Predator jailed for sex offences with young boys

AN “INSIDIOUS” sex offender who preyed on two boys he met over the internet has been jailed for five years.

Andrew Faulkner, 45, of Bridgewood Close, Crystal Palace,?south London, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Friday (December 17)?after pleading guilty to 15 offences, including three counts of sexual activity with a child.

The court heard Faulkner posed as a teenager on social networking site Bebo in order to meet young boys, one of whom he met up with in the car park of the Tesco store in Park Barn,?Guildford, where sex acts took place.

At an earlier hearing, the defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of causing or inciting child pornography, one of arranging a child sex offence and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of children and four counts of possessing indecent images, with a total of 107 found on the defendant’s computer when it was seized by police.

The charges related to two male victims below the age of 16, with the offences carried out in the Guildford area between October 2008 and September 2009.

Prosecutor Alex Durran told the court: “In October 2009, police received a complaint that a 13-year-old male was being sexually groomed.

“Initially the boy made it clear he didn’t want to make a complaint but later admitted some of what the police had been told was true.”

The victim told?officers that?four meetings occurred in the Tesco car park in the back of a van Faulkner had rented, as well as several other meetings at a nearby industrial estate, and he and the defendant were engaged in sex acts at both locations.

Police then carried out an extensive investigation, tracing Faulkner’s mobile phone to a petrol station and matching his image on CCTV footage to a photograph he had e-mailed to one of his victims.

According to defence solicitor Lionel Blackman, Faulkner’s marriage was breaking down and he fell into a depression, seeking solace in internet chatrooms.

"Sexual gratification"

He said: “There were boundaries in this defendant’s mind, although this is not to detract from the deep shame and regrets he has towards the complainants.”

Sentencing, Judge Suzan Matthews said: “The law is very firmly there to avoid offending against boys of this age, and I am quite satisfied your sexual gratification was what all of this was about, at the expense of your victims.”

Commenting on the case, Detective Constable Fiona Mackie said: “The sentencing sees this insidious sex offender who preyed on innocent young boys taken off the streets of our towns.

“Hopefully this outcome can help the victims and their families come to terms with their traumatic experiences and they are to be commended for their bravery and courage in coming forward.”

Faulkner was sentenced to five years in prison for each of the three counts of sexual activity with a child.

He received further five-year?terms for the charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and arranging a child sex offence, and?two years for the two counts of causing or inciting child pornography.

He received two-year prison sentences for each of the eight charges relating to indecent images.

Each of the prison terms is to run concurrently, with Faulkner serving five years in total.

He was also designated a dangerous offender posing a risk to the public and will serve an extended period of three years on licence upon his release.

An indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order was imposed and?Faulkner was ordered?to sign the sex offenders' register for an indeterminate period.

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VIDEO - Man jailed for Donal MacIntyre assault

THE man who attacked undercover TV reporter Donal MacIntyre in a bar in East Molesey has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

James Wild, 47, of Bridge Wharf, Chertsey, appeared at Guildford Crown Court for sentencing on Friday having been previously convicted of assault?occasioning actual bodily harm on Mr MacIntyre and his wife Ameera.

He?was given a two-year sentence for the assault on Mr MacIntyre and six months more?for assaulting his wife.

The?incident came as a result of a 1999 documentary made by the reporter on the Chelsea Headhunters firm, which led to a notorious football hooligan being jailed.

Sentencing Wild, Recorder Laurence West QC?said: "What happened in my view, having heard all of the evidence, is that following the original incident you were one of the figures involved in the further attack on Mr MacIntyre.

"You were involved in the?attack in the foyer of the club where Mrs MacIntyre put it that people who attacked her husband were on him like a pack of wolves.

"Wolves is giving them too much credit because wolves have courage."

Wild's?trial, which lasted?a week, heard the MacIntyres were at the Cloud 9 bar on June 17 last year when they were attacked.

Mrs MacIntyre?had been?due to go for a brain scan the next day.

An?altercation was sparked after they were approached by a man dressed head to toe in black, who began shouting at Mr MacIntyre.

The couple ran to the toilets but were surrounded by a gang as they attempted to leave. Mr MacIntyre was knocked over and hit by James Wild as he tried to get up.

He suffered?a black eye as a result of the attack, while his wife was left with bruises.

Gregory Fishwick, defending, said he was forced to go sift through a "binload" of references because of his client's good reputation.

"James Wild is a loving, giving, caring and hardworking man who does what he can for others, particularly with regards to his charity work," he said.

"His wife, his child, his fledging business would be affected if he is incarcerated."

The 25 days Wild spent on remand will count towards his sentence.

Speaking after the sentencing, Mr MacIntyre said?he was?very pleased that?"justice had been done."

But he added: "It is with great regret that only one of the 10 people who were involved in the assault were in the dock.

"I would invite Surrey Police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) to review this case and to review the support they give to witnesses.

"I am still grateful for the support?of my wife who had to go through what she and my family members shouldn't ever have to go through."

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Pregnant postmistress jailed for branch thefts

A PREGNANT postmistress convicted of stealing nearly ￡75,000 over the course of?two-and-a-half years has been jailed.

Seema Misra, 35, of Station Approach, West Byfleet, was sentenced to 15 months in prison at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday (November 11).

Following a week-long trial last month, a jury found Misra guilty of stealing ￡74,609 while she was in charge of the West Byfleet post office.

She had previously?admitted?six counts of false accounting?after she tried?to cover up?a shortfall in the books between June 29, 2005 and January 14, 2008.

Keith Hadrill, appearing for Misra, revealed to the court that she was now eight weeks' pregnant with her second child, and also suffered from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome?which would need regular monitoring in prison.

During her trial, Misra claimed computer glitches and work colleagues were responsible for the missing money, also saying?she?had not been sufficiently trained to run the branch.

Mr Hadrill?said: “This is not a defendant who has lived the high life, it’s a frugal life she has eked out with her husband.

“This will have a devastating effect on both her and her 10-year-old son, and she’s fearful of the effect on her unborn child.”

Misra was handed a 15-month sentence for the theft charge, with concurrent six-month terms for each of the other counts.

A further hearing will take place in March?next year to determine how much of the stolen money, if any, Misra is to pay back to Post Office Ltd.

Sentencing, Judge Neil Stewart said: “This is not a case where you stopped offending before being discovered, it was only the January 2008 audit which led to the cessation.

“Your family are going to be devastated by your conviction and the sentence.

“From your point of view it will be a shock and a hardship but I see no alternative.”

For more on this story, see this week's Woking Informer, out on Thursday, November 18.

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Woman jailed for 16 months over Farnham rape lie

A WOMAN who lied about being attacked and raped in a park in Farnham has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Maria Brustenga-Vilaseca, from Roman Way in the town, claimed she was sexually assaulted as she walked home?from the railway station on April 20 this year - but it was later discovered that she had actually been more than 20 miles away in Addlestone at the time.

The allegation led to a lengthy police investigation and at one stage a young local man was arrested on suspicion of the offence.

Brustenga-Vilaseca, 27,?admitted?a charge of perverting the course of justice in September and was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Friday.

Speaking about the case, prosecutor Alexia Durran explained how the defendant, who at the time had been living with her sister and brother-in-law in Farnham, went to her GP on April 21 saying she was concerned about her health after suffering a sexual assault.

She told her doctor that the previous night?she had been returning by train from her job in Woking and, after leaving Farnham station, was?grabbed, pulled to the ground and then raped by a unknown man in Borelli Walk.

Her GP?informed the police and an investigation was launched, with officers?carrying out?door-to-door inquiries in the local area and forensics teams examining the 'crime' scene.

But the court heard that a review of CCTV footage around the station area on the night in question found no sightings of the defendant.

It was later discovered that Brustenga-Vilaseca had in fact been at a party in Addlestone where she had?sexual intercourse with a man.

She was interviewed again by detectives and eventually admitted lying about the alleged rape in Farnham.

Speaking in mitigation of her client, defence solicitor Katy Thorne told the court that Brustenga-Vilaseca was a vulnerable woman who had come to the UK from a rural background in Spain, having had a sheltered, traditional Catholic upbringing.

Ms Thorne?pointed out that?she had not initiated the police investigation, had indeed refused to give a formal statement and had pleaded with?officers on at least seven occasions to bring their investigations to a halt.

She added that unlike most cases of this nature, Brustenga-Vilaseca had not attempted to directly implicate or accuse anyone specific as being her attacker, and that the arrest of a man had been due to an unfortunate coincidence rather than?any malicious intent.

"Clearly innocent"

A psychiatric report?concluded that while the defendant?had not been suffering from a mental disorder at the time of making the rape claim, there was a suggestion that she had gone through a traumatic experience at some point in her life.

Ms Thorne added her client was currently being prescribed anti-psychotic medication, and that there were concerns about her committing self-harm if she was given a custodial sentence.

In his ruling, Judge Neil Stewart gave Brustenga-Vilaseca credit for her guilty plea and said he had taken into account reports about her mental health and various good character references.

In passing a sentence of 16 months' imprisonment however, he pointed out that Brustenga-Vilaseca’s decision to make the false claim had led to thousands of hours of wasted police time and the arrest of an innocent man.

He said the most serious aspect?though was the fact that false claims of rape had the potential to harm the investigation and prosecution of genuine sexual assaults.

"It damages the administration of justice in this extremely sensitive area," Judge Stewart added.

Surrey Police said Brustenga-Vilaseca's allegation had borne similarities to a previous attempted rape?in Borelli Walk four months earlier and that it had "heightened fears in the local community".

The local man who was arrested?had unfortunately fitted a "detailed description" she had given of her attacker but he "was clearly innocent", police added.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Fran Breslin said: "Brustenga-Vilaseca’s actions not only caused considerable and unnecessary alarm to the local community but also undermine the ordeal real victims of sexual assault and rape go through.

"Such offences can have a devastating effect on people, many of whom are too frightened to come forward.?I would like to reassure those victims that they have nothing to fear in reporting genuine offences to us and we will always thoroughly investigate such crimes.

“Surrey Police invested a huge amount of time and resources into this investigation which understandably caused a huge amount of concern among the local community.”

Police also said Brustenga-Vilaseca?"never gave any clear motive for making up the allegation".

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