February 2016

Derbyshire paedophile jailed for downloading more than 9,000 images of children

A PAEDOPHILE who downloaded more than 9,000 indecent images and movies of children has been jailed for 15 months.

Ian Watkin, who denies possessing indecent images, was found guilty by a jury at Derby Crown Court.

Jailing the 44-year-old, Judge Robert Egbuna said that when he gave evidence in his trial he had been “unbelievable and, at times, fanciful”.

He said: “You sought to blame absolutely everyone – that they were responsible for downloading the images. You’re someone who doesn’t in any way recognise the harm caused by this type of offending.”

The court heard that when police searched Watkin’s Long Eaton home in 2013 they seized computer equipment. When this was analysed, officers discovered 50 category A (the most extreme level) images and movies; 40 category B images and movies and 9,324 category C images.

Judge Egbuna said to Watkin: “The evidence from experts suggested that from you there were searches in relation to one of the sharing facilities of terms such as ‘pre-teen sex’.”

The court heard that Watkin had also used search terms such as “Thai Lolita”, which would more likely have brought up images of young girls modelling.

Matthew Buckland, for Watkin, said: “The defendant’s pre-sentence report maintains, pretty much, what he said during the course of the trial, and for those reasons, in the face of a continuing denial, he is assessed as not being suitable for treatment.

“He’s a man of 44 years of age and has one very old unrelated matter (previous conviction). He has adjusted to custody. He acknowledges he must receive a custodial sentence. He is concerned about his time in custody but he has adjusted.”

Watkin, now of Farndale Close, Long Eaton, was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. He must also obey a sexual harm prevention order for an indefinite period.

March 2016

Facebook pervert who targeted girl, 13, walks free

Top judges have allowed a Chesterfield child sex pest to walk free – despite the Solicitor-General arguing his community sentence was far too soft.

Facebook pervert, Nathan Patrick Bray, 25, requested an obscene video of his vulnerable 13-year-old victim as well as sending her a picture of a soiled condom.

Robert Buckland QC, the Solicitor-General, argued Bray should have been locked up for around three and a half years for his sickening crimes.

But judges at London’s Court of Appeal refused to interfere with the community sentence which required him to take part in a child sexual offenders’ programme for 110 days.

Unemployed Bray contacted the teenage virgin on Facebook and she soon told him she was just 13, Lady Justice Rafferty told the court.

Despite this a ‘torrent of messages’ were sent between the two which soon became sexual.

Bray, of St Augustine’s Crescent, asked for a picture of the schoolgirl’s private parts and sent her one of his own.

He ‘urged’ her to send him sexual footage of her pleasuring herself and sent her the condom image.

Bray tried to arrange a meeting with the girl for sex, telling her he would use a condom and ‘be gentle’.

But his crimes came to a halt when Facebook alerted the police about the inappropriate messaging.

He admitted five offences at Derby Crown Court on January 8.

These were causing a child to watch a sexual act, two counts of causing or inciting child sexual images and two of arranging or facilitating a child sex offence.

He had three previous convictions for crimes including battery, the court heard.

A psychiatrist’s report described Bray as having the ‘emotional maturity of a child’.

Jake Hallam, for the Solicitor-General, said: “These offence were so serious that only a custodial sentence was justified.”

He pointed to the victim being particularly ‘vulnerable’ because she was ‘so young’ and mentally disabled.

A ‘message’ needed to be sent to adults who target children on social media, the barrister told the court.

Lady Justice Rafferty said it was a ‘far from easy’ sentencing exercise.

But it was ‘in the hands of an experienced judge’ who ‘rightly’ considered the ‘expertise’ offered by the psychiatrist as important.

The crown court judge was ‘heavily swayed’ by the psychiatric report and followed its recommendation to impose a community order, including the treatment programme.

He was ‘entitled’ to take the view that the interests of other young girls would be ‘best served by every attempt being made to render this offender unlikely or less likely to reoffend’.

“We decline to interfere with the sentence, which was not unduly lenient,” ruled Lady Justice Rafferty, who was sitting with Mr Justice Cooke and Judge David Griffith-Jones QC.

March 2016

Man convicted after admitting 11 sexual offences

An Ilkeston man has been convicted of sexual offences against children.

Darren Guy, 50, of Gallows Inn Close, pleaded guilty to 11 sexual offences, and was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, March 11.

Charges included causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, causing or inciting prostitution or pornography involving a child, making indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images.

The offences came to light in 2012 when Guy contacted a 14-year-old girl via internet chat rooms.

Guy received a Community Sentence where he must participate in a Community Sex Offender Programme for not more than 120 days.

He also was given a Community Order for three years and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and must sign the Sexual Offenders register for five years.

March 2016

Jail for pervert bus driver

A bus driver from Kirk Hallam has been jailed for a string of sex offences including making and distributing indecent photographs of children.

Pervert Colin Garrod, aged 56, of Godfrey Drive, who worked for Trent Barton in Heanor, was jailed for three years and four months at Nottingham Crown Court on March 17.

He pleaded guilty to ten charges under the Sexual Offences Act following his arrest in November, including two of sexual assault, possession of indecent photos of children, taking indecent photos of children and distributing indecent images of children.

April 2016

TEACHING assistant at primary school found with indecent images of boys

A TEACHING assistant at a Derby primary school found with indecent images of boys has been banned from working with children for life.

Anthony Doohan’s former partner took his computer to the police after she came across the images and one movie of the most serious category, a court was told.

The 40-year-old, of Normanton, has now pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children.

Judge Jonathan Taaffe, handing Doohan a 44-week jail term, suspended for two years, said: “This is a very worrying and serious situation.

“You come across young people at your place of work, primarily those who have special needs, and you have deliberately searched for images of young boys in a sexual context for your own sexual gratification.

“This is not a victimless crime. If people do not view the disgusting and disgraceful images they would not be made.

“At the end of the day they are young boys in this footage and there is a market for it on the black web and the internet.

“You are an intelligent man, I have read positive references from your local priest and members of the Catholic church you are a member of.

“Clearly my concern is the protection of young members of the public and your probation report may say you are low risk of repeat offending but it does not sit comfortably with me that you are still viewing pornographic images.”

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court was told how Doohan had worked with autistic and special needs children at the school for 15 years.

The name of the school was not read out in court, but it is understood to be close to his home in Fleet Street, Normanton.

Peter Bettany, prosecuting, said the case came to light when Doohan’s former long-term partner took two of his computers to the police as she “believed there were images of young males” on them.

He said: “Analysis showed he had been browsing a particular Russian website of an indecent nature using the search term ‘boys’.

“The category A movie was of a boy aged 12 to 14 carrying our sexual acts.

“Other searches included the term ‘young Pakistani boy’.”

Mr Bettany said in police interview Doohan told them he had “an interest in naturism” and had looked at naturist websites before.

He said: “I will be asking for an order preventing him from working with children as the defendant has been working at a local school as a teaching assistant working with autistic and special needs children.”

Doohan pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images and must undergo 30 days rehabilitation.

He will also be on the sex offender’s register for seven years and was ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

April 2016

Pervert from Derby groomed victim, 11, to send him indecent images

A PERVERT who groomed an 11-year-old girl online has been sentenced to two years in prison.

John Higgins, who was living in Alvaston at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to causing a child under the age of 13 to create pornography and a charge of making an indecent photograph of a child.

The 30-year-old, of Halifax Road, Sheffield, appeared at Derby Crown Court and was sentenced to two years in prison for the first offence, with ten months to be served concurrently for the second.

Higgins must sign the Sexual Offenders Register for ten years and a sexual harm prevention order was imposed for ten years.

He had met the girl, who lived in Newcastle, on a chat and dating app called Say Hi and had lied about his age. He engaged in sexual conversations and encouraged her to send him indecent images.

Update: Now living in Coleridge Street, Derby. 

This pervert was not actually convicted under the name ‘Maxmillan Horseman’

He changed his name by deed poll to hide his conviction.

June 2002

Pervert jailed for sexually abusing two young children

A pervert who sexually abused two young children in Germany has been convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.

The court heard that the man repeatedly sexually assaulted the children who were aged just 5 and 6-years old.

The offences took place in 2001.

The defendant was told he must register as a sex offender for an indefinite period.

He was also told he must not have any unsupervised access to children.

April 2016

April 2016

This monster from Derby sexually abused three girls – one was just seven years old

A “MONSTER” who sexually abused three girls – one from the age of seven – has been jailed for 23 years.

A judge told Steven Green he was an “extremely dangerous” man.

Green, of Warner Street, Derby, was found guilty by a jury of 23 counts of child abuse, including three rapes.

Through tears, one of Green’s victims stood up in Derby Crown Court and told her abuser: “You are a monster… I know you need to be behind bars for a long time because you are the most dangerous person I know.

“The truth is, what you did to me destroyed me. You took everything from me. You took my childhood, you took my innocence, you took my confidence from me. I spent my life having to keep this dirty secret.”

But before sitting down, the woman who is now in her 20s, told Green she forgave him, and said that did not absolve him of his crime but relieved her of the burden.

The judge imposed an extended licence period, which last until 2044.

Following the sentencing hearing, Detective Constable Dan Burns, investigating officer in the case, said the first victim had reported the abuse in 2013.

He said: “It’s taken a lot of investigation but all the victims have shown great resolve through all the time it’s been investigated and put through the court, ultimately, with them all having given evidence at trial.

“It has resulted in a substantial sentence for a man who the judge has described as dangerous, and we hope this will give some comfort and closure to the victims, who were very young girls when the offences were committed against them.

“Derbyshire police has specially trained officers who investigate these very serious offences and to support people who wish to come forward to report them.”

ONE VICTIM’S STORY

A brave victim of child abuser Steven Green stood up in court and told him: “You have ruined my life.”

The woman said to Green, who has been jailed for 23 years: “I used to ask God ‘why me?’, was I really a bad kid? Did I do something that made me deserve it?

“You have ruined my life and I have so many issues because of you. Some days I even hate to be in my body and I feel physically and mentally disgusted.”

But she concluded, by saying: “I forgive you. I forgive you for all those years of abuse. I forgive you for all the years you made me feel I deserved what you were doing. I forgive you for all the lies you’ve told to and about me – because forgiveness is nothing to do with absolving you of your crime but is everything to do with relieving myself of the burden of being a victim, letting go of the pain and transforming myself from victim to survivor.

“I hope that you will, some day, be honest to yourself and be able to admit what you are and what you have done because it’s an illness you have. Just sadly an illness you allowed to become you and define who you are, when you should have got help and that’s what you’ve got to live with.”

Following the hearing, the woman, now in her 20s, said: “Being abused makes you feel alone and isolated. Your biggest fear is that no-one will believe you. But the police provide bridges for you and the chance to tell your story. They help you get through it.”

Green’s third victim, who is also now in her 20s, said that since being abused by Green at the age of 13 she had suffered from anxiety and severe depression.

“For a long time, I thought it was my fault it had happened,” she said.

“I thought it was something wrong with me and since then I seem to have been used by men – it’s given me a weakness to be abused by people.”

May 2016

Sheffield nurse had hundreds of indecent images of children

Extreme pornography, showing the abuse of animals as well as people, was also among the ‘highly unsavoury’ material viewed by Andrew McLeish.

Father-of-two McLeish, aged 53, a former senior operating theatre practitioner at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, was handed a suspended prison sentence when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court.

Judge James Sampson told him: “I accept it is unlikely that you would transfer your attentions into direct action against children.

“But these are gross offences. You were partaking in the abuse of children by viewing images of the most distressing kind.

“You used particular software to access this material, and you dedicated yourself to this activity for a number of years.”

McLeish was arrested after his home in Higham, Alfreton was raided in March last year, the court was told by Nicholas Burn, prosecuting.

He was at work at the time, but his wife and two children were in as police officers executed a search warrant and removed hard drives and computer equipment from a workshop at the address.

When the hard drives were examined, more than 1,100 images of children were discovered, many of them classed as category A, as well as movies.

“Some of the equipment seized allowed McLeish to browse the web and use chat forums with anonymity,” said Mr Burn.

The family computer was also taken away from the house. A hardware fault meant that only five per cent of data could be located, but even this revealed 45 more indecent images of children and another movie.

“Some of the children were as young as six to 12 months,” said Mr Burn. “They were depicted in various sexual settings. It was highly unsavoury material, containing distressing activities.”

When interviewed by police, McLeish offered no comment or explanation for his behaviour.

But in court, he pleaded guilty to four charges relating to making or possessing indecent images of children and extreme pornography.

McLeish’s barrister, William Bennett, said: “He accepts that this was illegal behaviour and that he has a real problem and needs help.

“For some time, he has been depressed. He was at a low ebb and had problems in his family life.

“This has had an enormous effect on him.”

The court heard that, since his arrest, McLeish’s marriage had collapsed, and he had lost his job. He was now living with his parents in Essex.

The judge sentenced him to a total of 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was ordered to come under the supervision of the probation service for 12 months and attend an Internet sexual offending programme.

McLeish was also placed on the sex offenders’ register and subjected indefinitely to a sexual harm prevention order, which means he he is not allowed to use or possess any computer material that allows him to access the Internet unless it retains its history and can be easily examined.

Failure to comply with this order would make him liable to a punishment of five years in jail.

May 2016

Evil child abuser who targeted youngsters for half a century is jailed

An evil child abuser with a history of abusing youngsters spanning over half a century has been jailed for 14 years.

Derby Crown Court heard on Friday, May 20, how John Brian Hall, 69, of Jubilee Street, New Mills, began an abhorrent campaign during the 1960s and 70s and at one point he was later believed to have become involved in a paedophile ring.

Having already served jail sentences for indecencies and buggery, Hall was once again brought to justice on Friday, May 20, for sentencing for his oldest known offences from more than 40 years ago involving two male youths.

Judge Robert Egbuna told Hall: “Your ardour and pursuit of young men has not diminished in my view and a trial jury convicted you on April 19 of a series of sexual assaults against two young men.

“Offences of indecent assault, gross indecency and buggery were part of a campaign and you didn’t care about the victims who you knew were vulnerable.”

Hall committed more than 90 indecent assaults, acts of gross indecency and buggery between October, 1964, and September, 1975, against the two boys all represented as nine counts.

The defendant was convicted of two counts of indecently assaulting the first boy on more than ten occasions on each count, and with a further count against the same victim of committing an act of gross indecency on more than ten occasions.

These offences were committed between October 7, 1964, and October 8, 1972.

Hall was also convicted on five counts of indecently assaulting the second boy on more than ten occasions on each count and with a further count of committing buggery against this same youngster on more than ten occasions.

These offences were committed between September 12, 1971, and September 13, 1975.

The first boy was subjected to having his penis touched, oral sex and being present while the defendant masturbated while he was aged seven to 15.

The second boy was also subjected to having his penis touched, being forced to touch Hall’s penis, oral sex, being ejaculated upon and being subjected to buggery while he was aged 12 to 15.

Hall was also recently convicted at High Peak magistrates’ court of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order by having contact with a child without informing the parent of his status on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Judge Egbuna told Hall: “You are evil and you would leave the first youngster in a bedroom and come back later having plied yourself with alcohol and you would abuse him and you would play with his penis.

“This would progress to sucking his penis and then you would lie back on the bed and ejaculate all over the bed and the victim recalled the smile on your face as you stroked his hair.

“He described being abused week after week from the age of seven and this went on until her was 15-years-old and you were in your 20s.

“The effect was devastating and it was visible to all when his video was played and he described the effect of the abuse and he became uncontrollable and he went into a trance and the police should be commended for coaxing him back.

“He has been left unable to trust men and he drank for a long period of time.

“The effect on the second victim when he saw you as a grown-up was that he urinated and wet himself.

“This abuse occurred in the 1970s when he was aged 12 to 15. You groomed and corrupted him from a young age and robbed him of his innocence.

“You squeezed his testicles, performed oral sex touched him and you would ejaculate in his mouth and penetrated his anum with your penis.

“And the abuse went on with acts of buggery and other abuse for a longer period of time.”

The court heard how Hall has previous convictions involving youngsters for buggery and indecent assault from 1981, buggery from 1984, an indecent assault conviction in 1990, and a further previous conviction in 1995, as well as a buggery conviction from 2001.

Judge Egbuna also highlighted that abuse had taken place between 1997 to 1999 at Hall’s former flat in Droylsden where other men went intending to abuse young children for which Hall was jailed and made subject to a SOPO.

He told the defendant: “It’s clear you have been offending since you were 17 years-old.”

He added: “It’s clear the harm caused to one of the complainants was immeasurable and it was extreme. You are manipulative. Your pre-sentence report views you as a person of on-going high risk of harm to children with a very high risk of re-conviction for sexual offences.”

Judge Egbuna sentenced Hall to 14 years of custody and he will continue to remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

The judge also commended Derbyshire Constabulary’s handling of the case given the trauma suffered by the victims.

June 2016

Derby police officer downloaded obscene images of children

A DERBY police officer has been convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images

PC Ross Dorricott pleaded guilty to one count of making indecent images of a child between August 29, 2006 and April 30, 2014 when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court.

The 36-year-old, who lives in Aston-on-Trent and who is based at Pear Tree station, also admitted three similar counts between December 1, 2008 and October 21, 2015.

He was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. It has not been revealed how many images Dorricott was caught with on his computer or which categories they were. He is no longer a serving officer after being sacked in April.

In 2014, PC Dorricott was handed a Divisional Commander’s commendation in Derby for his work at Pear Tree station.

And in 2010, when he was based at Swadlincote police station, he spoke at the inquest of former Pingle School teacher Nigel Simm, who was ruled to have taken his own life.

Derbyshire’s Chief Constable Mick Creedon said: “Very unusually I sacked Dorricott at a disciplinary hearing in April, which had to be held in private because the criminal proceedings were pending. Ordinarily I would have to wait for the conclusion of the court process.

“I’m horrified by his behaviour which would be unacceptable for anyone in society. It is far more unacceptable for a police officer, trusted to uphold the law, to act in this way. The public rightly expect the highest possible standards from police officers and he has let his colleagues and the force down and betrayed the trust put in him by the communities we are charged to serve.

“When the allegations first came to light we acted quickly to arrest and suspend him from duty. Specialist officers investigated the case and found damning evidence against him and the facts before the court show this was not an isolated incident.

“I took the unusual decision to hold a special disciplinary hearing in advance of the court case because of the weight of evidence against him

“I can assure the community that I have taken steps to make sure that he will never work in the police service again.

June 2016

Derbyshire internet star groomed young boys and girls then sexually abused them

A TEENAGE internet star from Derbyshire “used his growing online influence” to groom underage boys and girls to engage in sexual activity with him.

Tom Laywood, who once had more than 40,000 subscribers to his now deleted YouTube channel, enticed young boys and girls to his home where sexual touching took place.

Police said the 18-year-old, who still has a Twitter page called “Tom Laywood Fans” dedicated to him, would invite them to the house, in Oak Tree Close, Swanwick.

A spokesman for the force said if they rebuffed his advances “he would threaten the victims by saying he would use his online presence to embarrass them”.

He would make unwanted and uninvited sexual advances against boys and girls, and whenever those advances were rebuffed, he would threaten to use his growing online influence to embarrass the victims.

Derbyshire Police launched an investigation after victims came forward in early 2015.

Laywood was arrested, charged and has now pleaded guilty to three counts of inciting underage boys to engage in sexual activity, two similar counts involving underage girls and forcing a minor to watch a sex act.

The offences took place between August 2014 and April 2015.

According to one web page, Laywood became famous for his “Tomisnotawesome” YouTube channel, which accumulated almost 31,000 subscribers and almost 957,000 views by late 2014.

He uploaded popular videos include ones entitled “Cute and Attractive Things Girls Do” and “Things That Annoy and Frustrate Me About Girls.”

By the end of 2014, he had 15,000 Twitter followers and over 3,000 Instagram fans, and he had also launched a second YouTube Channel that had nearly 16,000 views.

His now shut down Twitter feed said: “I do things which I later regret, but who doesn’t?”

Two years ago, Laywood started his own online petition on the Change.org website called “Let Tom Laywood back in Swanwick Hall School Sixth Form”.

On it he wrote: “I was kicked out/let go/dismissed from school for no reason. I cannot go into detail about why this was but I do not give up on my dreams. I met my friends in that school and I am not prepared to start again, they will carry on without me and I refuse to give up having my education and my social life taken away. I hope you see that despite being treated like I was, I want to remain there for good reasons.”

It has since been closed down but, at the time, attracted 107 supporters.

The teenager was handed a two-year community order for each count on the indictment that he pleaded guilty to.

As part of that he must undergo a mental health treatment requirement.

He was also handed a five-year sexual harm prevention order at Nottingham Crown Court.

This means he is now banned form working with, or contacting online, anyone under the age of 16 for that period of time.

Judge Michael Stokes told him: “As I am sure you appreciate the offences to which you pleaded guilty to are very serious.

“It is quite clear that your problem is long standing and I cannot remember a case where the defendant has been the subject of so much analysis than you have been.

“It is perfectly clear from all of the reports that your behaviour is rooted in the conditions which you suffer and which have had a debilitating effect on your ability to judge situations.

“You are a very intelligent young man and you have huge ability, but without going into all of the details your ability to judge situations like other young men is affected by your conditions.

“I know you had a very nasty time when you were in Nottingham Prison and you do not want to go back there.

“Your parents have been very loyal and they remained loyal and supportive to you throughout this lengthy process.

June 2016

Facebook pervert jailed after abusing schoolgirl

A PERVERT who sexually touched a 15-year-old girl at Markeaton Park after arranging to meet her on Facebook has been jailed.

Joseph Fretti was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to the offence at Derby Crown Court. The incident happened on February 19, 2015.

In court Fretti gave the address of a prison as he was already serving a sentence for a previous offence.

The 26-year-old, formerly of Allestree, messaged the girl on Facebook and he asked her to met him at Markeaton Park.

The girl went along and Fretti plied her with alcohol before abusing her.

Fretti will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register and was given a restraining order not to contact the victim for five years.

July 2016

Jilted Facebook pervert posted explicit pictures of underage girlfriend as revenge

A Derbyshire pervert posted explicit photographs of his underage online girlfriend in revenge after she tried to end their relationship.

Sebastian Bickerton-King set up a fake Facebook account and shared the pictures to her 500 contacts, including the 15-year-old’s mother and brother.

Derby Crown Court was told how the 23-year-old kept the indecent images she sent him in a folder on his computer called “my slut”.

But when she tried to end their virtual relationship he carried out his threat from a bogus account he opened in the name of Randy Marsh.

In a victim impact statement, part of which was read out in court, the teenager, who lives in Wales, said: “Since the incident I have been left very depressed each time I talk about what has happened. I cry, I feel victimised, I still get horrible comments from people at school who saw the images. It has affected my confidence and my school grades are lower than they were, which I am concerned about. I had to seek counselling.”

Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said Bickerton-King, of Beech Avenue, Willington, started the online relationship with the girl in early 2015 when he sent her a friend request. She told him she was 16 and within a short while they had started swapping naked and explicit images of the most serious category.

Miss Allen said: “By February 21, 2015, it was apparent she was becoming reluctant to send him any more. She began to question why she had trusted him, she felt he was blackmailing her, she sent him a text message saying she would kill herself if he showed the photographs to her friends.”

Miss Allen said in the early hours of the following morning, Bickerton-King sent her a message saying ‘I suggest you unblock me (from Facebook) if you don’t want me to send them (the explicit photographs). When she unblocked him he sent a further message saying ‘if you try to do that again I won’t hesitate to send them’.”

On February 23, Bickerton-King set up the fake Facebook account and sent explicit photographs of the girl to the 500 people in her Facebook contacts list. He was arrested and his mobile phones, a computer and a tablet were seized. On the devices the police found 29 movies of Category A, the most serious, 11 category B movies and five category C movies. More indecent images of the girls were also discovered.

Bickerton-King pleaded guilty to one count of inciting a child to engage in pornography, three counts of making indecent images, one of possessing indecent images and three of distributing indecent images of a child. However, he escaped an immediate prison term after a judge heard how his life “revolved around the internet” and that he always believed the girl was aged 16.

Judge Jonathan Bennett spared Bickerton-King an immediate prison term, handing him a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He also ordered him to enrol in a three-year sex offenders’ treatment program and a five-year sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Bennett said: “Getting young people involved in pornography is a disturbing image and this case is another example of the dark side of the internet. The victim was 15 but I accept you believed she was 16 and when she wanted to halt your relationship you tried to blackmail her saying ‘if you don’t carry this on I will distribute the photographs’. I have read a psychological report on you and without going into the details it shows me that for many years you had difficulty socially and in many ways you live in isolation and spend most of your time on the internet.”

August 2016

Pervert from Derbyshire had indecent images of children and animals

A DERBYSHIRE man downloaded indecent image of children and extreme pornography, a court has heard.

Colin Tomlinson’s home was searched after police received information that an indecent image of a child had been downloaded at that address.

Officers seized two USB sticks and a Samsung phone and discovered one image of category A, the most serious, two of category B and 100 of C.

Police also found 66 images of extreme pornography, which involves animals.

Derby Crown Court heard that Tomlinson, 20, of Glebe Avenue, Smalley, started downloading indecent images of children when he was 17 years old. Sarah Slater, prosecuting, said the defendant’s internet searches included phrases such as “young girls naked” and “young girls nude”.

Handing Tomlinson a three-year community order, Judge John Burgess said: “I hope that over the time since you’ve been arrested you have been thinking a lot about what you have done and what might happen to you as a result.

“The guidelines for sentencing this kind of offence starts at 12 months.”

But Judge Burgess said he was not going to lock him up, but rather do something more constructive.

He added: “I hope you understand why people take such a horrified view of what you were doing. For every picture you looked at there is a child being abused.

“If it wasn’t for people wanting to look at pictures like that those children wouldn’t be abused. That’s why it’s so disgusting and that’s why the courts take such a serious view of it. If you do this again, you will certainly go to prison.”

Tomlinson must attend 30 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work. He must sign the sex offenders register and obey a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

The order includes allowing police to check any devices he uses to access the internet, not to delete his web history and to give officers his details of any social networking accounts.

September 2016

Derby pervert had almost 800 indecent images of children

A 25-year-old Derby man made almost 800 indecent images or movies of children, more than 300 of which were of the worst category.

Christopher Dawson also admitted “trying to seek the company of a 14-year-old boy for sexual activity” and in doing so broke a sexual harm prevention order that was already in place.

Derby Crown Court was told how he had “an alter-ego” which he used and which his barrister, David Webster, said needed to be “looked at further” before he could be sentenced for his crimes.

Three of the counts were dated between July 18, 2013 and October 17, 2014.

One related to  him making 46 images, or moving pictures, which fell into Category A, the most serious one.

Meanwhile, 72 of them were Category B and 227 were category C.

He also pleaded guilty to an offence on October 18, 2014, of seeking the company of a 14-year-old boy intending to meet him for sexual activity.

Six of the seven remaining counts of making indecent images of children all date back to January 22, this year, at an address in Peckerdale Gardens, Spondon.

They related to 266 Category A images or films, 133 Category B pictures or movies and 34 of category C.

The final count, also from the Spondon address, relate to one category B image dating back to February 5 this year.

Judge Jonathan Bennett adjourned sentencing to October 27 to allow the report to be prepared.

He handed Dawson conditional bail to reside at one of two addresses given to the court but not made public.

Judge Bennett said: “You have pleaded guilty to these offences, some at the earliest opportunity.

“The fact that I am bailing you does not mean you cannot expect not to receive a possible custodial sentence.”

October 2007

Man who assaulted girls is jailed

A 55-year-old Derby man who indecently assaulted two young girls has been sentenced to six years in prison

Stephen Hardy, of Deepdale Lane, Sinfin, was found guilty of 10 charges of indecent assault at Derby Crown Court on 4 October.

The court heard evidence from an eight-year-old girl about how Hardy assaulted her on several occasions.

Hardy was banned from ever working with children and was also put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

During the trial, Hardy told the court he had no interest in children and denied the incidents had happened.

But the court heard how Hardy, a salesman, was convicted of two counts of indecent exposure in the 1970s and 1980s and was warned to stay away from the girls on several occasions after they complained about his behaviour.

In passing his sentence on Tuesday, Judge David Price said the evidence showed it would “take a lot to stop him from committing these offences”.

During the course of the trial, an eight-year-old girl told the court how she was indecently assaulted on a number of occasions by Hardy and made to watch pornography on his computer.

He was convicted of nine sex offences against her which happened between November 2006 and February 2007.

A 22-year-old woman told the jury Hardy indecently assaulted her when she was aged between six and eight.

She reported it to police 14 years later.

September 2016

Pervert told police that he was sexually attracted to girls aged eight to ten

A 22-year-old Buxton man who contacted a teenage girl on Facebook and started a sexual relationship with her has been jailed for four years.

Samuel Wildgoose, of Victoria Avenue, sent a message to the 13-year-old girl, telling her he found her attractive.

Following this, a sexual relationship began and Wildgoose also took indecent photographs of the girl which he kept on his phone.

Prosecutor Clive Stockwell told Derby Crown Court: “There’s no suggestion that this was anything other than consensual – in the limitations of her being 13.”

The police were called after a relative of the girl found the two in bed together, the court heard.

When Wildgoose was arrested, he said he had been misusing cocaine, MCAT and cannabis and that he was sexually attracted to girls aged eight to ten.

He said he had provided alcohol to the girl and her friend. Wildgoose admitted causing or inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and possessing indecent images of a child.

Sonal Ahya, in mitigation, said: “He felt tremendously lost in his life and started to abuse a cocktail of drugs. “His life began to spiral out of control and the illicit drugs and alcohol, no doubt, amplified the insecurities he had. He and his family are nothing short of devastated.”

Judge John Burgess said: “Thirteen-year-old girls need protection from themselves sometimes and, when somebody like you comes along and disregards their age or approaches them because of their young age, everyone needs to know the courts take it very seriously.”

The judge said he had contacted her by Facebook, groomed her, given her alcohol and then begun a sexual relationship with her.

He added: “You also took photographs of her in an indecent state and you kept them on your mobile phone. It caused serious harm because of acts performed on this child.”

September 2016

Police track down internet sex offender with indecent photos of children

Officers tracked down an internet sex offender after he was caught during a police operation for distributing and making indecent photos of children.

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard today, Thursday, September 15, how John Carnall, 67, of Leabrooks Road, Somercotes, Alfreton, was snared by Greater Manchester Police during an operation that targeted people using the internet for sexual offences.

Prosecuting solicitor Robert Carr said: “These offences came to light as part of a Greater Manchester Police operation.

They have evidence of people making images of children and making them available to others over the internet by a peer-to-peer network. “This led them to an address which was visited by police in February and Carnall was there and he made admissions to the police of being responsible for these images.”

Police inspected Carnall’s computer equipment and discovered 28 category A images, 13 category B images and 63 category C images of children including 21 movies, according to Mr Carr.

Carnall accepted to police that he had used a laptop and no one else but him had downloaded any of the images concerned to the network.

The defendant also told police he had shared some of these images and he had been downloading these images for some time. Carnall pleaded guilty to distributing an indecent photo at Leabrooks Road between December 17, 2013 and February 3, 2016.

He also admitted three counts of making indecent photos at Leabrooks Road between the same dates concerning the 28 category A images, the 13 category B images and the 63 category C images.

Mr Carr added: “The defendant accepted it had been going on for over about six years. He said he was disgusted with himself and realised what he had done was wrong.”

District Judge Andrew Davison committed Carnall’s case to Derby Crown Court for sentencing on October 6.

He told Carnall: “You have accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and all this will be taken into account and you will be given appropriate credit in crown court.

“These are serious allegations and the powers of this court are inadequate and therefore you will be committed to appear at Derby Crown Court.”

Carnall was released on conditional bail until his sentencing on the grounds he does not have unsupervised contact with anyone aged under 18.