June 2021

Silverton man guilty of sexually assaulting child

A Devon man has been warned he will be sent to jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a child.

Graeme Ellis, 56, from Silverton, has been standing trial at Exeter Crown Court accused of multiple offences dating back several years.

He denied seven offences against a child aged under 13. The jury took a little under two hours to reach unanimous guilty verdicts on all charges.

Judge Timothy Rose told him: “You’ve been found guilty of all seven counts. I can’t proceed to sentence today I need time to read certain reports.”

Ellis was released on conditional bail until the sentencing hearing in two weeks.

“You have got that period of time to prepare yourself for what will be a prison sentence. When you come back before the court, it’s certain you will be sent to prison.”

Ellis was told he must sign the Sex Offender Register.

The defendant will return to court for sentence on June 24.

June 2021

Paedophile caught with child abuse images admits he needs help

A paedophile who downloaded images of children being sexually abused told police he needed help for his behaviour.

Gary Dodden, 56, actively searched the internet for images of abuse, Exeter Crown Court was told.

He also said he had exchanged images with like-minded paedophiles.

The judge told Dodden it was people like him who provided a demand for the real-life rape and sex abuse of children.’

The defendant, of The Glen, Okehampton, admitted three charges of making indecent images of children.

He was given a community order after the judge was told he was a realistic prospect for rehabilitation.

Prosecutor Mr Richard Crabb said that on August 8, 2019, police entered the defendant’s address and seized his computers.

“He was interviewed on the day of the search and admitted having a sexual interest in children,” said Mr Crabb.

“He said he needed help. He’s actively been looking for indecent images of children for three years and had been banned multiple times by a messaging app.

“He said he had exchanged images in chat groups but that it was all fantasy and he would never have acted it out in real life.”

On his phone and iPad police found images of abuse involving children aged between two and 16. The court was told some of the images were of the most types of abuse.

The defendant later said he had only been motivated by curiosity and could not get sexual gratification from the images because of a serious medical condition.

He said he was ashamed and the images were horrendous.

Judge David Evans said abuse in the images covered all levels of seriousness

“Without people behaving like you did there wouldn’t be the demand that there is. It would be much less likely people would bound and abuse children in the way those who carried out these images did, if there was not people like you forming the audience.”

He imposed an 18-month community order with 20 rehabilitation days. Dodden was also told to pay £500 fines and costs and given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to stop him committing the same offences again.

June 2021

Sadistic Devon man jailed for ‘branding’ teens with initials

A sadistic pervert who carved his initials into the skin of two young teens has been jailed.

Alex Harper permanently scarred two of the girls by branding them without their consent.

The 24-year-old, from Paignton, had a fixation with domination, causing pain and self harm and claimed his victims had agreed to his carvings.

But a judge at Exeter Crown Court said the reality was that Harper was sly, egotistical and calculating and wanted to find ways to ‘own’ the vulnerable teenagers and bend them to his will.

“Your wounding of each of these women was carried out without their consent,” said Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

Harper was found guilty at trial of one charge of controlling or coercive behaviour relating to a 16-year-old girl. He admitted wounding the same victim and another teenager.

The court was told the victims had been left psychologically as well as physically scarred by Harper.

He cultivated an online persona as a caring and sensitive man with an interest in anime. But the trial was told he had a quick temper if he did not get his own way.

“This is an object lesson in the perils of so called online romance,” said the judge.

“I’m in no doubt you were a very difficult person to get along with.”

Harper was jailed for three years and four months.

He was also given restraining orders not to contact either victim for ten years.

June 2021

Van driver films himself sexually abusing toddler and boasts to another paedophile

A vile and perverted delivery driver filmed himself abusing a toddler in his van and then bragged to another paedophile.

Adam Goulden, 37, gained access to the two-year-old girl through her innocent mother, then offered to take the toddler out on trips but instead abused her in his delivery van.

A court heard Goulden recorded the abuse, and police found videos of the abuse on his phone and computer.

They also found film which he had taken of him taking part in sex acts with a dog

But the van driver was locked up for four years and four months at Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday.

Judge Peter Johnson, who certified him as a dangerous offender, put Goulden on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Sentencing the thug, he said: “It is clear you have an abnormal sexual appetite in terms of trying to explore sexual boundaries. I get the clear impression you were using the girl’s mother to get at the child.

“The girl can be heard referring to her mother throughout the clips and to make matters worse, you shared at least one image on at least one occasion.

“Other images show you have a sexual interest in children. There are aggravating features in the extreme youth of the child and you being under the influence of ketamine.

“You were clearly willing to act out your fantasies. You are pre-occupied with sex and quite willing to push the boundaries to satisfy your sexual craving.

“You pose a serious risk of causing serious harm to children.”

Goulden was caught after police found messages on his phone, in which he boasted about his abuse to another paedophile.

The court was told the defendant had a bag containing cable ties and electrical tape in his vehicle. 

He admitted sexual assault on a child, making and possessing indecent images of children, possession of extreme images, and two counts of possession of cannabis.

Mary McCarthy, prosecuting, said police discovered four videos and 75 still images of him abusing the two-year-old girl on August 14, 2019.

They showed the child naked from the waist down and being sexually assaulted as he tried to reassure her by talking about her mother. The abuse lasted 20 minutes.

Goulden, from Dartmouth, Devon, also had other images of children on his phone and computer that he had downloaded from the internet.

There were also 207 images of bestiality including some showing him taking part in sex acts with a dog.

He tried to blame workmates for the offences by claiming they had access to his phone while he was at the delivery firm’s depot.

May 2021

Ilfracombe man jailed over child sex offences

A man has been jailed for sexual activity with three school girls. 

Dale Padmore, 22, was described by a judge at Exeter Crown Court as a ‘manipulative’ sex offender who seemed to have an interest in young girls.

The defendant, of Belvedere Road, Ilfracombe pleaded guilty to six offences of sexual activity with a child.

The court was told that some of the offences related to the abuse of a 13 year old girl. 

He was jailed for two years.

His victims were in court to read out victim personal statements about the devastating effect on their lives. Members of their families were also present.

Judge Timothy Rose said there were a number of concerning features and it was clear Padmore had known the victims were all below the legal age of consent for sexual activity.