Edinburgh man jailed over 32 child sex offences
Police said Roderick Bryce-Hagain, 52, from Edinburgh, had been found guilty of the offences - committed over several years - at Oxford Crown Court in April and was sentenced on 1 July.
Det Con Nicola Fullerton, of Thames Valley Police, said officers would "listen and do everything possible to bring offenders like Bryce-Hagain to justice".
Bryce-Hagain, also known as Roderick Bryce-Stafford, was labelled a dangerous offender at his sentencing, the force said.
He was found guilty by a jury of:
- Eleven counts of sexual assault
- Four counts of penetrative sexual activity with a child
- Three counts of rape
- Three counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child
- Three counts of causing a child to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity
- Two counts of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent
- Two counts of inciting a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity
- Two counts of inciting a child to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity
- One count of attempted rape
- One count of causing a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity
Algerian Arrested in Ceuta Over Child Sex Abuse Allegations
Ceuta remains a key transit point for migrants attempting to reach mainland Europe, and unaccompanied minors are one of the most vulnerable groups making the journey.
Spanish authorities in Ceuta have detained an Algerian migrant residing at a temporary shelter following allegations of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.
Police investigations suggest the suspect initially engaged in inappropriate touching before escalating to full sexual assault at the shelter, according to Moroccan newspaper Assabah.
Security sources indicate the man may be part of a wider network of Algerian nationals suspected of similar abuses against underage migrants, with most victims reportedly aged under 16.
Authorities are working to identify other potential members of the alleged abuse ring. The suspect has reportedly refused to disclose information about accomplices.
Investigators believe the network targets vulnerable migrants who are unaccompanied minors, luring them with false promises of legal residency or financial incentives before assaulting them in private apartments or within the temporary shelter system.
The arrest follows heightened security operations in Ceuta, where police recently detained two other Algerians linked to separate gender-based violence cases. Authorities have increased surveillance around migrant shelters in response.
Said El Azouzi, head of the Al Chamaa Association for Education and Culture, warned that such cases show systemic failures in protecting Moroccan youth from exploitation by human trafficking networks.
“The solution can’t just be policing,” he told Assabah. “We need proper social policies and stronger family support structures to prevent children from becoming targets for these criminal groups.”
The case has renewed debate about protection mechanisms for unaccompanied minor migrants in North African transit zones. Spanish and Moroccan authorities continue joint investigations.
Man caught with child sexual abuse imagery involving ‘significant level of depravity’ is jailed for six months
A man who was caught with child sexual abuse material in the form of hundreds of images and videos on his home computer has been jailed for six months.
Michael Kearns (58) was caught with 207 images and 164 movie files containing child abuse imagery when gardaí searched his home in April 2019 following a tip-off from an international organisation.
The abuse material involved girls and boys between the ages of five and 15 being sexually abused and exposed, the court heard on Monday.
Kearns, of Willow Wood Grove, Hartstown, Clonsilla, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of the material, known in law as child pornography, at his home address on dates between April 2017 and April 2019. The maximum sentence is five years.
Kearns has no previous convictions, Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting, told the court.
Sentencing him on Monday, Judge Pauline Codd noted that the images and videos before the court involved the sexual abuse of young children, placing it in the upper category of seriousness.
The case involved “a significant level of depravity”, she said.
“Children of that age need to be protected and children in general need the courts to protect them,” the judge said.
She said the material “was an affront to normal moral standards” and to “anyone with any sense of decency”.
The judge said she would set a headline sentence of four years before she took a number of mitigating factors into account. These included Kearns’s co-operation with gardaí, his guilty plea, and the traumatic events in his life which the court heard led to him downloading the abuse material.
She set a sentence of two years and suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions.
The court heard the Online Child Exploitation Unit was tipped off by an international organisation to child abuse material being downloaded. The IP address was traced back to Kearns’s home after gardaí contacted the internet service provider.
When Kearns’s home was searched in April 2019, he immediately admitted to having material on two devices, including his computer.
John Fitzgerald SC, defending, said his client’s brother died of cancer in 2017 and Kearns received a diagnosis of cancer himself that year, which led to him looking up pornography online. This then progressed to child sexual abuse material.
Because sin is progressive! It's not funny but some people turn to God in difficult times, others turn away from Him. Which do you think is better?
Mr Fitzgerald said his client has since received counselling and was supported in court by his wife, who wrote a letter to the court, and one of his two children.
Kearns is remorseful and ashamed of his actions, the court heard. He is someone who should have sought help for his issues rather than engaging in this activity, defence counsel submitted.
Judge Codd said she had to send a message out as she jailed Kearns for six months.
Five Isle of Wight paedophiles who appeared
in court during June 2025
Five Isle of Wight paedophiles either admitted charges or were sentenced in court during June 2025.
The County Press has looked back at these cases, the details behind the charges, the court proceedings and any sentences handed down.
Below is a roundup of Island child sex offender cases heard in June.
See last month's round-up: Six Isle of Wight paedophiles who appeared in court during May 2025
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