Archive

Tag Archives: English Defence League

Father and son from Cromer walk free after sentencing at Norwich Crown Court

By
October 12, 2017
Uncategorized

A man who mounted a campaign of harassment against his estranged wife walked free from Norwich Crown Court.

Judge Mark Dennis QC sentenced Anthony Bamford, 55, of Runton Road, Cromer, to 16 months imprisonment for making threatening phone calls and sending messages to his wife in December last year.

Many of the messages were sent through their nine-year-old son.

After the offences Bamford was arrested and served seven months in custody, which combined with another 35 days he had served fitted with an electronic tag, was enough to see him go free yesterday.

His sentence was 62 weeks imprisonment and he was ordered to pay £500 compensation, and received an indefinite restraining with regards to his wife.

The court heard Bamford caused his wife great distress, and threatened to kill her and frame her for various crimes.

Mr Dennis told him: “It’s not only [your wife] that has been harmed but it is your son. You should be now with a very heavy heart.”

Bamford was also up for an offence of affray, along with his 31-year-old son, Andrew Bamford, of New Parade, Cromer.

This matter involved two separate assaults using iron bars and shovels against men working on a Cromer construction site on June 22 last year.

The confrontations were caused by an argument over an unpaid bill.

Mr Dennis said: “I have heard nothing to justify you taking the actions that you did.

“It is just brutal behaviour and it has now put you in court.”

Andrew Bamford was given a nine month suspended sentence for this, and was ordered to pay £500 to the victim and do 100 hours unpaid work.

His father was given a six-month sentence for the affray, but this was put down as concurrent to his harassment sentence, so he did not have to serve any extra time.

Both Bamfords were given a reduction in their sentences for earlier pleading guilty.

Eastern Daily Press

Drug gangs behind major cocaine and M-CAT racket locked up for total of 132 years

By
October 9, 2017
Uncategorized

Members of five organised crime groups behind a major drugs supply racket have been locked up for a total of 132 years in prison.

Tens of thousands of pounds worth of illegal drugs were found by police after exchanges made by group members.

Police today welcomed the sentences saying the group members had ‘played a significant role in fuelling drug crime’ in the Midlands.

In total, 23 group members, based in areas including Cannock, Stafford and Walsall, pleaded guilty in earlier hearings to conspiracy to supply either class A or class B drugs.

The majority of defendants were sentenced at Stafford Crown Court this week.

The court heard that cocaine and M-CAT, which is a class B synthetic stimulant drug, was being transported through the group’s links in the West Midlands, Swindon and Derbyshire.

Staffordshire Police’s Major and Organised Crime department led the operation to bring them to justice.

It investigated the organised crime group based in Cannock and led by John Appleton and Michael O’ Mahoney.

Appleton and O’Mahoney were each jailed for 14 years yesterday for leading the complex cocaine and mephedrone supply ring.

Detectives tracked the movements of Appleton and O’ Mahoney after their release from prison in 2013, after they formed a tight-knit Cannock group with Jason Bayley, Carol Pope, Derek Hodgkiss and Russell Degg.

Bayley and Pope were the trusted couriers of drugs and money, said Staffordshire Police, while Hodgkiss acted as Pope’s driver.

The force said Degg provided a safe-house for storage in Repton Close, Cannock, as the group initially supplied MCAT and cocaine to another group in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Detectives tracked the group’s activity, through phone analysis and vehicle movements along the M6 and M5.

Arrests were made on February 28, 2015, when a quantity of cocaine and two kilos of MCAT were supplied to Gary and Keith Peapell near to junction 11A of the M5 in Gloucestershire.

The rural area of Crickley Hill Country Park became a significant meeting place for members of the two crime groups, said investigating officers.

Adam Farmer, David Perkins and Lee Higgins were part of a group in Redditch which was supplied with multiple quantities of MCAT by the Cannock group.

On March 4, 2015, following an exchange with Higgins, Carol Pope was stopped in a car in Cannock and £35,000 was discovered in the foot-well.

Fingerprints were discovered on a cash bag which linked the Redditch and Swindon groups, Staffordshire Police said.

Jason Bayley was due to meet Lewis Chambers on March 16, 2015, in a deal brokered by Jamie Sleigh on behalf of the Cannock and West Midlands crime groups.

The meeting was due to be held at the Chase Gate pub, in Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, when he was intercepted and arrested by officers with 4kg of MCAT in a bag.

The force say the Cannock group also formed links with Shane Andrews and the Stafford group.

Darren Pearson, who later acted as a warehouseman for the Cannock group following earlier enforcement, then went on to supply Andrews with half a kilo of cocaine.

The crime group were proven to have well-established links with Gareth Pincombe, head of the Derbyshire crime group.

Appleton and O’Mahoney ran out of runners and dealers as detectives closed in on the group.

He asked his son, Bret Appleton, to collect MCAT, but Bret was arrested on his return from Swadlincote with 3kg of MCAT.

Inspector Pete Cooke, of Staffordshire Police’s Major and Organised Crime team, said: “These sentences reflect the commitment and hard work of officers. We’re delighted to see offenders who have preyed on the vulnerable in our communities behind bars for a considerable period of time.

“All of them played a significant role in fuelling drug crime in south Staffordshire and elsewhere across the Midlands and South West and their sentences are very much welcomed.

“Staffordshire Police is committed to tackling drug crime in our communities and our work will continue under Operation Nemesis.”

Full list of defendants and sentences

John Appleton, aged 46, of Locketts Court, Cannock, sentenced to 14 years
Michael O’ Mahoney, aged 43, of Avenue Road, Cannock, sentenced to 14 years
Gary Peapell, aged 38, of Swindon, sentenced to 8 years 8 months
Adam Farmer, aged 35, of Kineton Close, Redditch, sentenced to 8 years 6 months
Shane Andrews, aged 35, of John Donne Street, Stafford, sentenced to 8 years
Gareth Pincombe, aged 38, of Repton Road, Swadlincote, sentenced to 8 years 2 months
Jason Bayley, aged 45, of Leamington Close, Cannock, sentenced to 8 years
Carol Pope, aged 44, of Glover Street, Cannock, sentenced to 7 years 2 months
Darren Pearson, aged 46, of Moss Street, Cannock, sentenced to 7 years 2 months
Jamie Wilson, aged 38, of Sidney Avenue, Stafford, sentenced to 6 years 9 months
Keith Peapell, aged 62, Swindon, sentenced to 6 years
Russell Degg, aged 40, of Repton Close, Cannock, sentenced to 6 years
Scott Kenny, aged 32, of Mosedale, Rugby, sentenced to 5 years 4 months
Lewis Chambers, aged 26, of Hillary Street, Walsall, sentenced to 4 years
Lucy Butler, aged 35, of Sanderling Close, Featherstone, sentenced to 4 years
Richard Menzies, aged 33, of Meadow View Road, Swadlincote, sentenced to 3 years 7 months
Jamie Sleigh, aged 37, of St John’s Road, Cannock, sentenced to 3 years 7 months
David Perkins, aged 31, of Hindlip Close, Redditch, sentenced to 3 years 4 months
Bret Appleton, aged 25, of Locketts Court, Cannock, sentenced to 20 months
Derek Hodgkiss, aged 56, of St John’s Road, Cannock, received a 17 month suspended sentence
Lee Higgins, aged 32, of Fownhope Close, Redditch, received an 11-month suspended sentence.
Matthew Parsons, aged 34, of Lower Birches Way, Rugeley, was sentenced to a total of 3 years 6 months for class A and class B supply on December 13, 2016.
Kyle Wilson, 19, of Merrivale Road, Stafford, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class B drugs and was sentenced to 14 months’ detention in a youth offenders’ institution on April 7, 2017.
Express & Star

Man filmed himself repeatedly sexually abusing three-year-old

By
October 3, 2017
Uncategorized

Trevor Vinson captured his abuse on a mobile phone

Trevor Vinson was given a 21-year extended sentence for filming himself sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)

Trevor Vinson was given a 21-year extended sentence for filming himself sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)

A man who filmed himself repeatedly sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl has been given a 21-year extended sentence for his crimes.

Trevor Vinson subjected the young child to months of abuse – which he captured on his mobile phone in dozens of pictures and videos.

The mother of the victim described the 38-year-old as a “monster” who had destroyed her family.

Vinson, from Tumble, Carmarthenshire , had previously pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault and three counts of producing indecent images of a child when he appeared in the dock of Swansea Crown Court for sentencing.

Catherine Richards, prosecuting, said that over the space of six months Vinson sexually assaulted his victim numerous times, taking pictures and videos of the abuse.

He also took naked pictures of the girl in various poses, and filmed her urinating.

The court heard that in one of the pictures the girl – who was three at the time – could be seen with her hands clenched, and covering her face.

The abuse came to light after she told her mother what had happened.

The prosecutor said that when police went to Vinson’s house on May 3 to arrest him, he asked if her could get changed first and managed to hide the mobile containing the incriminating images in the bag of a vacuum cleaner. It was found a week later.

In statement from the victim’s mum read to court, she said she had been “in a very dark place” since learning of the abuse her child had suffered.

She described Vinson, now of Valence Walk in Pembroke , as a “monster” who had destroyed her family, adding she was fearful that the images of her daughter had been shared online.

Paul Hobson, for Vinson, conceded it was a very serious case and that his client faced a substantial period in custody, adding the only real mitigation was the defendant’s guilty pleas.

Judge Keith Thomas told Vinson he had carried out “appalling acts” on a girl who, by virtue of her age, was extremely vulnerable.

He said he was satisfied Vinson posed a significant risk of causing serious harm in the future, and imposed an imposed an extended 21-year sentence – 15-years will be spent in custody, and six years on licence. Vinson will be on the sex offenders register for life, and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to limit his access to children.

Speaking after the sentencing Dyfed-Powys Police detective inspector Elaine Bendle said: “I am pleased that Vinson has been sentenced and is no longer able to cause harm to the young victim or anyone else. This is a highly unusual case with evidence being obtained from such a young victim.

“The crimes he committed against this child were abhorrent and I must commend the detectives, digital crime investigators, police officers and staff who worked tirelessly to bring Vinson to justice.”

A spokesman for NSPCC Wales said Vinson’s crimes “will have caused untold damage to his young victim and her family”, adding that such abuse ruins childhoods.

Wales Online

EDL activist abducted schoolgirl, 15, and had photographs of her in the bath

By
September 18, 2017
Uncategorized

Paul Whiteside took the girl to his mother’s house after she ran away following an argument with her family, who thought she was in a relationship with him.

An English Defence League activist who was being arrested for the abduction of a 15-year-old school girl “lied his head off” to police.

Paul Whiteside, 47, assisted the girl after she ran away from her home in Louth taking her to stay at his mother’s home in Derbyshire, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

Esther Harrison, prosecuting, said that Whiteside knew the girl through his involvement in the EDL and met her after school on a number of occasions attracting the attention of neighbours who reported the matter to the police.

Miss Harrison said “They had met through mutual friends involved in the EDL. She had on occasions travelled with him and others to various demonstrations.

“It came to light that she had met him on several occasions after school. He was parked outside and she was seen talking to him for perhaps up to an hour at a time.

“Neighbours were concerned and took photographs and contacted the police.

“The matter was raised with the girl and her friend. She accepted it was her and said it only happened once.”

Miss Harrison said that there was an argument within the family about the matter and subsequent to that the girl ran away.

“She ran off and was reported missing. It is clear she contacted the defendant. He said he felt he could do nothing else but assist her.

“They travelled to Derbyshire that night and stayed at his mother’s property. The charge relates to the fact that when she was missing he knew where she was. She was at his mother’s house and he did not return her to Louth.”

Whiteside’s mother called police the following day and her son was subsequently arrested.

Miss Harrison said “Nothing of a sexual nature took place. It is fair to say that there were some photographs on his phone of the girl. They show her in various states of undress and her in the bath. They were not deemed to be indecent images.”

“In his interview he maintained he had no knowledge of where she had been and the last time he had seen her was a week before.”

Whiteside, formerly of the Louth area but now of Skinner Street, Creswell, admitted a charge of child abduction by keeping the child away from her mother in October 2016. He was given a 10 month jail sentence suspended for two years with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days.

He was also given an 18-month restraining order banning him from contacting the girl and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Simon Hirst , passing sentence, said: “She rang you and told you that you were in danger and at risk of violence from family members because of the perception that you were in a relationship with her. You agreed to take her out of Louth.

“You were arrested the following day. You lied your head off to the police telling them you did not know where she was.

“On your phone were photographs of the girl in the bath and in a state of undress. You have not been charged with those photographs but it is clearly a worrying feature of this case.

“It is clear to me that this crosses the custody threshold but given your character, the basis of your plea and the fact that you have effectively done a three month sentence of imprisonment I can suspend that imprisonment.”

Grace Hale, in mitigation, said there is no danger of Whiteside and the girl getting together again.

“He is now out of the area and has no intention of returning to the Louth area.”

She said he spent six weeks remanded in custody which is the equivalent of a 12-week jail term and added that he has kidney disease which involves him receiving dialysis three times a week.

Grimsby Telegraph

Nonce

Kevin Kennedy falls asleep during sentencing for his part in Dover riots

By
August 19, 2017
Uncategorized

A man who travelled 470 miles to take part in the Dover riots…fell asleep during his sentencing hearing!

Right-winger Kevin Kennedy journeyed from his home in Edinburgh to take part in demonstrations in support of lorry drivers.

The father-of three, who hasn’t worked since 1989 due to an industrial accident on his back, threw a piece of wood, a rock and another missile during the street battles in January of last year.

But after pleading guilty to violent disorder, Kennedy fell asleep in the dock at Canterbury Crown Court while a judge was deciding his fate.

His lawyer, Phil Rowley, who had to wake him up, explained that Kennedy had become addicted to prescription drugs because of his injuries.

He was then given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to remain indoors between 7pm and 7am for the next four months.

Prosecutor Bridget Todd had told the jury how Kennedy had been caught on film throwing the missiles but there was no evidence if they hit any left-wing opponents.

The judge, Recorder Sir Geoffrey Nice QC told him: “This is a serious offence both locally and nationally for now and for the future.

“And a sentence is required to deter you from ever repeating such an offence. You have been reduced by addiction to prescription drugs which is likely to have had an effect on your personality and your behaviour.

“You travelled a considerable distance to join this demonstration, during which you threw three missiles, although it is not known whether or not they were aimed at individuals.”

Kent Online

Scottish Defence League thug made Nazi salute after punching anti-racist campaigner

By
July 22, 2017
Uncategorized

Andrew Jenkinson hurled racist slurs and described black people as “monkeys” before he attacked Dominic O’Hara in Edinburgh.

SDL supporter Andrew Jenkinson lashed out at an anti-racist campaigner (Image: LESLEY DONALD/SWNS)

SDL supporter Andrew Jenkinson lashed out at an anti-racist campaigner (Image: LESLEY DONALD/SWNS)

A Scottish Defence League supporter has been found guilty of hurling racist abuse and assaulting an anti-fascist activist handing out leaflets at a Fight Racism stall near The Mosque Kitchen in Edinburgh.

Andrew Jenkinson, 41, of Edinburgh, was told by a Sheriff that his actions had been “deeply offensive and an unprovoked attack on freedom of speech”.

He was found guilty at the city’s Sheriff Court today of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, shouting, swearing and making and uttering grossly offensive remarks and gestures in Nicolson Street on September 21 last year.

He was also found guilty of assaulting Dominic O’Hara, 27, by kicking him on the body and punching him on the head.

O’Hara was at the stall with friends handing out leaflets when Jenkinson approached in a aggressive manner and described black people as “monkeys”.

“He said he didn’t like our literature and banners and was really het up” said O’Hara. “It looked as though he was going to headbutt me and asked me ‘to come round the corner’.

“Obviously he wanted to fight, but didn’t want it on the public street”.

According to O’Hara, Jenkinson was shouting about the SDL saying: “We will hunt people like you down. You love Islamists”.

O’Hara said a woman tried to reason with Jenkinson, but he called her “a pig”. Sheriff O’Grady asked if the woman was white or black and was told she was black.

The Scottish Defence League protesting in Edinburgh in June (Image: SWNS)

The Scottish Defence League protesting in Edinburgh in June (Image: SWNS)

O’Hara said he stepped between Jenkinson and the woman, with his back to Jenkinson, to try and defuse the situation. He was then kicked on the ankle and when he turned round was punched three times on the face. He then tripped Jenkinson up and they fell to the ground.

When they separated, he said, Jenkinson walked off “expressing fascist views and making the Nazi salute”.

Questioned by Jenkinson’s defence lawyer, Elaine Clancy, O’Hara admitted he had previous convictions for obstruction, during a student protest, breach of the peace with a loudspeaker and assault.

He denied he had “a vendetta against Mr Jenkinson”.

Twenty-nine year old Ruby Barrowman, who had been at the stall with O’Hara, said Jenkinson had told the South African black woman, who was with her daughter, to “Go home”.

He called her and O’Hara “Anti-white racists” and shouted about the SDL. Asked what the SDL was, she replied: “They are fascists”.

Jenkinson said he had dropped his father off at Surgeon’s Hall and had gone to get money from a cash machine. The “Fight Racism” stall was near the machine, he said, and displayed flags, banners and collection tins.

He said he asked if they had a licence from the Council to do this. He admitted to having “a heated debate” with the South African woman with the young girl. Things escalated, he said, when he was called a “Nazi” and “fascist”.

He told them this was Great Britain and he was “a proud patriot of my country”.

He admitted pushing O’Hara, but denied any punching and claimed O’Hara had gouged his eye. He said he had never given a Nazi salute or said anything about Islamists.

He told Fiscal Depute, Claire Crompton, the Fight Racism campaigners were “anti-British, pro-IRA and Revolutionary Communists”.

He denied being a racist, saying a Chinese friend of his had committed suicide because of racist abuse.

He told Sheriff O’Grady that shortly after the incident, pictures of himself and his children had been posted online and that it was claimed he was a member of the SDL.

He denied this but admitted: “It’s possible it may have mentioned I had been at some demos”.

Finding Jenkinson guilty , Sheriff O’Grady told him he regarded the evidence of O’Hara and Barrowman as credible and reliable and had no hesitation in accepting it, and had no hesitation in finding him guilty”.

Sentence was deferred until next month for a background report.

Daily Record

Peter Scotter, who ripped woman’s niqab off in Sunderland, sent sick message to a child

By
July 19, 2017
Uncategorized

The 56-year-old harassed two adults and a child months before pulling a woman’s clothing off during a racist assault.

The vile thug who ripped a woman’s niqab off in a Sunderland shopping centre has pleaded guilty to sending a sick message to a child.

Peter Scotter, 56, admitted to three incidents of harassment in which he sent abuse to an under-16, a woman and a man.

Scotter, of Sunderland, was jailed for 15 months in July over a vicious assault in 2016, during which he tore a woman’s niqab off and screamed “you are in our country now, you stupid f****** Muslim”.

Appearing at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court via video link from HMP Holme House in Stockton, Scotter laughed and muttered “I’m paying nothing” when ordered to pay two of his victims compensation.

Outlining the case against Scotter, prosecutor Laura Lax said the relationship with the woman that had ended 11 years ago and a restraining order preventing him from contacting her was made soon after in 2008.

The woman, who is now in a new relationship, received gross Facebook messages in November 2016 calling her “an ugly woman” and demanding that she perform a sex act on him.

He then bragged about the fact that he had knocked her teeth out during an assault during their relationship.

Shortly after, Scotter began drip-feeding poison into the inbox of the woman’s husband, calling him a “child molester”, a “nonce” and a “beast”.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said: “I suffered for years at his hands.

“I’m still scared to go into Sunderland city centre alone in case I bump into him because he knocked my teeth out.”

In a separate incident, Scotter cowardly abused a child via Facebook messages.

Ms Lax revealed that he had also made twisted comments of a sexual nature about the child to police, as well as making a violent threat.

Scotter’s defence solicitor, Anna Haq, said: “I don’t think I need to go into the offences, they speak for themselves.”

She said that Scotter had pleaded guilty to the charge in February 2017 but the case had been pushed back because of Scotter’s case at Newcastle Crown Court over the racist attack.

Delivering Scotter’s sentence, magistrate Joan Green said that it was a “particularly nasty offence” and handed him 6 weeks in prison – but the sentence will run concurrently with his current jail term, meaning he won’t serve a day extra behind bars.

Scotter muttered “I’m paying nothing” as magistrates discussed financial penalties and, when ordered to pay £100 to the child and the man, he laughed to himself.

He was also ordered to pay a £115 victim surcharge and the court made restraining orders preventing him contacting the victims.

Newcastle Chronicle

Racist jailed for two city centre outbursts

By
July 10, 2017
Uncategorized
Racist Paul Thornhill

Racist Paul Thornhill


A RACIST has been jailed for two outbursts in the city centre that left a British citizen so terrified he was afraid to stay in York.

Joe Culley, prosecuting, said the first victim was walking to work along Micklegate when Paul Thornhill, 49, for no reason called “foreign bastard” and “you don’t belong here, go back to your own country”.

Afterwards, the victim told police he was looking for work elsewhere in the country. “I no longer want to visit or work in York. He made me feel so ill,” he said.

A few days later, Thornhill was abusive to a security guard at York Jobcentre when he went for an interview in connection with his benefits.

District judge Adrian Lower told him the first victim was a British citizen who had served his country. “He is a man who works for a living, a man who was causing you no difficulty whatsoever. Your behaviour towards him was absolutely disgraceful. He was simply minding his business walking to work.”

The victim had come to the UK in 2003 after being in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The district judge jailed Thornhill for 18 weeks and ordered him to pay £100 compensation to each victim.

Thornhill, of Wensley House, Bouthwaite Drive, Acomb, insulted the judge in a comment to a dock officer as he was taken to the court cells at York Magistrates Court.

He had denied being racist towards the first victim and on the day of his trial had been behaved so badly the district judge had ordered dock staff to remove him from the courtroom, heard the trial in his absence, and had jailed him for 21 days for contempt of court before he returned for sentencing.

Thornhill admitted a separate charge of racial abuse of the security officer, who is black.

Two security staff were present in court throughout the sentencing hearing and three dock officers were summoned from the court cells to take him into custody.

For Thornhill, Kevin Blount said he had a very short temper and his mouth tended to run away with him. He had taken anger management courses in the past and was working hard on controlling himself. But he still had more work to do.

He suffered from depression that meant it was difficult to motivate himself. On the day of the trial, he had been in low spirits because the previous Sunday had been Father’s Day and he had not received a message from his daughter, whom he had fallen out with before Christmas.

York Press

‘Disgusting deviant’ caged after grooming young girls online

By
July 5, 2017
Uncategorized
Luke Atkinson incited girls as young as 13-years-old to send him graphic images and videos of themselves after contacting them via social media

Luke Atkinson incited girls as young as 13-years-old to send him graphic images and videos.


A “disgusting” paedophile from Retford who used social media to groom teenage girls has been jailed for four years and eight months.

Luke Atkinson, 29, pleaded guilty to sexual offences including inciting sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images of children.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Atkinson incited girls as young as 13-years-old to send him graphic images and videos of themselves after contacting them through social media.

When they decided they didn’t want to send him any more pictures of themselves Atkinson threatened and blackmailed them, saying he would post pictures they had sent him online unless they did so.

Nottinghamshire Police launched an investigation after receiving information from colleagues in Durham in April 2015 that they had received a report from the mother of a 14-year-old girl who had been contacted by a person on Facebook and had made inappropriate sexualised comments to her daughter.

The suspect was identified as Luke Atkinson, of Exchange Street, Retford.

When officers arrested him at his home in September 2015 on suspicion of inciting a child into sexual activity, Atkinson was also found in possession of cannabis which he was also arrested for and later admitted to.

After a detailed examination of Atkinson’s mobile phone, a number of other girls he had also incited sexual activity with were identified and, in June 2016, he was additionally arrested for further offences.

Five girls, aged 13 to 16, bravely came forward to give evidence against Atkinson. Two of the victims were from the Doncaster area, with the others from the Leeds, Gainsborough and Rotherham areas.

The court heard that the victims made it clear to Atkinson how old they were when communicating with him on social media.

One of the girls, aged 13 when she was initially contacted by Atkinson, told officers at interview that ‘her heart sank’ whenever he made contact with her.

She feared he would never go away as every time she had tried to get away from him he would come back again via a different social media platform.

Another victim, aged 15 at the time, said at interview that the only reason she sent graphic videos of herself to Atkinson was because he was blackmailing her saying he would post pictures of her on Facebook if she didn’t. She said this made her feel sick and disgusted in herself.

Atkinson, who was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, June 3, was also made subject of a sexual harm prevention order, a restraining order not to contact the victims and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Speaking after his sentencing, Detective Constable Richard Hewitt of Nottinghamshire Police said: “The girls who were subject of Atkinson’s offending were so brave to come forward and speak out, giving some very upsetting interviews about their traumatic experiences.

“They showed great courage in keeping it together during a lengthy court process and that’s great credit to them.

“Atkinson is a loathsome individual who threatened his victims into adhering to his demands.

“His actions were nothing short of disgusting but thankfully this sexual deviant is now behind bars.”

An NSPCC spokesman said: “Atkinson believed he could get away with exploiting children but has rightly been brought to justice.

“We hope the girls who bravely came forward to the police now receive the necessary help and support to overcome what has happened to them.

“Atkinson’s behaviour is another example of how groomers use social media to prey on children so it is vital parents and carers talk to their children about staying safe online.”

Advice is available on the charity’s Net Aware website or through the NSPCC and O2’s online safety helpline on 0808 8005002.
Lincolnshire Live

‘Low life scum’ sex offender jailed again for contacting Plymouth victim.

By
July 4, 2017
Uncategorized

A pervert jailed for a decade for sexually abusing underage girls has been handed more time behind bars for writing a letter to one of his victims.

Dale Hewitt, aged 27, was branded a “low life scum” by the mum of one of the schoolgirls – who were driven to cut themselves or attempt suicide.

He was jailed last year for ten years for a string of sex offences, many committed after he plied his victims with drugs.

Hewitt, now at HMP Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight, wrote a letter which was delivered to the home of one of the girls a month after he was sentenced.

He appeared at Plymouth Crown Court via videolink to admit breaching the order banning him from contacting the girl.

James Targhidissian, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said she received a letter addressed to someone else, but clearly in Hewitt’s handwriting and directed at her, in August last year.

He added she told police she “went as white as a ghost”.

Mr Targhidissian said the letter was not threatening, enquiring about her and speaking about life in prison.

He added she went on holiday but handed the letter back upon her return.

Ali Rafati, for Hewitt, said: “He was not the person who sent the letter and did not authorise it.”

He asked why it had taken so long to bring the case to court.

Mr Rafati said that, with no response from the girl, Hewitt accepted he would not contact her “nor anyone else”.

Judge Paul Darlow said the letter had not been threatening and had not caused “serious psychological harm”.

He jailed Hewitt for three weeks, to be served at the end of his current sentence. Hewitt’s earliest release date is in four years.

Plymouth Crown Court heard last year that Hewitt slept with one schoolgirl and touched another indecently, often after giving them mephedrone and cannabis.

Hewitt handled weapons including a machete in front of the girls, then aged 13 and 14.

Manipulative Hewitt supplied both girls with mephedrone, or bubble, and sometimes cannabis before touching them sexually. He never asked for any money.

One girl told the jury through her recorded police interview that she was “wrecked” on drugs and alcohol, but Hewitt still had sex with her at his old flat in Clifton Place, Greenbank.

He later abducted a third girl aged 14, whom police found in the shower at his flat. The girl came to his home willingly, but Hewitt was under a duty to call the authorities.

Hewitt, previously of Marlborough Street, Devonport, changed his pleas during a trial to admit four counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child between December 2014 and February 2015.

He also admitted four counts of sexual activity with the other girl between April and December 2014.

Hewitt pleaded guilty to abducting the third teenager in February last year.

Hewitt was involved in a war of words with a weapon-loving thug who went on to murder innocent New Year’s Eve reveller Tanis Bhandari.

Hewitt traded threats with Donald Pemberton on Facebook – one of several men who helped provoke the random violence that night.

The jury in Hewitt’s trial were not told of his part in the night of terror which led to the murder of the 27-year-old builder in Tamerton Foliot on New Year’s Day, 2015.

Pemberton, then aged 21, and co-defendant Ryan Williams, then aged 22, were jailed for life just under 12 months later for the joint murder of Mr Bhandari.

Plymouth Herald