UK- Two men assaulted in separate attacks

6-23-2009 United Kingdom:

Police appeal for witnesses to weekend violence

Two men have been assaulted in two separate, unprovoked attacks, which police believe may be in response to a series of sex attacks in the city.

The first incident happened on Saturday (20/6) in the Great Linford area at about 5.30pm. A man was called a paedophile before being assaulted from behind, where he was punched and kicked.

The second happened on Sunday night (21/6) at about 10.20pm. A 45-year-old man was walking along a redway close to Stantonbury Park when he saw a group of eight young people. It was reported that one of the group approached him and said 'You're the rapist' before punching him in the face.

The offender in the second incident is 17 years old, of mixed race, 6ft and well built. He was wearing a white baseball cap, white sleeveless shirt and three-quarter length black, white and grey camouflage trousers.

Det Insp Dave Dachtler said: "We are concerned that these attacks are a response to the sexual assaults currently being investigated by police. If people have concerns about an individual in relation to any crime they should contact the police and let us deal with it.

"Any assault or act of vigilante behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. These offenders are not acting for the good of the community they are merely thugs using the serious nature of the sexual assaults as an excuse for violence."

Anyone with information can contact CID at MK police station on 0845 8 505 505. ..Source.. by Milton Keynes




Two men attacked as vigilantes search for sex attacker

Police have called for calm after two men were assaulted by vigilantes hunting a serial sex attacker in Milton Keynes.

The attacks follow increasing frustration that no one has been caught as detectives continue to investigate four serious sexual assaults on lone women walking on the redways, which they believe could be linked.

On May 2 a woman in her thirties was sexually assaulted and robbed in Bradville, a similar attack was made on a 50-year-old woman in Mount Farm on May 27, a 15-year-old girl was attacked on June 5 in Giffard Park and on June 17 a 16-year-old was assaulted from behind as she walked across the H5 bridge from Campbell Park.

Over the weekend two men were accused in public and attacked by people taking the law into their own hands.

A 39-year-old man was called a paedophile, before being punched and kicked, as he walked through Great Linford at 5.30pm on Saturday (20/6).

The second incident happened on Sunday at about 10.20pm.

A 45-year-old man was walking along a redway close to Stantonbury Park when he saw a group of about eight young people.

One of the group approached him and said: "You’re the rapist", before punching him in the face.

The offender in the second incident is 17-years-old, mixed race, 6ft and well built.

He was wearing a white baseball cap, white sleeveless T-shirt and three-quarter length black, white and grey camouflage trousers.

Detective Inspector Dave Dachtler said: "There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of mindless violence and offenders will face charges if they engage in this behaviour.

"If people have concerns about an individual in relation to any crime they should contact the police and let us deal with it.

"Any assault or act of vigilante behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

"These offenders are not acting for the good of the community they are merely thugs using the serious nature of the sexual assaults as an excuse for violence."

Police are aware that there this is a lot of inaccurate information in the public domain and have taken the step of publishing the correct information on Facebook.

Detective Chief Inspector Joe Kidman said: "We have been able to eliminate a number of people from our enquiries so far.

"We are using forensic analysis as an ongoing part of our investigation and looking for opportunities to identify DNA.

"We have a number of specially trained officers working with the victims of these assaults to help build a better picture of the offender.

"We have received lots of information from the public and are following up on this information and other significant lines of enquiry.

"For very good reasons we can’t tell the public exactly what is happening with the investigation.
"This could give an offender knowledge we don’t want him to have and could damage the chances of getting a conviction in court.

"Our priority is to find the person responsible and stop any further offences happening and we need the public to help us do this."

Police are advising people not to walk alone and ensure that children are accompanied on their journeys to and from school.

Chief Inspector Paul Bradford said: "We have almost doubled the number of officers patrolling the Redways.

"People are right to be concerned and right to take extra precautions to stay safe on journeys around the Redways, but there is no need for widespread panic and scaremongering."

Anyone with information about the latest vigilante assaults or the sex attacks can contact police on 08458 505505 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.


..Source.. by ROB GIBSON

UK- Rapist shot by republicans jailed

6-24-2009 United Kingdom:

A man has been jailed for seven and a half years for raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Londonderry in 2000.

Keith John Burnside, 38, from Rosemount Gardens, attacked his victim in his car at Sandbank Cottages after he gave her a lift.

Judge Pat Lynch said it was a "planned and premeditated" attack, though his choice of victim was opportunistic.

The sentencing was postponed after Burnside was shot in both legs by dissident republicans in March.

Londonderry Crown Court heard that the victim got into Burnside's car because she knew him and accepted a lift home.

Instead he drove her to a remote spot where he raped her before driving her home.

During sentencing, the judge said the victim suffered from a negative perception of herself but he hoped the conviction would allow her to get on and lead a very full and fruitful life.

'Cowardly people'

The judge also condemned those who had shot Burnside, and said there was "no room for vigilantism in our society".

He said the attack was carried out by cowardly people, and said there was no justification in carrying out such an attack in front of children.

He said the people who carried it out were as much child abusers as Burnside.

The judge said that Burnside had also allowed the court to mislead the jury, by concealing a previous conviction for kerb-crawling in Teesside.

He said Burnside posed a risk of future re-offending, and imposed a sexual offences prevention order for seven years which forbids him from access to children under 18.

Burnside was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for an indeterminate period. ..Source.. by BBC

UK- Prison for man who stabbed suspected child molester

7-11-1997 United Kingdom:

Adrian Winterbourne, 31, plunged a 9.5cm knife into victim Stephen Lawrence seven times out of revenge for a "rumoured" indecent incident with a 14-year-old girl.

Winterbourne's attack in the early hours of November 2, last year, left Mr Lawrence wounded 'within and inch of his life' in a Bellfields, Guildford, house covered in blood.

An artery in Mr Lawrence's arm was severed and he was bleeding so profusely that police officers, who arrived first at the scene, followed a trail of blood up the stairs where they found the found the victim lying on the floor, said Andrew Bright, prosecuting.

Winterbourne had been told earlier in a pub that Mr Lawrence had allegedly interfered with the young girl, removing her T-shirt during horse-play and this was the motive for the attack, said the counsel.

It was at around 12.30am when, armed with the knife, Winterbourne went to a house in Lime Grove, where Mr Lawrence was staying with a friend, David Tyler.

When Mr Lawrence got out of his bed to answer the door, wearing only a T-shirt and boxer shorts, Winterbourne began plunging the knife repeatedly into his back and shoulder.

Mr Tyler, who had been upstairs asleep with his wife, was awoken " banging, crashing and high- pitched screaming" and ran down to find Mr Lawrence covered in blood.

He was taken to Royal Surrey County Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to save his life.

Winterbourne was arrested at his home just after 5am that morning.

He pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He denied the more serious charge of attempted murder which was ordered to lie on the file.

Jailing Winterbourne Judge Henry Pownall QC told him: "What you did was outrageous and you are very lucky not to be facing the most serious charge of all."

Judge Pownall told Winter-bourne, after hearing he had a string of previous convictions including assault, causing grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, common assault and using threatening words and behaviour, "you have been violent for most of your life." ..Source.. by GetSurrey.com

UK-Sex offender moved after vigilantes torch property

6-12-2009 United Kingdom:

VIGILANTES are believed to have torched the home of a Doncaster sex offender last night.

Within hours of publicity about the conviction of a 27-year-old man for making child pornography on his computer, his terrace house in Bentley was ablaze.

Police today sealed off the property in Asquith Road to carry out an investigation and Craig Neil Markey has been moved to another address for his own safety.

It is understood Mr Markey was advised to move out earlier in the day after newspaper coverage of his crimes but he declined the advice.

He was not at home last night when intruders kicked in every door and started a series of fires on both floors of the house.

A neighbour raised the alarm just before 11pm and when Adwick fire crews arrived they found the downstairs front room well alight with thick black smoke pouring from it.

Two crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the building to douse the flames and found four separate fires. On the ground floor there was one in the front room and kitchen and upstairs there were fires in a bedroom and a cupboard.

It took almost two hours to extinguish the blaze and use powerful fans to ventilate the building.

Neighbours on both sides were evacuated for their own safety but the firefighters were able to prevent the flames spreading.

A fire officer said they understood the house had been occupied by a man whose court case had been reported in the media yesterday.

Markey was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register by Doncaster magistrates for seven years after admitting 16 counts of making indecent photographs of a child.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing 1,113 indecent photos and five indecent videos of children. The magistrates gave him a 16-week jail sentence, suspended for two years.

A police guard was placed on Markey's house last night and fire investigators and scenes of crimes officers were due to go inside this morning in the search for clues.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Police were called to a house fire on Asquith Road in Bentley, Doncaster. There was no-one inside the property at the time and no-one was injured in the blaze.

"There will be an investigation continuing today into the cause of the fire, but the incident is being treated as suspicious."

No-one has been arrested in connection with the arson attack. ..Source.. by Russ Newton




'Wall of silence' over vigilante attack

6-20-2009 United Kingdom:

POLICE investigations into a vigilante attack on the Doncaster home of a sex offender have been blocked by a "wall of silence".
So far no-one has been arrested for starting the fire which a week ago severely damaged a terrace house in Asquith Road, Bentley, which was occupied by Craig Markey.

The fire was deliberately started after a court case involving the 27-year-old was published. Markey was given a community sentence for keeping more than 1,100 child pornography images on his computer.

After the fire he was rehoused by Doncaster Council at a secret location for his own safety. It is understood he has also been ostracised by many of his colleagues at his place of work in Doncaster.

Residents of Asquith Road say they believe a gang of about six men armed with baseball bats smashed their way into the house and looted it before starting the fire in different parts of the property.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said there had been no developments in the enquiry because "officers have met with a wall of silence". ..Source.. by

UK- 'We want nothing to do with her,' say family of nursery worker charged with sex abuse

6-11-2009 United Kingdom:

Vanessa George's husband and teenage daughters cut all ties with her after she was accused of sexually abusing children and taking pornographic pictures at a nursery.

Andrew George, 41, said he and his family were shocked and devastated by the allegations.

He is under police protection at a safe house after fleeing the family home with his two daughters.

A close relation, who did not wish to be named, said yesterday that the whole family had broken off contact with George.

We don't want nothing to do with her,' he said. 'We've cut all ties with her.

'Andrew and his daughters don't want anything to do with her, they've cut her off entirely.

'We are all totally in shock and devastated. I never want to see her again. This is a really upsetting time for us.'

Mr George, who works for a catering equipment firm, later issued a statement through Devon and Cornwall Police.

It said: 'Myself, my two children and family have been shocked by the information and events of the past three days.

'We remain strong as a family and will now await the case to go through the judicial system.

'We have two young children and my paramount concern is to lessen the impact these events have on them.'

A police family liaison officer helped the family move out of their home this week.

Mr George was pictured with his face covered by a hood while his daughters had blankets over their heads.

They took away clothes and bedding. Detective Constable Paul Dobinson, the police family liaison officer, said of the decision to provide support: 'They are in pieces. They are just taking it from day to day.'

Mr Dobinson said it was unusual for a family liaison officer to be allocated to a suspect's family but senior officers felt it was necessary under the circumstances.

Mr George's wife was understood to be of good character and had passed a criminal records check, a Home Office source revealed yesterday. ..Source.. by Colin Fernandez