Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Sunday 9th March 2025, at 19:00hrs
This week saw a series of disturbing cases conclude in courts across the United Kingdom, resulting in the imprisonment of several men convicted of serious sex crimes, including rape, child sexual abuse, and exploitation.
In Liverpool, Salih Mahmoudi, 42, received a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the rape and assault of a woman in Toxteth.
Mahmoudi admitted to the crimes, which occurred in a derelict building on Falkner Street in August 2023. He was also issued a 15-year restraining order and placed on the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely.
Sheffield Crown Court delivered a six-year prison sentence to Lee Maidens, a 46-year-old Doncaster man, for a series of disturbing online child sexual offences.
The verdict follows a thorough investigation by the Internet Sexual Offences Team (ISOT), which exposed Maidens’s abhorrent actions.
The investigation commenced after ISOT received intelligence indicating Maidens’s involvement in online child sexual abuse.
A subsequent search warrant executed at his Brabbs Avenue residence on October 3, 2024, yielded incriminating evidence.
The court heard that between September 3 and October 3, 2024, Maidens engaged in online communications with a profile he believed belonged to an adult, where he explicitly discussed plans to sexually abuse a 10-year-old child.
Furthermore, he distributed a collection of deeply disturbing videos, including Category A and B indecent images of children, some depicting abuse of infants.
Maidens faced multiple charges, including:
* Distributing indecent images and videos of children.
* Attempting to cause a child under 13 to view sexual images.
* Arranging or facilitating sexual offenses against a child.
He entered guilty pleas to the charges, culminating in his sentencing on March 5, 2025. In addition to the six-year prison term, Maidens received an extended license period of four years.
Leeds Crown Court saw Robert Cross, 36, a registered sex offender from Wrenthorpe, Wakefield, sentenced to nine years in prison for multiple counts of child sexual abuse.
The jury found Cross guilty of seven counts of sexual activity with a child, following a trial that revealed his abuse of a young male victim between 2008 and 2011.
Crucial evidence included a 2016 Facebook message in which Cross admitted to the offences. He received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
In Manchester, Christopher Oates, 44, known as ‘Nails’, pleaded guilty to the sexual exploitation of two teenage girls and firearm possession.
The court heard harrowing details of Oates’ grooming and abuse, which occurred in the 2000s, including coercing a 14-year-old girl into sex work and threatening a teenage girl with a gun.
His guilty plea followed powerful video evidence from the victims, presented by Greater Manchester Police’s Operation Green Jacket.
A particularly disturbing case emerged from Leicestershire, where Richard Bosworth, 41, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the grooming and rape of a 12-year-old girl.
Bosworth used a fake online profile to befriend the victim on the BeFriend social media platform before meeting her in person and committing his crimes.
Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Service tracked him down using phone data and CCTV footage.
Finally, in Southport, Adam Francis, 32, was sentenced to eight years in prison for the rape of a woman in Ainsdale. Despite denying the charge, Francis was found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court.
He received a lifetime restraining order and was placed on the sex offenders register for life.
These cases highlight the devastating impact of sexual offences and the importance of victims coming forward.
Law enforcement agencies across the UK continue to work tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice and protect vulnerable individuals.
G2K INCIDENT WATCH 