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STRICT CONDITIONS | Fake talent scout who molested two kids
must have no contact with children for 10 years
In July, the Sunday World that Clifford was back on the streets
after serving his three-and-a-half-year sentence.
Brendan Clifford following his release from Midlands Prison and speaking with the Sunday World's Eamon Dillon
Jessica Magee and Eamon Dillon
Sunday World
Today at 10:21
A man who sexually assaulted a child after he posed as a talent scout for young actors has been ordered to have no contact with children for ten years.
Brendan Clifford (37) was previously sentenced to five years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended, after he admitted sexually assaulting a boy and sexually exploiting his sister in 2015.
The siblings were aged nine and ten at the time of the offences.
In July, the Sunday World that Clifford was back on the streets after serving his three-and-a-half-year sentence.
Clifford of The Times Hostel, Camden Place, Dublin 2, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the sexual exploitation of a child at Tallaght Hospital on February 23, 2015. He also admitted sexually assaulting another child at the same location on an unknown date in 2015.
Clifford was jailed for these offences in October 2019 but has since been released.
He was not in court today when counsel for the Chief State Solicitor’s office made an ex-parte application.
Niall O’Driscoll BL sought numerous restrictions to be imposed on Clifford, including that he should have no contact with children for ten years. The list of conditions was not read aloud in court, but Judge Martin Nolan granted them all.
Clifford stayed quiet when approached by the Sunday World last summer, shortly after his release from the sex offenders wing in the Midlands Prison.
Wearing a face mask, a baseball cap and dark glasses, he declined the opportunity to explain if he still remains a threat to children.
At the previous sentence hearing in 2019, the court heard that the victims’ mother had seen an online ad from what purported to be a talent agency, looking for children to appear in films.
Sergeant Gary Farrell told Fionnuala O'Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that the mother exchanged emails with someone who requested personal information about her children.
After sending on the information to the person, who went by the name Ciara Murphy, the victims' mother received a call from a man claiming to be an agent called David White.
“David” told the victim's mother that he was making a film about children growing up in Ireland.
The mother and her two children began to meet with “David” and during these meetings, the children would practice lines and take part in catwalk modelling. During one of the meetings “David” said that the children had problems in their tendons and would need treatment.
“Ciara Murphy” sent the victim's mother an email asking for permission for the children to be treated by having cream rubbed on their legs and the victims' mother gave her consent.
The nine-year-old boy began attending Tallaght Hospital with “David” on several occasions and had cream rubbed on his legs. The 10-year-old girl also attended Tallaght Hospital with “David”, but said she did not want to go back after an incident on February 23, 2015.
Her mother tried to persuade her to go back, as she thought the treatment was necessary.
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“David” said he would get the child tickets for Justin Bieber if she went to the hospital again, but the child refused.
The victims' mother became suspicious after “Ciara Murphy” sent an email which said her daughter's underwear would need to be removed during the treatment. She contacted the talent agency named in the advertisement and discovered they did not have an agent named David White.
The boy told gardaí that on one of the occasions in the hospital, “David” brought him into the wheelchair accessible bathroom and told him to pull down his trousers and underwear. He then rubbed cream on the child's legs, bottom and penis.
The girl told gardaí that “David” had rubbed cream on her legs and stomach on two separate days in the hospital bathroom. She said that on the third day he asked her to remove her underwear, but she refused and left the bathroom.
Upon his arrest, Clifford accepted that he advertised himself as a talent agent and had used the name David White. He initially denied ever meeting the two children, but subsequently pleaded guilty to the offences.
Clifford has no previous convictions. He is married with three children, the court heard.
James Dwyer SC, defending, said his client suffered from a number of ailments including diabetes, depression and a lack of vision in one eye.
In a letter written by Clifford and read aloud by Mr Dwyer, he said he wished to express his sorrow for his “disgusting” crimes. He said he was not looking for forgiveness as nothing could take back the hurt he caused and that he had no explanation other than making “a grave error in judgement”.
Judge Nolan said that the court hears many cases and this case was on “the more curious end of the scale”. He said Clifford's behaviour was difficult to understand and could be described as “perverse”.
Judge Nolan said the mitigating factors in the case were Clifford's guilty plea, his co-operation, his insight into his misbehaviour, his remorse and his physical difficulties. He said the accused's behaviour was “very devious” and it was difficult to know if he would re-offend in the future.
He sentenced Clifford to five years’ imprisonment, but suspended the final 18 months of the sentence on strict conditions including that he follow all directions of the Probation Supervision for 18 months post-release.
Boy, 13, charged with string of sex attacks including
attempted rape against five women and girls
Holly Christodoulou, The Sun
Published: 10:06, 26 Jan 2023Updated: 11:21, 26 Jan 2023
A BOY aged 13 has been charged with a string of sex offences including attempted rape.
The teen is accused of carrying out a month-long campaign in and around Telford, Shropshire.
The boy appeared at Kidderminster Youth Court. Credit: Google
He allegedly attacked five women and girls aged between 16 and 34 between December 15 last year and January 19.
The boy, who can't legally be named, appeared at Kidderminster Youth Court on Tuesday.
He is charged with nine sexual assaults, two attempted rapes and assault by beating.
The alleged offences took place in and around Hadley and Leegomery.
The teen was remanded into the care of the local authority.
West Mercia Police said: "A 13-year-old boy has been charged after a number of sexual assaults in Telford.
"Between Thursday 15 December, 2022, and Thursday 19 January, 2023, police received five reports from women and girls aged between 16 and 34 who had been sexually assaulted in and around Hadley and Leegomery.
"Earlier this week, a 13 year old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with nine sexual assaults, two attempted rapes and assault by beating."
It would be interesting to know what his heritage is.
Missing woman died when her car plunged into icy lake after ‘rape’
in wake of five Met Police failings
Holly Christodoulou, The Sun
Published: 14:10, 26 Jan 2023, Updated: 15:45, 26 Jan 2023
MET Police failings "caused or contributed" to the death of a woman whose car plunged into a lake after she was allegedly raped, an inquest heard.
Hannah Warren, 28, died after her Mini convertible plunged into a freezing lake near a Tata Steel site in Port Talbot.
Hannah Warren tragically died in February 2016. Credit: WNS
She had managed to free herself from the submerged vehicle and swim to nearby rocks but she tragically fell back into the icy water and drowned.
Hannah was allegedly raped by a colleague a year and a day before her body was found on February 4, 2016.
The blundering Met Police have now been slammed for "inadequacies" after Hannah was at first treated as a medium-risk missing person.
She had been reported missing from home in Streatham, South West London, on February 3.
Hannah travelled from London to Brighton, then to Exeter and Weston-super-Mare in her Mini.
She then joined back onto the M5 before joining the M4 to South Wales where her body was found.
Although police later changed her status to high risk, the original ranking meant a "low stop" direction was placed on her car.
This tells the police how much of a priority it is to stop a vehicle if it is pinged on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).
Hannah pinged 27 times on various ANPR cameras including in the Gwent Police and Avon and Somerset Police force areas but her car was not stopped.
Both forces contacted the Met for more information but their request did not reach the inspector overseeing the case.
Five failings in total were admitted by the Met after being highlighted by the coroner.
They included a lack of action to progress the missing person's case and failure to contact Hannah's family to see if she knew anyone in the West of England.
There was also an insufficient use of ANPR, as well as Hannah's vehicle being marked as low grade rather than medium.
The coroner also highlighted a shortcoming in the flow of communication from calls received by the Met from regional police forces.
The inquest was told Hannah worked at an office design company in London.
Her mum Jane Barnes previously said her daughter confided in her brother that she had been raped by a co-worker.
But she claimed Hannah was "encouraged" to keep quiet about the alleged attack.
She also revealed she had an insight into the state of Hannah‘s mind when she read notes on her phone and iPad detailing the alleged rape and its consequences.
The mum added: "I felt extremely sad for Hannah. It was clear from the notes she had written that she had become terrified of going into work.
“And she was frightened to go back to her flat in case he was behind her.
“She wrote how she was never going to get over this.”
Ms Barnes told the inquest she first discovered Hannah had gone missing when she received a phonecall from her daughter's partner, David Murray.
He told her: “I think she is having a breakdown. She is talking a lot of rubbish.
"She says she has been speaking to Barack Obama and says she has hacked a government website and is being chased by government officials. She has gone off in her car."
The mum asked Mr Murray if she had been taking drugs, to which he replied: “No, absolutely not."
Mr Murray also gave evidence, revealing he and Hannah had got engaged just four days before her death.
The fiancé also hit out at police for seeming "uninterested" in taking the case seriously.
Mr Murray said he asked one officer to obtain information from the black box in Hannah's car but was told: "It's a busy night and this is Brixton."
Hannah vanished in her car at around 6am and later texted her boss to tell him she intended to resign from her job at an office design company in London.
She then made the 200 mile journey to Port Talbot where she drove into the water from a quayside road that had no safety barriers.
Hannah's cause of death was given as drowning and a head injury.
Jurors recorded a narrative verdict, with the coroner telling Hannah's family: "I wish you all the best for the future."
High-profile Canadian pairs skating coach guilty of sex assault,
gross indecency
Richard Gauthier was on trial for crimes he committed in the 1980s
involving a teenage male skater
Sidhartha Banerjee ·
The Canadian Press ·
Posted: Jan 26, 2023 6:01 AM PST |
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.
A renowned ex-coach in Canadian pairs skating was found guilty Wednesday of sexual assault and gross indecency dating back nearly 40 years.
Richard Gauthier was on trial on three charges in connection with crimes he committed in the 1980s involving a teenage male skater whom he trained.
Gauthier, 61, was found guilty on two charges, in a ruling rendered in Montreal by Quebec court Judge Josée Bélanger.
He was acquitted of a third count of indecent assault against the victim, whose identity is covered by a publication ban.
"The evidence demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's conduct caused the plaintiff serious harm," the judge wrote in a 49-page ruling.
The victim was 14 at the time of the incidents while Gauthier was in his 20s. Gauthier coached him for about six years, until the victim turned 18.
Gauthier was accused of having bathed naked with the victim, taken showers with him and spooned naked with him in a bed at the accused's residence.
"These are sexual gestures made by the accused toward the athlete he was training, whom the latter loved, and toward whom he had great admiration," Bélanger ruled.
"As the complainant's testimony pointed out, due to the behaviour of the accused, he suffered serious psychological harm. This prejudice is high."
The judge did not believe the version of events of Gauthier, who was charged in 2020.
"Not only is the accused not credible, but his testimony is also unreliable. It contains certain additions, flagrant contradictions, and evolves over the questions asked in cross-examination," the judge ruled.
Prosecutor Amélie Rivard told reporters she was hopeful the verdict will send a message to survivors that time doesn't erase criminal actions. She said she hoped the ruling encourages victims of sexual assault to come forward.
The case will return to court next month.
Expelled from Skate Canada since 2020
In a statement Wednesday, Skate Canada said Gauthier "has been permanently expelled" from the national governing body for figure skating.
Gauthier had been suspended from the organization since Oct. 2, 2020, after it received confirmation of the criminal charges against him.
"Permanently expelled individual's rights and privileges as a member of Skate Canada have been revoked, and application for reinstatement is not permitted," the governing body said in a statement Wednesday.
Gauthier has a lengthy track record of coaching world-class skaters. He was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame as a coach in 2015.
According to an entry on Skate Canada's website, Gauthier was described as having "the golden touch" in pairs skating, and as being "one of the most respected pair coaches in the world for the better part of three decades."
The entry noted that Gauthier wanted his legacy to be his coaching record.
Instead, his legacy is one of a gay, child predator!
The organization said Wednesday it is committed to "providing an environment where everyone can experience the joy of skating in a safe and healthy manner."
Man charged with rape and sexual assault after ‘attacks on
seven women’ at seaside resort
Ethan Singh, The Sun
Published: 12:04, 27 Jan 2023, Updated: 12:39, 27 Jan 2023
A MAN has been charged with rape and sexual assault after alleged attacks on seven different women at a seaside resort.
Hanok Zeray, 31, has been remanded in custody to face court on the offences which are all said to have taken place in Brighton.
A 31-year-old has been charged with rape and sexual assaults on seven different women
Cops said one woman reported being attacked in the city centre on April 17, 2022 with Zeray charged with rape.
Zeray has also been charged in relation to five counts of sexual assault by touching and one of sexual assault by penetration in relation to six separate reports last year.
Each of the reports came from lone women in public spaces in Brighton, with three incidents on May 22, one on June 19, and two further incidents on October 23.
Zeray has been remanded in custody pending a trial commencing Wednesday, May 3, at a court to be confirmed.
Detective Sergeant Melissa Trevelyan said: “Women have a right to go about their business without having to fear being raped or sexually assaulted.
“These reports came from women who were simply out in public spaces – places where they should have felt safe.
“We are pleased to have a suspect in custody and I would like to thank all of these women for reporting the incidents to police so we could take positive action.”
I think this unusual name has an East African heritage, perhaps Ethiopian. He could be Muslim, but could also be a faux Christian.
Garda sergeant jailed for sexually assaulting young woman in her bed,
then immediately released
Garda Sgt. Cathal Middleton leaving Blanchardstown District Court following sentencing.
Photo by Steve Humphreys
Robin Schiller
Sunday World
Today at 12:44
A garda sergeant who sexually assaulted a young woman in her bed after a night out with his colleagues has been sentenced to five-months’ imprisonment.
Cathal Middleton (42), who had been stationed in south Dublin, denied the charge but was convicted following a trial before Dublin District Court last year.
The sexual assault occurred on March 2, 2020, at an address in Lucan and he was suspended after being charged.
The garda sergeant will now be placed on the sex offender's registry for a period of at least seven years with his defence barrister saying he "in all likelihood will lose his job".
He was freed immediately after lodging an appeal and walked from Blanchardstown courthouse hand-in-hand with his wife.
Today the court heard that he was on a night out with colleagues before returning to a house in Lucan where he stayed on the couch.
He later went up to the bedroom of the victim, who was not on the night out, and sexually assaulted her.
Reading her victim impact statement to the court the young woman wiped away tears as she recounted the incident and the damage it had done.
She questioned if the defendant ever thought about what he had done, if he had any remorse and if it haunted him the way it haunts her, adding: "It brought me to a dark place in my life,"
She said that the sexual assault impacted every aspect of her life including her confidence, self worth, relationships and career.
"For so long I struggled and fought with myself as to why I didn't scream louder that morning, but it's hard to scream when you are frozen in fear. I understand that now.
"I was in my home, in my room, in my bed, sober, asleep. None of that should matter but somehow it still does.
"Over the past two years and 10 months I have battled with what you did and struggled daily to keep going," she said.
Sgt Middleton kept his head bowed as the victim addressed the court, holding a child's stuffed toy in his hand.
The young woman continued: "You climbed into my bed that morning as if you knew me, as if you had a right to be there.
"You pressed your body against mine and told me it was going to be okay.
"Have you ever thought about the fear I felt, then never knowing how long you were in my bedroom before I woke, what you did while I was sleeping.
"So many questions race through my mind that I'll never get the answers to. Awaking to you undressed in my bed, telling me it was going to be okay.
"How was it ever going to be okay. It wasn't meant to be me but it was me."
The court was told that Sgt Cathal Middleton is married with a four-year-old girl and that his wife and parents were in court to support him.
He joined the gardaí in 2002 and was promoted to sergeant in 2018.
His defence barrister said he was suspended as a result of the incident.
The court was told that Sgt Middleton had not come before the court's previously and pleading for leniency said he was of previous good character.
Delivering his sentence, Judge David McHugh said he had to consider the victim including the suffering and serious psychological damage suffered.
The breach of trust involved, he said, was significant while taking into account the "other ancillary matters" that may arise for the defendant.
The judge said he was satisfied justice of the case could be met by a term of five months’ imprisonment.
A lifetime of suffering for the girl, 5 months for the rapist, a cop. Go figure!
Cathal Middleton looked at his family members and shook his head after the sentence was handed down.
The prosecution said that as a matter of law he will be subject to the sex offender registry for a period of seven years.
After the case was finalised, the accused immediately lodged an appeal and was released on bail after entering into a bond of €300.
€300? Good grief! That's how much this judge values the well-being of this innocent victim.
He walked from the court hand-in-hand with his wife.
In a statement Garda Headquarters said: "An Garda Síochána does not comment on matters before the courts. An Garda Síochána does not comment on internal disciplinary matters related to named individuals.
"An Garda Síochána can confirm that a male Garda serving in the Dublin Region was suspended from duty in June 2020 in connection with an investigation into an alleged sexual assault."
This is just disgraceful!
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