November 2019

Internet paedophile slammed for being part of ‘evil trade’

A pervert was condemned by a judge for contributing to the “evil trade” of child abuse images after he admitted distributing illegal videos and pictures.

Jonathan Whittock was told: “These are real children who have lost their innocence. Somewhere, these children exist and their lives are ruined.”

When police raided the Abergavenny home the defendant shares with his mother, prosecutor Andrew Kendall said they found 177 indecent videos and pictures.

The victims were aged between four and 14 and there were 49 category A images depicting the worst kind of child abuse.

Whittock, aged 44, of Wellfield Close, also had 36 category B and 91 category C images.

The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing indecent images, three counts of possessing indecent images and one count of possessing extreme pornography involving an animal.

Speaking at Cardiff Crown Court, Mr Kendall said after his arrest, Whittock told police “he was disgusted with himself and sick to the stomach”.

Heath Edwards, mitigating, told the court his client was a man of previous good character with no convictions recorded against him.

His barrister added that Whittock’s mother was recently widowed after the recent death of his father.

Mr Edwards said: “He has been a significant source of support to her since this time.

“He has lost his job as a result of this offending. He has his own mental health issues.

“This is a man who needs help.”

The Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Eleri Rees told Whittock: “These are appalling images and you have directly contributed to this evil trade.”

She said that due to his absence of any previous convictions and for his early guilty pleas, she could suspend his jail sentence.

The defendant was jailed for 16 months, suspended for two years.

Whittock was also ordered to complete a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 80 hours unpaid work.

He must pay £380 costs and a £140 victim surcharge.

Whittock has to register as a sex offender for 10 years and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period of time.

August 2019

 Athletics coach who abused girls jailed

A former athlete and coach who groped and kissed trainees as young as 10 has been jailed for seven and a half years.

Phil Banning, 68, of Penhow, Newport abused four girls between 1976 and 1982 at Andover Athletics Club in Hampshire.

The former Welsh national coach pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court to 18 counts of indecent assault.

Judge Keith Cutler said Banning had groomed girls who “idolised” him, in what was a “grave abuse of trust”.

Tim Moores, prosecuting, said the offences happened during massages and at private meetings organised by Banning, from Penhow, Newport.

“Under the guise of acting as coach and mentor, Banning was in fact pursuing a regime of abuse against certain members of the club,” he said.

Banning kissed girls who queued up to go into a dark room with him during a party at his house, Mr Moores said.

The court heard he often assaulted the girls during massages at his home.

The abuse first emerged when a complainant contacted police in 2017.

She told Banning in court: “I was 10 when you started to sexually abuse me and violate my body. You left me with shame… sick with fear.”

The woman said she felt her standing at the athletics club depended on her acceptance of Banning’s “evil, sick sexual desires”.

“You destroyed almost every adult relationship I ever experienced,” she told the defendant, adding she had come close to taking her own life.

Another victim angrily pointed at Banning and told him: “I was a 13-year-old child. You were a 29-year-old man.

“I don’t understand why I didn’t say no. We were made to feel small.”

Another woman said she had kept her “dirty secret” for 41 years.

“He shattered my dreams and I felt disgusting,” she said, reading a statement.

Banning, a former Team GB runner and secondary school teacher, mouthed the word “sorry” to victims who were present in court.

Judge Cutler told Banning that as “a well-known local athlete” he had groomed the girls, seeking them as his “sexual relief”.

The judge ordered that six charges of indecent assault lie on file.

September 2019

Pervert sentenced for sexual offences

A paedophile who ordered the live online sexual abuse of Filipino children by their parents has been jailed for nine years.

Jonathan Kay, 54, of Monmouth, even lied and claimed he was a paedophile hunter, but was convicted of 10 charges.

Kay made 190 bank transfers to families in the Philippines.

August 2019

Fake ‘paedophile hunter’ Jonathan Kay guilty of sex offences

A man who was caught paying to watch parents make their children perform sex acts online has been found guilty of child sex offences.

Jonathan Kay made 190 bank transfers to families in the Philippines.

The 54-year-old claimed he was a “paedophile hunter” and was trying to stop children being exploited.

Kay, of King Henry V Drive, Monmouth, was found guilty of 10 charges at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court and will be sentenced at a later date.

One girl who was abused was just three years old.

The prosecution said he was “nothing more than a paedophile himself” and judge Mr Recorder Philpotts said “these are unusually grave offences”.

His own defence team said Kay was “sexually depraved” with “shocking” sexual preferences.

Kay admitted he paid for extreme adult sex shows online – but claimed he never saw images of child abuse.

He told the jury he was gathering text based evidence of a paedophile ring in the Philippines to pass on to the authorities.

But he was found guilty of seven charge of arranging the commission of a child sex offence, two concerning the possession of indecent images and one of perverting the course of justice by throwing away a laptop computer, which was never recovered.

Kay was warned he faces a “substantial sentence of years in prison” and was remanded in custody until sentencing at a date to be confirmed.