Ripon man jailed for grooming and sexual abuse of 15-year-old girl

A 68-year-old man has been jailed for over six years for historic child abuse in Harrogate.

Malcolm Peter Barwick, who now lives in Ripon, was sentenced to six and a half years in jail today after pleading guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child.

The abuse occurred at Woodfield Drive in Harrogate where the victim was sexually abused by Barwick between April 2014 and April 2015.

The victim, now in her early 20’s, reported the abuse to North Yorkshire Police in June last year. An investigation was then launched by Harrogate CID.

Barwick appeared at York Crown Court today. As well as the jail sentence he is subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Detective Constable Matthew Reeve said:

“The effect this case has had on the victim has caused a lifetime of trauma and has deeply affected her.

“She showed true bravery in reporting the matter to the police and seeing the case through. I really hope this outcome will give her the strength to move on from this horrendous experience.”

“Barwick is a predator who targets vulnerable youths and grooms them for his own sexual gratification. Dangerous and manipulative offenders like him deserve to be behind bars.”

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To seek advice and further support, or report child abuse, you can contact one of these organisations:

Police arrest two men after damage to properties in Bilton

North Yorkshire Police arrested two men in Bilton last night following reports of damage to properties.

Officers were responding to reports from the Woodfield Road area of the Harrogate suburb last night.

The force’s Dutch Herder police dog, PD Bobby, was brought in to find the suspects.

The two men are currently in custody.

If you were involved in any of these incidents and have not yet reported this to the police, please call 101.

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Crime commissioner pledges extra police for Harrogate’s Mayfield Grove

The North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has pledged to push for increased policing in the Mayfield Grove area of Harrogate.

Philip Allott visited the area yesterday to hear concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour on Mayfield Grove and nearby streets, such as Mayfield Terrace and Nydd Vale Terrace.

He was invited by Paul Ivison, who has set up a residents group for people worried about drug dealing, car crime, speeding and anti-social behaviour, particularly in some houses in multiple occupation let by landlords, .

Mr Allott said:

“I will ask the police to step up neighbourhood policing in this area. I will ask them to target the drug dealers and make it hard for the supply chain to operate.”

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He also urged Harrogate Borough Council to take a tougher line against landlords that didn’t do enough to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour on their premises.

“The council possibly needs to be a little more active and realise this is a serious issue. I don’t think the district council has quite latched on to that.

“I will be asking Harrogate Borough Council to be more proactive and serve further closure notices against landlords where relevant.”

North Yorkshire Police and Harrogate Borough Council issued a three-month closure order on 38 Mayfield Grove in March. The two organisations can apply to a court for a closure order if they have concerns about antisocial behaviour and criminal behaviour on premises.

‘Abused by beggars’

Mr Ivison told the commissioner many town centre street beggars stayed in bedsits in the area and said the police should issue more Public Spaces Protection Orders to prevent begging in town, as many of those doing it weren’t genuine rough sleepers, were taking advantage of people and making a mess.

Mr Allott agreed the “town centre was being abused by beggars” who took advantage of “kindly, well disposed people who think they are helping”, adding:

“It’s patently clear a lot of these characters in the town centre are not what they present themselves to be.

“But I do recognise that there are a minority of people who through no fault of their own find themselves in a destitute position.”

Mr Allott said he supported the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders “where it is proportionate and necessary but not as a blanket measure”.

Vandals may force Harrogate shop to remove iconic bears

A Harrogate children’s clothing shop may be forced to remove its iconic bears after they became the target of vandals.

Milk and Honey of Harrogate, on Cheltenham Parade, has displayed the bears outside for five years but in the last couple of months they have suffered a lot of damage.

Sarah Elizabeth Wood, the shop manager, takes in the smaller bears overnight and locks the largest bear with a chain locked but even this is not enough to deter troublemakers.

Following the latest attack, which happened just after 3am on Sunday morning, Mrs Wood is considering whether the bears should remain.

CCTV footage from the night showed three people, believed to be teenage boys, attack the bear with a stick before pulling it to the floor and jumping on it.

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Mrs Wood told the Stray Ferret:

“I do think the red carpet and the bears help us get customers because it makes us stand out.

“Everyone who walks past at least comments on the bears or takes a photo with them. So it would just be really sad if we have to take them away.

“I don’t think the bears can take anymore. One more weekend of them being ravaged like that and they will have to go.”

Mrs Wood has tried to repair the broken feet and ears of the bears but she fears that if they are damaged again they may become unstable and fall on people.

She put out a post on Facebook yesterday evening warning that the bears days may be numbered.

The post has had hundreds of reactions, with many people sharing stories of their time with the bears.

Police appeal after bike stolen outside Harrogate’s Caffe Nero

North Yorkshire Police has issued a plea for information after a bike was stolen outside Caffe Nero on Beulah Street, Harrogate.

The black Carrera road bike was left propped up outside the coffee shop at about 2.30pm on Thursday when it was taken by a man, described by police as a slim white male aged between 35 and 40.

He was wearing dark shorts, a grey t-shirt and a baseball cap.

The bike has red trim and thin tyres.

A police statement said:

“We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.

“In particular, we are appealing for information about and witnesses to the incident or if anyone has seen the bike in question.

Anyone will information can call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option two and ask for Jacob Higgins. The officer can also be contacted via jacob.higgins@northyorkshirepolice.uk.

To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The crime reference number is 12210165521.

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Harrogate ‘Walter Mitty’ character jailed for stealing thousands from 94-year-old father

A ‘Walter Mitty’ character who posed as an ex-SAS soldier and stole from his 94-year-old war veteran father has been jailed for eight months.

Edward Stewart, 53, from Harrogate, set up a fake online profile in 2016, masquerading as a former member of the elite special forces unit “to impress women”.

He claimed he had once been on SAS missions in Syria and Afghanistan and provided personal protection for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, as well as Princess Diana and Hollywood star Brad Pitt.    

Following his bogus revelations, he was welcomed back into his family and moved in with his elderly father David Brunton, who trusted him to manage his finances and make purchases for him, York Crown Court heard.

But instead of looking after his ailing father, Stewart systematically rifled through his account after being handed his bank card. The elderly widower was now a “broken man” and in poor health, the court heard.

Prosecutor Matthew Collins said it was alleged that Stewart stole tens of thousands from his father after his family carried out their own internal investigation into the crimes.

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There had been numerous withdrawals from Mr Brunton’s bank account, allegedly over several years, and Stewart was arrested after the police were called in

He was charged with one count of fraud and three counts of theft but denied all allegations apart from one count of stealing £1,666 from his father during a four-week spree between June and July 2019.

He was due to face trial on the other allegations, but the family made a last-minute decision not to pursue these charges and they were allowed to lie on court file.    

Father served in Grenadier Guards

Stewart, of Robert Street, appeared for sentence on Wednesday on the single count of theft he had admitted but Mr Collins said this did not mean the family accepted he was innocent of the other alleged thefts. The remaining alleged stolen amounts would be pursued through the civil courts.

He said that Mr Brunton, who served in the Grenadier Guards during the war, had recently been ill in hospital and his condition had considerably worsened since his son’s wicked betrayal.

He said Stewart had used his father’s bank card to make payments and withdrawals from cash machines.

His sister Francesca Brunton launched her own investigation and Stewart admitted to his family that he had stolen the £1,666 in the summer of 2019. 

Mr Collins said:

“Repayment was arranged by direct debit at £50 per month.”

However, full repayment had still not been made and had now stopped.

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The rest of the alleged stolen cash – said to be “tens of thousands of pounds” – had also allegedly been withdrawn from cash points. 

Mr Collins said Stewart had been trusted to do errands such as shopping for his father, but he “abused that trust for his own personal gain” after being welcomed back into the family following his fake revelations about his ‘military career’ – lies that were later exploded after he was unmasked by the ex-soldiers’ internet group The Walter Mitty Hunters Club HQ, which exposes impostors and people with fake military pretensions.

Stewart, a former hotel worker, hit national headlines in 2016 after he was named and shamed by the Facebook group.

Claimed to protect Brad Pitt

His boastful fake posts included one in which he claimed to have suffered a wound from a knife attack while protecting Brad Pitt. He also said that he had stayed with Prince William and Kate to protect their son Prince George from a terrorist attack soon after he was born. 

He also said he knew Bear Grylls and talked about a burn on his chest from a ‘flash-bang’ injury during his 30 years of ‘military service’. 

He said he had been on missions to Syria and claimed he had been made to kill a young Iraqi goat herder who had pointed an AK47 at him.

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His father had been “shocked and shamed” by his son’s mock military profile and “the blackening of his name in the press”.

Despite this, he forgave his son and put his trust in him once again after Stewart made an apology in the press.

The subsequent betrayal, through the cash withdrawals, had an “extreme” effect on the decorated war hero.

Francesca Brunton, the victim’s daughter, said her father had suffered “mentally and physically” since Stewart’s “treachery”. 

Her ailing father had received daily calls from his bank and bailiffs had become involved after Stewart allegedly “falsified” a standing order on his account.   

This had had a “devastating” effect on her father’s “already fragile health”, which had “steeply declined” and he was now a “broken man”.

No contact with dad again

Abbi Whelan, for Stewart, said he had made attempts to repay the money and had lost his old job following his arrest. He had found new work as a delivery driver but would lose that job and his home if he were jailed.

Ms Whelan added:

“He is aware that he will never have any contact with his father again.”

Judge Simon Hickey labelled Stewart a “complete Walter Mitty character” who had taken his father’s money for his “own selfish ends”.

He told Stewart: 

“Your elderly and now frail father is, in contrast to you, a man of impeccable character.

“He’s one of the few remaining veterans from the Second World War…who, as such, should have been cherished by you and not defrauded in the way you had.

“You are a complete Walter Mitty character who (posed) as a SAS forces soldier, something your father would find abhorrent. It was against that background that you came to live with your family who remain devastated to this day.”

Stewart was jailed for eight months. 

Harrogate man jailed 15 years for child sex offences

Harrogate man Ricky Clench has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for child sex offences, including the rape of a child under 13.

Clench was sentenced following a series of offences starting in August 2017 until September 2018 when one of his victims came forward to the police.

At the time Clench was living in Northallerton.

On Tuesday he appeared at Teesside Crown Court and was found guilty of raping a child under 13, assaulting a child under 13 by penetration and of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Clench denied all offences throughout the police investigation and court hearings.

As well as the 15-year sentence he was issued with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Jason Roper, of Northallerton CID, said:

“The significant sentence handed to Ricky Clench reflects the gravity of the offences he has committed. He is a predatory and manipulative paedophile who has shown no consideration for his victim throughout the investigation and the court proceedings.

“Thankfully he is now behind bars for a very long time and has been made subject to two lifetime protection orders, preventing him from inflicting harm on any other innocent victims.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the victim for their bravery and courage in coming forward to report such a harrowing experience, and also to their family for the support they have shown throughout the investigation.”

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Bishop speaks out after more vandalism in Ripon

The Bishop of Ripon has spoken out about vandals after another incident in the city.

Dr Helen-Ann Hartley’s comments come after she saw the Welcome to Ripon sign on the North Bridge approach to the city had been vandalised.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“I was greatly saddened to see the Welcome to Ripon sign smashed up.

“Sadly, a minority are clearly intent on inflicting harm on our local community.

“While I appreciate there are many challenges that people face today, destroying things of value is not the answer.

“I hope whoever is doing this, can pause to reflect on how their actions hurt others, and think again before they smash something else up.”

Photo of discarded Welcome to Ripon sign

Destroyed and discarded — the sign was torn down and thrown off the bridge.

The sign, bearing the words: ‘Welcome to Ripon, Stay Awhile Amid its Ancient Charms’ was erected in 1986 by the city’s civic society, in memory of former member Catherine Elmes.

Dr Hartley said:

“I remember early on when we moved here, I walked into Ripon and stopped at the sign and took a photo of it.

“I felt pleased to be in our new home here.”

Photo of plaque on vandalised sign

The plaque in memory of Catherine Elmes on the vandalised sign

The North Bridge ‘welcome’ sign is one of two on the approaches to the city centre — the other being at the junction of Harrogate Road and Quarry Moor Road.

Vandalism, alongside other anti-social behaviour, is a recurring problem in Ripon.

The cabmen’s shelter — a rare heritage item and listed building on Market Square — had its windows smashed twice in the space of three months.

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Prior to this, vandals also broke windows at Ripon Town Hall and the Ripon Cathedral office and deliberately damaged the protective rubberised surface of the children’s playground in Grove Lane.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott visited the city last month and pledged investment in policing to address the spike in anti-social behaviour.

He said he intended to give local officers the resources they needed, including a phased investment in the city’s combined police and fire station on Stonebridgegate.

Ripon man jailed for downloading 1,000 indecent images of children

A married former military man addicted to child pornography has been jailed for downloading more than 1,000 indecent images of minors and using ‘wiping’ software in a bid to hide them.

Francis Mingay, 65, from Ripon, was under a court order at the time designed to curb his internet activities following previous convictions for similar behaviour, York Crown Court heard.

But the ex-army man – who served in Ireland and overseas during a distinguished career – downloaded 1,074 illicit photos and videos, some involving the serious sexual abuse of children and one depicting the rape of a young girl, said prosecutor Thomas Parsons. 

Mingay, of Southgate Avenue, admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, two breaches of a sexual-harm prevention order (SHPO) and one count of possessing indecent images. He appeared for sentence on Thursday.

The original sexual-harm order was imposed in 2011 after Mingay was convicted of 10 offences including eight counts of possessing indecent images.

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The order prohibited him from deleting his internet search history, using ‘wiping’ software or obtaining any new internet-enabled devices without informing the police. 

He was also banned from visiting any internet forums or chatrooms that might give him access to illegal images of minors.

In June 2019, two police officers who were monitoring him post-sentence made a routine visit to his home to inspect his devices and found he had been using a new Samsung phone. 

They also found a memory stick and a laptop with wiping software for deleting files and search history.

Both devices contained debauched images of children, as well as “extreme” pornography and “prohibited” photos and videos of youngsters.

Mr Parsons said the children depicted in the images on the laptop were between six and 12 years old. The worst images, rated Category A, included one which showed a girl of about 10 years of age being raped.

Mingay had downloaded 103 Category A images, 87 Category B and 884 Category C. He also admitted possessing a further 99 indecent images on the USB memory stick.

He already had three convictions for 27 offences, all of a similar nature. In 2003, he was given a three-year community order at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court for a “large number” of downloading and possession offences and ordered to attend various rehabilitation courses to “cure him of this perverted addiction”.

But it had little effect and in November 2011, Mingay was convicted of eight counts of possessing indecent images of children, for which he received a 12-month suspended prison sentence and a SHPO to regulate his internet use.

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Michele Turner, for Mingay, said the ex-military man had lost his way since the end of his “very successful” army career and had developed mental health problems due to “horrific” combat stress.

She said Mingay “didn’t understand” his addiction to child pornography “and his family doesn’t understand”.

Recorder Anthony Hawks told Mingay:

 “You are a man with a long-standing addiction to child pornography.

“Persistent, perverted interest of this sort creates a market for (this) sort of images. It’s a bad state of affairs in any view.”

Jailing Mingay for 16 months, Mr Hawks told him: 

“You have been given chances twice in the past by the courts and you have received enormous assistance from the Probation Service to try and prevent you offending in this way. It’s all failed.”

Mingay will remain on the sex-offenders’ register and his licence conditions upon his eventual release from prison will include strict curbs on his internet use.  

Crime commissioner defends local MP for voting against dog theft law

North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner Philip Allott has defended fellow Conservative, Harrogate & Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones MP, after he voted in Parliament against making dog theft a specific offence.

Mr Allott repeatedly called for the crime to be put into law during his recent campaign to become the new commissioner.

As part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that is currently going through the Commons, the Labour Party put forward an amendment that would have for the first time made dog theft a crime.

Currently, the law doesn’t distinguish the theft of a dog from that of an inanimate object.

MPs voted the amendment down on Monday with a majority of 113. Four Tory MPs rebelled against the government.

Mr Allott told the Stray Ferret that he wouldn’t have voted for the amendment if he was an MP.  He said this was because the government is currently consulting on its own law which he believes will be tougher on criminals than the one Labour suggested.

He said:

“I strongly support a law for pet theft, but I want to wait for the consultation”.

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Mr Allott, who lives in Knaresborough, previously highlighted a survey showing dog thefts increased by 250% last year due to gangs cashing in on the demand for puppies during lockdown.

Sought-after breeds, such as French bulldogs, can sell for more than £5,000 and a litter can fetch £35,000.

Mr Allott accused Labour of “mischief-making” and said the offence could include cats as well as dogs.

He added:

“I’ll be interested to see Andrew Jones’s understanding on this but he does care about pets. He did the right thing waiting”.

The Stray Ferret asked Mr Jones to comment but did not receive a response.