Latest Offenders

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A sex offender has been fined after he admitted failing to tell police where he was living.

Edwin Eddie Toop, 52, is required to visit his nearest police station at least once a year to tell police of his whereabouts, Aldershot magistrates heard on Thursday, September 9.

But this year Toop failed to inform police where he was living in Farnborough putting him in breach of the terms of his notification requirements on the sex offenders register.

Toop was jailed for five years in 2006 after he was convicted of two counts of causing a child under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, after a trial at Reading Crown Court.

He had forced his victim to perform sex acts on him on at least two occasions.

Toop had worked as a bus driver in Reading and was on sick leave when the offences happened after he was attacked when a gang threw acid into his eyes.

However his employer, Reading Buses, was criticised for allowing him to continue driving buses for a year after the allegations were made against him.

David Renwick, prosecuting, told magistrates Toop had last told police where he was living, his current address in Curly Bridge Close, Farnborough, on August 17, last year.

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A Taunton sex offender is back behind bars after being found with a 13-year-old boy - just three days after being released from prison. Police arrested 44-year-old Graham Brown (pictured) on January 28, after finding him with a boy in a pub in Taunton. When Brown was released from Exeter Prison on January 25, having served a five-year sentence for breaching a Sexual Offender Prevention Order, police placed a series of restrictions to stop him associating with children, and kept a close watch on him. A police spokesman said: Mr Brown has been the subject of detailed discussions under the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements, with partner agencies including police, the probation service, local authorities and prison service involved. Brown's history was such that there were serious concerns among the MAPPA partners that he might present a considerable risk to the community. The Crown Prosecution Service told the County Gazette that Brown had an extensive list of previous convictions, including 14 sexual offences between 1981 and 2005, most of them involving indecent exposure or gross indecency. Chief Superintendent Daimon Tilley said: "We put into place a number of arrangements in time for Mr Brown's release, in order to minimise the risk to other people. "It was as a result of some excellent police and probation work that Mr Brown was arrested and put back before the courts." At Taunton Crown Court on Friday, Brown was jailed for 32 months for breaching his SOPO by being in contact with the child.

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A SEXUAL predator who abused his position as a youth leader to groom teenage boys has been jailed for four years.

Former firefighter and cadet leader David Ross Gittins, 25, of Windmill, in Pentre Halkyn, Holywell, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Thursday (September 16).

His victims were primarily male teenage fire cadets aged between 15 and 16 from Cheshire, whom he befriended during fire cadet meetings.

He bombarded them with requests for explicit images through social networking, instant messaging and webcam sessions.

Ironically, as part of his cadet leader training, Gittins had attended a child protection course to safeguard the youngsters against sexual grooming.

He had taken part in this training during the summer of 2009, just prior to taking a role as a full-time firefighter.

Gittins first target was a female cadet, who he begged to have sex with him, despite her reminders that she was only 14.

Again, he repeatedly asked her to send him explicit photographs of herself but also confessed to her that he thought he was a closet homosexual.

After that, he struck up friendships with a number of boys aged between 15 and 16, though he later claimed that he thought the boys were all 16.

On a number of occasions, he invited the boys to his house, where he would ply them with alcohol, tell them he loved them and encourage them to engage in sexual activity, which was then photographed using a mobile phone.

These photographs were then shown to the boys peers in a bid to normalise the behaviour and recruit more victims.

Police later found 155 indecent images on his computer.

These mostly involved the male cadets, but included pictures where he had superimposed the face of a 16-year-old who he knew only from Facebook onto an explicit image.

Police also found copies of conversations with a 16-year-old boy who was not a fire cadet, but to whom he had sent images.

Prosecuting, Owen Edwards said: He is a sexual predator and these boys have been left stressed and confused as a result of his behaviour.

The pictures were used to show the next in line to encourage them to do the same.

He has abused a position of trust as their instructor for his own sexual purposes.

Mary McKeone, defending, said: It is wholly inappropriate and unacceptable as well as criminal, but his behaviour was misguided as opposed to predatory.

There was no intimidation or coertion involved, and the period of offending was short-lived.

It was inevitable that he would be discovered because of the lack of sophistication involved. It was only a matter a time before it was detected.

Judge Elgan Edwards said that Gittins conduct has been quite disgraceful.

Sentencing Gittins to four years imprisonment, he added: Your behaviour is a gross breach of trust. You were, in my view, a sexual predator, using your position in an honourable profession to further your own sexual, lustful excitement.

People like you must know that if you behave in this way towards young and vulnerable people, you must accept that an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable.

This has had a devastating effect on them and their families.

This is a sentence that you richly deserve.

As well as a custodial sentence, Gittins will be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

He is banned from using a computer or accessing the internet except for during the course of his work; using file sharing or peer to peer software; using social networking and instant messaging; inviting anyone under the age of 18 into his home without a parent or guardian present; having contact with any of the complainants.

The order also imposes a lifetime ban on working with children.

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A PAEDOPHILE who has been on the run for six years has been arrested by officers in Salisbury.

James Andrew, 66, who is from Downton and was previously known as Keith Vincent, had been wanted by police for failing to comply with his requirements on the Sex Offenders Register.

He was arrested by officers at Salisbury Police Station on Tuesday morning.

Later the same day he was charged with five counts of making indecent photographs, one count of possessing indecent images and three counts of failing to comply with notification requirements while on the Sex Offenders Register.

He appeared at Salisbury Magistrates Court yesterday and was remanded in custody to appear back at Salisbury Magistrates Court on September 2.

James Andrew was placed on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’s Most Wanted website in March.

DS Kevin Rowles from the Wiltshire Police public protection department said: “Appropriate management on sex offenders is vital for the on-going protection of society.

“In Wiltshire 97 per cent of all registered sex offenders comply with their conditions and do not abscond but on rare occasions, such as this, a sex offender does abscond and Wiltshire Police, working closely with CEOP and other partner agencies, does everything possible in order to apprehend them even when they are believed to have travelled abroad.”

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A PAEDOPHILE caught with an enormous haul of child porn told police he felt SORRY for the young victims in them.

Hugh Caldwells stash of almost 65,000 pictures and videos included more than 130 rated as the most sickening type.

The 31-year-old was caught when cops acting off a tip off raided his parents home in Perth.

Fiscal depute Alan Kempton told Perth Sheriff Court: The police told him the visit was in relation to indecent images and he replied: Yes, that will be me.

He admitted images of children would be found on his computer. The bulk were at level one, but 131 images and one video were at level five.

Caldwell told police: I wish none of this had ever happened. I am very sorry for the people in the photos and for the people I have let down.

He admitted downloading the sickening images regularly over six years until last October.

Sheriff Robert McCreadie placed Caldwell, who has no previous convictions, on the sex offenders register and deferred sentence for reports. He was bailed.

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A FORMER village bobby has been found guilty of sexually abusing two teenage boys while working for Hamp-shire police.

Gordon Hunter showed no emotion as jurors convicted him on all 14 charges he faced, which included gross indecency with a child and attempted buggery.

As the guilty verdicts were read out, one woman in the public gallery, believed to be a member of one of the victims’ families, said: “Yes.”

The court heard that Hunter and his wife, Gill, had tried to commit suicide just days ago.

Winchester Crown Court was told that the couple, who had been married for 40 years, made the attempt at their home in Dene Way, Ashurst, on Thursday. It is understood paramedics took the couple to hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Hunter was absent from court on Friday and Monday but was in court yesterday to hear the unanimous guilty verdicts read out after the jury had deliberated for six-and-a-half hours.

Judge Andrew Barnett lifted a court order banning publication of the joint suicide bid following the verdict.

Hunter’s son, brother-in-law and friends were in the public gallery to hear the verdicts read out. Mrs Hunter, who had been present during the trial, was absent for the sentencing but has since been released from hospital.

Judge Andrew Barnett remanded Hunter in custody for his own safety until he is sentenced next month.

He told him: “You have been convicted by the jury of 14 extremely serious offences against young teenage boys.

“Be under no illusion that the inevitable sentence is one of imprisonment and you must prepare yourself for that.

“Bearing in mind your safety after you and your wife were involved in a suicide attempt I have to consider your well-being and I have to remand you in custody.”

During the five-day trial the court heard how Hunter had abused the boys in separate areas of the county between 1987 and 1998.

It was while working as a village policeman that Hunter abused the first boy, inviting him into his home to take part in a variety of sex acts.

The offences began with a boy, who was 11 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, when Hunter was the village policeman in Whitchurch in the north of the county between 1983 and 1992.

The court heard how many of the offences took place at Hunter’s family home, some in his marital bed.

Jurors were told that Hunter then moved to Ashurst in the New Forest in 1992 and in 1995 began to target another boy, who also cannot be named for legal reasons.

Hunter retired from Hampshire police as a police constable in 2002 but continued in a variety of support staff roles including a detention officer in Eastleigh.

He retired from a support staff role at Lyndhurst at the beginning of October 2009 before being arrested later that month. The investigation has been led by officers from Hampshire Constabulary’s professional standards department.

Hunter, who had denied all the charges, was put on the sex offender’s register.

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SENTENCE on a 40 year old man who exposed his penis and masturbated in a Shetland swimming pool was deferred for reports when he appeared before Lerwick Sheriff Court, on Wednesday.

Mohamed Nurul Haque, of 23 Crane House, Verwood, Dorset, pled guilty to a charge of public indecency at the Clickimin Leisure Complex on 27 April 2010.

The court heard that Haque had been alone in the steam room when he started masturbating himself.

He was seen through a glass door by two receptionists who alerted a male member of staff who asked him to leave.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said that Haque had told the police he had been attempting to alleviate pain for a sensitive condition.

Clearly the intention was to gratify himself, he said, adding that there had been a significant sexual aspect to this.

Sheriff Philipp Mann deferred sentence until 25 August for social enquiry, community service reports as well as a restriction of liberty assessment.

A decision on whether Haque has to be put on the sex offenders register will be made on the day of sentencing.

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A former business partner of England rugby player Rory Underwood has been jailed for possessing indecent pictures of children.

Martyn Helliwell, 49, was found guilty of 16 counts of making and distributing the images at an earlier hearing at Bristol Crown Court.

Helliwell, from Over Stratton in Somerset, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

He was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday.

The former naval officer and magistrate was also placed on the sex offenders register and given a sexual offences prevention order.

'Other opportunists'

Helliwell founded the motivational company UPH in 1999 with another man called John Peters, and 1991 world cup winger Mr Underwood, who gave evidence against Helliwell in the trial.

The court heard that the business had "dissolved in light of the publicity surrounding the case".

Opening the trial, prosecutor Adam Vaitilingham said that just under 1,000 indecent images of children were found on Helliwell's computer when his home was searched in November 2007.

He added that Helliwell did not deny the presence of the images, but claimed "other opportunists" must have put them there.

He also denied perverting the course of justice by asking clients and acquaintances for alibis the prosecution said did not match up.

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A SINISTER child molester freed on parole took youngsters on car rides after hiding his past. A SINISTER child molester freed on parole took youngsters on car rides after hiding his past. Sleazy landlord Sajjad Akram was given three years behind bars in 2007 for a serious sex offence against a teenage boy in an Eldon Square car park in Newcastle. He was released a little over a year later in October 2008 with strict licence conditions designed to keep other youngsters from his clutches. But Akram flouted those restrictions to take three different children for trips in his Ford Focus. He only asked permission from their parents before one outing to a McDonalds, Newcastle Crown Court heard. And none of the mums or dads knew Akrams disturbing past, said Robert Adams, prosecuting. A pre-sentence report written by a specialist probation officer warned: Despite being subject to licence conditions, attending a sex offender group work programme, and being regularly monitored by police and probation, Akram has chosen to engage in risk-taking behaviour which he has concealed and sought unsupervised contact with children without their parents knowledge or consent. Jailing Akram, formerly of Hartington Street, Elswick, in the citys West End, for two years, Judge Brian Forster said: These are serious offences. You became known to a number of children who lived in the area where you owned a property. The children were aged eight, nine and 11 and you choose to keep their company and take them for rides. Akram, who had been living in an approved hostel after his prison release, admitted three charges of child abudctuion. None of the children concerned were touched or molested during any of the trips, the court heard. But Akrams record including not just the Eldon Square offence but an earlier indecent assault on a schoolboy in 1999 made police concerned for the youngsters safety, Mr Adams said. Clearly, he has a worrying and significant offending history, Mr Adams added. All of the latest offences happened during the school summer holiday last year and only came to light when hostel staff spotted a child in Ackrams Ford Focus. Fortunately no harm whatsoever came to any of those children, said Joe Hedworth, defending. It appears they voluntarily got into the car and got out without incident. Akram, already registered as a sex offender for life, was also made subject to a 10-year sexual offences prevention order to keep him away from children. You must understand the order requires you to avoid contact with children and young persons without a reasonable excuse, Judge Forster said. If you breach the terms you will end up staying even longer in prison.

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He billed himself as a “special guy” and lavished a young girl with attention and affection.

Within just a few weeks, through endless conversations over the Internet, he had told the 13-year-old how much he cared for her and even convinced her they should meet. But behind the façade, the man she thought had become her boyfriend was in fact a 29- year-old paedophile grooming her for sex.

Depraved Robert Ive is today starting a four-year jail term after luring the vulnerable girl into his clutches and having under-age sex with her on three occasions.

It’s thought the girl, who had been bullied at school and “sought solace” in her laptop computer, had only been in contact with him for a matter of months, if not weeks, before she succumbed to his charm.

It’s not the first time Ive has been hauled before the courts for sickening behaviour with a child, having previously been convicted of sexually touching a ten-year-old girl he approached in a swimming pool.

At Southampton Crown Court he was described as “a real danger to young children”.

Judge Tom Longbotham told Ive, who pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child aged 13-18, his conduct had been predatory.

He said: “You identified her and you had sex with her. It seems that was the only reason to contact her. You took every opportunity to have sex with her.”

Ive’s behaviour – thought to be the first Facebook grooming case in Hampshire – was only uncovered by detectives when a hunt was launched for the 13-year-old who had vanished from her Southampton home.

Some 30 police officers were involved in the search, after she stormed out of her house following a family row over who she was contacting on social networking sites.

The girl, who cannot be identified, then rang Ive who picked her up and took her to his north Hampshire home to spend the night.

Her disappearance sparked a major investigation involving specialist units examining her phone and computer to see who she was in contact with.

The girl’s mother also made desperate attempts to contact her daughter before Ive drove her back to the outskirts of the city the following morning and left her to make her own way home. She then revealed how she had been having sex at Ive’s instigation, at her home when her mother was asleep, as well as at his rented bedsit in Cambridge Road, Farnborough.

Ive told her he was 26 and though she warned him she was 13, he reassured her: “Age doesn’t matter.” Before his capture, Ive, who worked as a cloakroom attendant in Yates’ Wine Lodge, was spending hours online.

He used Facebook – under the guise of “special guy” although he never showed his picture or gave his real name – and also MSN, where he nicknamed himself “kute_guy69” and somehow befriended the girl.

Detectives believe Ive could have more victims across the country and say investigations are continuing to determine if he has been in contact with other schoolgirls on his computer.

He is now behind bars and has been banned from working with under-age girls in the future, and placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

But the case is one that will shock parents and raises the question of just how safe children are on the Internet, and what can be done to protect them? Ive’s conviction comes as Facebook has unveiled plans to transform its privacy settings, making it easier for members to stop their personal information being viewed by people they don’t know.

Detective Inspector Simon Baker, who led the investigation, said: “Children want to grow up so quickly now and some girls in their early teens can have a tendency to think they are older and more independent than they really are.

“They think they know their minds, that their parents don’t know what’s best for them and they go off on their own. They don’t realise they are incredibly vulnerable in these situations and there are people out there who will take advantage.

“The method of choice for paedophiles wanting to engage with young females is through the Internet.

“They can hide their true identify and make false promises to their potential victims, making them believe that they love them, care for them and will look after them. These men will say anything to try and gain the trust of those they are conversing with, all the time hiding their true intentions.”

A spokeswoman for Facebook said: “We are deeply concerned by both the crimes committed by Robert Ive and his determination to groom young people online. We have co-operated with the police in this matter and disabled his profile when this came to light, and will continue to work with them in any ongoing investigation.

“This case serves as a reminder that all Internet users must use extreme caution when talking to or meeting people they only know via the Internet.

“Facebook’s top priority is to maintain and improve safety for our users.

“Educating young people about safety online is vital and that is why we recently launched the UK’s biggest campaign on this issue. This involves a £5m initiative aimed solely at teaching young people to take responsible decisions online.”

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A former librarian and union official from Bath, who had more than 60,000 indecent images of children on his computer, has been sent to jail for six years.

Neil Rosser, 41, of King Georges Road in Twerton, admitted owning photographs and videos featuring children as young as four months old, and using the internet to meet young boys.

He used the instant messaging site MSN to speak to adolescent boys across the world, sending them images of child pornography, and committed obscene acts in front of a webcam.

He had also arranged to meet up with a 15-year-old boy from Essex and even went as far as booking a hotel room and paying for train fares before his potential victim changed his mind.

Bristol Crown Court heard that Rosser had known he had been attracted to young boys since the age of 19, but had been able to manage his urges until he bought a computer ten years ago.

After that his behaviour spiralled out of control as he downloaded, saved and printed off tens of thousands of indecent images.

Investigating officer DC Geoff Colvin told the prosecution that some of the pictures and videos were the most disgusting and depraved he had seen in his 24-year career.

Neil Treharne, prosecuting, said Rossers offending had spanned the period between 2001 and November 2008, when he was arrested during a joint operation involving the Avon and Somerset and Greater Manchester forces.

During interviews he admitted many more details about his behaviour than police officers would have been able to find out during their own investigation, because of the sheer number of files on his computer.

Rosser, a former Unison official who represented staff working for Bath and North East Somerset Council but was sacked when the offences came to light, told police that he had fantasised about the young boys in school uniform he would see during his job as a librarian, but that he would never have approached them.

He admitted he had posted a picture of a bare-chested teenage boy with blonde hair as his profile picture on MSN, but said he had later told the boys he was speaking to about his real age.

Paul Connell, defending, said Rosser was aware of the seriousness of his actions and had been seeking help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which works with sex offenders to help them change their behaviour. He said: It is a genuine desire to get to grips with managing his sexual motivations.

Rosser will have to serve at least half of the jail term, and Judge Mark Horton said he hoped he would continue to get help.

He said: Those images and films featured the most depraved abuse of young children under the age of 13. It included children less than 12 months old and one of four months old.

These were the worst seen by the investigating officer in 24 years and certainly the worst seen by this court.

I hope this sentence does involve you receiving the treatment and help that you so clearly need and require, and so clearly are now ready to take. It is a tragedy for you and this court that you didnt seek that help in 2001 when these offences commenced.

DC Colvin, who was commended by the judge, said he thought it was a fair sentence.

He said: One of the things he said to us was that he wouldnt have stopped offending until such time we came through the door and made him stop. If he hadnt been arrested and stopped then he couldve easily gone on to commit contact offences.

Rosser has been put on the sex offenders register and given a sexual offences prevention order for life.

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He pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault, four of those counts related to offences committed between 1980 and 1985 against his cousin, then a girl aged from 7 to 11 years. The indictment asserted that she was a girl under the age of 13 which was then of relevance to the maximum sentence.

The other two counts related to offences committed between 1988 and 1994 against his niece, when she too was aged from 7 to 12 years old. On 18 June 2010 His Honour Judge Hooton imposed a Community Order with a supervision requirement for three years. A Sexual Offences Prevention Order was imposed to run indefinitely, the precise details of which have no bearing on the Reference. The offender was also made subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.

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A rapist has been jailed after he was caught when a DNA sample given by his daughter for an assault implicated him in an attack in 1990. Police had exhausted all leads when a sample from Keith Davison's daughter linked him to the rape of a 24-year-old waitress in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. Davison, 52, of Ryde, was convicted of rape in January and jailed for eight years at Portsmouth Crown Court. His daughter gave a DNA sample when she was cautioned for an assault in 2006. A technique known as familial searching linked DNA from the crime scene to his daughter's sample. Davison, of Binstead Hill, voluntarily provided a sample which showed a match and he was charged. The victim had started to walk home along Ryde seafront at about midnight following her shift at a fast food outlet on 4 August, 1990, the court heard. "I hope my experience can encourage more victims to have the confidence to report rape offences" Keith Davison's victim Davison approached her from behind, put his T-shirt over her head and attacked her. Police had no suspects until advancements in technology meant a DNA profile from material found at the crime scene was obtained in 2004, but there were no matches on the national database. The breakthrough came when Davison's daughter gave a sample in 2006. Davison's victim, who legally cannot be named, said: "Eight years in prison is a good result but no sentence will undo the harm I have suffered. "At least now I can hope to move forward. 'Suicidal thoughts' "I hope my experience can encourage more victims to have the confidence to report rape offences." The court heard the victim knew of Davison as their children went to the same school. "He was just someone I would see across the playground. "I only ever saw a brief glimpse of the attacker but Davison was always someone I felt jumpy near and avoided." Judge Ian Pearson told Davison: "[The attack] has had a significant effect on her life, depression, anxiety attacks, suicidal thoughts, panic attacks. "The scientific evidence was overwhelming but you chose to challenge that evidence. "You attacked a lone woman at night, blindfolded her and gagged her." Det Ch Insp Bob Maker, head of CID on the Isle of Wight, said: "It is a very serious crime and our thoughts are with the victim and victim's family. "In some ways this is some closure for the victim and that's our primary concern." Davison was also put on the sex offenders register for life.

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Released A Milford Haven man was jailed for 17 years yesterday (Monday) for a string of rapes and other sex offences. Steven Ronald Williams, aged 45, was found guilty of 16 counts of rape, four counts of indecency with a child and four counts of indecent assault, at Cardiff crown court on December 15th. Williams, of Marble Hall Road, Milford Haven was formerly the licensee or manager of several pubs in the Newport, Gwent area. He denied all the offences, which took place over a number of years. Judge Neil Bidder QC said Williams posed a high risk of serious harm to children and ordered that he be imprisoned for the publics protection. He must serve a minimum of eight-and-a-half years before being considered for parole. During the trial jurors saw footage of the victims interviews in which she said she was first raped when she was a child. The girl said Williams told her nobody would believe her if she told anyone. Prosecutor Jennet Treharne, said that at the age of 13 Williams was given a two year supervision order for inciting a child to commit an act of gross indecency. He also had a caution in 2006 for battery. Mary Parry-Evans, defending, said Williams was someone who struggled with the complexities of life and said he would face real difficulties if he did not get the help he needed. She said he would continue to deny the offences, which was likely to delay his release on parole, and asked Judge Bidder QC not to impose an indeterminate sentence. Judge Bidder QC described Williams as determined, dishonest and cunning and said the damage he had done to the victim was unfathomable. You show absolutely no remorse, he said. I have no doubt that this terrible and protracted abuse had a significant effect on the victim her poor school attendance, drinking and self harm can be laid to your abuse of her.

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A suspended sentence handed to a paedophile deemed too fat to go to jail is to be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

In December former church elder John William McConaghy, also known as Jack, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars for a litany of sex attacks on a young girl beginning when she was just 10 years old — but the jail term was suspended for three years as the judge ruled he was too ill to go to prison.

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