October 2015

Lancashire couple jailed for sexually exploiting seven-year-old girl

Caroline Shaw.

A “high risk” sex offender and his girlfriend who exploited a young girl and incited her to be involved in sexual images have been jailed.

Michael Kinnear, 48, was given a nine-year extended sentence which will see him serve five years and four months in prison.

Preston crown court was told that police found images on his mobile phone of a young girl of primary school age “performing a type of striptease” and in state of undress.

His girlfriend Caroline Shaw, 29, claimed that she had been “coerced” into carrying out offences including taking 21 indecent pictures of a child.

The young victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told officers that “rude pictures” had been taken of her that made her “feel sad”.

kinnear

Kinnear, of Morecambe, Lancashire, was also convicted of seven counts of possessing indecent images of a child, two of distributing images and one count of the sexual exploitation of a child.

Shaw of Heysham, Lancashire, was also convicted of two counts of possessing indecent images and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child. She pleaded guilty to the ill-treatment of a child and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

The offences were said to have taken place between October last year and May 2015. Their crimes were discovered when Kinnear, who was often visited unannounced by the dangerous sex offenders unit, attended his house.

Following a previous conviction in 2010, he was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 and detaining a child without lawful authority.

He was placed on the sex offenders register for seven years but in July 2014 was prosecuted for failing to comply with a sexual offences notification order.

Officers asked to see Kinnear’s mobile phone during a visit which revealed “a highly sexualised” WhatsApp conversation asking for pictures to be sent to him. Two pictures, including a Category A image – the most serious level, were found of a child engaged in sexual activity with an adult.

Prosecutor Mr Peter Barr told the court that upon his arrest Kinnear said: “I’m aware there are indecent images on my mobile phone.”

Whilse in custody and having pleaded guilty to the offences, further investigations of another mobile phone revealed more highly sexualised messages between him and Shaw talking about the abuse of children. Mr Barr said the conversation was “extremely graphic and disturbing” and spoke about raping and killing children.

Police also found indecent images on Shaw’s Samsung device when they arrested her.

Miss Janet Ironside, testifying for Shaw, told the court that Shaw, who was of previous good character, had been “groomed” by Kinnear. “She was targeted, she was firstly groomed by him herself and exploited,” she said.

She added that their relationship between Shaw and Kinnear changed and “different elements were introduced” and she “suspended her own proper judgment”.

For Kinnear, Mr Fraser Livesey said the court was dealing with images only, and his client had admitted his offences. He added that Kinnear had suffered beatings while in prison.

In passing sentence, Judge Christopher Cornwall said to Shaw: “These photos should never have come into existence, you not only took them but distributed them. In doing what you did you incited her to become involved unwittingly in the ghastly world of pornography.”

Both were handed sexual harm prevention orders and notification requirements.

August 2015

Man and woman who exploited seven-year-old girl to be sentenced next month

Michael Kinnear and Caroline Shaw took obscene pictures of the little girl and distributed worldwide, a court was told.

Caroline Shaw, 29, formerly of Thornton Road, Morecambe, now of Meldon Road, Heysham, and Kinnear, 48, whose last known address is Fairfield Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to inciting the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to be involved in the making of indecent images.

They admitted offences of possessing and distributing indecent pictures, some at the highest level of indecency, of children.

Shaw also pleaded guilty to taking an indecent picture of a child and ill-treating a child. All the offences took place at Morecambe between October last year and May this year.

They will appear on September 14 at Preston Crown Court.

March 2010

Girl, 13, abused after couple lured her in

kinnears

A couple from Blackpool who took in a 13-year-old runaway detaining her against her will before the husband sexually abused her, have been jailed.

The girl disappeared in April 2009 and was found after six days at the home of Michael and Nicola Kinnear.

Michael Kinnear, 41, and Nicola Kinnear, 40, admitted detaining the 13-year-old in their terraced house on Fairfield Road in North Shore.

The husband also admitted sexual activity with the girl who was rescued after a friend raised the alarm.

After being lured into the couple’s home with the promise of shelter and food, the youngster, who was in foster care, was sexually touched by Michael Kinnear.

Lancashire Police said the Kinnears failed to tell the authorities the teenager was at their home.

Police began the hunt for the 13-year-old girl in April last year after her concerned Blackpool foster parents reported her missing.

The youngster was found six days later in Kinnear’s house.

Officers had already called at the house and been told she was not there.

Nicola Kinnear was sentenced to 16 months and her husband to 33 months in prison.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and given a ten-year Sex Offenders Prevention Order (SOPO).

Both have been disqualified from working with children indefinitely.

DC Andy Rigby, from Blackpool Police and Blackpool Council’s Awaken Team, a project to tackle the exploitation of vulnerable children, said: “This young girl who was in foster care wasn’t happy with her placement and got introduced to these two through a mutual teenage friend.

“She was there for six days and they didn’t contact anybody, hence the child abduction. While there, Michael Kinnear has committed sexual activity with her.

“The judge described it as classic grooming – they gave her free reign and no rules, they fed and clothed her during the week.”

Police were able to track the teenager’s whereabouts after tracing a mobile phone she had used to call a missing person’s helpline to the Kinnears’ address.

DC Rigby added: “We visited their address, while knocking on doors, and they had denied all knowledge of anything. Then we traced the mobile phone to that address and when we went round again, they still denied it. “Eventually they said ‘she’s here’.

“She saw them in the first instance as a place of shelter, but clearly they had other ideas, hence the sentences.

“She wasn’t locked in the house, they just allowed her to stay there. It’s very important a message is sent out to children – nobody does anything for nothing. You have to take a step back and think ‘what is the ulterior motive’.”

The teenager has now left Blackpool and police say she has settled back into care and is “putting it behind her”.

Michael Kinnear was sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to detaining a child so as to keep her from a person having lawful control and engaging in sexual activity with a child.

Nicola Kinnear was handed a 16-month jail term for detaining a child.

DC Rigby added: “This has been a complex and difficult investigation but I am pleased with the sentence.”

The couple did not plead guilty to the offences until the trial began. Michael Kinnear was placed on the sex offenders register for seven years and given a 10-year Sex Offenders Prevention Order.