Paedophile found dead in his cell a year after he was sent to prison
22 April, 2021
Carl D. Pearson, UNN
A paedophile has been found dead in his cell a year after being sent to prison. Graham Scobie, 52, had almost 100 sickening pictures at his home in Irvine, Ayrshire, but was spared jail in February 2019.
A court was told he used ten Facebook profiles to lure young boys into sexual chats, and would often travel to Glasgow to watch youngsters in parks and museums.
He was given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) but was later caught again when officers inspected his laptop.
Law enforcement discovered more sickening abuse images, which included a boy being raped by a man. Scobie also admitted using an adult webcam site against the terms of his court sentence.
He was jailed for 26 months last March, but it has now emerged he died in HMP Dumfries. Prison chiefs said a fatal accident inquiry will be launched following Scobie’s death on April 11.
During Scobie’s trial, prosecutor Kirsty Urquhart said: ‘He has admitted to having deviant sexual interests, in particular an interest in young teenage boys.
‘He has victim access. He goes out most days and travels to Glasgow from Irvine when he spends his days walking around parks, Kelvingrove Park in particular, and going to museums.
‘He repeatedly puts himself in situations where he could come in to contact with children. ‘His laptop has been examined by police and there is evidence that he accessed porn on a daily basis, especially barely legal and young males.’
A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service said: ‘Graham Robert Scobie, 52, a prisoner from HMP Dumfries has died on April 11, 2021.
‘He was convicted at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court in 2020. Police Scotland have been advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
‘A Fatal Accident Inquiry will be held in due course.’
He was four years into a 10-year sentence for snatching and abusing the youngster
By Helen Kreft, Senior reporter
Staffordshire Live
08:15, 23 APR 2021
Arnold Baxter was discovered 15 years after he kidnapped a child (Image: Staffordshire Police)
A paedophile who kidnapped and sexually abused a young girl 20 years ago near Burton died of natural causes in jail, an inquest has ruled.
Pervert Arnold Baxter died in October four years into a 10-year prison sentence and was found in his prison cell complaining of headaches, vomiting, vertigo and was unsteady on his feet.
The 76-year-old was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital on October 21, last year, where doctors quickly diagnosed that he had had a stroke. However, his condition deteriorated and he died nine days later on October 30.
During this time he had tested negative for covid but was displaying symptoms at the time of his death, the inquest heard.
Yesterday, Thursday, April 22, an inquest was held into his death by Andrew Haigh, of South Staffordshire Coroner's Office, which routinely carries out investigations following the death of prisoners.
It heard that Baxter had been a prisoner at HMP Stafford since 2018 and had become unwell in his cell on October 21, last year.
He had previously been diagnosed with the lung disease [pulmonary fibrosis] and an irregular heart rate [atrial fibrillation] and had suffered with esophageal cancer 10 years prior.
Following his death nine days later an independent clinical review was carried out by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) which found that there were delays in ensuring some prisoners were taking their medication on time.
Baxter was one patient who was judged as "non-compliant" and sometimes would not take medication prescribed to him, the hearing was told.
The review, which was read out at the inquest, said these delays were down to the difficulties surrounding covid-19 at the time.
Tracie Ellis, head of healthcare at HMP Stafford, told the hearing that prisoners were given a box of their medication weekly and must return the empty box each week to get a new prescription.
She continued: "There are regular spot checks each month [to make sure the medication is being taken], but I recognise that there was some delay due to covid-19 in terms of the frequency of the checks.
"This prisoner was a known non-compliant with medication and our team had a number of conversations with him about this.
"After his death a number of medications were found in his cell."
Coroner Mr Haigh gave a cause of death as pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis and a stroke and recorded a verdict of natural causes.
He said: "There was a review carried out but these are minor concerns and are not relevant to his death. He received satisfactory care during his time in prison. He had shown covid symptoms."
Vile Baxter had been sentenced in 2017 after DNA evidence linked him to the kidnap and indecent assault of a six-year-old girl in Barton under Needwood back in 2001.
He had pulled, grabbed the terrified youngster and bundled her in his car. He then drove to a quiet spot where he sexually abused her.
However, DNA evidence meant he was caught 15 years later after he was arrested for drink driving.
Baxter was charged and went on to plead guilty to the sex attack at Stafford Crown Court in 2017. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
However, in 2018, he appeared at Warwick Crown Court where the pervert pleaded guilty to three charges of downloading 6,582 disgusting indecent images of children. These offences were committed before 2017.
Australian big tech watchdog group calls out Facebook for enabling ‘risky’ ads for alcohol, adult dating targeted at TEEN users
28 Apr, 2021 11:10
© Pexels / Karolina Grabowska
An Australian tech watchdog group has accused Facebook of harvesting the personal data of teenage users who can then be served targeted ads promoting alcohol, smoking, gambling, vaping, online dating sites and extreme weight loss.
In a new report, Reset Australia said that the social media giant creates profiles of teens as young as 13 who express “age-inappropriate, harmful or risky” interests, and allows businesses to advertise to them for as low as AU$3.
Last year, the group, which advocates for more stringent digital policies, created a fake Facebook page and advertising account, titled ‘Ozzie news network’, to test what ad options the platform would offer through its ‘Ads Manager’ tool.
While Facebook does not permit age-inappropriate ads for underage users, Reset Australia identified a “loophole” – by refining their advertising according to interests and making them not explicitly about the unallowed subject material.
Just as for those aged 18 and above, they were then able to advertise to teens under 18 – an estimated total reach of 740,000 children aged between 13 and 17 across Australia – who were determined by the site to have an interest in alcohol, smoking and vaping, adult dating services, gambling, among other things.
The group prepared a number of “dubious ads” targeting those 13- to 17-year-olds that “reinforced body image ideals,” encouraged “mobile-game-style gambling,” and prodded young girls to “connect and chat” with wealthy men.
These ads – tailored to teens by demographic and interest – were approved by Facebook to run as Instagram Stories, but not paid for or published.
As for the expenses involved, the report noted that to advertise to the 52,000 teens who expressed interest in alcohol would cost AU$3.03 (per 1,000 people), while reaching 14,000 teens interested in gambling would cost AU$11.24 (per 1,000), and to the fewer than 1,000 teens interested in either cigarettes or e-cigarettes would cost AU$138.50 and AU$210.97 respectively.
“Facebook appears to use teenagers’ data in the same way as adults,” Chris Cooper, the executive director of Reset Australia, told the Guardian, adding that the report’s findings “open a can of worms about just how Facebook profits from underage data, and exactly what protection they have against inappropriate targeting.”
According to a Facebook spokesperson, the company has “significant measures in place,” including “automated systems and human reviewers” to check every ad “before and after” it goes out to ensure it is compliant with local laws.
“Anyone advertising on our platforms must comply with our policies along with all local laws and codes, such as those restricting the advertising of alcohol to minors in Australia,” the spokesperson told the paper. “To support this, we also have age restriction tools that all businesses can implement on their accounts themselves to control who sees their content.”
It's not bad enough that Facebook and Instagram are left to monitor themselves, but here they appear to pass that responsibility on to their customers.
Reset Australia has recommended that the Australian government implement a data privacy code to regulate how sensitive information about underage users’ online behavior can be collected and used, noting that there should be “expressed consent” from both children and their guardians, “transparency and accountability” over how the data is used, and limitations on what is deemed “necessary data.”
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Paedophile football coach catfished girl on Snapchat
He pretended to be a 17-year-old boy so he could groom the girl with money and gifts
liverpoolecho
Ian Kaufman, 48, formerly of Speke, catfished a girl by pretending to be a 17-year-old boy from Liverpool
A paedophile football coach catfished a girl on Snapchat by pretending to be a 17-year-old boy.
Ian Kaufman, 48, sent the 16-year-old pictures he had taken from the internet so he could groom her.
The vile pervert would then use software to save videos and pictures she sent him on Snapchat. When police raided his home they discovered Kaufman kept other sick images of child sex abuse and cartoons of children being raped. Liverpool Crown Court today heard one of the disgusting images involved a girl as young as two-year-old.
Ken Grant, prosecuting, explained police raided Kaufman's home after receiving "information about the uploading of an indecent image of a child to the internet using the Kik Messenger service."
As officers searched Kaufman told them he had a concealed mobile phone in his bedroom, which was seized along with various other items.
In an interview, Mr Grant explained, Kaufman "stated he set up the Kik account and that the name was JJDingle1".
Kaufman denied uploading any indecent images of children but admitted to speaking to a 16-year-old from Scotland on Snapchat, claiming he didn't know it was an offence.
Mr Grant said: "He admitted he had told her he was 17 and admitted he had sent her images taken from the internet of a male penis."
The 16-year-old girl from Scotland had sent Kaufman a video of herself "using a sex toy" and "fondling her breasts". He said: "All these images were recorded by the defendant from Snapchat using an application called Mobizen."
The court heard that the software allows the user to keep videos from the social media platform even after they are deleted from Snapchat.
Mr Grant said: "He believed the Scottish girl sent them to him around February 2020 and didn't ask her for them but was in an online relationship and it was in the context of that relationship in which she sent him those videos."
He said: "He had sent her money on two occasions and also sent her a necklace. He did this because he felt sorry for her and she had needed help financially."
That's the excuse that thousands of paedo-tourists use to justify raping little children after giving them a few dollars.
Mr Grant explained that while searching his devices officers discovered Kaufman had kept other indecent images of children and had an image of bestiality.
In a second interview Kaufman denied using Twitter to access indecent images of children, Mr Grant explained.
Among the images were eight category A videos, two category B pictures and 37 category C images.
Kaufman has no previous convictions.
Des Lennon, defending, explained that despite a difficult upbringing Kaufman went on to work as a "football coach in the community", adding there were "no complaints about his conduct" and it was "quite startling these matters have come to light in recent times".
Mr Lennon said there had been "issues within his marriage" and he was "searching for sexual gratification online". He said: "This is a complete aberration as far as he is concerned." Mr Lennon said Kaufman accepted the behaviour was "unacceptable" and "inexcusable".
He said: "The defendant is utterly sorry and ashamed for what he has done and is genuinely remorseful." Mr Lennon said Kaufman had made efforts "of his own volition" such as reaching out to the Lucy Faithful Foundation and completing 12 modules.
He said Kaufman suffers from cerebral palsy and epilepsy and had been the victim of "unspeakable acts" as a child.
Mr Lennon explained Kaufman volunteered information about the girl to police, which is why they were able to trace her.
He added Kaufman suffers from mental health difficulties and had tried to take his life four times since April last year.
He said: "Once this issue came into the public domain he was vilified by members of his local community and as a consequence had to move out."
Mr Lennon explained that he had since been "living in his car outside the city" and suggested he would be "terribly vulnerable" if he was sent to prison.
Kaufman, formerly of East Dam Wood Road, Speke, admitted possession of category A, B and C images, possessing an image of extreme pornography, attempting to take indecent photographs of a child and making indecent images of a child.
Judge David Swinnerton, sentencing, explained Kaufman had sent the girl £50, a necklace and photographs of a boy who he pretended was him.
The judge said Kaufman claimed he hadn't asked for the videos, but admitted using screen capturing software to save them.
Judge Swinnerton said that whether he had asked or not "she still sent them because of your deceit and your lies, which I regard as grooming".
The judge said there were 10 videos of the girl, some of which were eight minutes long, adding it was unclear if the girl was aware he was saving the videos. Judge Swinnerton said he was in "no doubt" Kaufman "kept them for your sexual pleasure".
The judge ruled that capturing the videos and keeping them was "clearly production".
Judge Swinnerton said: "You encouraged her while she was filming herself with highly sexualised comments."
The judge ruled that his grooming was an aggravating feature but also took into account Kaufman's disabilities, his early admissions and difficult childhood.
Kaufman was jailed for two years and eight months.
He must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and adhere to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period.
Paedophile dad arrested at work runs out of court after judge spares him jail
Pervert sent a 'girl' he thought was 13 naked photos
and asked about sex in her mum's bed
liverpoolecho
A paedophile who used the nickname "HungforYoung" online was arrested at work.
Liam Ridgeway, 28, had a vile sexualised chat with a person he thought was a 13-year-old schoolgirl called Becca.
Ridgeway, of Hawthorne Road, Bootle, who has children of his own, sent the 'girl' naked photos, supposedly of himself.
The dad even asked "Becca" whether she would have sex with a man in her mother's bed.
But the whole time the pervert - who ran out of court after being spared jail - was actually talking to an undercover police officer.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Ridgeway started talking to "Becca" on an online chat forum called Chatiw on October 8, 2019. Michael Stephenson, prosecuting, said: "He signed on using what some would consider the suggestive handle of HungforYoung.
"He very quickly moved to asking sexually explicit questions of Becca and of course the undercover officer made it clear at an early stage that he was supposedly talking with a 13-year-old who was still at school."
Mr Stephenson said Ridgeway sent Becca two photos of a man showing his penis and claimed it was him, when in fact it was not.
He said Ridgeway went on to ask the girl about her sexual experience and the size of her breasts and bottom before the conversation moved to Skype. The pervert then started pressing the child to send him a picture of her in a bra and underwear.
Mr Stephenson said: "He continued with sexual questions, asking whether she would have sex with a man in her mother's bed."
He said Ridgeway also asked whether she would be willing to meet, but didn't continue with that line of questioning and when he logged on twice more on October 10 and 16, he greeted Becca but each time was then "unresponsive".
Police identified Ridgeway's IP address and raided his then home in Dryden Street, Bootle, but he wasn't present. Judge David Potter said: "He was arrested at Aldi, at his work."
Mr Stephenson said Ridgeway was interviewed that day, declined legal representation and accepted he was involved in the chat.
The prosecutor said: "I think the flavour of the interview was not so much that he didn't believe he was speaking to a 13-year-old, but he said it hadn't really registered with him.
"He explained he was at a difficult stage in his personal relationship with his partner, he was looking to make contact with a younger person, but not someone who was underage."
The court heard electronic devices were seized from his home, leading to a delay in the case while they were analysed, but no indecent images of children were recovered.
Ridgeway, who had no previous convictions, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child aged 13 to look at an image of sexual activity, and intentionally encouraging the commission of an offence.
Jason Smith, defending, highlighted that the conversation took place over one day and there wasn't a persistent attempt at grooming.
He said: "Your honour will be all too familiar with cases such as this where the abuse, for that's what it is, carried on for much longer. This was of relatively short duration, stopped by the defendant himself, not by any arrest."
Mr Smith said: "The response he gave to police on his arrest is perhaps the most clear remorse one can hear, 'I plead guilty, it was me'."
He said Ridgeway had "a very good prospect of rehabilitation" and until this had a job, but said: "That employment of course has been affected by this offence."
The lawyer said: "His life was in a chaotic state in October of 2019. He was suffering from the trauma of the loss of his father and he was suffering from the collapse of his relationship."
Mr Smith said his client could again be "a very positive member of society" and was willing to tackle his issues, as suggested in a pre-sentence report, to ensure no further offending or harm to society.
He said: "Before these offences took place in October 2019, he was a hardworking man, with a family, and a man many people thought very highly of. That cannot be said now."
Judge David Potter said it was important to note that the sexual conversation was on one day and that Ridgeway "desisted".
He accepted it was not the sort of case involving prolonged communication with one child, chats with multiple children, or persistent attempts to meet.
The judge noted Ridgeway was under "a considerable degree of stress" at the time.
He said he could spare Ridgeway jail because of factors including that he "voluntarily desisted in this behaviour towards a single victim", that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, the delays in the case since October 2019, because nothing illegal was found on his devices, and the ongoing effect of the coronavirus pandemic on inmates.
Judge Potter handed him 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and said he must complete a Horizon sex offenders treatment programme, a 20-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 100 hours of unpaid work.
He told him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
Good call, Judge. I think!
