Paedophile has sentencing delayed so he can go on holiday

Judge Amanda Rippon, a circuit judge in Newcastle since 2016 gave a paedophile defendant leave to take a holiday despite finding him guilty of Sexual Assault and telling him he could face prison.

Paedophile Kristopher Cook was scheduled to be sentenced for attempting 'penetrative sexual activity' with a child. However instead, he was told he was free to go away with his family. Cook was sentenced a week later in a move dubbed a 'joke' by the Paedophile Hunter Group who caught him.

Their spokesperson said "What sort of message does that send out to victims? He's been told to go and enjoy himself, while his victims have had their lives ruined. He has committed a crime so he should be punished, not told to go on holiday."

The South Shields sex offender pleaded guilty to attempting to engage a child under 16 in sexual activity at a hearing on March the 14^th 2018.

The 24-year-old was warned he faced jail by Judge Amanda Rippon, who then agreed to the defence's request of a delay for the pre-booked break.

Paedophile Hunter Group 'Dark Justice' added "It shouldn't matter if it was pre-booked. If he's committed a crime, that should be more important than if he's got a holiday booked."

Unshaven Cook stood largely silent in the dock as he entered his plea at the brief hearing. A psychiatric report will also be carried out after the court heard the St Cuthbert's Avenue man suffered from "a number of educational and emotional difficulties".

Ordering an all options report, Judge Rippon told him "I'm releasing you on unconditional bail so you are free to go on that holiday with your family." Adding "It is possible you may be looking at a jail sentence."

Despite her threatening Cook with a possible jail sentence Cook was instead given a suspended sentence and given a ten year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Two years later Cook was once again in police custody, again snared by an Anti-Paedophile Group this time on a dating site called Meet24.

Cook was snared when he sent a series of sexual messages to fake online profiles of two children on dating site Meet24 in July 2020, where he had asked one of the fake girls if he could take her virginity.

Newcastle Crown Court heard 'No Incognito', an undercover organisation that sets up decoy profiles to expose adults looking for underage sex were behind the accounts of 'Alisha' and 'Lisa', who Cook thought were 13-year-old girls.

At the time of the offences Cook, of Hobart Avenue, South Shields, South Tyneside, had just finished a suspended sentence order imposed in 2018 after he was caught by another group for similar offending.

However, the 27-year-old was still subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order from his previous sentence that still had eight years left to run.

Prosecutor Ian Cook told the court that after contacting 'Alisha' on the app, he soon began engaging in sexual messages. He said "On July the 9^th the defendant contacted Alisha's profile, and was told she was 13 years old. The defendant replied saying 'she would hate him because of the age gap'."

"The communication followed including 'can I lose your virginity' and 'what knickers are you wearing'."

"The messages continued in similar fashion until he replied saying could he text her instead. He was given a mobile number and sent texts with the same sort of messages." Adding "The members (of No Incognito) recognised the defendant from his profile picture and they passed his information on to the police."

"Alisha was asked to pass on a contact for 'Lisa', and it was made clear very early on she was 13, despite this he sent similar messages such as 'can we sleep together'."

"The risk of very serious harm had the profiles been real children can not be over-stated."

Cook pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and also breaching the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

When police arrested the defendant the court heard his reply was "I know I have done something wrong, I have been talking to someone."

Kate Barnes, defending, told the court that Cook has suffered with learning difficulties and lacked thorough support throughout his life. She said "He was bullied throughout his childhood and remains a vulnerable adult. He has an IQ of 54 which is extremely low, and he is not a typical sort of offender that the court typically sees in these cases."

Court Recorder Chris Smith told Cook that the consequences of breaching such an order was too great to ignore and sentenced him to 12 months behind bars.

The Judge told him "You did all of this whilst subject to the Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed in May 2018 and it still had eight years left to run. When you were chatting to one girl you started chatting to another and engage in the same sort of behaviour. Only an immediate sentence of imprisonment can be justified to get home the message that you must comply with a sexual harm prevention order. 'It is designed to protect people'."

Judge gives wildly diverse sentences despite similar crimes.

A gang of four men have been sentenced for raping and sexually assaulting two girls in Newcastle.

Omar Badreddin, Mohamad Badreddin, Huzaefa Alaboud and Hamoud Al-Soaimi were convicted of multiple offences following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court 2023.

Mohamed Badreddin, who was the only one of the four who was over 18 at the time of the offences, was jailed for 18 years. The assaults took place in 2018 and 2019 when the victims were aged between 12 and 14. Some of them took place at the city's Castle Keep, while others happened behind the Five Guys restaurant. One victim, who was raped or assaulted by all four of the defendants between the ages of 13 and 14, told the court "Because of them I feel I've been robbed of my childhood." "I've been tortured by those men. They have hurt me in so many ways." She also said she had self-harmed because of the exploitation, leaving her with scars which have meant she is uncomfortable wearing a bikini. She added "These scars will be with me for life. But as well as being physically scarred, I'm emotionally scarred. Those scars are a constant reminder to me of what I have lived through."

The other girl, who was 12 when she was subjected to a sexual assault, said "At times I would have angry outbursts in which I was unable to stop crying. I was so young at the time I didn't know how to cope or who to turn to."

The men were found guilty and sentenced as follows:

• Omar Badreddin, of Cowgate, was convicted of five counts of rape. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
• Mohamad Badreddin, also of Cowgate, was convicted of six counts of rape and one count of assault by penetration. He was jailed for 13 years.
• Huzaefa Alaboud, of Throckley was convicted of two counts of rape, assault by penetration and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was jailed for five and a half years.
• Hamoud Al-Soaimi, of Byker, who was 15 at the time, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault and assaulting a child under 13 by penetration. He walked free from court after being given a two-year suspended sentence.

The apparently lenient sentence for Al-Soaim left many people involved in the case questioning the Judge's motives. With one saying "All four committed these crimes, all four of them were equally guilty, so why did the Judge imprison three of them but not the forth?."

Outcome:

Following the case, Helen Westerman, from the NSPCC, said "We know that child sexual abuse and exploitation can have devastating effects on the lives of young people and we hope the girls who were abused by these men are receiving all the support that they need. Investigations like this show justice can still be served years after the offences take place, and we would encourage anyone who experienced abuse or exploitation like this - no matter when it was - to come forward and speak up and get help."