Sex offenders who have appeared before the courts in recent weeks

The names and faces of North East sex offenders locked up for sick crimes

Their crimes, some dating back to the 1980s, have landed them behind bars for a number of years

19 Oct 2024, 03:00 by Adam Foster · ChronicleLive

These are the faces of sex offenders who have been convicted by the courts in the North East.

One man has been given his sixth prison sentence for abusing young boys, while another used Snapchat to exchange sexual messages with a schoolgirl and get her to send him naked pictures of herself. Another man breached the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was jailed for ten months.

A number of the offenders were convicted when their brave victims decided to come forward and report what had been happening to them.

Many are now facing significant stretches behind bars for their crimes.

Here we take a look at the people who were in the dock for their sickening offences.

Alan Rutter

The paedophile plied young boys with alcohol and showed them pornography before assaulting them.
Alan Rutter, 78, of Easington, committed the offences over several years in the 1990s, with some of his victims as young as eight years old. During a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the pensioner was found guilty of 11 charges including child abduction, sexual activity with a child, and indecent assault and buggery - now classed as rape.
He was sentenced to 19 years in prison, and will also be on the sex offenders register for life.(Image: Durham Constabulary)

Thomas Reay

The paedophile "stripped his victims of their childhood innocence" when he subjected them to multiple rapes and sexual assaults.
Thomas Reay stole the childhoods of two young girls when he carried out the sickening abuse over a number of years. The 65-year-old was locked up for 25 years after his victims found the courage to report the offending to a loved one in May of this year.
Reay, of Hesleyside Drive, Newcastle, pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to 16 child sex offences in July.(Image: Northumbria Police)

Michael Strange

A paedophile cricket coach was given his sixth prison sentence for abusing young boys.
Michael Strange, who was admired as a cricketer and looked up to by those he coached at clubs including Durham County Cricket Club, was convicted of indecently assaulting ten youngsters in offences spanning decades.
Since 2012, he has received a series of prison sentences. Two more victims finally have justice after decades of suffering after they came forward to police when they saw media articles about the pervert.
The first victim was invited back to Strange's house after playing a round of golf with him, Newcastle Crown Court heard. When they got there, he put pornography on the TV.
The boy was made to lower his shorts and Strange carried out a sex act. He then asked him to reciprocate but the victim ran out of the house and went home. Similar offending happened on two further occasions.
The victim finally found the strength to report what had happened to him last year after seeing a media report about Strange's previous offending.
The second victim was playing cricket when he was hit in the groin with a ball and was left in pain. Strange took him to the changing rooms and said he needed to apply some cream to his genitals and said he was a qualified first aider, insisting he had to put the cream on rather than allowing the youngster to do it. The victim said he felt powerless to stop him.
The man told his wife what had happened years later and contacted the police after seeing media coverage of Strange's past offending.
Strange, 64, of no fixed address but previously of Gateshead, pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault on the first victim and one on the second victim. Jailing him for six years, Judge Prince said: "The impact on both men has been extremely upsetting, deeply and profoundly moving."
The court heard Strange has 30 previous convictions, all involving sexually abusing young boys.(Image: Northumbria Police)

Thomas Hobbs

The pervert was told he will likely die in prison after grooming a child by offering her sweets, and then raping and sexually assaulting her.
Thomas Hobbs, 78, of Ovington, Northumberland had been convicted of a string of vile child sex offences. Hobbs was convicted of 10 offences, which included rape, sexual assaults and encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity in July.
Judge Moreland passed a custodial sentence of 20 years - to be made up of a 19-year jail term extended for a year due to the danger Hobbs poses to the public. Hobbs will not be considered for parole until he has served two-thirds of his sentence.
Hobbs will also be placed on the sex offenders register for life, and has been made subject to a restraining order preventing him from contact with his victim.(Image: Northumbria Police)