Child Sexual Abuse > Another groomer jailed in Rotherham; Brit gets 18 years for AI generated CSAM; Pensioner jailed for historical CSA in Scotland

 

Rotherham man who groomed and raped

vulnerable girl jailed

A man who subjected a vulnerable young girl to years of sustained sexual abuse has been jailed for 12 years.

He was charged and prosecuted under the National Crime Agency's (NCA) Operation Stovewood, which examines historic allegations of sexual abuse in Rotherham.

David Fish, of Russell Road, Rotherham, was jailed at Sheffield Crown Court after pleading guilty to two sexual offences and being convicted of further charges of of rape, unlawful wounding and causing or inciting child prostitution.

Steve Palmer, from the NCA, said: “Though the victim will always live with what Fish did, I hope his sentencing will bring her a measure of peace and allow her to move forward.”

The court heard Fish, who was in his 20s at the time, began grooming the girl when she was 15 and in care.

He would ply her with drink and drugs before sexually abusing her and taking indecent images and videos of her, which were later found on his computer despite him denying their existence.

The victim said Fish would turn violent, on one occasion smashing a mug against her head and leaving her in need of stiches.

Jeanette Smith, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the "cruel" abuse the victim received “can cause lifelong physical and emotional trauma".

“Fish used gifts, drugs and alcohol to groom, coerce and manipulate a child into entering a relationship with him, all for his own sexual gratification," she said.

“The way he used threats and violence to then control the victim and enforce his demands for sex was completely despicable."

Operation Stovewood is the single biggest investigation of its kind, looking at allegations of abuse in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013.

NCA officers have identified more than 1,100 victims, and to date 37 people have been convicted, a spokesperson said.

Considering there were 1,100 victims and most were abused many times, by many people, 37 convictions is just scratching the surface.

British man sentenced to 18 years for using

AI to make child sexual abuse imagery

LONDON -

 A British man who used artificial intelligence to create images of child abuse was sent to prison for 18 years on Monday.

The court sentenced Hugh Nelson, 27, after he pleaded guilty to a number of sexual offences including making and distributing indecent images of children and distributing "indecent pseudo photographs of children." He also admitted to encouraging the rape of a child.

Nelson took commissions from people in online chatrooms for custom explicit images of children being harmed both sexually and physically.

Police in Manchester, in northern England, said he used AI software from a U.S. company, Daz 3D, that has an "AI function" to generate images that he both sold to online buyers and gave away for free. The police force said it was a landmark case for its online child abuse investigation team.

The company said the licensing agreement for its Daz Studio 3D rendering software prohibits its use for creating images that "violate child pornography or child sexual exploitation laws, or are otherwise harmful to minors."

"We condemn the misuse of any software, including ours, for such purposes, and we are committed to continuously improving our ability to prevent it," Daz 3D said in a statement, adding that its policy is to assist law enforcement "as needed."

Bolton Crown Court, near Manchester, heard that Nelson, who has a master's degree in graphics, also used images of real children for some of his computer-generated artwork.

Judge Martin Walsh said it was impossible to determine whether a child was sexually abused as a result of his images but Nelson intended to encourage others to commit child rape and had "no idea" how his images would be used.

Nelson, who had no previous convictions, was arrested last year. He told police he had met like-minded people on the internet and eventually began to create images for sale.

Prosecutor Jeanette Smith said outside court that it was "extremely disturbing" that Nelson was able to "take normal photographs of children and, using AI tools and a computer program, transform them and create images of the most depraved nature to sell and share online."

Prosecutors have said the case stemmed from an investigation into AI and child sexual exploitation while police said it presented a test of existing legislation because using computer programs the way Nelson did is so new that it isn't specifically mentioned in current U.K. law.

The case mirrors similar efforts by U.S. law enforcement to crack down on a troubling spread of child sexual abuse imagery created through artificial intelligence technology -- from manipulated photos of real children to graphic depictions of computer-generated kids. The Justice Department recently brought what's believed to be the first federal case involving purely AI-generated imagery -- meaning the children depicted are not real but virtual.

But it is for sick people and will only encourage them to get sicker. And, of course, children will eventually pay the price of man's evils as they always do.

Paedophile extradited from Thailand jailed for historic child sex abuse

John Martin, 74, previously of East Lothian, was found guilty of abuse involving two young girls in the 1980s and 90s.

John Martin was sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court (Jane Barlow/PA)

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Lucinda Cameron1 day ago

A paedophile who was extradited from Thailand to face charges of historic child sexual abuse involving two young girls has been jailed for more than three years.

John Martin, 74, was brought back to Scotland by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in December 2023 after moving to Bangkok several years earlier.

He stood trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was found guilty of three charges on October 25, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said.

Prosecutors said the retired antiques dealer subjected the two girls to a campaign of sexual abuse lasting almost a decade between the mid-1980s and 1990s.

His offending took place at various locations in Perth and Kinross, Fife and East Lothian.

He was jailed for three years and three months when he was sentenced at the court on Friday, COPFS said.

Martin’s name has been added to the sex offenders register indefinitely and non-harassment orders, banning him from contacting or attempting to contact the victims, have been granted for a period of 20 years.

Lynne Barrie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “John Martin is a sexual predator who preyed on vulnerable young girls over a number of years, inflicting significant trauma.

“It is thanks to their strength and courage in coming forward and reporting the abuse that he has now been brought to justice.

“This case highlights the NCA’s determination to track down and bring to justice British child sex offenders, wherever they are in the world and however long it takes

Duncan Burrage, NCA

East Lothian, Scotland