Former Hunstanton teacher John Redman jailed for sex offences

crime+child pornography control reporter(weastar times/Ebc/WP):::A former teacher has been jailed for sex offences after a court heard he was a danger to children.

John Redman, 52, was found guilty at Norwich Crown Court of sexually assaulting a boy of 14 and of breaching a sexual offences prevention order.
The court heard Redman, of Kempe Road in West Lynn, Norfolk, touched the boy after employing him to do odd jobs.
Jailing Redman for 12 months, Recorder Katharine Moore told him: "You present a high risk of harm to children."
Redman, who had taught science at Smithdon High School, Hunstanton, was convicted in November of sexual assault and three offences of having unsupervised contact with the victim and another boy.

He was in breach of a sexual offences prevention order imposed by the same court in April 2011 after he admitted three sex offences against a teenage boy.

That order prevented him from having unsupervised contact with boys aged under 16.
Chris Youell, prosecuting, said the assault, which took place on 31 July, had had a "quite profound" effect on Redman's victim.
"He has had to stop working in the area; he has lost trust in people, particularly men; he gets anxious and upset and finds it difficult to sleep," he said.
"There has been a lot of stress in the family home."
'In denial' When Redman was sentenced in April 2011, he was also ordered to undergo a sex offender treatment programme but the court heard it had been cancelled and Redman had never attended.
Neil Guest, mitigating, said had Redman attended the course, it could have prevented further offences.
"He has finally accepted that there is a difficulty he must address. Hitherto, he had been in denial," he said.
He asked that Redman be given a suspended sentence and again be put on a treatment programme.
But the recorder said Redman was not a first-time offender and only a custodial sentence was appropriate.
"It is perfectly plain that in seeking your own sexual gratification, you paid no heed at all to the young man's wishes, emotional development and his future," she told him.
"You just thought of yourself and your own needs."
The new sexual offences prevention order bans Redman from contact with any boy under 16.

Kevin Lavelle murder: Police in Pontypridd over Banbury killing

crime +law reporter,oxford:::Murder hunt detectives are visiting south Wales in the hunt for the killer of a man attacked outside an Oxfordshire pub eight years ago.

Police, who are offering a £25,000 reward, are handing out posters in Pontypridd after the death in 2004 of Kevin Lavelle, 29.
He was attacked outside a pub in Grimsbury, Banbury, after he was in an argument with several Welshmen.
A father-of-two of Bootle, Merseyside, he was attacked with an iron dumbbell.

End Quote Det Insp Steve Duffy Thames Valley Police

An inquest ruled in 2009 that he was unlawfully killed outside the Cricketer's pub where a group of men from south Wales had been staying.

"We strongly suspect that the person responsible lives in the south Wales area," said Det Insp Steve Duffy, leading the investigation.
"We are going to Pontypridd and will be conducting inquiries in that area today," he told BBC Radio Wales.
Mr Lavelle, a crane driver, was working in Banbury to save money for his wedding. No-one has ever been convicted over his death.
His partner Michelle said: "He was a real family man and just wanted the best for his kids."
There is a reward of £25,000 on offer for information leading to a conviction of his killer or killers.
It is made up of £10,000 from Thames Valley Police and another £10,000 from the Justice for Kevin Lavelle fund.
'Large sum of money' The Crimestoppers charity has also offered £5,000 for anonymous information.
Det Insp Duffy said: "It is my belief that the persons responsible for this incident may well have discussed this matter with other people and that third parties who are not so well connected and their loyalties are not so strong will certainly be tempted by the offer of such a large sum of money.
"I strongly believe that there is at least one person out there not connected with the incident who is aware of the circumstances and I would strongly urge that person to come forward."
He said the reward was offered for details received anonymously if people were "not confident enough to speak to me directly".

PPC Ann Barnes in rape victim centre pledge

crime-refugee-border control reporter,kent(weastar times/Ebc/WP):::

Kent's police and crime commissioner (PCC) Ann Barnes has vowed to make providing a 24-7 unit for rape victims a top priority in the new year.

Kent is the only county in the South East that does not have a round-the-clock Sexual Assault Referral Centre.
Ms Barnes and the other PCC candidates discussed the issue during a BBC Radio Kent debate before for the election.
"It is important to me and I know it's important to lots of people here in the county," she said.
'Knock heads together' Ms Barnes added: "It's very high on my agenda. I will be meeting early in the new year with partners [to try] to persuade them and coerce them into pooling resources."
"We are not served at all well. It's a worry for me and it is important to me.
"I do know the Darent Valley centre is not open 24-7 and there is nothing in the east and south of the county."
"It is partnership working and each partner frankly has to dip into their pockets."
Sexual Assault Referral Centres are usually run in partnership and funded by the NHS, police and the voluntary sector.
Malcolm Gilbert, from Gravesend-based Family Matters, said support for victims of rape and sexual abuse varied across Kent at the moment.
But he said he was hopeful Ms Barnes could "knock heads together" in order to get the police and NHS to work together to provide better facilities for rape and sexual assault victims.

Roy Sly murder: 'Sadistic torture' killers jailed and death panalty

crime reporter,essex(weastar times/Ebc/WP):::
Two people have been jailed for the "sadistic torture" murder of a friend who invited them for a meal in Essex.

Roy Sly, 53, was so badly beaten at the Westcliff-on-Sea house, police could not tell from his face whether he was a woman or a man, the Old Bailey heard.

Vincent Harty, 39, of Shoeburyness, was convicted of murder and will serve a minimum of 30 years.

Lisa Marie Turner, 33, of no fixed address, who admitted the murder, was jailed for a minimum of 20 year

Mr Sly, a father of three, received 59 separate injuries, with the worst to his colon and genitals, following a night of heavy drinking with Harty and Turner.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

This was a lengthy killing involving considerable violence and sadistic torture”
William Clegg QC
Prosecution lawyer

The court heard the killers had a history of drink and drug abuse and Mr Sly had been living apart from his wife because of his own heavy drinking.

Mr Justice Saunders said: "It is almost unthinkable that any human being could treat another in the way these defendants treated Roy Sly."
Died in agony

Normal inhibitions were absent from the killers because of damage done by years of drink and drug abuse.

The judge said: "While it is hard to think of more depraved conduct, it would have been much worse if committed while sober and in their right mind."

The hearing was halted briefly after a male dock officer fainted after hearing the harrowing details of the killing.

William Clegg QC, prosecuting, said: "They beat and tortured that poor man until he died in what must have been agony.

"This was a lengthy killing involving considerable violence and sadistic torture.

"His face was so badly beaten that police could not tell whether the corpse they were looking at was that of a man or woman."

After he died, one of the defendants stuck a hypodermic needle in Mr Sly's arm to make it appear that he died from a drugs overdose.

Turner, who was expecting Harty's baby at the time of the death, gave evidence about the torture.

A second man, Peter Smith, 38, of Furnace Row, Troedyrhiw, Merthyr Tydfil, was cleared of murder and discharged.

Fraudster life sentenced for £3m card-skimming scam

anti fruad control reporter(weastar times/Ebc):::
A fraudster who admitted running a £3m card-skimming scam in Somerset has received a suspended prison sentence,

Leonid Rotaru, 32, of Ashleigh Avenue, Bridgwater, was caught red-handed by police as he returned to collect a card reader from an ATM in Minehead.

The judge at Taunton Crown Court sentenced Rotaru to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.

After his arrest, police discovered he had obtained about 9,000 bank card PIN numbers.
'Well-orchestrated'

Police have estimated banks lose on average £460 per card in such card-skimming scams.

Officers said the network to which Rotaru belonged had access to at least £3m, based on the average fraud per card.

Rotaru had installed a card-reading device at the cash machine at Tesco in Minehead.

When customers withdrew cash from the machine their suspicions were aroused, prompting them to tell shop staff who reported it to police.

Barry Douglas, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "By irony or total coincidence the guy was coming back, we think, to remove the device.

"The PC had already seen the CCTV of him fitting it earlier in the day, recognised the person and he was arrested."

Rotaru, a Romanian national, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and the possession of various skimming devices.

He was already on the run from the police in the UK for similar offences when he was caught.

Mr Douglas said: "This is usually very organised, you can tell from the quality of the equipment that was attached to the ATM, you can tell from the amount of detail that was found on the computer.

"This was well-organised, well-orchestrated and with good criminal connections."

Kwame Ofosu-Asare murder: Two teenagers detained

crime reporter,LONDON(weastar  times/Ebc/WP):::

Two teenagers have been given life terms for the murder of a schoolboy.

Kwame Ofosu-Asare, 17, was stabbed while he was walking through the Moorlands Estate in Brixton, south London, in March.
The Old Bailey heard two youths involved in a "poisonous and senseless" gang war had mistaken him for one of their enemies.
Nelson Idiabeta, 18, and Nathaniel Okusanya, 19, were convicted of murder following a trial.
'Poisonous feud'
Judge Richard Marks ordered Idiabeta, of no fixed address, should serve a minimum term of 19 years and Okusanya, from Lambeth, must serve 20 years.
Kwame, from Catford in south-east London, was stabbed repeatedly in the back and received a total of 14 wounds while walking in Adelaide Close with a friend.
Judge Marks said: "It was Kwame's misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Nathaniel Okusanya, left, and Nelson Idiabeta were found guilty of Kwame's murder

"Neither of you has shown one iota of remorse for what you did."
Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting, told jurors: "Kwame's death was but a part of a poisonous and senseless feud between two rival gangs of youths in south London."
He said Kwame was not a member of either gang. He had been to a recording studio in the area.
Kwame's father Kwaku, a sports journalist, told the court in a statement his son was full of potential.
He was in the sixth form of Forest Hill School and excelled in sport, music and acting and had great ambitions to make something of his life, he said.
Mr Ofosu-Asare said: "Kwame was a very vibrant, energetic and enthusiastic boy.
"His brother and sister are struggling to cope with his death. All our lives have been ruined."

Neville Dunn murderer Brian Harrison's appeal dismissed-death penelty active under new danger crime - death law

crime reporter,cormwell(weastar times/Ebc/WP):::

A man jailed for killing a man who died two years after he attacked him has lost an appeal against his conviction.

Brian Harrison, 31, was jailed for life in March for murdering Neville Dunn and told he would serve at least 16 years.
Harrison, from Cornwall, had been jailed for causing grievous bodily harm but was tried for murder after Mr Dunn, who was attacked in 2007, died in 2009.
It was only the second time in England someone had been tried for murder after being convicted of a lesser offence.
The murder trial heard Harrison, from Newlyn, kicked 42-year-old Mr Dunn's head "like a footballer", during the attack on 31 December 2007.
'Terrible ordeal'
He had pleaded self-defence and was cleared of attempted murder in 2008 but convicted of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and sentenced to a minimum of six years in jail.
After Mr Dunn died in October 2009, Harrison was later tried and convicted of murder following the Law Reform Act of 1996 which abolished the "year and a day rule".
This stated that a death was not murder if it occurred more than a year and a day after the act alleged to have caused it.
After the Court of Appeal dismissed his case, Det Con Gail Windsor, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "The assault on Mr Dunn was a violent and premeditated crime and it is clear that his death was a direct result of the injuries sustained in the attack."
In March, Truro Crown Court was told Harrison carried out the attack because he wrongly believed Mr Dunn had raped his partner.
Det Con Windsor said: "For the past five years, Mr Dunn's family has suffered a terrible ordeal but the dismissal of this appeal will hopefully finally provide closure and help them move on with their lives."