SOHAM COP CHARGED WITH SECOND SEX ATTACK

DC 'assaulted teenage girl'

      THE policeman who supported the family of murdered schoolgirl Jessica Chapman was yesterday charged with a sex attack on a second child.

      Detective Constable Brian Stevens, 41, who is already accused of two counts of indecent assault on a 13-year-old girl, was charged with indecently assaulted another girl. Her age was not given in court but she
was under 16 at the time of the alleged offence.

      Stevens, who was the family liaison officer to the Chapman family, was also charged with two new child porn offences.

      His court appearance lasted just five minutes. He smiled to reporters as he entered the court, wearing a dark blue single-breasted suit and blue tie.

      He spoke only to give his name and date of birth and was almost inaudible as he muttered, "No plea" to the charges.

      The father-of-two from March in Cambridgeshire was assigned to the Chapman family after Jessica and her school friend Holly Wells went missing.

      At the time, he was said to have become "the rock" they leaned on.  He even read out a poem at a memorial service for the girls' and represented the family when Ian Huntley, 28, made his first appearance at
Peterborough magistrates court charged with their murder.

      Yesterday the case against him was adjourned until January 3. Conditional bail was extended.

      In addition to the assault charges, he also faces five counts of possessing child pornography, two of distributing child porn and one of incitement to distribute child porn.

      PC Tony Goodridge from Ely, Cambs, who was involved in the Soham inquiry as an exhibits officer, also appeared at the magistrates court in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, yesterday.

      The father-of-two, 34, hid his face in his hands as he left the court.

      He is charged with 16 child porn offences. The case was adjourned for a week after his lawyer Kevin McCarthy asked to see prosecution documents.

      Stevens and Goodridge are staying at undisclosed addresses outside Cambridgeshire. Shortly after the hearings they were driven away together by another man, thought to be a police colleague.

      Jessica and Holly disappeared from their homes in Soham on August 4. Their bodies were found in a ditch near RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk 13 days later.

      The officers were arrested as part of Operation Ore, in which UK police have been targeting alleged users of pay-per-view websites in the US.

      Cambridgeshire Police became aware of the allegations and asked West Midlands Police to carry out an independent investigation under the direction of the Police Complaints Authority.
 

Fresh sex charges against vicar

 Canon Davies (above) has been vicar of St Paul's since 1971

A senior Church in Wales vicar has been re-arrested on charges of committing serious sexual offences against children.
Canon Lawrence Davies, 62, has been re-arrested by South Wales Police and charged with rape, gross indecency and indecent assault on a child under 16.

He has been additionally charged with indecent assault on another child under 16.

Last month, Canon Davies, who is the vicar of St Paul¿s Church in Grangetown in Cardiff, was charged with serious sex offences against a young man.

He was freed on bail by magistrates but ordered to live with relatives 40 miles away from Cardiff.

A replacement vicar has been installed at St Paul's.

The Church in Wales' diocese of Llandaff said it was co-operating with police over the latest charges.

Sion Brynach, a spokesman for the Church in Wales, said: "Our thoughts and prayers continue to be very much with those people associated with this case and their families.

"During the coming weeks, the diocesan authorities in Llandaff will be continuing to do all they can to support those individuals associated with the case and offering them what pastoral assistance they can.

"Provision has already been put in place to take care of the parish of Grangetown.

"Canon Davies continues to be suspended from his clerical duties, pending the outcome of any additional investigation or court hearing.

"The Church in Wales is continuing to co-operate closely and fully with the police and social services in the conduct of their inquiries."

Canon Davies, who has been vicar of St Paul's since 1971, is already charged with serious sex offences against a young man.

He is charged with the rape of a man, indecent assault of a boy under 16 and gross indecency with a boy under 16.

At a previous hearing, magistrates were told the alleged offences all related to one person and dated from between 1987 and 1992.

Canon Davies cannot now enter Cardiff unless he has an appointment with his solicitor.
 

Life sentence for paedophile means life this time - says judge

A PAEDOPHILE, from Ellington was jailed for life yesterday - for the second time.

The judge, Andrew Patience QC, said it was "inconceivable" that the man and his co-accused would ever been freed. They had previous sentences going back 40 years.

The two, aged 60, and 61, were jailed for the rapes of two boys aged seven and nine, one boy from Cambridgeshire, the other from Kent.

The mother of the Cambridgeshire boy said she was pleased with the sentence but shocked when she found out Hogg had received a previous life sentence.

She said: "This time life should mean life, otherwise what is the point? It was known in 1960 that Hogg had a mental illness and was tampering with children so why was he ever let back on the streets? He was obviously a danger to children."

Brian Hogg, 60 from St Peter's Way, Ellington has offences going back to 1957. He was jailed for life in 1987 but the Appeal Court reduced the sentence to 10 years.

At Maidstone Crown Court this week, Hogg and Wing were sentenced for rapes and indecent assaults happening over two years in Huntingdon and in Kent.

The mother of the Cambridgeshire boy, now aged about eight, described how Hogg had spent years befriending the whole family in order to gain access to the child.

She said: "My son was never alone in the house with Hogg. We all travelled down to Kent. The only time they were alone was in the computer room. That is why I was so horrified when the police turned up on my doorstep and told me what was going on."

She said: "I went through every emotion, it was a mixture of horror and disbelief."

She said: "Hogg met my husband's father when they were both walking their dogs round Grafham Water. They started taking photographs of the dogs and then it moved on to taking photographs of the grandchildren. When my son's grandfather died, Hogg stepped into the grandfather role. He was such a kind gentlemen, you don't imagine they could ever do something like that, especially being elderly."

She said she wanted people to know that abuse happened everywhere. "It's not just in isolated places. You think it doesn't happen where you live but it does."

Hogg's co-accused, Jeremy Wing pleaded guilty to two charges of rape, 12 of indecency with a child and four of making indecent pictures of children.

Hogg was found guilty of three charges of rape, one of indecency with a child and one of assault. He admitted five other charges of indecent assault and three of indecency with a child.

Wing and Hogg met in Maidstone Prison and shared their victims.

The abuse was discovered after a retired police officer who had dealings with Wing saw him in the company of children and was worried.

He told the police and on August 9 last year, Wing's home, Skeetwell in Orpington, was raided. Officers found sweets, computer games, go-karts and tree-houses. A search revealed hidden video cameras and more than 45 films, mainly showing abuse of the boys.

A detective sergeant was watching one of the films at the house when a father arrived with his son. The officer realised he had just seen the same boy being abused on the film.

Judge Patience told Wing and Hogg: "Abused children never forget what has happened to them. In that sense, each of them has a life sentence."

The judge imposed life for the rapes and seven years concurrent for the other offences.
 

Policeman on porn charge

A POLICE officer appeared before Bolton Magistrates Court charged with possessing child pornography.

PC David Brown, of Greater Manchester Police, is facing 15 allegations in relation to the possession of indecent photographs of children.

The photographs are alleged to have been downloaded on Brown's computer from a website between August 31 and September 3.

Brown, aged 39, of Brookfield Road, Cheadle, Manchester, spoke only to confirm his name and address at the brief hearing.

The case was adjourned for a committal hearing at Bolton Magistrates Court on March 10, 2003.

He was granted unconditional bail. No pleas were entered. Mr Clarke said there was no suggestion that the photographs -- which were shown to magistrates -- were distributed or were intended to be distributed.

Greater Manchester Police is understood to be investigating more than 200 potential child pornography suspects after receiving information from FBI officials under Operation Ore.

They are all suspected of subscribing to a website containing indecent images of children.

PC Brown is suspended from duty pending the outcome of the court case.
 

Indecent assault man jailed

A BARNOLDSWICK schoolboy was molested by a "down and out," who groped him and then tried to have sex with him.

The 14-year-old was distraught after his ordeal and sobbing so much he could not tell his mother what had happened, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The boy's attacker, ex-convict Joshuah Karney, 24, who had plied his victim with cider, was jailed for 15 months by Judge Raymond Bennett who said what he had done had come pretty close to attempted rape.

The judge added the message must go out that those who behaved as Karney had that they would face an inevitable jail term.

Karney, of no fixed address, but then living in Barnoldswick, was given an extended licence period of two years, disqualified from working with children and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. He admitted indecent assault, committed in August.

Jeremy Grout-Smith, prosecuting, said the defendant had arrived in Barnoldswick with a "hard luck story," and ended up camping there.

When the teenager was interviewed by police, he told officers Karney had bought a litre bottle of cider and had been trying to get him to drink a lot.

At the time of the assault, the boy was also camping and during the night went outside to urinate. When he returned, the defendant fondled him and put his hand inside the victim's boxer shorts despite the 14 year old's protestations.

Mr Grout-Smith said the defendant was said to have told the boy he was gay and had never been with a girl. The teenager then went to sleep on his stomach and the defendant climbed on top of him and tried to have sex with him.

Richard Taylor, for Karney, said the defendant was horrified by what he had done and wanted to apologise.

He remembered very little of it - maybe he cleared his mind of it or maybe he had too much to drink.

It had not been easy for Karney to come to terms with the offence and he had been somewhat brave to enter his guilty plea.
 

MP's aide in Internet sex talk probe (See PARTY POLITICAL NONCES )

AN MP's researcher has been suspended and a police inquiry launched after it was alleged he contacted young girls on the Internet and talked about sex.

Paul Diggett, 35, has been suspended from his £13,000-a-year post in the office of the Hyde and Stalybridge Labour MP James Purnell.

Mr Diggett, who lives with his parents in Cheadle, denied any wrongdoing and said he would co-operate with police and make a statement.

He is alleged to have used a computer at Mr Purnell's constituency office in Hyde town hall to send messages to a someone he believed was a child.

Officers have searched his home and seized his computer. A search of his office was expected to take place today.

The allegations about Mr Diggett, who stood for election in the 1997 General Election, were made in a Sunday newspaper. He was accused of arranging to meet an undercover reporter who told him that she was 12 years old.

Mr Purnell suspended Mr Diggett while the matter is investigated.

The MP said: "This is a complete shock. These are such serious allegations that Paul has been suspended while investigations take place. It is now a matter for the police."

A police spokesman said: "We have received information from the Sunday Mirror and can confirm investigations are underway into the allegations which have been made."

Mr Diggett is a long-time member of the Labour party.

He came second when standing for Labour in Cheadle in the 1997 General Election. He was a key figure in the 2001 election campaign for Mr Purnell.
 

Jailed paedophile GP Healy to be struck off

Disgraced paedophile GP Timothy Healy is expected to be struck off the medical register today.

Healy, 56, was jailed for 12 years in September after admitting drugging and sexually assaulting young male patients at his surgery in Southern Road, East Finchley.

He is not expected to appear at the hearing before the General Medical Council (GMC).

It is anticipated the decision to strike him off the medical register will be a formality.

Healy's victims included patients, Army cadets and family friends. Many of them did not realise they had been abused until they were shown video recordings Healy made of himself assaulting them.

The videos were seized from Healy's address by police following an anonymous tip-off.

One of his victims attempted suicide after discovering he had been assaulted.

Healy admitted a total of 31 charges of indecent assault, administering stupefying drugs to his victims, taking obscene photographs and possessing obscene material at Southwark Crown Court in August. He was sentenced in September.
 

Paedophile freed on appeal

A paedophile has walked free after appeal judges ruled he should never have been sent to prison.

He was jailed for importing indecent photographs he had taken of naked children.

The Court of Appeal in London held the judge who sentenced Thomas O'Carroll was over-influenced by his campaign to legalise sex between adults and children.

Appeal judge Mr Justice Holman said the pictures taken by O'Carroll, 57, with a long-lens camera, although having the quality of indecency in the context in which they taken, were of the kind that parents might take of their children entirely innocently.

The judge stressed that the case was very different from the "modern scourge" of child pornography on the Internet.

There was no evidence that O'Carroll imported the photographs for any purpose other than his own personal sexual gratification.

O'Carroll, of Leam Street, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, who was a prime mover in the now defunct Paedophile Information Exchange, was jailed for nine months at Southwark Crown Court in London in August for being knowingly concerned in the importation of indecent material.

He claimed the pictures he took of children on a beach with their parents were "artistic", but admitted he found them erotic and that his sexual preference was for pre-pubescent children.

Described as a highly intelligent man whose interest in photography covered a wide range of subjects, O'Carroll has only one previous conviction in 1981 for conspiracy to corrupt public morals for which he was sentenced to two years in prison.
 

£1m claim against church Nov 27 2002

A Coventry sex abuse victim will rock the Roman Catholic church with a record £1 million compensation demand this week.

It is believed to be the highest amount ever claimed by an individual in damages against the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Simon Grey, aged 37, is basing his claim on personal injuries and a lifetime's loss of earnings and pension rights.

He says his chance of a normal life was ruined as a result of the abuse he suffered at the hands of a paedophile priest.

Mr Grey, who is married and now lives in Leicester, said today: "I want this matter settled, if not now then in the courts."

Earlier this year, Mr Grey, who was brought up in the Coundon area, won the right to sue the Birmingham archdiocese - which covers Coventry and Warwickshire.

In a landmark decision, a High Court judge ruling in his favour awarded him £35,000 legal costs, and paved the way for a full trial.

Mr Grey's lawyers are now asking for £1 million damages plus legal costs in an out-of-court settlement.

The former altar boy at Christ the King Church in Westhill Road, Coundon, says he was sexually abused from the age of 10 by the then assistant parish priest Father Christopher Clonan.

He alleges the archdiocese knew, or ought to have known, about the danger he was in as complaints about Father Clonan's behaviour with another boy had previously been made to the priest's superior.

It was therefore negligent in its duty of care towards him.

The claim is being made against the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols and the trustees of the archdiocese.

They will have 28 days in which to respond to the damages claim.

Father Clonan, 60, fled the country in 1992 as detectives closed in to question him about other sex abuse allegations.

He hasn't been seen since but the police file on the case remains open.
 

Man jailed for rape of boy, aged10

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."
 

Mother's terrible ultimatum

A Midland mother discovered that her new husband was a convicted paedophile - only after social services threatened to take away her baby.

Distraught Sam Olner was four and a half months pregnant when she was told Mark Rowley had been jailed for a child sex attack.

And social workers who dropped the bombshell gave her a stark ultimatum: Leave your husband or lose your baby.

Devastated Sam dumped her partner, who was on the sex offenders’ list. He had previously pleaded guilty to charges involving child porn and a sex attack on a seven year-old boy.

Sam, who had been married to Mark for only three months, told the full shocking story to the Sunday Mercury.

“When I found out Mark was a paedophile I felt physically sick,” she said. “But there was no way I could stay with a man who had abused a child. I had to think of my baby.”

Now the 21 year-old, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, says she is rebuilding her life after leaving Mark, 24, to protect their son, Nason.

Sam first met Mark, from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, in February 2000 while working as a cleaner at a halfway house.

Their friendship blossomed into romance after Mark offered her a lift home after her shift.

“The first time I really spoke to Mark was when he offered to drive me home,” explained Sam. “We chatted all the way and I couldn’t help but notice that he was tall with lovely brown hair and a nice smile.

“He told me he had been in prison for burglary and I believed him. I had no reason not to. Three weeks later, I asked him out and he accepted.

“On our first date he came round to my mum’s house for a cup of tea. I found him friendly and charming and I was instantly smitten.”

When Mark asked Sam to marry him two months later, she accepted. After a whirlwind romance the couple tied the knot in November 2000 at Nuneaton Register Office.

Sam, who had suffered fertility problems stemming from a curvature in her spine, was also delighted to discover that she was pregnant.

“Doctors had warned me it was unlikely that I’d ever get pregnant so to find out I was expecting was wonderful,” she said.

“But when I told Mark, I was shocked to learn he didn’t want to have the baby. He didn’t want children, full-stop.

“We argued for days but I told him I was keeping the baby, so in the end he seemed to accept it. I had no idea why he was so dead against children. I told myself that once I’d had the baby, he would love it.”

But the real reason behind his objections suddenly came to light when, halfway through her pregnancy, Sam was called into a meeting with social services.

She listened in shock as social workers explained that Mark had been sentenced to 12 months at Warwick Crown Court in August 1999.

He had pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a boy and taking indecent video footage of children.

The court heard how Mark, who was 19 at the time of the offences, had indecently assaulted a seven year-old boy and in separate incidents had filmed him and two girls in various states of undress.

It was also revealed that Mark had threatened to hit the children if they told anyone what had happened.

“I could hardly take in what they were telling me,” said Sam. “I was pregnant with this man’s child but now everything had changed forever. Suddenly I could see why Mark didn’t want the baby - he was scared of abusing his own child.”

Social Services warned Sam that her unborn baby would be at risk if she stayed with Mark and would be taken into care. She said she had no choice but to leave her husband.

“I now knew that Mark had a sickening dark side but that didn’t change the fact that he was my husband and the man I’d fallen in love with,” said Sam.

“I rushed round to my mum’s house in floods of tears. She told me it was ultimately my decision but I knew what I had to do.

“The maternal instincts were there. I had to think of my baby.”

That night Sam returned home and told Mark that their marriage was over.

“Leaving Mark was the hardest thing I have ever had to do,” she said. “When I told him, he didn’t even argue. His face filled with shame and he looked at the floor.

“The same day I moved back in with my mum. When I returned home to pick up a few things a couple of days later he’d virtually cleared the house of all our belongings. I never saw him again.”

In June last year Sam gave birth to baby Nason. Her mother Julie, dad Mark and sister Donna were all there at the birth.

Now, 17 months on, the brave mum has divorced Mark and last night said that she was doing fine on her own.

“I’ve got my own place and I don’t have a boyfriend,” she said. “To be honest, I think I’ll find it hard to trust anyone again.

“At least one good thing came out of it - I have a beautiful baby son and that is something I’ll never regret.”
 

Internet porn man jailed

A PAEDOPHILE data entry clerk was jailed for two years for downloading more than 2,000 pornographic pictures of children.
Darren Guest, 20, used the Internet to build his vile collection of images, and posted adverts online arranging "swops" with other cyber perverts, the Old Bailey heard.
He was involved in a "sophisticated system" of trading the images in an exchange and distribution network.
The children abused were young boys and girls ranging in age from six months to nine years, and the images showed children being abused by adults.
Guest was collared by officers from the Obscene Publications and Internet Unit who arrested him on March 27 last year at his home address in Ham Park Road, Stratford. They acted following an intelligence investigation.
He had made efforts to erase the images – but police were able to analyse his hard disk and discover the sickening Defending, Matthew McDonagh insisted Guest had stopped selling the pictures before he was arrested.
He urged leniency and told the court: "There are clear psychological issues. The sooner this young man is allowed to re-enter society and to gain the professional assistance that he requires the better for all concerned."
Judge Peter Fingret jailed him for two years on each count, to run concurrently. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for ten years on release.
He said: "The material found on your hard drive, in excess of 2,000 images, was made available by you for exchange and distribution and was advertised accordingly.
"You repeated the adverts you placed and were extensively involved in a sophisticated system of exchange of images. Each of the images shows sexual activity between children, penetrative sexual activity between adults and children, and bondage.
Serious
"There was a carefully planned and sophisticated method of exchange between you and the other users of these sites. These images are clear evidence that at some stage serious offences were committed by others involving the exploitation and abuse of children.
"That's the mischief which attaches to these offences. Those who utilise the Internet for such purposes will almost without exception go to prison."
Pc Anne Linton, who worked on the investigation, said: "There were indecent images of both young boys and girls from six-month-old babies to approximately nine years and showed scenes of sexual abuse by adults.
"Some people believe that this type of crime can be committed by using the Internet. They must realise that we can and do trace and identify those involved."
 

Honour for council worker who caught sex pest

           HARDEN - jailed

A COUNCIL gardener has been honoured by a judge for overpowering a dangerous sex offender who had just carried out a knifepoint attack on a schoolboy.

Lee Gannon (31), who is more used to tending rose bushes and keeping the bowling greens tidy, chased pervert Christopher Harden after seeing him drag the 13-year-old victim into the bushes,

The father-of-three then held on to Harden until police arrived at Copster Park, Oldham.

Police inquiries later revealed that only 15 minutes before the attack, in April this year, the 47-year-old pervert had been looking at child pornography images on the Internet.

He was jailed for 31/2 years for indecent assault and child pornography charges in October. Det Sgt Gary Cropper, who led the investigation, said: “This was a particularly terrifying experience for the young boy, and the assistance of Mr Gannon was vital. Without his intervention the attack would have continued.”

Mr Gannon was yesterday invited to Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, for a special ceremony where he was honoured for his bravery by the trial judge and the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Peter Mallick.

Judge Timothy Mort said: “You played a vital part protecting the boy from a more serious assault and worked very hard to bring this man to justice.

“You acted with great presence of mind and, by your public-spirited actions, ensured that an offender who had committed a serious crime was arrested.

“This court, on behalf of the public at large, expresses gratitude for your prompt reaction in assisting a victim of crime.

“And after seeing pictures of the park, the Royal Horticultural Society should give you a commendation as well.”

The incident happened after Harden, a married father-of-one, went to the park and began talking to the boy. He asked him if he wanted to earn some money, before producing a knife and forcing him to unzip his trousers.

The boy ran away but Harden chased him and dragged him into some bushes. It was then that Lee realised something sinister was going on.

Lee, a gardener with Oldham Council for 41/2 years, said: “When I first spotted the man and boy I thought it was father and son and didn’t take much notice, but then I saw Harden dragging the boy into some bushes.

“I went over and he jumped out with the lad, so I asked the boy if he was OK. He said the man had tried to do something and I realised what was going on.

“I chased and caught him and rang the police on my mobile. I had to keep him there until officers arrived and all the time he was shouting that he had done nothing wrong.”

At court, Harden pleaded guilty to five charges of making indecent images of children and was convicted of the indecent assault by the jury.
 

Teacher accused of rape

A teacher has appeared before magistrates accused of raping a teenage boy and indecently assaulting another, after sending them indecent text messages.

Wasim Majid, 26, of Aylesbury Street, Wolverton, Bucks, is currently suspended from his job at a school in Northamptonshire.

He faces a charge of rape, three counts of gross indecency with a child, indecent assault and two counts of abusing his position as a teacher.

Northampton Magistrates Court was told the allegations related to two incidents - one in January and one between May and June.

Majid was remanded in custody to appear at Northampton Crown Court on December 13.
 

SCHOOL KIDNAP ALERT

SCHOOLS have been put on alert after three men posing as truant officers tried to abduct seven pupils by ordering the youngsters into their car.

A group of seven youngsters, aged 11 to 13, were walking to Cardinal Heenan Roman Catholic High School after their bus failed to turn up, when they were approached by the men on Wensley Drive in Meanwood, Leeds.
The three Asian men, who were in a green Audi A4 vehicle, told the pupils they were truant officers doing a sweep of the area and ordered them to get in the car.
The frightened pupils realised the men were not truant officers and ran off – but they were followed by the car for a short time before the driver did a U-turn and sped off.
The pupils ran the remaining quarter of a mile to the school and alerted teachers who called the police immediately.
The teachers then phoned the Leeds City Council special hotline which subsequently alerted all the schools in the north east of the city to tell them of the danger.
Pupils have now all been given a warning to take extra care in the fear that these men may try to strike again.
Cardinal Heenan deputy head Vincent Gibbons said: "This is very worrying. The children were very upset when they arrived at school.
Intelligent
"It is fortunate that they were intelligent enough to realise these men were not truant officers and they did exactly the right thing in getting away and alerting a teacher as soon as they arrived at school.
"I have never heard of anything like this happening at this school before and obviously we are telling the children to be as careful as possible.
"That means staying in groups and travelling to and from school safely.
"We have also been in contact with Metro over the failure of the bus to turn up as there have been constant problems on this route recently."
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said officers have been made aware of the incident and were maintaining vigilance.
He said: "We would remind children that they should not speak to strangers or go with them and would urge them to be extra cautious, immediately reporting any suspicious or similar incidents to the police."
Chris Edwards, chief executive of Education Leeds, said: "The safety and well-being of children is our first priority and incidents of this nature are always treated very seriously.
"We were pleased to see that the school acted quickly to raise the alarm in accordance with our procedures and the details of the incident were immediately placed on our schools hotline.
"This is a cascade system put in place to ensure that staff are quickly aware of such incidents and will lead to the information being shared by around 40 schools across north east Leeds.
"The headteachers at each school are then able to respond appropriately according to their own assessment of any potential risk."

06 December 2002
 

PAEDOPHILE FACES 5 YEARS IN JAIL FOR TALKING TO BOYS

A paedophile faces being sent BACK to jail days after he was set free after being caught with young boys in manchester

Peter Lander-jones Aged 65 and described as a "high risk predatory sex offender" was given the lifetime ban from approaching or speaking to youngsters under 16 as part of a sex offenders order in 1999, Now he is facing up to five years in prison for defying the order after he was spotted on two occasions talking to young boys

Lander-jones from hopton court in Hulme, made legal history when he became the first person to be jailed under a law which allows dangerous men to be arrested before they have committed a crime his previous convictions have taken place in england and across the world

Manchester magistrates court heard the former merchant seaman and self-taught english teacher was spotted talking to two 14-year-old boys in whalley range then following them to a public swimming baths the court was also told he had been seen chatting to a boy of 11 near the withington bail hostel where he was living the offences happened just days after he completed a three-year sentence imposed after he was recorded on video camera by police talking to youngsters on a canal tow path in newton heath The paedophile has faced courts in Austrllia New zealand Germany Monaco Switzerland Norway Gibraltar and Scotland and has been described as a "danger to society" At yesterdays court hearing Lander-jones admitted the two recent counts of breaching the order He was remanded in custody until December the 12th.
 

Rapist busker gets four life terms

Police believe Ekezie (above) is responsible for more rapes

A London busker who was freed after attacking a 13-year-old girl and then went on to attack three women tourists, has been given four life sentences.
Emmanuel Ekezie, 36, raped the three women - from Lithuania, Japan and the United States - after "chatting them up" in the street and inviting them back to his flat.

Old Bailey Judge Giles Forrester told Ekezie that he was a "dangerous rapist" with an unstable character who had been brought to justice.

Ekezie, of Kennington, south London, smiled as he was jailed. He had earlier told the court he was innocent and said his lawyers were "guilty of misconduct".

Police believe the drummer, who lured tourists to his flat from London's West End where he played African drums, may have been responsible for other rapes on women who have since returned home.

The court was told that the 13-year-old's allegations and his outright denial were reported to senior police officers and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

But it was decided that the girl had been lying and the case was dropped.

The girl was truanting from school when she first met Ekezie but went back with him after he offered to show her how to record music.

Violent threats

"In the flat loud music was put on and he gave her a drink," said Ann Curnow, QC, prosecuting.

When she refused, he threatened to break her legs with a hammer and said he did not want to break her face, she added.

Miss Curnow said that playing loud music featured in all four attacks, as did Ekezie's change in attitude from being friendly and helpful to being threatening and sometimes violent.

After raping the girl, he walked her halfway home, said Miss Curnow.

Cases linked

"This features in every case. After sexual intercourse he reverted to being normal."

Ekezie was arrested after the third alleged rape and bailed.

A detective investigating the case linked it with the other cases and contacted the CPS.

"Regrettably, and it can only be a matter of deep regret, despite his submission of reports and files, the CPS did not move quite fast enough and a fourth victim was raped as they were pending a decision," said Miss Curnow.

Interviewed after the fourth rape, Ekezie told police "They wanted me. I did not want it, but they had their wicked way with me".
 

Man remanded on serial rape charges

A 48-year-old man from Kent has been remanded in custody charged with a string of rapes across south-east England.
Antoni Adam Imiela made his first appearance before magistrates in Canterbury on Saturday charged with nine counts of rape.

Mr Imiela, a railway sub contractor from Appledore near Ashford, was charged on Friday night.

Two uniformed police officers and two plain clothes detectives accompanied Mr Imiela into the glass-fronted dock.

Motorway arrest

Mr Imiela was covered in a blanket as he walked in and out of the court building.

He was driven away to an undisclosed location shortly after 1000 GMT.

In court Mr Imiela spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.

No bail application was made.

Mr Imiela was remanded in custody until 16 December when he will appear at Maidstone Crown Court for a preliminary hearing.

He was arrested on the M20 motorway on Monday following a police operation involving five police forces.

Mr Imiela has been charged with raping a girl of 10 in Kent in November last year and a 14-year-old girl in Hertfordshire last month.

He is also accused of seven other attacks in the intervening months - two of them on the same day in July.

The oldest alleged victim was a 52-year-old woman.

The charges were:
 

The rape of a girl under 16 in Ashford on 15 November, 2001;

The rape of a girl under 16 in Bracknell, Berkshire on 1 July this year;

The rape of a woman in Redhill, Surrey on July 11 this year;

The rape of a woman at Putney, London, on 11 July this year;

The rape of a woman in Woking, Surrey, on 16 July this year;

The rape of a woman in Wimbledon, London, on 6 August this year;

The rape of a woman in Epsom, Surrey, on 7 August this year;

The rape of a girl under 16 in Woking, Surrey, on 6 September this year;

The rape of a girl under 16 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on 25 October this year.