COP, 33, NAMED ON CHILD PORN CHARGE
A BARROW police constable has been charged with internet pornography offences linked to an international inquiry. PC Geoff Needham has been charged in connection with a worldwide FBI operation against internet pornography.

He is one of thousands of British suspects identified after an investigation into pay-per-view websites.

Cumbria police spokesman Mike Smith said: "A man will appear before magistrates on Tuesday in connection with alleged child pornography.

"Geoffrey Needham, 33, from the Barrow area will be appearing before South Lakeland magistrates in Kendal."

PC Needham is the second man in Barrow to be charged with child pornography offences.

Earlier this week a Barrow primary school teacher appeared in Furness Magistrates' Court on suspicion of a child pornography offence.

Jamie Drummond, of St Paul's Mews, off Abbey Road, Barrow, pleaded not guilty to a charge of making an indecent photograph or pseudo photograph of a child.

The 30-year-old was remanded on bail until November 26 for committal proceedings.

He has also been suspended from Holy Family Catholic Primary School while the investigation continues.

Two detectives involved in the investigation into the deaths of Soham schoolgirls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells have also been charged with child pornography offences.

Thousands of suspected website users were identified as part of Operation Candyman, in which FBI agents hacked into pay-per-view child porn websites.

The details of 7,000 British nationals were passed on to the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
 

Sex attacker jailed 20 years on

A woman subjected to a campaign of sexual abuse more than two decades ago watched as her "depraved" tormentor was finally jailed for five years.

Her ordeal had begun when she was just eight years old and continued until her mid-teens with a series of so-called "sex lessons".

Southwark Crown Court heard that she eventually revealed the truth about Enfield Price just three years ago. Price, 63, of Stamford Hill, was convicted of ten counts of indecent assault.
 

Pervert worked on Anglia TV's Trisha

October 4, 2002 11:41

A PERVERT jailed for acting out his fantasies with a teenage girl, had worked as an autocue operator on Anglia TV's Trisha show, it has been revealed.

As reported in the Evening News earlier this week, Paul Britt, 31, of Raymond Close, Hellesdon, was jailed for two years and placed on the sex offenders register for life, after admitting two counts of indecent assault, five of taking indecent photographs, and five of making indecent photographs.

Norwich Crown Court was told that Britt — a runner working for Anglia Television in Norwich — had become obsessed with child porn after viewing it via the internet.

He used the girl when she was aged between 12 and 14 to act out child pornography scenes he had seen on the Internet.

A spokesman for Anglia Television based in Norwich said the company had investigated Britt's involvement in their own computer system and found nothing to link his activities with his job.

Britt had worked on a temporary, freelance basis within Anglia Television's Studio Production Centre, on Magdalen Street. The spokesman said: "He was not an employee of the company, but was contracted on a casual basis. He worked within the newsroom and also as a fill-in auto-cue operator on the Trisha programme on occasions.

"Though Mr Britt would have access to standard computer equipment within the company, this is strictly monitored, both by Anglia's IT department and through a central Granada IT system to ensure that no staff members access or forward unsuitable materials. However, on being informed of the police investigation into Mr Britt, Anglia Television happily assisted in carrying out further checks of all its equipment and discovered nothing untoward."
 

Minister attempted sex assault

A Church of Scotland minister has pleaded guilty to an attempted sex assault on a 14-year-old boy.
The offence happened in the toilets of a leisure complex in Aberdeenshire.

The Rev Ian Andrew, 37, from Musselburgh, admitted putting his arm around the boy and trying to take hold of his private parts.

Sentence was deferred sentence for four months and Andrew's name was put on the sex offenders register for five years.

He now accepts he caused alarm and distress because of his actions

Stonehaven Sheriff Court heard the youngster realised the minister was watching him while he dried himself in the leisure complex.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wrapped a towel round himself and went to the toilet.

The procurator fiscal, Ernest Barber, said the boy immediately realised Andrew was also in the toilet.

He then felt Andrew standing behind him and trying to touch him intimately.

Mr Barber told the court: "At this point the boy said 'no, no, no'.

Happily married

"He was very upset. He went to speak to his parents and a report was made to the police."

The incident happened when Andrew was visiting the leisure club at the Hilton Craigendarroch Hotel at Ballater on Royal Deeside on 16 July this year.

Andrew's solicitor Denis Daun told the court that Andrew thought the boy was considerably older than 14.

But he now accepted he caused alarm and distress because of his actions.

Mr Daun added that Andrew was a happily married man with two girls aged eight and 11.

Congregation stunned

His family was standing by him throughout the case but he also faced a trial within the Church of Scotland because of the incident.

"The church trial will be in around three to four months time," said Mr Daun.

"The sanctions of this court are going to be less than that of his employers and he fully accepts that."

Andrew will remain suspended until the church has finished its investigation.

Members of Andrew's congregation at Mussleburgh, near Edinburgh, said the first they had known of the case was when he failed to turn up for a routine Sunday service and was replaced by another minister.
 

Child sex pictures found on man's computer drive

POLICE found a 'large number' of child sex pictures on a middle aged man's computer hard drive, a court was told.

Keith Whiteley, 44, formerly of Sylvan Drive, Burnley, was arrested on October 9, after officers had earlier seized his computer, Burnley magistrates heard.

Whiteley, who has previous convictions for sex offences against youngsters, was described by the prosecution as having a "propensity to commit offences of a sexual nature involving children."

He admitted 12 charges relating to indecent photographs of children and was remanded in custody to Burnley Crown Court for sentence on a date to be fixed.

Julie Reddish, prosecuting, told the court the offences were too serious to be dealt with by magistrates as the court's powers of punishment were not sufficient.

She said the police had removed Whiteley's computer on about June 14 and found a 'large number' of indecent images on the hard drive.

Miss Reddish said Whiteley had several previous convictions, including indecent assault, gross indecency and two offences of attempted sexual intercourse with an under-age girl.
 

Jail for internet porn teacher

A teacher whose wife told police that he downloaded child pornography from the internet was jailed yesterday.

Andrew Guffick, 34, had deleted more than 100 images from floppy discs but they were retrieved by a computer analyst.

He pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court to nine charges of making indecent photographs of children.

The couple were going through a divorce when Guffick's wife contacted police. Officers confiscated his two home computers and found the images of girls under 16 having sex with adults.

Rod Hunt, defending, said that Guffick, who taught at Chilton junior school, Co Durham, thought he had destroyed the "vile" images.

He said Guffick, whose teaching career was over and who spent 12 weeks as an in-patient at a psychiatric hospital, should be given a suspended prison sentence with supervision order.

Judge David Bryant said: "These are not isolated offences, nor is the amount of material very small."

Guffick, of Ferryhill Station, Co Durham, was jailed for six months and ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years. His computers were confiscated.
 

Bus driver is jailed for sex attack

A bus driver who sexually assaulted a female passenger after refusing to let her get off has been jailed for five years.

Kashmir Singh Nagra of Guys Lane, Dudley had pleaded guilty to indecent assault on the 20-year-old woman during an incident in January.

Nagra was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life when he appeared before Coventry Crown Court yesterday and was told he should be subject to an extended period on licence after his release.

This will mean he can be returned to jail if his behaviour gives cause for concern.

At an earlier hearing, before Warwick Crown Court, prosecutor Miss Vicki Lofrese said the woman had been shopping in the afternoon and then caught the number 71 Sutton Coldfield to Solihull bus.

She was the last passenger on the bus before it got to her stop, but it kept going.

"She asked to be allowed to alight, but the bus took a different route to that expected and then came to a stop," said Miss Lofrese.

Nagra then dragged the woman to the back of the bus and sexually assaulted her.

"She was horrified, disgusted and extremely distressed," said Miss Lofrese.

He then allowed her off the bus and told her not to tell anyone what had happened.

But the victim, who was vomiting in the street because of the ordeal, was approached by a woman who was concerned about the state she was in, and called the victim's mother.

Nagra, who spoke with the aid of an interpreter throughout the court proceedings, initially denied the offence when questioned by police.

The judge ordered a further charge of indecency with a young boy, which Nagra denied, should lie on the court file.

Jailing Nagra, Judge Cole said members of the public had to be able to feel safe on a bus, and Nagra had committed a serious offence.

He said Nagra had breached the trust which was placed in him, and his offence could only be marked by imprisonment.
 

The face of an evil rapist

AN "evil" fiend who preyed on a teenage girl, subjecting her to sexual abuse of almost every form, is today behind bars.

Ex-security worker, 37-year-old Michael Dibble - 6ft 2in and weighing nearly 20 stone - raped and sexually assaulted the teenager - and beat her when she tried to escape.

Yesterday at Cardiff crown court, Judge Mervyn Hughes paid tribute to the petite teenager for having the courage to testify. The case was one of the first in the area where an adult victim of sexual abuse gave evidence via a video link.

Telling Dibble (pictured) he was "sordid and evil", the judge jailed him for 10 years. Afterwards his victim told the Argus she would urge other victims of sexual assault to come forward.

"No matter how hard it is to complain, it is better in the long run. These few months have been nothing compared to what I was going through before," she said.

Dibble, of Chestnut Green, Cwmbran, was found guilty of a total of 17 charges including four of rape, one of attempted rape, plus further charges of indecent assault and committing acts of gross indecency.

The judge told him: "Your conduct included almost every form of sexual abuse. "There was also a degree of planning which enabled you to be undetected. This court has no sympathy for you", saying because Dibble denied the charges the girl had to relive what happened - "a harrowing experience".

On release, Dibble must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. During the trial prosecutor Ieuan Bennett had told the court: "It was a course of physical assault rather than a catalogue of indecency."

Dibble denied the allegations and told the court they were totally fabricated. Defence counsel Huw Wallace said, in mitigation, it was accepted the victim was affected by the experiences, that there had been a degree of planning and that there were sexual indignities. "But effectively he is a man of good character."
 

Child sex pictures found on man's computer drive

POLICE found a 'large number' of child sex pictures on a middle aged man's computer hard drive, a court was told.

Keith Whiteley, 44, formerly of Sylvan Drive, Burnley, was arrested on October 9, after officers had earlier seized his computer, Burnley magistrates heard.

Whiteley, who has previous convictions for sex offences against youngsters, was described by the prosecution as having a "propensity to commit offences of a sexual nature involving children."

He admitted 12 charges relating to indecent photographs of children and was remanded in custody to Burnley Crown Court for sentence on a date to be fixed.

Julie Reddish, prosecuting, told the court the offences were too serious to be dealt with by magistrates as the court's powers of punishment were not sufficient.

She said the police had removed Whiteley's computer on about June 14 and found a 'large number' of indecent images on the hard drive.

Miss Reddish said Whiteley had several previous convictions, including indecent assault, gross indecency and two offences of attempted sexual intercourse with an under-age girl.
 

STAY AWAY

Police are making a rare legal move to clamp down on a paedophile's movements.

Detectives believe David Hunter, 52, is still a risk to children despite being subject to a sex offenders' order.

They want extra restrictions adding to the order, saying Hunter has been near areas where children gather.

He has not been accused of committing any further offences but officers want to be able to act quickly if necessary. .

Hunter, of Nottingham, is barred from going within 50 yards of a child.

At a hearing in September, city magistrates were told police wanted to extend this to ban him from going near places where children gather, making it easier for them to prove he has broken the order.

But judgment was postponed until November because of a delay in preparing a report into his mental state.

The psychiatrist involved, Dr Christopher Clark, had been called in to deal with Ian Huntley, who was last week declared fit to stand trial over the deaths of Soham schoolgirls Jessica Hunter and Holly Wells.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Barnfather, head of the Notts dangerous persons' management unit, said police had to act.

"Clearly we believe these changes are necessary because we have concerns that his behaviour is leading him to visit areas where children may be gathering.

"He poses a high risk of re-offending. The fact he has a sex offenders' order in place shows our concerns about him and we would have wanted to change his order as speedily as possible."

In 1999 Hunter was the first person in Notts to become subject to such an order.

He has convictions for taking indecent pictures of children in 1994.

In 1996 he was given three months' probation for child abduction, and three years for another abduction in 1997.

Police said he lured children with balloons.

His sex offenders' order included a ban on possessing balloons, cameras or videos in public.

In May last year, Hunter was convicted of four breaches of his order at Lincoln Crown Court.

He could have faced five years' imprisonment for each one, but received a two-year community rehabilitation order instead.

Hunter does not have to tell police where and when he is travelling out of Notts.

The proposed changes will make it easier to track his movements.

But Hunter, who was unavailable for comment, is making a counter-application to loosen the restrictions. He says they impede his work delivering cars around the country.

His solicitor Ian Body had told the court the psychiatric report was vital: "It may go against him but he is prepared to accept that."
 

Sex shame of soldier

A SOLDIER faces jail after performing a sex act in a playground in front of three young girls.

Private Steven Beever, 21, admitted committing three acts of gross indecency in a park in Outwood when he appeared at Wakefield Magistrates' Court yesterday.
The court heard how a nine-year-old girl spotted the soldier performing a sex act on himself at a children's playground in June.
Judge Martin Walker, who told Beever he could be locked up for his sex crimes, said the soldier continued the indecency despite the girl being joined by her friends, who were only eight years old.
The court heard how Beever, a former Wakefield man, also had a similar previous conviction after being caught performing a solo sex act in a car in Essex.
The private was supported in court by Captain David Hemming, second in command of his engineering regiment in Saffron Walden, Essex.
He said Beever had tendered his resignation but would be discharged from the Army in the near future.
Judge Walker wondered whether Pte Beever could still be called up in the event of a war abroad but Capt Hemmings said: "Only in extenuating circumstances would we deploy Sapper Beever outside this country. We would seek to keep Sapper Beever inside this country."
Julie Allott, mitigating, urged Judge Walker to postpone sentence on Beever for a probation service report. The judge agreed but said the probe should consider all options including custody.
He said the offences in Wakefield and Essex suggested there was a problem, which needed to be looked at. He told Beever it was in his best interest to co-operate with probation chiefs because there was a risk he could be deprived of his liberty.
Judge Walker warned Beever he would have to sign the sex offenders' register and inform the police where he was living.
Beever, of Squadron Carver Barracks, Saffron Walden, Wimbish, was released on bail and will be sentenced in five weeks.
 

'Play doctors' sex abuser's jail term

A FORMER Burnley schoolteacher who used his position at a church to befriend and then sexually abuse young children has been jailed.

Nicholas Hoyle, 32, of Schofield Road, Rawtenstall, pleaded guilty to six counts of indecent assault against young boys between 1994 and 2000.

Preston Crown Court heard Hoyle was a former member of a Rossendale church.

The court was told he would befriend members of the congregation and their children to build up a trust before abusing the boys, all aged between 6 and 13.

In one case he offered to act as mentor to a boy and give him religious tuition before his baptism.

During a series of lessons in the attic at Hoyle's house, the former teacher at Burnley's Whittlefield School would produce a doctor's bag containing items including stethoscope, ruler and plastic hammer.

He would then persuade the boy to "play doctor" during which he would sexually abuse him.

The system of abuse continued in the same vein with the two other boys preyed upon by Hoyle, the court heard.

He was arrested in April by officers working on Lancashire Constabulary's Operation Nevada inquiry.

At the time of his arrest he was working as a manager at a pharmacy in Bacup.

Hoyle, was asked to leave the baptist church in 1997 but now attends another church in Rossendale. The court heard there was no blame attached to his former church or the minister at the time of the offences and in fact the church had helped provide evidence leading to his arrest.

Richard Haworth, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant used to help out at the church when one of the boys was due to be baptised and needed a mentor.

Hoyle offered to teach him and the boy went to his house after school one night a week for about an hour. The lessons would proceed quite normally for about 20 minutes before Hoyle would change tack and say: 'We are going to play doctors'."

He would then produce an assortment of things from a doctor's bag and lay them on the table."

Mr Haworth said Hoyle used the items to touch the boy and that the routine continued week after week until the classes ended.

June Morris, defending, said Hoyle had shown remorse and regret for his actions and said he wanted to apologise to his victims. She said he had gone to see a counsellor before his arrest in an attempt to address his offending.

Jailing Hoyle for two years and eight months Judge Pamela Badley said: "You gained the trust of these boys and then commenced a game called doctors.

"Not only was this inappropriate but you knew that by this devious method you would be able to touch them in a way that gratified you.

"This was a grave breach of trust and only a custodial sentence can be justified."

She added that although she was unable to pass a disqualification order to stop Hoyle working with children again, she ordered him to be put on the Sex Offender's Register for an indefinite period.

After the case Detective Inspector Keith Parker, who heads Operation Nevada, said: "A lot of hard work went into this operation which was a very difficult and sensitive case.

"I am pleased with the result both for the officers who worked on it and for the victims who can hopefully move on and find some sort of closure."