Constable faces Net child-porn probe

AN Oldham police officer is being investigated for allegedly buying child porn on the Internet.

The police constable has been suspended from work and his computer has been seized.

Last week, officers from the Greater Manchester Police discipline and complaints department arrested the officer, who is thought to be 34 years old.

A spokeswoman for GMP said: “I can confirm that a police constable serving in Oldham was arrested on suspicion of possession of indecent images of children.

“He has been bailed for six weeks.”

American

He is one of several serving police officers who are suspected of subscribing to an American website, which is the first such site to be set up for profit by organised crime.

US investigators probing a massive porn ring, known as Landslide, found more than 7,000 British subscribers had used credit cards to pay for images.

Detectives established addresses and other details from the card numbers and passed on the information to British authorities.

The National Crime Intelligence Service and National Crime Squad received the information from America and set up Operation Ore to pass it on to each police force in the UK where there were suspects.

GMP is understood to be investigating 200 names including a small number of its own officers.

Two weeks ago PC David Brown from GMP was charged with 15 offences of Internet child pornography.
 

Man jailed for rape of boy, aged10

By Gareth Lewis, Coventry Evening Telegraph
 

A man described by police as a "dangerous paedophile" has begun a six-year prison sentence for the "vile and disgusting" rape of a 10-year-old boy.

The family of the victim wept as the jury returned majority guilty verdicts yesterday against Vincent Gallagher after more than nine hours of deliberation.

Gallagher, aged 54, formerly of Gordon Street, Earlsdon, but latterly of Peterborough, was found guilty of two charges of raping the Coventry boy, who is now a teenager. A third charge of rape was dropped by the prosecution and he was found not guilty on three charges of indecently assaulting another boy.

The prosecution at Coventry Crown Court described how Gallagher had befriended the victim, who gave evidence via a video link in the week-long trial.

Sentencing Gallagher, Judge James Pyke told him he had known the boy was "vulnerable" and added, "you encouraged him to become emotionally dependent on you."

He described the offences, which date to 1999 as "vile and degrading sexual acts." Gallagher was sentenced to six years for each rape, the sentences to run concurrently.

The court was told Gallagher served a four-month sentence last year after admitting taking indecent photographs of children.

After the case, child protection officer Det Con Terry Morris said: "This case could only have been brought through the courage of witnesses.

"A dangerous, predatory paedophile has been taken off the streets for a number of years."

Monday, 11 November, 2002, 17:21 GMT
Police 'failing to arrest paedophiles'

Paedophiles were found in more than 60 countries

Almost 7,000 suspected paedophiles are still at large in the United Kingdom, despite a warning from US authorities six months ago. British police forces were provided with a list of people who had been
downloading child pornography after they were traced through their credit card details.

So far only a small number of the suspects have been arrested and even fewer have been charged, a BBC investigation has found.

The British end of the operation is being handled by local police forces - many of which have been overwhelmed by the scale of the information passed to them.

'Made millions'

Around 250,000 suspected paedophiles in more than 60 countries were traced through the Landslide website - the gateway to an international collection of child pornography sites.

We have proved already that those that thought they were above the law will be caught
Detective Chief Superintendent Len Hynds

Among the names were several British police officers. Thomas Ready, who ran the website and made millions of dollars from it, is now serving a sentence of 1,335 years.

US investigator Bob Adams said: "On the homepage of Landslide there was a button you could click that said 'child porn click here'.

"If you clicked on it that's what you got."

Highly secretive

In Texas officers go online to visit websites and chat rooms to find paedophiles and the evidence they need to prosecute them.

Sergeant Byron Fassett of Dallas Police Department said: "We can wait for the fight to come to us, or we can take the fight to them.

We are tired of getting our butt kicked, so we're taking the fight to them now.
Sgt Byron Fassett;  Dallas police

"We are of the idea that, quite frankly, we are tired of getting our butt kicked, so we're taking the fight to them now."

Britain does have a new, highly secretive specialist police unit dealing with organised gangs dealing in child pornography.

It has had some early successes.

Detective Chief Superintendent Len Hynds of the National Hi-tech Crime Unit said: "There is no hiding place on the internet for paedophiles and that's quite simple.

"We have proved already that those that thought they were above the law will be caught."

Sympathise

But details of the 7,000 British suspects are being dealt with by local forces - many of which do not have the money or the expertise to mount a full scale investigation.

Detectives in Dallas, who are still working on one of the biggest child pornography investigations the world has ever seen, said they sympathised with their British colleagues' lack of resources.

But they are also asking what could be more important than protecting children from horrific sexual abuse.
 

Pervert blamed children for abuse

A MAN who sexually abused two young children has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

Andrew Wellard (34) raped and indecently assaulted the young girl while the other child watched, Peterborough Crown Court was told.

Wellard, of Benland, Bretton, Peterborough, conducted a sickening campaign of sexual abuse on the children over several years, and even took pictures of himself doing it, said prosecutor Aidan Tevlin.

The crimes only came to light when his victims spoke to police in July of this year.

Mr Tevlin said the traumatised girl told police that Wellard forced her to touch him and made the other youngster watch.

The girl also said that Wellard had forced both of the children to watch pornographic films with him.

Wellard was arrested by police and made a statement which matched the claims made by the girl.

But, incredibly, the court heard, he tried to shift some of the blame for the events on to the children.

Mr Tevlin said: "He tried to blame them, saying that they were the initiators of the sexual acts.

"He also said that some of them had happened 'by accident'."

When asked about how often he had abused the children, Wellard replied simply that 'it happened when it happened'.

The court heard that the children were left traumatised by the abuse.

Wellard pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to nine charges including rape, indecent assault, gross indecency with a child and taking indecent photographs of children.

Judge Nicholas Coleman handed him a nine year jail sentence for rape and concurrent sentences for the remaining eight counts.

He placed a restraining order on Wellard to keep him away from the children when he leaves prison and ordered that he be put on the sexual offenders' register for life.

Judge Coleman said: "You treated these children as your sexual playthings."
 

Depression led to 'warped view of things'

CHILD abuser Andrew Wellard had never broken the law before he began to terrorise his two young victims, Peterborough Crown Court heard.

But prior to the start of his campaign of abuse he began to suffer depression and now "has a warped view of things", according to defence counsel Damian Willatt.

Even so, Wellard now claims to feel regret for his actions.

Mr Willatt said: "He acknowledges that he has destroyed not only his life but the lives of these two children as well."
 

Holly and Jessica cop on further porn charges

TWO police officers who served on the Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman murder inquiry have been charged with a further 15 child pornography offences.

DC Brian Stevens (left), who serves with the Cambridgeshire force, was yesterday charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, as well as two counts of indecent assault on a 13-year-old girl.

His colleague, Pc Antony Goodridge, was charged with 12 counts of making indecent images of children following forensic examinations of both men's computers.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands police, which is conducting the inquiry into both officers, said the two men were charged with the additional offences at pre-arranged appointments at a police station in Cambridgeshire.

The fresh charges will be put to the officers at their next appearance before magistrates in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on November 11.

Father-of-two Stevens (41), of March, near Peterborough, was last month charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, while Goodridge (34), also a father of two, was charged with four similar offences.
 

Ellindon pupils in abuse battle

A FURTHER six former pupils from the city's Ellindon School are hoping to claim compensation for alleged physical and sexual abuse.

A total of nine ex-pupils from the Bretton school, which was closed amid allegations of abuse in 1998, are now seeking damages that could top £100,000.

As reported in The Evening Telegraph, three former pupils from Ellindon, which catered for youngsters with behavioural problems, launched the legal bid in April claiming to be victims of a brutal regime.

Cambridge solicitor Andrew Grove, and his colleague Kathy Yates, are acting on behalf of the claimants.

Ms Yates said: "More people have come forward since the case was publicised. It is early days, but we believe there was physical punishment at the school and other practices that are not appropriate to child care."

The solicitors say they hope to bring the action against Cambridgeshire County Council - which ran the school before Peterborough City Council took over in 1998 - early next year.

Ms Yates added: "There seems to be a common theme to the allegations of physical punishment."

It is claimed one typical punishment involved locking residential pupils in a room wearing only their pyjamas.

And some pupils have claimed they were victims of "crow pecking", in which they were hit on the top of the head with a clenched fist.

The solicitors believe compensation pay-outs for pupils who experienced such punishments could range from £2,000 to £12,500.

As reported in The Evening Telegraph, one of the claimants, who was just 14 when she was a pupil there, says she still suffers nightmares after being sexually abused by a teacher at the school.

Before the school was closed, a number of complaints were lodged against staff, but despite a lengthy police investigation no criminal prosecutions took place. Some staff were later reprimanded by the city council, though none were dismissed.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council said: "The police undertook a full investigation at the time and no charges were brought. Therefore, the matter remains in the hands of our insurers."

Solicitor is expert in abuse claim cases

CAMBRIDGE solicitor Andrew Grove has fought many cases on behalf of people who were abused as children in the county.

Although now representing former pupils at Ellindon School in their bid to claim compensation for alleged abuse, he previously spearheaded the legal campaign on behalf of the victims of Keith Laverack, the 57-year-old ex-youth worker who was jailed in 1997 after being convicted of abusing children in county care homes.

Mr Grove, himself a former social worker, said: "By making a hullabaloo about these issues we are saying we don't want our children to be worked over. It helps to protect children in the future."
 

Jail over 'busiest' child porn library

Guest was convicted of 32 child porn offences

A young computer clerk has been jailed for two years for running Britain's "busiest" child porn Internet library.
The Old Bailey was told that Darren Guest, 20, from Stratford, east London, spent hours on his computer in contact with other paedophiles in chat rooms to build up the "abhorrent" collection of pre-teen material.

Guest, who lived with his parents, was unanimously convicted of 32 offences of making, distributing and advertising indecent photographs of children.

His 2,000-image library proved so popular that in just one four-day period it had nearly 3,000 "visitors".

Considering it was running for just three-and-a-half months, police believe it was probably Britain's "busiest" child porn Internet library.

He operated a "carefully planned and sophisticated" exchange system, using "sick" advertisements to invite others to swap their own pictures in return for access to his extensive collection.

Judge Peter Fingret said: "These images are clear evidence that at some stage serious offences were committed, not by you but by others, involving the exploitation and abuse of young children."

He added those youngsters would continue to suffer "damage" because people like Guest were distributing pictures of their ordeals.

Bedroom search

The court heard Guest was just 19 when his activities came to light during routine monitoring of Internet paedophile chat rooms by officers in Greater Manchester's Obscene Publications Unit.

Police then contacted Guest's Internet service provider to find out who he was and then searched his bedroom, where they recovered the illicit images from his computer hard drive.

Guest did not give evidence but argued through his barrister that he had been the victim of a mysterious hacker who had somehow "taken control" of his computer and "piggy-backed" the system for their own "nefarious" purposes.

Outside court case officer Pc Anne Linton said it was clear Guest ran "one of the busiest, if not the busiest" Internet operations of its kind.

"This case also demonstrates there is no such thing as anonymity on the net. We will always trace these people," she added.

The judge added that Guest - who will serve the first part of his sentence in a young offenders' institution before being moved to an adult jail - would have to register as a sex offender for 10 years upon his release.

Peverett the Pervert

Sally Weale meets the victims of Robin Peverett OBE, the man who ran Sophie Rhys-Jones's preparatory school

Jo Evans has not seen her ex-headmaster's study for almost a quarter of a century, but she can remember it as clearly as if she had been summoned there this morning. It's the smell that comes back most vividly - leather, and the sharp scent of polish rising from Mr Peverett's mahogany table. She remembers the slip-on shoes he wore and his perma-crease trousers. And she remembers how he routinely sexually abused her there. Day after day. Again and again.

She was 10 years old when the abuse began. She was shy and quiet, and in the academic shadow of her three elder siblings who were also at the school. Mr Peverett (she still uses the polite title like a schoolgirl responding to the class register) called her to his study after she had a poor report and told her she needed some extra tuition. The abuse began gradually - taking her out of class perhaps once a month for some one-to-one tuition in his office. Then he began to summon her daily.

"Pervert Peverett" as he was known by his pupils (he was always twanging girls' bra straps and knicker elastic) chose victims who were pretty, physically well developed and easily intimidated. Each time Evans was called to his study, she knew exactly what to expect. She never came out of that room without being abused.

The more he abused her, the worse her work became and the more reason he had to summon her for "extra coaching". She couldn't talk to anyone, least of all her parents, who were friends with the headmaster. She was not even safe at the weekend. Peverett told her parents she needed extra coaching on a Saturday, so she was taken to her abuser kicking and screaming and begging not to go.

She felt frightened, powerless, and utterly under his control. If he had told her to walk on hot coals she would have done it. And her life has never been quite her own since. It was not until years later that Evans, now 35 with three children of her own, learned she was not Peverett's only victim. An unknown number of children who were in his care were abused by him in the same way. They were called to his office for so-called punishments. They were made to lie across his knee either naked or with their clothes and underwear pulled down and he would rub their bare buttocks in a circular motion and spank them.

The consequences of his actions will last a lifetime for Evans and others like her. Yet on June 8, Robin Peverett OBE, former adviser to the Thatcher government, Ofsted inspector and headmaster of Dulwich College preparatory school, in Cranbrook, Kent, was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years. He admitted nine charges of indecently assaulting seven pupils - six girls and one boy - between the ages of 10 and 13, dating back to the late 60s and 70s, yet he walked free from court. The maximum sentence for indecent assault is 10 years. A further seven charges remain on the file.

Peverett's case was originally listed for a three-week trial at Maidstone crown court - police and witnesses realised there would be considerable media interest, mainly because the Countess of Wessex, Sophie Rhys-Jones, was a pupil at the school, though she played no part in the police investigation. Peverett's victims were looking forward to their day in court. "The trial was going to be our chance to say 'Hello. I'm back. I'm going to tell those 12 good men and women of the jury exactly what you did to me,' " says Evans.

In the end, after lengthy legal wrangling, the public hearing lasted less than an hour and a half and as a result of a bit of nifty plea-bargaining, Peverett, 66, pleaded guilty and got to go home that night. The headmaster's crimes were, Judge David Griffiths said, a serious breach of trust which would normally warrant custodial sentence, but because of Peverett's achievements in the field of education - there were glowing testimonies from former pupils, staff, parents, fellow heads and even one ex-cabinet minister - his was an exceptional case.

So the former headmaster, who worked at the popular Dulwich Preparatory school for 30 years until his retirement in 1990, never had to face a jury and he never had to listen to his victims describe his crimes and the anguish they caused. Most of his accusers were not even in court to see him sentenced - Evans, by chance, was there expecting to be called as a witness. "When I saw him in the court, for a split second I was back in his office. That's the power he had."

As children they were betrayed by the man in whose care they had been placed; as adults they feel they have been cheated by the judicial system in which they put their faith. "The sentence will be of great comfort to other headmasters, past and present, who assault children in their care," says another of Peverett's victims, Vicky Bennison, 41. "On the other hand, victims of such abuse will be thinking, is all the emotional upheaval worth it if I go to the police and this is the result? They would conclude that it was not worth it and they would be right."

Evans and Bennison, who were not identified in court, but have agreed to be named here, are now contacting the crown prosecution service (CPS) asking for the case to be referred to the attorney general, who could in turn refer it to the court of appeal to consider whether the sentence was unduly lenient. However, a CPS spokeswoman said there were no plans to refer the case on. The CPS view, it seems, is that at the time the offences were committed the maximum sentence was two years - taking that into consideration an 18-month suspended sentence does not seem unduly lenient, with the emphasis on unduly. Bennison and Evans, who have lived with the consequences of his actions for the best part of their lives, would disagree.

It was Evans who sparked off the original investigation into Peverett, a father of three, after watching a Channel 5 programme about the marriage of Sophie Rhys-Jones to Prince Edward. "Sophie was a good friend of mine. She was in my class. We had had contact up to her engagement. I watched it out of curiosity. Twenty minutes into the programme Mr Peverett came on to the screen. Seeing his face, I just lost the plot. I was inconsolable. I frightened myself. I started chucking things around the room. I frightened my husband. I couldn't believe he was still out there."

She didn't eat or sleep for four days as she struggled to reach a decision about whether she should report him. She plucked up the courage and the inquiry began. "Physically he did the same thing every single time. I got to expect that. It was humiliating and degrading. It was the mental abuse that shattered me at the time and has affected my life ever since. That's what they don't take into account in court."

After Peverett's violations, her subsequent school career was unimpressive; she was deeply distrustful of male teachers and men in authority, worried that one of them would pick up where Peverett had left off. She was introverted and had problems forming relationships; she is still obsessive about covering up her body and is terrified of passing her problems on to her children.

"I'm supposed to be a role model for my children, but there's this thing in my past which has distorted my view of being female. I'm very frightened of passing on my warped view to my two young daughters. It's not OK for him to be infecting them. The main thing I have looked for is some peace in my life. I have not had peace since he did this to me."

Bennison, who was a weekly boarder at the school for her last four terms, was summoned to Peverett's office because he noticed she had started to use deodorant. "He was able to pick up on anxieties of children. He had this thing that I did not wash properly. He would sidle up to me and say, 'Have you washed? I'm sure you haven't.' I had to be punished for this.

"He used to call me out of the dormitory after lights out. He made me take my clothes off and lie across his knees for not having washed properly. I had to be naked in front of this man at the age of 11.

"I did not tell anyone about it. I didn't have the language to tell anyone. I told a boyfriend at the age of 17 and he didn't respond so I thought maybe this isn't important. For the next 15 years I could tell people when I got drunk at parties, but I couldn't tell my family and friends."

Then last year Bennison, who was working on an aid project in Russia, returned to visit her parents and discovered that Evans had made a statement to the police and an investigation was underway. She was one of 20 former pupils to contact the police following publicity about Peverett - not all of them were part of the final case. Peverett, of Battle, East Sussex, admitted the charge of indecent assault relating to Bennison; he admitted two of the three charges relating to Evans.

It should have been the beginning of the road to recovery for Bennison and Evans. Instead they feel cheated. They feel their voices have not been heard and their tormentor has escaped proper justice. "He should have had a custodial sentence. He was an OBE. Big deal. It doesn't mean he isn't guilty," says Evans. "So he was an Ofsted inspector. Big deal. He admitted he was guilty of child abuse. Why didn't he go to prison?

"I would have been happy if he had lost his liberty for just a short period of time. So maybe, just maybe, he might have had time to look back on his life and think about what he has done to us."

Read more news reports of this pervert's crimes HERE
 

Under age sex act dad jailed

A MARRIED father of two who got a schoolgirl to perform a sex act on him was today starting a four-month jail term.

Nadeem Arif, 24, of Lister Street, Accrington, had earlier escaped jail after admitting indecent assault on the 14-year-old, but had flouted the court order he received instead.

Arif had originally received a three year community rehabilitation order. A judge said all he had had to do was turn up to see his probation officer when required.

Judge Raymond Bennett told the defendant, who had twice breached the order:"It was not a very difficult thing to do. You have to learn you have to comply with court orders otherwise something nasty happens to you -- and that is what is going to happen now."

June Morris, prosecuting for the probation service, told Burnley Crown Court the victim and her friend had been drinking.

In Accrington, they met up with the defendant and another man who were delivering takeaway pizzas. The men drove to an isolated lane and the 14-year-old girl remained in the front of the car with Arif.

Miss Morris said Arif then got out of the car, walked around the front of the vehicle, pulled the schoolgirl out by the arm and told her to commit a sex act on him.

The girl felt intimidated because of the defendant's build and felt she had no alternative. The prosecutor said Arif had no previous convictions for sex offences.

Tim Ashmole, defending, said what happened was "seemingly consensual oral sex" although the girl was under age.

The defendant, whose pre-sentence report made bleak reading, had brought shame on his family and himself.

He and his wife had an arranged marriage which had not been the most successful of relationships. The offence had added to the pressure on the marriage and his relationship within the family itself. Arif was a little down, perhaps even depressed.

Mr Ashmole said if Arif was sent to prison it would be his first custodial sentence.

The court could impose a hefty fine but if the defendant had to go to prison, the sentence could be kept to the minimum possible in all the circumstances.
 

Crowding lets paedo off

A JUDGE let a paedophile off lightly yesterday - because prisons are overcrowded.

Matthew Skuse, 37, was jailed for just two-and-a-half years for an horrific sex attack on a girl of four.

A paediatrician told a court her injuries were the worst he had seen in 35 years. The maximum sentence is 10 years. But Skuse, who denied the attack, could now be free in 15 months.

Judge Paul Clark said the country's senior judge, Lord Woolf, had warned that prisons were overcrowded and courts should bear this in mind.

He told Oxford Crown Court: "In view of the Lord Chief Justice's comments, I think this is a case where I should keep the sentence shorter than I otherwise might have."

The girl's parents said they were "dismayed" at his decision. Their daughter was attacked in her home.

Skuse, of Banbury, Oxon, was put on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and will go under a two-and-a-half year supervision order on his release. He was found guilty by a jury.

SOHAM TRIAL SET

The trial of Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr (below) will be heard at the Old Bailey, it was decided yesterday.

Former janitor Huntley, 28, is accused of murdering Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both 10, and of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

Carr, 25, a former teaching assistant in Holly and Jessica's class at a Soham primary school in Cambridgeshire, is accused of perverting the course of justice.

Holly and Jessica vanished on August 4. Their bodies were discovered in Suffolk 13 days later.

RAPIST IS LOCKED UP

A 15-YEAR-OLD girl from a children's home was raped after getting drunk on cider.

Yesterday, Matthew Mann, 43, formerly of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, was jailed for five years at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The girl, said to suffer psychological problems, was unfit to testify after the rape near Whifflet Library, Coatbridge, last November.
 

PORN PICS OF KIDS FOUND AT AWARDS BASH

PICTURES of children having sex were found at a comedy awards bash.

The snaps were discovered at the table of radio station Scot FM - now broadcasting as Real Radio - which was hosting a live show from the Edinburgh Festival Perrier Awards at a student union.

Assistant manager Nicholas Farrington, 32, said he looked at one picture and passed the ring binder to manager Elizabeth Cairns, 35 - who said she could not bear to open it.

Yesterday, she told Edinburgh Sheriff Court: "I was so repulsed, I didn't want to look."

As well as eight pictures alleged to show children having sex, the folder also contained aviation guidelines for pilots and papers counting down the minutes to a radio advert.

Police said William Gordon, 46, had been broadcasting from the ceremony.

They raided his home and found a pilot's licence with his name and photo.

Gordon denies having indecent photographs at the Edinburgh University student union and possessing and making indecent material at his home in the city.

The trial continues.

PRESENTER GUILTY OVER CHILD PORN

A RADIO presenter was convicted yesterday of sending child pornography to other paedophiles.

William Gordon, who has presented arts shows for a number of radio stations, was caught after he left indecent pictures in a studio booth.

A police raid on the broadcaster's Edinburgh flat uncovered 718 sickening computer images of kids, the city's sheriff court was told.

Yesterday, a jury found Gordon, 46, guilty of possessing and distributing child pornography.

Sheriff James Farrell deferred sentence for background reports.

He told Gordon: "You have been convicted of extremely serious offences. I have seen a report about the nature of the photographs which show children not only in indecent poses but distressed and with signs of physical
distress as well."
 

PERVERT BATTLES TO SEE HIS GIRLS

A FATHER exposed by his wife as a child porn pervert is fighting for access to their two young daughters.

Bruce Urquhart was banned from seeing his children after he was convicted in July of making child porn and possessing hundreds of indecent photographs.

His heartbroken wife went to the police about former oil firm executive Urquhart after she found vile images on the family's home computer.

The 46-year-old was banned from seeing his primary school-aged children when he admitted making child porn and possessing more than 500 indecent photographs at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Almost 200 of the pictures were of children involved in sexual activity with adults or other youngsters.

Canadian Bruce was put on probation for two years, given 180 hours' community service and placed on the sex offenders register.

He will go to court in January to get access to his children.

Urquhart's estranged wife Lynn Bruce, who filed for divorce as soon as her husband was charged, is against him ever seeing their daughters again.

Lynn, who is also Canadian, declined to comment.

But a close friend said: "It's hoped the first decision will be upheld, Lynn doesn't want him anywhere near the girls. They will go back to court in January for a decision. Until then, it is just a case of waiting."
 

JAIL WATCH ON PERV

A PERVERT jailed for four months for amassing a catalogue of kiddie porn, was placed on suicide watch last night after blubbing: "I'll kill myself."

Stirling Sheriff Court was told Jonathan Lloyd, 28, said to be at continuing risk of committing further paedophile crime, printed off sickening images from the Internet of children as young as two. Many of the images were kept
in shoe boxes at his caravan home at Kippen, Stirlingshire.

Van driver Lloyd, now of Kelvinside Terrace, Glasgow, admitted possessing indecent photographs of children.

It is said he will be treated as a "high risk" of suicide in Barlinnie.
 

Child Porn Fines - Regulator continues to 'get tough'

Two European companies have been fined a total of £125,000 by premium rate services watchdog, ISCTIS, for publishing child pornography on the internet

Greenock, Sanish company and Premium Call GmbH of Gernany were also condemned for using dialer software that automatically downloaded itself onto users computers without their knowledge, before charging them £1.50 a minute.

ICSTIS - the UK's premium rate services regulator - said this software appeared to be deliberately designed to mislead users into running up huge phone bills.

ICSTIS fined Greenock £75,000 and also fined Premium Call GmbH £50,000 under recently implemented European ecommerce regulations. Both services have been barred from premium services for two years. They have also been reported to the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit.

ICSTIS Chairman, Sir Peter North ,said: 'The sanctions imposed on Greenock and Premium Call GmbH reflect the serious consumer harm caused by their services and serve as a warning to others that we will not hesitate to take decisive action to protect UK consumers from such abuse.'

Recently, in a new 'get tough' policy, ICTSIS fined a text messaging company £50,000 for sending misleading SMS messages.
 

CHILD PORN CHARGE

Two Hollywood actors have been charged in connection with allegations over child pornography offences.

Paul Reubens and Jeffrey Jones (right) were arrested by police in Los Angeles. 

Reubens, 50, who starred in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, was charged with one count of possessing materials depicting children under the age of 18 engaged in sexual conduct.

He was released on US$20,000 bail. His lawyer said he denied the charge.

Reubens could face as much as a year in jail and a US$2,500 fine if convicted.

Jones, 56, who played the uptight principal in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, was charged with hiring a 14-year-old boy to pose for sexually explicit photos.

He was also charged with possession of child pornography. He was freed on US$20,000 bail.

If Jones is convicted, he faces up to three years in prison and would have to register as a sex offender for life.

"This is all about photos. There's no allegations of any touching or any improper acts with a minor," Jones's lawyer told the LA Times.

Sex offender hunted

POLICE are hunting a man who indecently assaulted a school girl and exposed himself to another.

The man has struck twice in the Hathershaw area of Oldham since Sunday, and has been spotted on a further occasion.

He is described as Asian and possibly around 18-years-old.

Insp Steve McGarry, of Oldham Police, said that youngsters and parents in the area should be vigilant.

He added: “So far we have had two reports about this man and we believe he is probably local to the area.”

On Sunday at 5.25pm a 14-year-old girl saw the man performing a sexual act in the street on Copster Hill Road.

Then on Tuesday, at 7.20pm, a 15-year-old girl was indecently assaulted near to Villa Road by a man fitting the same description. And the following day he was spotted in Charleston Street at around 5pm when a member of the public chased him.

Insp McGarry added: “He seems to be out on the streets early in the evening, when youngsters are still out playing. I would warn parents to make sure their children are aware of the dangers and report anything suspicious to the police.”

Anyone with information should call the police on 856 8940.
 

Abuse fears push Santa from grotto

             DEPARTMENT stores are abandoning their traditional Santa's Grotto this Christmas in response to fears about the potential for child abuse.
            An increasing number of high street chains are scaling down or cancelling the festive custom, in which children sit on Santa Claus's lap and whisper present requests in his ear, because parents are anxious about
"stranger danger".

            The stores are also concerned that false allegations could be made against Santa and helpers in his grotto.

            One chain, however, is determined to buck the trend. Marks & Spencer is opening grottoes in nine of its stores for the first time.

            The company has insisted that all its Santas and elves are checked by the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure that they have no convictions for offences against children.

            "We decided it was better for all staff working in the grottoes to have had the check," a company spokeswoman said. "People are very concerned about children's safety."

            However, other stores in Central London, while running just as careful checks, have decided not to take the risk and are abandoning their grottoes altogether.

            A spokesman for Hamleys, in Regent Street, said: "Santa is arriving on November 30. They have definitely been fully checked. They are always fully investigated.

            "We haven't had the grotto for several years. Santa will be wandering around the store, greeting children."

            A spokesman for Selfridges, on Oxford Street, said: "This is the first year that we will not be having a grotto. We changed from having a grotto this year to make Santa more accessible.

            "Children won't be able to sit on his lap as this year it will be a Santa parade. He will be walking about the store with elves and handing out sweets to the children."

            The Selfridges spokesman refused to say whether security checks had been carried out on all the Santas visiting the store.

            The Santa's Grotto at the Lakeside shopping centre in Thurrock, Essex, is operated by a specialist agency. "All those in the grotto are rigorously checked," a spokesman said.

            "Children will be able to sit with Santa on a separate chair, but not on his lap. There will always be a number of adults in the area."

            The Bluewater centre near Dartford in Kent is adopting the same policy, with an outside firm running the grottoes.

            "They do the standard police checks on all of their Santas," a centre spokesman said. "Parents go through the grotto with their children. Children do not sit on Santa's lap."

            Alison Berneye, director of Dreamtime Management, which provides the Santas at Lakeside, said: "We don't allow children to sit on Santa's lap and we always have a helper with Santa. We do this in case people try to make up stories. We need to protect our staff just as much as people want to protect their children."

            Marks & Spencer is employing supply teachers, classroom assistants and nursery nurses who have already been screened by the bureau because they work with children. In an attempt to provide additional
reassurance, the grottoes will have a window along the length of one wall.

            Children visiting the nine grottoes will not sit on Santa's knee. Ten children at a time will enter the grotto and play a game with Santa and the elves before being given a gift and "Santa's helper" certificate.
 

Sex beast put death contract on girl, 8

A PERVERT tried to arrange the contract killing of an eight-year-old girl he was jailed for abusing.

Stuart Spring hatched the plot from his cell and offered a hitman £10,000 to have the girl "terminated".

But the killer was really a cop and Spring now faces a life sentence after he admitted soliciting murder at the Old Bailey yesterday.

Spring, 33, of Camden, North London, was jailed for four years in October 2001 after he admitted indecently assaulting the girl while babysitting her.

Early this year he told another inmate at London's Pentonville jail he wanted her killed. The horrified inmate alerted police.

The girl, now aged nine, was given close protection. An undercover cop, calling himself Joe, was mentioned to Spring by the other inmate as someone who might do the murder.

The paedophile wrote to the cop and set up a deal during three secretly-taped meetings in the prison visiting room.

He planned to borrow the £10,000 from an unsuspecting relative.

Spring even sent a local newspaper cutting to the cop which showed the girl's head circled in a photo.

Commander David Armond, of Scotland Yard, said: "Spring used words like 'terminated' and 'erased' and said he would like to read about her body being discovered in woodland.

"He blamed the girl for putting him in prison. It was a genuine attempt to kill her."

Spring was arrested in prison in May. Sentencing was adjourned for psychiatric reports.