of a well-known local bodybuilder and sent messages of a sexual nature to the boy, who was under the age of 13.

The victim's father became aware of the messages and alerted police in August.

Cooper, of Brook House Avenue, Eccles, pleaded guilty to inciting a child to commit a sexual act and was jailed for 16 months at Manchester Crown Court.

Cooper used a fake name and Facebook profile "to gain the trust of the young victim", Greater Manchester Police said.

'Veil his identity'

The victim's father became concerned about messages of a sexual nature, which his son had received on social media.

The court heard how the man Cooper had impersonated was initially arrested but was quickly eliminated by detectives.

Det Con Tina Jackson said the "resilience" of the boy was "remarkable" but "Cooper's actions could easily have robbed a young person of his childhood".

"In impersonating an innocent man in an attempt to veil his identity and sadistically lure the young victim in, Cooper spared no thought for the consequences of his actions and the damage he could have done to another, innocent person's life.

Cooper was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.

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A former police officer abused his position by collecting thousands of images of female officers and police cadets as young as 12, before posting manipulated sexualised pictures on sick paedophile websites, a court heard.

Christopher Dunn, 33, was told his actions had 'undermined public confidence in Greater Manchester Police', as he was jailed for four years and four months.

While working as a cadet leader Dunn led a 'double life', taking pictures of young and often 'vulnerable' cadets for his own sexual pleasure.

On some occasions he even manipulated pictures of young girls to make them sexualised, before posting them to online networks for the pleasure of other paedophiles.

He also did the same with adult female police officers, either taking pictures or collecting them from social media and sometimes manipulating them before uploading them to sick porn websites.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Dunn, from Salford, had been amassing thousands of images of women since he started full time at GMP in January 2014, storing them in 'organised' folders on his computer.He had done the same before he joined GMP, when he worked at the Trafford Centre.

In total Dunn collected images of 46 women aged between 12 and 44.

His offending was uncovered after an alert was triggered because he uploaded indecent images of children.

When his computers and mobile phones were examined, he was also found to have more than 100,000 indecent images of children in his possession.

After being arrested, Dunn said: "I'm not like one of those paedophiles who touch children. They make me sick.

He added: "My life is effectively over. It's over, there is no way back from all of this."

A judge said that Dunn's crimes had 'undermined the fabric of the police service' and damaged the credibility of GMP.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Bryan told him: "You were in a position of trust and responsibility in relation to young, and often vulnerable police cadets.

"You betrayed that trust in harvesting pictures of them for your own personal gratification, and posting them on paedophile websites for the sexual gratification of others who shared your unhealthy interest in young females.

"Those young cadets will have to live with what you have done for the rest of their lives."

The judge added: "Your behaviour has caused long lasting damage to your fellow officers and their families.

"It is almost beyond belief that someone could have distributed pseudo-images of their colleagues and their children on pornographic websites, but that is exactly what you have done."

The judge said statements he had read from victims were 'painful reading', saying they told how they feel 'humiliated and violated'.

The court heard that Dunn, who has no previous convictions, graduated with a computing degree in 2007.

Later that year he found work at the Trafford Centre, where he collected 998 pictures from social media of an adult woman who he knew through his job.

Prosecuting, Rob Hall said that was not a criminal offence but it 'foreshadowed' what was to come.

In February 2009, Dunn became a special constable at GMP. He is said to have performed well and was nominated for Special Constabulary Annual Gala Award.

Meanwhile he collected 1,800 images of three other adult women, who he knew from his old job at the Trafford Centre.

In May 2012 he tried and failed to join GMP as a full time officer, a process which put him in the company of female police officers.

From the following year, he started to collect images of women and girls who he knew through the Trafford Centre, GMP or through the cadets.

As he became a full time student police officer in January 2014 he was continuing to collect images of colleagues, as well as download indecent images of children.

He first started collecting pictures of police cadets in November 2015. Many of the cadets were said to have come from 'troubled homes' and were 'vulnerable'.

In May 2017 Dunn started a relationship with a fellow police officer. She was unaware of his double life, and he continued his offending during their relationship.

After becoming a cadet leader, Dunn was given a GMP award in recognition of the 'commitment and dedication' to his role, with the force unaware of his crimes.

He continued to abuse his position, collecting hundreds of images of his victims.

In October last year, Dunn uploaded an indecent image of a child which led to an online alert to the authorities.

But he still continued his sick behaviour.

In February police executed a warrant at Dunn's home, where he is said to have 'appeared nervous'. He was formally sacked from GMP in May.

In interviews he told officers that he had been addicted to legal pornography since the age of 16, and that he became interested in illegal pornography by 2013.

He said he had developed a split personality, one that was seen by the public and the other that was private to himself online.

Dunn also admitted having recorded videos of girls at his local supermarket.

Saying he was remorseful and that he needed help, Dunn added: "I regret what's happened and I am going to use this situation to turn things around."

In total Dunn collected more than 3,600 images of police cadets, and more than 7,500 images of colleagues.

He had also downloaded more than 20,000 indecent images of children, with a further 100,000 indecent images which prosecutors said had not been classified because it wasn't in the public interest to pursue them.

Defending, Colin Buckle said Dunn was 'socially awkward' as a young person and that he found it difficult to maintain 'age appropriate' relationships with women.

At university he lived at home and didn't engage with fellow students, Mr Buckle said, with Dunn instead turning to illegal pornography.

Mr Buckle said that Dunn's parents were not in court to see him being sentenced as they 'simply cannot face the enormity of his position'.

Police Inspector Natasha Evans told the court that the 'most heartbreaking' result of Dunn's offending was that a young cadet said if they ever got into trouble 'I will not call the police as I don't trust them'.

Dunn, of Moss Lane, Swinton, pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of misconduct in a public office and two counts of possessing indecent images for distribution.

He will have to sign the sex offender's register for life, and is also banned from working with vulnerable children or adults for life.

After the hearing, Amanda Rowe, regional director of the Independent Office of Police Conduct which managed the investigation, said: "Swift action has been taken by the court in jailing Christopher Dunn for these most shocking and serious of crimes. 

"In overseeing this investigation by Greater Manchester Police, our joint work has ensured this former officer, who had no place in public office, is no longer a danger to the local community. 

"Christopher Dunn’s actions do not reflect the integrity of hard-working, honest police, and the public can be confident that there is no place for his behaviour in any police force."

Description

A former traffic controller from Camberley has been jailed for abusing two boys in the 1990s.

Peter Chiverton, now 53, of Upper College Ride, was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison on Monday (July 15) after he was convicted of abusing the boys on several occasions.

Passing sentence at Guildford Crown Court, Judge Peter Moss said the abuse had left one of his victims with "psychological issues" and the other with feelings of guilt that still affect him to this day.

Judge Moss explained Chiverton had "groomed" the two boys before sexually abusing them. In total, he was convicted of eight separate counts, including one of indecent assault "involving penetration", the judge said.

In mitigation, Chiverton's barrister, Sarah Read, told the court he was a man of previous good character who had worked for 23 years as a traffic controller before retiring due to ill health. One of his former colleagues, she said, described Chiverton as "a caring person; a shy chap whose heart is in the right place".

Ms Read added that he continued to live with health problems, including mobility difficulties, back pain and depression, particularly following the death of his mother and aunt.

Chiverton will serve half of his nine-and-a-half-year sentence in prison and will then be released on licence, during which time he can be recalled to prison if he commits further offences or breaches the terms of his parole.

He has also been made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely.