August 2013
JAILED PAEDOPHILE WORKED AT TWO CARLISLE SCHOOLS
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A paedophile jailed for 10 years who left his victims so traumatised they were silenced for decades worked in two Carlisle schools
Arthur John Cook, 66, preyed on young boys and “blighted their childhoods”, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
Described in court as a teacher, Cook actually worked at a school in Harraby as a classroom assistant, and later as a technician, or handyman, at Carlisle College for around a decade.
Police fear his access to children at school may mean there are more victims yet to come forward.
“We believe that other children may have suffered at the hands of Cook, and we appeal to them – it is not too late,” said Detective Constable Andrew Donnelly.
Cook was jailed for 10 years after a jury earlier found him guilty of abusing one boy in 1976 and another over more than a decade between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.
Cook, of Greengarth, Upperby, a former community hall secretary, had pleaded guilty to 18 counts of possession of indecent images of children at an earlier hearing.
The court heard the effects of Cook’s “campaign of abuse” over many years on his victims, who are both now grown adults.
Judge John Batty QC, referring to the first victim, said Cook had “blighted his childhood, and from that he will never recover”.
He said what he did to him had such an effect on him that it took him 40 years to “pluck up the courage” to speak out. He had been left “haunted all his life” by the abuse and was only able to tell his sister what had happened four years ago.
“That’s the evil of this type of sexual offence,” Judge Batty said.
And regarding the second victim, Judge Batty described how Cook had “groomed him” and “abused his position of trust as a pillar of the community”.
The victim only came forward when he saw Cook around some other children years later because he didn’t want the same thing to happen to them.
The court also heard how police had found around 3,000 indecent images of children on his computer, some at the most serious level.
And while he was on bail for these offences officers uncovered Cook’s new computer, which he bought after his first was seized, which also contained more than 450 sick images of children.
In sentencing Cook, Judge Batty took into account his poor health and his age but said he had presented himself as a “pillar of the community but you were much, much worse than anyone ever realised”.
Cook was given a three-year jail sentence for the first victim in the case and six years in prison, to run consecutively, for the second.
He had pleaded guilty to 18 counts of making indecent photographs of a child and was given two 12-month jail terms, to run concurrently, for these offences.
Judge Batty told Cook he will serve half the 10 year sentence before being released on licence.
He was also made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order indefinitely and was placed on the sexual offenders’ register for life.
Afterwards Judge Batty gave DC Andrew Donnelly, from the Carlisle Public Protection Unit, a special commendation for his work in bringing Cook to justice.
DC Donnelly praised the courage of the victims in coming forward.
He added: “The sentence should give his victims some sense of justice and hopefully some form of closure. We hope they can try and move on from the terrible ordeal that they suffered at the hands of Cook.”
August 2013
‘RUTHLESS PAEDOPHILE’ GUILTY OF SEX CRIMES SPANNING NEARLY 30 YEARS
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A pervert labelled a “ruthless paedophile” has been found guilty of sex crimes spanning nearly 30 years.
Arthur John Cook, 66, was convicted of abusing two children – one in the 1970s and another over more than 10 years up to 2005 – and now faces a lengthy spell behind bars.
Cook, of Greengarth, Upperby, Carlisle, was found guilty by a jury of nine charges following a trial at the city’s crown court.
He was found not guilty of a further seven offences, clearing him in the process of allegations he abused another person, a girl.
But as well as the charges he was convicted of during his trial, Cook will also be sentenced for 18 other crimes he admitted before it even got underway.
The overweight and balding sex offender, who clutched a walking stick as he sat in the dock throughout his trial, pleaded guilty to 18 counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
Following his arrest last year, police had found thousands of child porn images on his computer.
Officers seized his computer and memory sticks, which were found to have 2,982 indecent images of children on them.
He was then re-arrested at home for possession of these images and police seized another computer and more memory devices.
A search revealed another 456 indecent images of children.
The jury were also told during the trial that Cook’s record of sex offences stretched back to 1970, when he was 23.
Records show that he was convicted of encouraging two boys to go in a car and perform a sex act on him between July and September 1970.
A third conviction of indecent assault involved a boy on November 8 of the same year.
The trial judge, Paul Batty QC, described Cook’s crimes as “serious” as the trial came to its conclusion.
He told Cook: “A custodial sentence of some length is inevitable.”
Judge Batty added Cook would have to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register. He will be sentenced tomorrow.
The court heard that one of his victims had approached police in May 2012 and said he had been sexually abused as a child by Cook.
This happened between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.
After this a woman went to police and said she too had been abused as a child. Cook was cleared of the charges relating to her.
Another man later came forward and said he had been abused by Cook as a child in the mid-1970s.
Cook was found guilty of two counts of indecent assault on one boy between January 1976 and January 1977.
In relation to another boy, he was found guilty of two charges of indecency with a child, three counts of indecent assault, one charge of sexual activity with a child and one charge of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
He was cleared of three charges of indecency with a child and one charge of sexual activity with a child in relation to this boy.
These charges covered a period between November 1994 and November 2005.
Cook was found not guilty of three counts of indecent assault on a girl between April 1988 and April 1995.
Cook had denied all the allegations. The case was adjourned until tomorrow and he was remanded in custody.
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