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Bridgwater paedophile convicted of multiple rapes of nine y/o boy
'I was only a child when Wheaton did what he did to me'
By Heather Pickstock, North Somerset reporter
11:41, 24 JUN 2022
A paedophile from Somerset has been convicted of a string of sex offences - including raping a nine year-old boy more than once.
Simon Wheaton, 37, of Saltlands, Bridgwater, was found guilty at Taunton Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, June 23) of five offences. Police said the predator had shown no remorse for the way he targeted children and abused them.
The offences included inciting a boy under fourteen years of age to commit an act of gross indecency and an indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14. He was also convicted of indecently assaulting a boy, under 14, on at least two further occasions after that.
Wheaton was also found guilty of the rape of a boy aged under 16 and the rape of a boy under 16-years-old on at least two further occasions. The court heard how in the early 2000s, Wheaton sexually abused a nine-year-old boy, including committing multiple rapes upon him.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, disclosed the abuse to girlfriends over the years before finally opening up to a counsellor, who agreed to report the matter to the police on his behalf. Officers worked with the victim to complete a thorough investigation, including speaking to the victim’s former partners and other witnesses.
'I was only a child'
In a statement, the victim said: “I was only a child when Wheaton did what he did to me. He took advantage of me being young and trusting.
"He took advantage of this, using it to get what he wanted from me, to abuse me. He made me feel like it was my fault, that I would get into trouble, that I had no choice in what happened to me.
"He calculatedly used thing after thing to keep me under his control, taking away from me my dignity, my trust and my life. It destroyed my trust in people, my ability to emotionally connect with them, to be able to open up.
"The last 18 years of my life were stolen from me, by what he did to me. I wish I had spoken to someone sooner, but I spent too much of my life hating myself for what he did to realise that I was the innocent one.”
Victim brave to call out 'predatory paedophile'
Wheaton will be sentenced at Taunton Crown Court in August. Investigating officer, DS Charlie Pulling, said: “I would like to thank the victim for coming forward and showing incredible bravery by disclosing the awful abuse he suffered at the hands of this predatory paedophile.
"Wheaton showed no remorse for his actions towards a child who trusted him. I would like this result to give victims of similar crimes the confidence to come forward and speak to the police so we can help get them the justice they deserve.”
Officer in the case, DC Charlotte Hodgkiss, added: “I hope this shows other survivors of serious sexual assault that it is never too late to come forward and speak out. We recognise the courage it takes, and this is a prime example of justice being served.”
Suspects charged over puzzling needle attacks in France
By JADE LE DELEY
June 24, 2022
FILE - The Warehouse nightclub, where needle attacks had been reported, is pictured Wednesday, May 18, 2022 in Nantes, western France. In recent days, several suspects around France have been given preliminary charges of purposefully pricking people with a needle at nightclubs or concerts, in connection with a surge of mysterious needle attacks across France. Since January 1.004 people have filed formal complaints to authorities about such needle pricks, told the Ministry of Interior to the Associated Press. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez, File)
PARIS (AP) — Several suspects around France have been detained or given preliminary charges in recent days for allegedly pricking people with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts, following a surge in needle attacks that have confounded authorities and seeded panic among young club-goers.
The French Interior Ministry, prosecutors, the national anti-drug agency, public health authorities and doctors have not determined a motive for the attacks, or whether the victims were injected with drugs, viruses or any substance at all.
Since January, 1,004 people have filed formal complaints with French authorities about such needle pricks, an Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press.
In the cases so far that resulted in charges, medical tests did not reveal any signs of harmful substances, including so-called date rape drug GHB, authorities said. The suspects have denied all allegations.
The targeted individuals, who are mostly women, show visible marks of injection, often bruises, and report symptoms like feeling groggy. The ministry official urged caution in assuming a link between the needle pricks and GHB.
After months of fruitless investigations, authorities in the Mediterranean city of Toulon arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of pricking three women with a needle on the night of June 3-4, during the recording of a concert for TV. He was the first suspect given preliminary charges, for “aggravated violence with a weapon (a syringe) with premeditation.”
A teenage girl and a woman reported that a man tried to attack them with a syringe and was violent toward them as they waited in line for the event.
The third victim, a female security agent, encountered the same man at the concert. She then fainted, and an injection mark was spotted on her hand, and she was hospitalized. The Toulon prosecutor is awaiting the results of her blood tests.
The prosecutor, Samuel Finielz, told The Associated Press that “the suspect denies all allegations and is still presumed innocent.” No syringe was found in his apartment. He remains in custody.
Later in the same region, in the beach town of Six-Four-Les-Plages, police arrested two suspects who received preliminary charges for the suspected administration of a harmful substance on the night of June 10-11, the prosecutor said on regional broadcaster France-3.
A 25-year-old woman reported being pricked with a needle and passing out in a club that night. The woman told police she felt dizzy after she was stuck and the week after but then recovered.
Syringes and injectable, prescription drugs were found in the apartment of one suspect. The man denied all allegations, arguing that the syringes and drugs belonged to his wife, who is a nurse, according to the prosecutor.
Fear of needle attacks have grown among young people in France, who are sharing advice about avoiding getting pricked — as well as unconfirmed rumors — on social media. The anxiety intensified this week around Tuesday’s World Music Day as crowds gathered for concerts.
Another eight people were arrested on World Music Day after individuals reported being pricked with needles, according to the Interior Ministry. Some were later released. At least one, in Nancy in eastern France, has been given preliminary charges on accusations that he pricked at least two people.
The suspect denied wrongdoing, and said he was “heavily drunk” and didn’t recall the events, according to Nancy Prosecutor Francois Perain. The suspect, a homeless man identified as Damien J., had syringes in his belongings, Perain said in a statement.
He was detained after two people said that they were pricked at a Music Day event. Two additional potential victims were identified and investigations are ongoing, the prosecutor said. The suspect told investigators the syringes were for his personal drug use, Perain said.
One victim went to the emergency room, and showed “a medical certificate reporting an injection mark,” the prosecutor said. Urgent toxicology analyses were conducted on two victims, but “for now nothing tells us that something was injected,” Perain stressed.
The suspect told investigators that “he didn’t see himself committing such acts and would be ashamed if he did,” according to the prosecutor. Born in 1987, Damien J. had prior run-ins with police for driving under the influence of drugs without a license, and threatening people of public authority.
Police, doctors and medico-legal services are working together to support victims. The Interior Ministry and national police are working to raise awareness among club-goers and club owners.
Britain’s government also has been studying a spate of “needle spiking,” while police in Belgium and the Netherlands have reported scattered cases, too.
Female tourist ‘repeatedly raped by two teens who broke
into her Majorca hotel room while she slept’
Olivia Burke
15:02, 27 Jun 2022
A FEMALE tourist was allegedly repeatedly raped by two teens who broke into her hotel room in Majorca while she slept.
Two German nationals, said to be aged 17 and 18, have been arrested in wake of the incident on June 21.
The teens allegedly broke into the victim's hotel room as she slept and raped her
The alleged victim, who is also believed to be German, had been staying at the Cala Rajada hotel on the party island.
She had been staying at the resort when the two teens allegedly sneaked into her hotel room while she was sleeping. They then allegedly proceeded to rape her repeatedly and sexually assault her.
She reported the incident to the Spanish civil guard the following morning, accompanied by her family. The young woman was then taken to hospital where she was medically examined. The findings, which have not been disclosed, have since been handed over to the public prosecutor's office.
The alleged victim claimed in her statement to authorities that one of the men raped her while the second sexually abused her.
According to reports, she said she was unable to defend herself during the ordeal as she went into a state of shock and couldn't move.
The two German tourists were arrested in wake of her complaint. One of the defendants has been charged with rape, while the other has been charged with sexual assault.
The 17-year-old's case has been handed over to the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office.
Majorca
Male tourist, 28, ‘raped by 2 men’ after being dragged into
old riverbed in Spanish holiday hotspot
Olivia Burke
Updated: 16:02, 27 Jun 2022
A MALE tourist was allegedly raped by two men after being dragged towards an old riverbed while visiting a Spanish holiday hotspot.
The 28-year-old told cops he was attacked on the last night of his break on the east coast city of Valencia.
The 28-year-old holidaymaker was allegedly attacked by two men in Valencia
He is said to have agreed to go for a walk with two men he had met in the neighbourhood of El Carmen in the early hours of June 18.
The duo then allegedly pounced on him after reaching an old riverbed and sexually assaulted him.
According to local media, the holidaymaker told officers his clothes were torn from him before being forced to have sex with the pair.
Police are now hunting two men "of Arabic origin with a French accent" who spoke only a few words of English.
The alleged victim attended Valencia’s La Fe Hospital in wake of the ordeal. Reports said doctors found injuries consistent with rape during an examination.
National Police in Valencia could not be reached yesterday morning for comment regarding the incident, which has only just been made public. No arrests are believed to have yet been made.
El Carmen is in the centre of Valencia's old town called the Ciutat Vella.
It is described on travel websites as a lively place during the day and an ideal place at night to go out for dinner, tapas, or a drink at one of the many local music bars and discos.
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