Latest Offenders

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A PROLIFIC paedophile who was snared by vigilantes who posed as children has been jailed for over nine years. Mark Baber, 43, was duped by paedophile hunters after attempting to engage in sexual activity with what he thought were children via online chat rooms before he was brought to justice, Portsmouth Crown Court heard. The conviction comes after it was widely reported earlier this month that evidence gained from paedophile hunters was used to charge suspects in England and Wales on at least 150 occasions last year. Babers predatory attempts in December last year were exposed after he sent crude messages and sexually graphic pictures as he looked to secure encounters with children using his dark high speed grooming tactics. The defendant was then tracked to his Fareham home address where he was nowhere to be found before he was finally hunted down and discovered at his work. Police arrested him the following day. (Baber) was talking to three women posing as children in chat rooms where he made a number of sexual suggestions and sent crude photos of himself before the team found him, prosecutor Timothy Compton said. Baber also downloaded over 20 disturbing images of children aged between two and 14 years of age. When police turned up at his address they found he had deleted his internet history - something he was prohibited from doing under the terms of an order from his previous term of imprisonment for similar offences. The court also heard how Baber befriended a lady with his ulterior motives laid bare when he started texting her daughter. On one occasion, the predator sent the girl a message saying he would get her a sex toy with a bean bag cushion. He also capitalised on an opportunity to spend time alone with the child when the mum fell asleep further putting him in breach of his conditions with him not allowed to be by himself with a child. The mums horror was compounded when she searched Baber on the internet and found out he was a paedophile. The court heard how the child offender had 26 previous convictions and was sentenced to 48 months prison in 2013 for similar offences after downloading a string of vile child images and attempted to incite children into sexual activity. In defence, Daniel Reilly, said Baber was released in October 2017 before finding himself homeless and abandoned by his family who wanted nothing more to do with him which had resulted in him losing out on a significant amount of family inheritance. (Baber) knew he did wrong and wanted to stop, Mr Reilly said. The defence solicitor then told the court of the paedophiles remorse. Im totally ashamed of what I did. I want to make sure this is never repeated, Baber said. Baber, of Riverside Avenue, Warrington, admitted attempting to incite children into sexual activity, deleting his internet history, distributing images of children and for breaching his sexual offences order. After sentencing Baber to nine years and three months in prison, judge Robert Hill said: You did your best to incite sex with children. The only difference was that you were being set up.

Description

A hairdresser who deliberately tried to infect 10 men with HIV has been jailed for at least 12 years.

Daryll Rowe became the first man in the country to be found guilty of intentionally setting out to spread the virus after meeting the men on gay dating app Grindr.

Branded "grotesque" and a "sociopath" by his victims, the 27-year-old was convicted in November of 10 charges - five of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and five of attempting to do so.

Rowe, wearing a grey suit and open-collared white shirt, showed no emotion as he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 12 years at Brighton Crown Court on Wednesday.

Judge Christine Henson QC, sentencing, referred to his crimes as a "determined hateful campaign of sly violence".

"You are the first individual to be sentenced for Section 18 offences in the context of infecting others with HIV," she said.

"With the full knowledge of the risk you posed to others and the legal implications of engaging in risky sexual practices, you embarked on a deliberate campaign to infect other men with the HIV virus.

"Unfortunately for five of the men you met, your campaign was successful."

The judge continued: "They describe living with a life sentence as a result of your cruel and senseless acts.

"Many of those men were young men in their 20s at the time they had the misfortune to meet you."

She told Rowe he poses a significant risk to the public, adding: "You will potentially remain a danger to others for the rest of your life."

After being diagnosed in April 2015 in his home city of Edinburgh, Rowe met men on gay dating app Grindr and had sex with eight of them in Brighton, East Sussex, between October that year and February 2016, before fleeing to the North East where he went on the run from police, targeting two more victims.

His six-week trial heard he embarked on a cynical and deliberate campaign to infect men with HIV, refusing treatment and ignoring advice from doctors.

He insisted on having unprotected sex with men, claiming he was "clean". When they refused, he tampered with condoms, tricking them into thinking he was practising safe sex.

Afterwards he would become aggressive and taunt them over text, telling one: "I have HIV. Lol. Whoops!"

Rowe repeatedly lied to authorities and would use aliases with his victims.

He told jurors he believed he had been cured of the virus by the time he moved to Brighton, having adopted the practice of drinking his own urine as a treatment, supplemented with natural remedies, including oregano, coconut and olive leaf oils.

He sat in the dock, showing no emotion during his sentencing hearing as prosecutor Caroline Carberry QC read out statements from nine of his 10 victims, which she said showed the "devastating consequences" of Rowe's actions.

Many told how they had considered suicide having suffered physical and psychological damage, needing to take daily medication.

Rowe's first victim told how he had considered taking his own life after he was diagnosed with HIV in January 2016.

He said: "Darryl has destroyed my life. I would rather he had murdered me than left me to live my life like this."

One said he thought he was going to die when he found out he had the virus, while another told of the "shattering effect" it had on him and his family, believing "it was a life-long sentence, which would eventually kill me off" because of the stigma surrounding the disease.

"While for some cases of GBH it might be possible for victims to put the acts behind them, unfortunately this will never be the case for me," said a different victim, who requires daily medication.

"There is a virus inside me which will give me a horrible and painful death unless I take pills for the rest of my life."

The court heard a psychiatric report found Rowe's crimes were carried out with a "significant degree of rage, control, sadism and violence".

"This defendant is the first individual in the UK who falls to be sentenced for Section 18 offences in the context of the intentional infection of others with the HIV virus," said the prosecutor.

"This was a deliberate campaign to infect multiple men with a serious life-threatening and life-changing disease such that it falls outside the sentences envisaged by the (sentencing) guidelines."

Felicity Gerry QC highlighted comparable cases from around the world, urging the judge to pass a sentence that would not add to the "social stigma" of HIV, but inform the public the virus is not what it was in the 90s.

"He was a vulnerable young man in a community where the disclosure of one's HIV status remains unusual, in the context of how he was meeting people," she said.

"This is not a terminal illness. Those who live with HIV have good and high life expectancies."

She added: "There really is a need for therapy and not incarceration."

Sussex Police came under fire over claims they put gay men in danger when they released Rowe on bail, after which he continued his campaign.

Northumbria Police have been accused of wrongfully arresting and detaining one of his unsuspecting victims as he came to terms with his boyfriend's crimes.

Rowe's final victim blamed police for putting him at risk and said more could have been done sooner to stop Rowe's offending.

It was 18 days after his arrest that Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council urged gay men to get tested for HIV if they had been sexually involved with "a man in his 20s with a Scottish accent".

Police appealed for anyone with information or potential victims to come forward but refused to publish his name and photo.

He was later identified by a newspaper, prompting widespread media reports.

Description

Hon Chung even attacked two of victims at his girlfriend's home and raped one with the help of a schoolboy.

A twisted pervert plied runaway children with alcohol and cocaine before raping them in his car and even at his girlfriend’s home.

Hon Chung, 29, of Gardenside Street, Everton, befriended then groomed and exploited three vulnerable girls, aged 14 and 15.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he made one child drink a whole bottle of vodka, before a boy held her down, so he could rape her.

Chung, then 27, was found guilty after a trial of two counts of rape and three counts of sexual activity with a child.

The boy, then 16 and now 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of one count of rape.

Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, said Chung targeted victims who had run away from home or foster carers.

The first victim, aged 15, described him as “someone who was always there for her”.

He bought her two bottles of wine, which she drank before giving him oral sex in his car, at his request.

She and the second girl, 14, went back to Chung’s girlfriend’s home, where the boy gave the 15-year-old cocaine.

Ms Snowdon said: “She described falling about everywhere and smashing a pot because she was so drunk.”

Chung stripped and then raped the victim, despite the fact she was crying throughout.

He later asked the second girl to give him oral sex in the same bedroom.

The next victim was another 14-year-old girl, who Chung called “proper gorgeous” and pressured into oral sex.

He gave her and another girl money and let them stay in his car overnight, then struck again the following evening.

Chung made her drink a bottle of vodka and gave her cocaine, before he and the boy said they wanted to “do stuff”.

The court heard she was “extremely drunk” and her “vision blurred”, but she managed to refuse.

Ms Snowdon said: “She said ‘I’m 14 and you’re 27’. His response was ‘so?’”

Chung raped the protesting and sobbing girl, while the boy grabbed her hands to stop her moving.

Ms Snowdon said: “It was only when she said she was going to be sick that he stopped to let her get out of the car.”

Chung threw her out of the car and threatened to kill her if she told anyone, before later driving her to Belle Vale.

The victim was hysterical and threw herself in front of a passing car, but the female driver knew Chung and rang him to collect her.

His DNA was later recovered from the victim’s knickers and she had a large number of small injuries.

Chung has previous convictions for battery and possessing cocaine and cannabis, but the boy did not have a criminal record.

John Cooper, QC, defending Chung, said his current partner and a past girlfriend said he had never been a threat to them.

Paul Lewis, defending the teen, said he comforted his victim, held her hair back so she could be sick and offered her water.

He said Chung was the “primary protagonist” and the boy, who felt “moral repugnance”, had previously suffered a family bereavement.

Judge Norman Wright said Chung knew his young victims were vulnerable, but gained their trust to abuse them.

He said the first girl attempted suicide, adding: “You have cast a very dark shadow over any future relationships that she might have.”

Judge Wright said he plied the third girl with vodka, cocaine and cannabis “to make her compliant” then raped her.

He said: “You made threats to petrol bomb her house or kill her if she told the police what happened.”

Judge Wright said the boy didn’t try to stop Chung “or even turn a blind eye” but helped him, while high on cocaine.

He said Chung wanted “to express power and control over his victims”, adding: “Your behaviour is manipulative and predatory.”

The judge said Chung was “dangerous” and jailed him for 20 years, with an extended six years on licence, as he shook his head.

He will serve at least two thirds of the sentence behind bars and only be released if a parole board deems he is no longer a risk.

The boy burst into tears as he was locked up for seven years, while supporters of both rapists cried in the public gallery.

The pair were told to sign on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Description

A man was found with a vile collection of more than 3,000 indecent images of children when police searched his Northumberland home.

Christopher Cooper had the photos and movies, some of which were of the most serious category A kind, on a computer and mobile phone at his house in Stocksfield.

A court heard that specialist officers from Northumbria Police searched the 52-year-olds address after concerns were raised that he was downloading the sick pictures on August 9 last year.

Numerous electrical devices were seized and interrogated and a total of 3,349 child abuse images and videos were discovered, prosecutors said.

Cooper, of Branch End Terrace, Stocksfield, appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates Court to plead guilty to four counts of making indecent images of children.

Laura Croft, prosecuting, said officers who searched Coopers address seized a number of electrical devices, including memory cards, a computer tower and a mobile phone.

The seized items were then interrogated by police, Miss Croft told magistrates.

When examined, the mobile phone revealed 10 category C images and, on the computer, there was over 3,000 indecent images of children of all categories.

Description

One boy was abused up to 100 times

A scout leader who preyed on young boys at various camps has been jailed for 11 years.

The sex offender abused the victims, as young as eight, at their homes and scout clubs across Essex.

Anthony Allen (Antony Allen), 27, of Plaistow, Newham, was sentenced for six offences of sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, and six offences of sexual activity with a child under 15.

The charges relate to eight children from the 25th Newham East Scout Group, that Allen had volunteered at for ten years, until he was suspended last year pending the investigation.

The offences took place against victims, all boys aged between eight and 16, who were abused at varying times over a four-year period between January 2013 and September 2017. They occurred at different locations, including home addresses and scout camps in Essex, Kent and Wales.

During the period of abuse, Allen worked as a teaching assistant for a year and then a learning mentor at a primary school.

The investigation was first triggered when one of his victims, realising that his younger brother was due to move up from cubs to Allen's scout group and would also be at risk, told his mother he had to get him out of scouts in a bid to protect him.

His mother initially viewed this comment as a joke, but after her elder son repeated allegations to other relatives she got the police involved.

The first formal complaint led to other victims coming forward and contacting police.

The investigation

Allen also enlisted as a volunteer in the Army Reserves and was deployed in Estonia for training with his unit, 7 Rifles G Company, who are based in West Ham, when the allegations first surfaced.

When police identified Allen he was abroad with his army unit and he was flown back to England for questioning.

He was arrested at Heathrow Airport in mid-September 2017, interviewed and then released on bail.

He then temporarily disappeared after leaving 'suicide notes' at several of his victims' houses.

Allen's computer was seized from his home address and he was arrested over offences relating to making and possessing images and videos.

During the trial the prosecution outlined examples of Allen grooming different boys, firstly by initiating text message conversations which would begin as banter, which would then progress to inappropriate chat focusing on male physique, and progress again to explicitly sexual language.

One tactic the predator used was to ask victims to send him photos of them exercising their bodies as evidence for their progress towards a so-called 'fitness' badge.

He took advantage of the close physical proximity fostered by seasonal scout camping trips. He would surprise victims in the toilets or persuade them into his tent under the false shield of seeking support while the young boys were away from home, but they were then trapped by Allen into unwanted physical intimacy.

He abused his victims 'hundreds of times'

One boy, who was first assaulted by Allen at the age of 10, estimated sexual touching had occurred on 60 to 100 occasions.

Allen also used the technique where he would insinuate himself into the wider family by befriending parents and children to win their trust. Parents consistently told police how helpful and supportive he was, assisting with errands and taking the children out for day trips, leading officers to note they had been equally groomed.

One one occasion Allen assaulted a 13-year-old victim in his own bedroom while the boy's mother and younger sibling were downstairs in the garden.

Another victim came forward to police and said Allen was looked up to as a role model by members of the group and several, including himself, viewed him as a second father.

One victim called him 'dad' as he was taken out ad about by Allen just as a parent would.

Another boy was so embarrassed at the memory of the explicitly sexual suggestions that Allen had made to him that he was unable to say them out loud and had to write them on a note he handed to officers.

Victim's mother said: "Allen scarred him mentally for life"

A mother of one of the younger victims spoke after court, she said: "Im really hurt by what Antony has done as he has taken what can never be replaced. His actions have impacted on our day to day lives as he didnt just abuse him physically but has scarred him mentally for life.

"He has left us shocked to the core and we will never trust anyone again. He had a group of children that was full of life and working towards bettering themselves and their community but took this opportunity to gain trust then abuse it.

"My heart goes out to the families of all the victims that have been taken in and had their trust abused.

"I cant thank the police enough for all they have done to get this conviction - they have been amazing to me and to the child victims."

PC Bruce Upson, Met Officer who led the investigation, praised the bravery of the young boys who helped bring Allen to account.

Upson, from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command, said: "These children have shown great courage throughout the investigation. Their actions in finding the strength to come forward and report the matter has prevented other potential offences occurring.

"Allen was a predatory offender who used his well-established position as a scout leader to gain access to children and commit sexual offences against them whilst along the way earning the respect and trust of families.

"If there is anyone else out there who believes they or someone they are close to may also have been a victim of Allen, I would urge them to contact us a soon as possible on our dedicated NSPCC hotline number of 0800 048 0278 quoting Operation Stanhope.

The Charges

Allen first appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court on October 4, 2017, where he was remanded to attended the Old Baily on November 1, 2017.

He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, April 13 and sentenced for a total of 11 years for 12 sexual offences involving minors, as well as, making 30 Category C images of children he know, possession of three category A images, 28 Category B images and 611 Categeory C images. These also included one Category A video, and ten Category B videos.

Description

A RAPIST was snared after his victim secretly recorded him confessing to the crime. Gary Rawlings attacked the 17 year-old girl at a flat in Glasgow's Thornliebank in late 2016. She did not disclose her ordeal to anyone but months later captured the 18 year-old on her mobile phone admitting what he had done. This included Rawlings claiming he did not think the victim was serious when she told him to stop. Rawlings has now been locked up for three years after he pled guilty to rape at the High Court in Glasgow. Judge Norman Ritchie QC told him: Your belated admission (of guilt) spared her having to give evidence. He added what happened to the girl has had long lasting consequences for her. It emerged Rawlings has already been hit with a lifelong Non-Harassment Order not to approach the teenager following separate court proceedings. The rape occurred after the pair were together at a flat in Glasgow's Thornliebank. The court heard they went on to initially have consensual sex. But, after a few moments, the girl told Rawlings: Can we stop? I don't want to do this anymore. Prosecutor Bill McVicar went on to state: He continued to have sex with her as she repeatedly told him she did not want to. She tried to move her body about the bed to stop it happening. However, Rawlings still carried on for around 10 minutes. The victim then said: I told you to stop. I did not want to do it. Rawlings replied: I'm sorry. Mr McVicar said the girl was left upset. She did not tell anyone at the time as she was worried no one would believe her. It was last April when the victim and a friend were in Glasgow city centre that they then bumped into Rawlings. He made a comment to her, but she ignored him and tried to walk away. But, the court heard the girl then decided to record Rawlings on her phone without his knowledge. He then went on to admit to the sex attack. Mr McVicar said: He made admissions of having raped her and these were recorded on the mobile phone. He indicated what happened had been a mistake and that he did not think she was being serious when she told him to stop. He had been aware that she was upset when she was leaving the flat. The victim went to police after further unwanted contact by Rawlings. She stated she had been raped and handed over the phone with the recording. Rawlings was later quizzed by police, but made no comment.

Description

Pervert Simon Hulme has been jailed after he was snared by a paedophile hunter months after he was released from prison for similar offences.

The 35-year-old was locked up for 30 months in January 2016 for three offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and arranging the commission of a child sex offence.

But within months of his release he was again making contact with what he believed was a child online.

However, he was actually chatting with a woman who set up a fake profile on social media site Kick.

Using the name of Shelly she told the defendant she was aged 13. He told her he was aged 35 and sent her videos of him performing a sex act on himself.

He asked for pictures of her and for her to go live on the site so he could see what she looked like.

His requests became aggressive and the woman discontinued the chats and reported the defendant to a group called Protecting the Innocent.

The group confronted the defendant at Bucknall Park and he was arrested by police.

Now Hulme has been jailed for two years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Peter McCartney said the defendant initiated conversation with 'Shelly' on the Kick site in December.

He said: "He told her he was 35 and sent her videos of himself performing a sex act on himself. He asked her for pictures of her and requested she went live on the site so he could see what she looked like. He wanted to get her back to his house. The requests for sending a video became aggressive. He demanded she viewed videos of him.

"He said he wanted sex. She made it clear she was only 13. She discontinued the chats and contacted the Protecting the Innocent group.

"He was eventually confronted in Bucknall Park and was arrested by the police."

Hulme, of Rosedawn Close West, Hanley, pleaded guilty to breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order; attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child; and attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child between December 1 and January 5.

Samina Rashid, mitigating, said the defendant accepts sending the messages.

She added: "On his release from the last sentence he was told he would start a programme very soon. That did not materialise until the first week in January and he had only had one session before he was arrested."

Judge David Fletcher told Hulme: "The behaviour you entered into very shortly after your release was very similar to the behaviour you had been sentenced for in 2016.

"The really worrying aspect is you knew very well the girl you were talking to was 13-years-old. Nevertheless, you continued to encourage her to do the sorts of things which she indicated she was not very keen on doing."

He added: "This is a very serious set of circumstances committed by a man who has extremely similar previous convictions who seems to have learnt little or nothing from his previous incarceration."

Hulme was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and was made the subject of a 10 year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Description

Paedophile Mark Jones has been jailed after he asked a schoolgirl if she wanted to earn 10 - before carrying out a sickening sex attack on her.

The 53-year-old undressed the girl, touched her chest and then sexually assaulted her.

The matter came to the attention of the police and the defendant was arrested.

He told officers he had touched the girl's private area and said the incident lasted for between 10 and 20 minutes.

Now Jones has been jailed for 32 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.

Prosecutor Brian McKenna said: "He asked her if she wanted to earn a tenner. She said she did. He undressed her. He touched her private area and touched her breasts."

The defendant told police he did not know why he had done it and said he was very sorry.

Jones, of Broadfield Road, Goldenhill, pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a child.

Anis Ali, mitigating, said it was an 'unfortunate and inappropriate' incident which the defendant regrets.

Mr Ali said: "There is no evidence of any physical injury being occasioned.

"It is something he has to live with, the stigma which comes with such a conviction. He is embarrassed and ashamed."

Jailing Jones, Judge David Fletcher said it was a 'one-off incident'.

He said: "You offered your victim 10 to enable you to do what is accepted by you with her.

"She was a child. You were a man of over 50.

"You accept the incident went on for 10 to 20 minutes. The facts of this case are decidedly unattractive. The evidence clearly demonstrates by the offering of some money there was a degree of grooming involved.

"You clearly decided on this occasion to take a massive risk. Today is the day when you have to pay the price for that."

The judge placed Jones on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and made him the subject of an indefinite restraining order preventing him having any contact with his victim.

Description

A registered sex offender who was spotted working in a child-friendly pub has had his contract of employment terminated and been barred from the premises.

Ian Mcdonald, who was jailed following a trial in 2010 for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy, was seen working in the Avon Brewery, on Castle Street, Salisbury.

Local resident Carl Hamp told Wiltshire 999s: I found out about him working there, and I couldnt believe it. I felt that I had to see it with my own eyes. I went there and witnessed him in there myself.

When we approached Avon Brewery for comment, they denied that Mcdonald worked there.

The manager, who only gave his name as Ben, said: This is untrue. He is in no way a member of staff here. Yes, he comes into the pub, but he is not a member of staff here.

When asked whether he was banned from the Avon Brewery, the manager then replied: Why would there be any reason to ban him?

Do you not believe in the British justice system, that hes served his time?

A short time later, we received a further phone call from the pub. The spokesperson confirmed that on speaking to the owner of the establishment, they have chosen to ban Mcdonald immediately.

Wiltshire 999s has since seen a conversation on Facebook between manager Ben and a member of the public, where he confirms that Mcdonald was employed there, but has since been fired.

We contacted the Avon Brewery in light of of this further information, but they ignored our request for further comment.

On a social media post about Mcdonald, a number of people have said that they have been served by him in recent days and weeks.

He will remain on the Sex Offenders Register until 2020.

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A man sleeping rough in the woods punched and kicked a woman before dragging her into his tent and raping her.

Homeless Daniel Woolf, 36, was described by police as a predatory offender after he was handed a 19-year jail sentence.

The woman was held in the tent by Woolf for hours.

A court heard Woolf, who has a previous conviction for sexual assault, approached the woman at 1am at Altrincham train station on October 15 last year.

He had been living in a tent in woods off South Downs Drive in Hale at the time.

Police said Woolf led the woman away from the station before dragging her into the tent.

Screaming, she tried to run away but he threw her into a bush before punching and kicking her until she went back inside the tent.

Woolf then pushed the terrified woman to the ground and raped her.

After an ordeal lasting hours, the woman, aged in her 30s, managed to escape to a nearby shop where the alarm was raised.

Police were called and Woolf was arrested.

At Minshull Street Crown Court he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

He was found guilty of rape, false imprisonment and assault and was locked up for 19 years.

Det Con Helen Bagnall praised the womans bravery and said Woolf preyed on the fact she didnt know the area.

She said: The woman was obviously terrified when Woolf dragged her into a tent and raped her. What she has been through is horrendous.

She was extremely brave managing to alert a shop worker and I want to thank them in turn for contacting us so we could apprehend Woolf.

He preyed on the fact the woman didnt really know the area and used that to his advantage to inflict his horrific assault where not only did he rape her, but he held her in a tent for hours.

Description

Convicted paedophile snared by TWO vigilante groups after trying to groom both their decoy 'teenage girls' online is sent back to jail for seven years

This is the moment a pervert tells two paedophile hunting groups he is already a convicted sex offender as they snare him for grooming teen girls online.

Charles David Wigham has been sent back to prison after chatting to decoy profiles from both vigilante groups Dark Justice and Guardians of the North.

They turned up at his house where they filmed their confrontation with the 30-year-old before he was arrested by police.

At Newcastle Crown Court he was handed a seven year extended prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to engage a child in sexual communication, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and breach of a sexual offences prevention order.

In chat logs revealed by the vigilante groups, Wigham, who thought he was speaking to three girls aged 13 and 14, sent graphic pictures as well as links to an explicit porn website.

He also asked the girls 'do you watch porn?' and called them 'baby'.

However, Wigham, of Winlaton, Blaydon on Tyne, was shocked when he realised that he was actually speaking to paedophile hunters.

When he was confronted he admitted to the two groups he was already a convicted sex offender.

He told them he had spent around 20 months in prison after having sex with a 14 year-old girl who he groomed over Facebook.

He also told them that he had to sign the sex offenders register for life.

A member of Dark Justice said: 'We didn't know that he had been convicted before.

'It wasn't until he told us when we got there that we found out that he was a convicted sex offender.

'It just shows that even if these people have been convicted they may go back online again. They can not always be rehabilitated.

'The day after we caught him he was supposed to be going to sign the sex offenders register. How long had he had that phone for?

'Changes need to be made - it wouldn't take long for his phone to be checked and for probation officers to realise something was going on.

'It is too relaxed and easy for these offenders.'

On the footage which captures the moment Wigham was snared, he admits that last time he was snared when the child's mother read the messages and reported him to the police.

The Dark Justice member added: 'He was speaking to decoys from both teams so we decided to go after him together.

'His parents were there and they were completely mortified by their son's actions.

'They were saying that he usually has to go to the library to use the internet - but they didn't know that he had a secret phone.'

Description

A perverted pensioner has avoided a prison sentence after he groomed what he believed was an 11-year-old girl.

Charles Edwin March, of Southampton appeared at Southampton Crown Court where he admitted sexual communication with a child.

The court was told that March contacted a online profile that portrayed itself as an 11-year-old girl. However, the profile belonged to online child protection team 'SKID'.

The messages sent by March were highly sexually explicit from the outset. He also sent a number of sexual images of himself.

March arranged to meet the girl for sexual acts and possible full sexual penetration, but the meet failed to take place.

Members from SKID visited March at his address and confronted him over the messages. He made a full admission on video. Police were called and March was aressted.

The judge handed March 16 Months Imprisonment Suspended for 2 years

He was given a 10 Year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was told that he must register as a sex offender for a period of 10 Years.

Description

A paedophile hunting group has released messages a former school worker sent to one of their decoys, who was posing as a 13-year-old girl.

Daniel Marks, 24, from Eliotts Drive in Yeovil, was branded a paedophile by a judge - who spared him jail so he could get treatment for his 'sick and distorted' thoughts.

Marks served as the parish councillor for the Brimsmore ward of Yeovil Without Parish Council between 2014 and 2015, representing the Labour party, and had worked at a school for six months until his arrest in July 2017.

The school he had been working at was not identified during the hearing.

He had previously admitted a charge of sexual communication with a child and was handed a three year community order by Judge David Ticehurst on Thursday (March 22)

He will have to carry out up to 20 days of rehabilitation activities including completing a programme designed to help sex offenders.

He will have to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, pay 400 costs and was made to sign the Sex Offenders Register, as well as being made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Prosecuting, Virginia Cornwall said the sting had been carried out by the group Guardians of the North, who had been operating in an online chatroom.

"At the start, the girl said that she was 13 years old," she said. "The conversation started out flirtatiously, but soon became sexual and serious."

His defence barrister, Rebecca Bradberry, told the court the conviction was a matter of "bitter regret" and that he had began talking to the decoy following the break-down of his long-term relationship.

Sentencing, Judge Ticehurst told him: "You told the probation service that you didn't know if you were attracted to children or not. Let me answer that question for you: You are.

"You pretend otherwise because you want to hide the truth. But the reason you were on that website talking to what you thought was a 13-year-old girl was because you wanted to be.

"You wanted to be sexually involved with a 13-year-old. That makes you a paedophile."

He said it was particularly worrying that Marks had been employed by a school at the time of his arrest.

"You chose employment that meant you were close to children," he said.

The judge explained that he could only sentence Marks to a short period in prison if he chose to jail him, and there was more chance of him being rehabilitated with a community order.

A spokesperson for the online group who handed over the conversations to the police said they felt the sentence was disappointing.

"It's a poor sentence," they said. "But now at least people know his dark secrets."

Following the sentence, they released a series of disturbing messages that Marks had sent their decoy.

In the messages he describes carrying out intimate acts with her and invites her to call him.

Following his conviction, a spokesman for the Labour party said: "Daniel Marks is no longer a member of the Labour Party.

"A member who has been convicted of a serious crime is ineligible for Labour Party membership."

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A sex predator that raped a woman multiple times has been sentenced to 12 years in prison

John William Chesher, 44 of Horsham, Sussex appeared at Hove Crown Court where he was found guilty of:

• Three counts of rape
• Sexual assault on a female by penetration

The court was told that Chesher had another conviction on his record dating back to September 1997 when he was found guilty for the indecent assault of a female child aged under 14

Chesher was sentenced to a total of 12 years imprisonment.

He was told that he must register as a sex offender for life.

Description

Vile John Ring pinned the girl in a Galway shop corner by her neck and roughly groped her from behind. THE predator brother of Minister Michael Ring has escaped prison time for molesting a schoolgirl. John Ring, 49, belatedly admitted sexually assaulting the Transition Year student at his trial in December 2015. His young victim had just turned 17 when he entered the north Co Galway shop where she was working in July, 2014, and called her to the back on the pretext of looking for booze. There the vile beast pinned her in a corner by her neck and roughly groped her from behind. Galway Circuit Criminal Court was told that the girl needed counselling after the attack and is now nervous of people, especially men, if they come too close. Ring was told at his first sentencing hearing in March 2016 that he faced a four-year stretch behind bars for the assault. But it was made clear to the bread delivery man, from Castlebar, Co Mayo, that his engagement with counselling would determine how the sentence would be served. Successive hearings over the next 20 months heard he was addressing his sexual deviancy. And defence counsel Diarmuid Connolly asked for sentence to be finalised "in ease of everyone", adding that the latest probation report had noted his client was "genuinely trying to change his behaviour". Judge Rory McCabe said a deterrent term would be appropriate — then sentenced Ring to four years in prison, which he suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.