A 57-year-old former caretaker from east Hull has appeared before Hull Crown Court after admitting to a series of predatory sexual offences against two young girls, which included superimposing their faces onto indecent photographs of adult women.
Mark Oliver, residing at Westerdale Grove, off Southcoates Lane, east Hull, appeared in the dock after entering guilty pleas to multiple offences involving digital exploitation and direct sexual incitement.
Prosecuting barrister Ben Hammersley told the court that Oliver initiated highly sexualised communications with the two young victims. During these conversations, Oliver solicited one of the girls for sex, discussed explicit physical acts in detail, and referred to her as a “dirty girl”.
Oliver later admitted during police inquiries that he had “fallen in love” and had become completely “besotted” with the child. In an attempt to evade detection, Oliver actively took steps to deter the victim from approaching law enforcement, issuing warnings about what the consequences would be if she contacted the police.
Officers from Humberside Police executed an investigation and seized Oliver’s mobile phone. Digital forensic examinations revealed a substantial collection of indecent images. Specialists discovered that Oliver had systematically cropped photographs of the two young girls, superimposing their heads onto the naked bodies of adult females to manufacture illicit composite images.
During his police interviews, Oliver made admissions regarding his conduct but denied having any sexual attraction towards children.
In mitigation, defence counsel Rachel Scott stated that Oliver had assisted officers by indicating what they would uncover on his phone and had accepted his offending from the outset without seeking a trial. The court was told that Oliver had no previous convictions, had worked continuously as a caretaker for 40 years, and was working as a trusted cleaner while on remand in custody. Miss Scott remarked: “There is nothing that can be said to mitigate the circumstances of the offences… This is a defendant who has dropped a grenade on his own life.”
At Hull Crown Court, Oliver formally pleaded guilty to:
One count of sexual communication with a child
Two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
A series of counts of making indecent images of a child
Under the provisions of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, both child victims are protected by mandatory, lifelong statutory anonymity. Any publication, broadcast, or public dissemination of information capable of leading to their identification is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Sentencing Oliver, Recorder Alistair MacDonald KC rejected the defendant’s assertions that he did not possess a sexual interest in children, stating:
“I reject the idea that you did not derive sexual pleasure. That’s what this was all about. I am not sure that you yet understand what you have done to these young girls. Nothing this court can do can take away the robbing of the innocence of these young girls. Nothing I can do can restore to those young girls the innocence that they have lost. They were robbed of that by your activities and the consequences of that will remain with them.”
Oliver was made subject to the statutory notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register and protective order frameworks.
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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