Thursday, 14 April 2016 By Charles Thomson in Crime Brian Tanner, left, and Dennis King, right, outside Chelmsford Crown Court in April 1990. Picture: Anglia Press Agency. A MAN convicted of abusing boys as part of a Shoebury 'sex ring' in the late 1980s had several prior convictions, the Yellow Advertiser can reveal.
Dennis King, then aged 55 and living in Cunningham Close, Shoebury, received a four-year jail term in 1990 after admitting four counts of gross indecency and three counts of attempted buggery.
He was convicted with Brian Tanner, then 57 and living in Beedell Avenue, Westcliff, who got three years for three counts of gross indecency and three counts of attempted buggery.
Tanner has since died and King no longer lives in Essex.
Both men were jailed for their part in what Essex Council described in official papers as a 'sex ring' targeting 'adolescent boys'.
Essex Police last month announced a review of its investigation into the King and Tanner case, after three whistleblowers alleged a catalogue of failings.
A fourth whistleblower, tracked down by the YA, has now agreed to cooperate with the review.
The YA has now obtained court records showing King was jailed for seven years in 1966 for sexually abusing two boys he met in a public toilet on Southend seafront.
An appeal document states: "According to their evidence, they were hanging around a public lavatory on the front and they got into a conversation with the appellant, who asked them if they wanted to play about with him and offered them 10 shillings each.
"According to them, he took each one of them in turn into a cubicle inside the lavatory where certain of these offences were committed.
"According to them, an arrangement was then made for the appellant to meet them at the same place at about 10.30 that evening and go back to his flat.
"They did meet that evening. The appellant took them back to his flat. One of them slept on the floor and one of them in the bed with him, and it was there that the other offences were committed."
King denied the allegations but was convicted of two counts of attempting to procure acts of gross indecency, three counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted buggery.
The appeal record shows that before his 1966 trial, King already had several prior convictions for child sex offences.
The record states: "This appellant of 31 has already been sent to prison for six months for attempting to procure gross indecency with a youth of 15, and two offences were then taken into consideration, one of which was with a boy of nine.
"He has been fined for importuning immoral purposes and finally, in September 1964, he was given 12 months imprisonment for attempting to procure gross indecency."
Essex Police urged any victims or anybody with information to call them on 101.
Alternatively, call one of these specialist victims' helplines:
National Association for People Abused in Childhood 0808 801 0331
SERICC (south and west Essex) 01375 380609
CARA (mid and north Essex) 01206 667590
SoSRC (Southend) 01702 667590
National Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse 0808 800 5000.
It is tragic that these monstrous paedophiles monstrously abuse children and institutionalise them and further brutalise them and then society wonders "Why?" when they turn out to become monsters themselves. They of course then can then be totally discredited. Despite all the other evidence.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
I find it odd that the article refers to the 'boys', poor boys from local housing estates, keeping a coded diary (which at some later stage the police 'lost') of the names of the 'important men' - paedophiles. Seems a strange thing for young school boys to do. But quite a usual thing for a manager to do.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
This former charity boss whistleblower explains how one of the young boys turned to recruiting for the gang so that he wouldn't keep getting abused himself.
Wednesday, 20 April 2016 By Charles Thomson in Crime Chris Hickey A FORMER charity boss has spoken about how he learned a paedophile ring' was operating in Shoebury in the late 1980s.
Chris Hickey former manager of the Rainer Foundation, a young offenders' charity in Weston Road, Southend is the fourth whistleblower to voice concerns over Essex Police's investigation into the abuse of dozens of boys.
Mr Hickey, now a HR consultant, is believed to have received the first abuse disclosure from one of the victims.
He said: "The first time I had any real sense that something really strange was going on, I was working with this young lad. He slowly started to burn himself with a cigarette, rather than tell me what was going on."
Mr Hickey was tracked down by the Yellow Advertiser and is now cooperating with an Essex Police review, announced last month, into whether the case was properly investigated.
Two men were jailed in 1990 but whistleblowers say the victims reported abuse by more paedophiles who were not prosecuted. They also claim police failed to interview multiple victims and that most of those who were interviewed never received appropriate after-care.
Mr Hickey co-authored a 1990 report criticising the patchy' response by local agencies, which said victims had already suffered problems including self-harming, displaying abusive behaviour' towards younger children and graduating into the local rent boy scene'.
Recounting the moment the first boy a cheeky chappy' and prolific car thief' disclosed his abuse, Mr Hickey said: "It was late afternoon. He was getting less and less responsive. The silences were getting longer and longer. I knew I just had to sit there.
"The room was going dark and I wouldn't even get up to turn the light on because I knew if I moved the spell would be broken and if he was going to say something, he was going to say it now.
"I'd been working with him for well over a year and I knew there was something going on. I waited and waited and I watched him burn himself with a cigarette and then he told me."
Mr Hickey said the disclosure left him shellshocked'. In the coming weeks the boy revealed he had become a recruiter' for the paedophiles to stop his own abuse. Soon afterwards, more boys began coming forward to local charities, including 12 to 15 who disclosed to Rainer.
Mr Hickey said: "It was terrible when you realised what had happened. We had no idea this was going on and then it all unfolded before our eyes. It is an experience seared into my memory."
Essex Police urged victims and witnesses to call 101 and ask for DCI Tracey Harman.
Alternatively, call one of these specialist victim helplines:
National Association for People Abused in Childhood 0808 801 0331.
SERICC (south and west Essex) 01375 380609.
CARA (mid and north Essex) 01206 769795.
SoSRC (Southend) 01702 667590.
National Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse 0808 800 5000. http://www.yellowad.co.uk/article.cfm?id=111999
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Nick Alston. Picture: Martin Dalton. FAILURES unearthed by officers reviewing a historic paedophile ring' investigation must be reported to two independent bodies, outgoing police commissioner Nick Alston has said.
Essex Police is currently reviewing officers' conduct in a child abuse investigation in Shoeburyness in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Mr Alston has called for any poor practice uncovered by the probe to be reported to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, also known as the Godard Inquiry.
Mr Alston said he expected some shortcomings to be uncovered purely because child protection policies are far stronger now than they were at the time.
He commented: "It's 25 years ago now. Go back to 2010 pre-Savile and pre-Rotherham and all these things and it was actually a different world even then, and that's pretty recent stuff.
"It was changing, of course, but I think in the last three or four or five years, the prism through which we view all of these things has changed so utterly."
Mr Alston and Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh announced in March that the force was reviewing an investigation which resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of two paedophiles in 1990, for abusing adolescent boys in Shoeburyness.
The review was launched after three whistleblowers claimed victims had reported abuse by far more than just two men, but nobody else appeared to have been pursued.
They also claimed some victims were never interviewed by police and most who were still never received appropriate after-care such as counselling. Some have since reportedly committed suicide, died of drug overdoses, been sent to prison and, in one case, gone on to abuse children.
A fourth whistleblower, tracked down by the YA and now cooperating with the review, echoed the original claims.
Two of the whistleblowers, who worked at a Southend young offenders charity and received abuse disclosures from boys on their books, said they feared cops had failed to take the allegations seriously because they took a dim view of the complainants.
Mr Alston described the allegations as chilling', telling the YA: "It's an overwhelmingly credible scenario. The circumstantial evidence is apparently strong."
He said: "The whole piece has changed, like not seeing the people as victims the concept of the streetwise kid' and it's their lifestyle'; that's gone, thank God. So looking at this again through today's eyes, I think, is something we absolutely have to do particularly in the context of Godard. It would be absolutely shocking not to do that.
"If there were failings and Essex Police discover that, would I expect them to refer that to the IPCC? Absolutely, yes. And I think it will be hard for the Chief Constable not to think of referring this to Godard, depending what they find." http://www.yellowad.co.uk/article.cfm?id...hyear=2016
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
28-05-2016, 02:36 AM (This post was last modified: 28-05-2016, 05:41 AM by Magda Hassan.)
How does this even happen?
Abusing children since long before 1990s and only placed on Sex Offender Register in 2014? Was he removed from a previous registration? Who would have removed him? Who are these judges and magistrates? And police and lawyers that don't appeal.
Wednesday, 25 May 2016 By Charles Thomson in Crime Brian Tanner (left) and Dennis King outside Chelmsford Crown Court in April 1990 where they were both convicted of sex offences against boys. Photo: Anglia Press Agency. A PAEDOPHILE at the centre of an Essex Police review has been convicted 10 times in the last three years, the Yellow Advertiser can reveal.
Court documents obtained by the YA show Dennis King, now 81, last appeared before the courts just eight months ago.
The prolific child sex offender was one of two men convicted in 1990 following a police investigation into the abuse of boys in Shoeburyness.
King, then aged 55 and living in Cunningham Close, Shoebury, received a four-year jail term after pleading guilty to four counts of gross indecency and three counts of attempted buggery.
The second man, Brian Tanner then 57 and living in Beedell Avenue, Westcliff got three years for three counts of gross indecency and three counts of attempted buggery. He has since died.
Police are reviewing the 1990 case after four whistleblowers reported 'failures' which they claim led some victims to self-harm, commit suicide and, in one case, go on to abuse children.
Court papers have shown that in March 2013 King was convicted at Peterborough Crown Court of two counts of possessing an indecent image of a child, two counts of possessing a prohibited image of a child, two counts of making an indecent image of a child, one count of taking an indecent image of a child and one count of possessing bestial pornography. He was jailed for a year.
In November 2014 he was back before the same court, where he pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 13 months and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Then, in September 2015, he was sentenced at the same court for breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order. The documents do not reveal the nature of the breach but show he was ordered to comply with an 18-month community order.
Papers show King's offending in Peterborough had begun years earlier. In May 1996 he pleaded guilty to two indecent assaults on a male and one count of taking an indecent photo of a child.
He was handed a three-year probation order, but that was revoked 13 months later and he was jailed for five years. The sentence was reduced on appeal to four years in May 1998.
In April 2000 he stood trial and was convicted of two indecent assaults on a male and one count of intending to pervert the course of justice. He was jailed for seven months.
Last month the YA revealed King had a string of child sex offences to his name before 1990.
In 1966 he was jailed for abusing two boys he met in a public toilet on a Southend seafront.
Documents detailing his appeal, which he lost, stated that by that time he had already served six months for attempting to procure gross indecency with a 15-year-old. When that sentenced was handed down, two more offences were taken into consideration, one concerning a nine-year-old.
He had also been fined for importuning immoral purposes and, in September 1964, had been sentenced to one year's prison for attempting to procure indecency.
Essex Police has urged any victims of King, Tanner or any other paedophile in Shoeburyness in the late 1980s to contact Detective Tracey Harman by dialling 101 and cooperate with the review.
Otherwise, call one of these specialist helplines:
National Association for People Abused in Childhood 0808 801 0331
SERICC (south and west Essex) 01375 380609
CARA (mid and north Essex) 01206 769795
SoSRC (Southend) 01702 667590
National Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse 0808 800 5000
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"Who are these judges and magistrates? And police and lawyers that don't appeal."
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Monday, 30 October 2017 By Charles Thomson in Crime Detective Superintendent Tracey Harman (right) is leading Operation SANDS, which was prompted by a Yellow Advertiser investigation (left). THE YELLOW Advertiser has been instrumental in reopening a historic child sex abuse inquiry for a second time, by delivering a dossier of fresh evidence to Essex Police.
Detectives called the YA to police headquarters in Chelmsford last week, to announced the end of Operation SANDS.
But when it arrived for the briefing, the YA handed over a document containing detailed allegations about more than 10 men and women based in and around Southend in the 1980s.
The detailed allegations were made by a man who said he was abused over a years-long period as a teenager. It was compiled and handed to police with his consent. In it, he named multiple childhood friends he believed were also victims.
Expert child protection officer Detective Superintendent Tracey Harman confirmed the man was known to police as a suspected victim and said his information would be followed up.
The force has since confirmed that it is pursuing 'multiple new main lines of inquiry' based on the document.
Essex Police announced in spring 2016 that it was reviewing an almost 30-year-old investigation into child abuse in and around Shoeburyness.
Dubbed Operation SANDS, the review was launched in direct response to an 18-month YA investigation.
The investigation began in late 2014, with the YA raising questions over 10 secret compensation payments authorised by Essex Council for 'alleged abuse' in the 1970s and 1990s.
It resulted in four whistleblowers all child protection workers in the Southend area during the 1980s and 1990s raising concerns with the YA over a 'sex ring' they felt had not been properly investigated.
Two men were convicted of child sex charges, relating to six victims, after the original Essex Police investigation in 1990.
But the whistleblowers said they knew other men had abused the same children, and possibly dozens more, yet appeared not to have been pursued.
Nick Alston, then the county's police commissioner, described the whistleblowers as 'eminently credible'. He and Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh ordered the creation of Operation SANDS.
Det Supt Harman said the review found a number of files connected to the original investigation had been destroyed, in line with the force's retention policy.
In the records which did remain, some victims did make reference to other men, said Det Supt Harman, but they did not identify them in enough detail for police to trace them.
But the complainant who spoke with the YA said he had named several other abusers, by either their full names or their first names and places of work, to police at the time. He named them again in the document handed to Det Supt Harman by the YA last week.
Det Supt Harman said three fresh complainants had come forward after Operation SANDS was announced, each making allegations about one man, now in his 80s, who was arrested and interviewed.
She said: "However, based on all the information gathered and witnesses spoken to, there was insufficient evidence to charge in this instance. If anyone has further evidence in connection with this or any other investigation, I need them to come forward to us."
Det Supt Harman said that in addition to prompting complainants to come forward to Operation SANDS, the YA's reporting on historic allegations had emboldened victims to come forward in other, unrelated cases.
Anyone with information about abuse in and around Shoeburyness in the 1980s and 1990s was asked to call Essex Police on 101. The officer leading Operation SANDS is DC Laura Williams.
![[Image: King_Tanner.jpg]](http://www.yellowad.co.uk/images/news/2016/King_Tanner.jpg)
Brian Tanner, left, and Dennis King, right, outside Chelmsford Crown Court in April 1990. Picture: Anglia Press Agency. A MAN convicted of abusing boys as part of a Shoebury 'sex ring' in the late 1980s had several prior convictions, the Yellow Advertiser can reveal. ![[Image: Untitled4.jpg]](http://www.yellowad.co.uk/images/news/2016/Untitled4.jpg)
Chris Hickey A FORMER charity boss has spoken about how he learned a paedophile ring' was operating in Shoebury in the late 1980s. ![[Image: MD-NICK-ALSTON0022c.jpg]](http://www.yellowad.co.uk/images/news/2016/MD-NICK-ALSTON0022c.jpg)
Nick Alston. Picture: Martin Dalton. FAILURES unearthed by officers reviewing a historic paedophile ring' investigation must be reported to two independent bodies, outgoing police commissioner Nick Alston has said. ![[Image: King_Tanner1.jpg]](http://www.yellowadvertiser.co.uk/images/news/2016/King_Tanner1.jpg)
Brian Tanner (left) and Dennis King outside Chelmsford Crown Court in April 1990 where they were both convicted of sex offences against boys. Photo: Anglia Press Agency. A PAEDOPHILE at the centre of an Essex Police review has been convicted 10 times in the last three years, the Yellow Advertiser can reveal. 
![[Image: 1851_YAHarman.jpg]](http://www.yellowad.co.uk/images/news/2017/1851_YAHarman.jpg)
Detective Superintendent Tracey Harman (right) is leading Operation SANDS, which was prompted by a Yellow Advertiser investigation (left). THE YELLOW Advertiser has been instrumental in reopening a historic child sex abuse inquiry for a second time, by delivering a dossier of fresh evidence to Essex Police.