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Trusted nursery worker's child sex on facebook
Justin Davenport and Paul Cheston1 Oct 2009
- Abusers: Mothers and paedophile caught up in abuse on internet
- Ringleader: Abuser was on sex offenders register
- Victim: Mother feels sick 24 hours a day
- Commentary: Rare for women to be involved in child sex ring
- Abusers: Trio shared fantasies of 'most serious level'
- Timeline: How the evil ring was formed and finally broken
Two mothers who sexually abused children then shared pictures of the attacks on Facebook to impress another paedophile faced jail today.
Nursery worker Vanessa George, who has two children, and mother-of-one Angela Allen, pleaded guilty to sex attacks on children which they photographed and sent to Colin Blanchard.
As the two women competed online for his affections, Blanchard goaded them to outdo each other in the brutality of the sex abuse, which they photographed.
George, 39, worked at the Little Ted day nursery in Plymouth and had supervised children for 10 years. Today George, Allen, 39, of Nottingham and Blanchard, 38, of Littleborough, Lancashire, appeared together at Bristol crown court.
They pleaded guilty to a total of 36 charges of child sex attacks and making, possessing and distributing indecent images of children over more than two years. They will be sentenced at a later date by Mr Justice Royce.
Analysis of the hoards of pictures confirmed that most of the victims were between 12 and 18 months old. It emerged today that George photographed herself sexually abusing up to 30 youngsters. Allen boasted to Blanchard of her fantasies of watching men abuse girls and both described sexual fantasies involving animals.
Detectives believe that while Allen and George may have always harboured paedophile thoughts, it was Blanchard who provided a “catalyst”. He encouraged them to act them out and photograph the abuse.
The public gallery was packed as the guilty pleas were entered.
Allen wept as she pleaded guilty while Blanchard showed no reaction and George hung her head in the dock.Judge Royce warned the three abusers they faced substantial prison sentences as he adjourned the case for reports.
He said the decent thing for nursery worker George to do would be to co-operate with police in identifying all the abuse victims in the photographs. He told her: “A lot of people are affected by this case and I would like your help.”
Blanchard ran a successful IT company in Manchester and had a “comfortable” lifestyle.
The ring was cracked when a business partner of Blanchard contacted police after indecent pictures were found on a work computer.
He was on a business trip to Dubai and police swooped when he flew back to Manchester airport in June.
Officers seized his laptop and Apple iPhone and recovered explicit images of children of both sexes. When interviewed Blanchard said he had been sent a number of images by a woman known as “Vee George”, whom he had met on Facebook. George and Allen, described by police as “truly sinister and evil”, were identified and arrested soon afterwards.
One mother said police had told her George was in thrall to Blanchard. The woman said: “She did everything he told her to do in a similar way to Myra Hindley and it went from there. It seems he had some sort of spell over her.”
Facebook enabled the three to make contact independently and although living hundreds of miles apart they did discuss plans to meet — though the plans were never made concrete.
Detective Superintendent Adrian Pearson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said he was baffled as to how a chance internet encounter could lead to such abuse. “The thing that puzzles all the professionals in the hi-tech crime world is how on earth did three people meet on Facebook?” he said.
“It is accessed by millions of people, yet they somehow got on to such depraved awful topics of conversation that led to sexual abuse of children, betrayal of trust and deprivation.
“The sheer unlikeliness of these three people being connected in that way will be a puzzle that will go on. In any event the three have willingly shared images, texts fantasies of the most serous level imaginable.”
Blanchard pleaded guilty to 17 child pornography counts and two sexual assaults on children. He also admitted a further charge of possessing extreme pornography.
Allen admitted four child sex assaults and one count of distributing an indecent image. George admitted seven sexual assaults and six counts of distributing and making indecent pictures of children.
Reader views (13)
my thoughts are with all those poor children and their families and i pray they get justice. Anyone who would hurt a innocent child is pure evil.
- M, Ireland, 15/10/2009 11:17
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Why isn't Facebook prosecuted for allowing such freaks onto the site,..
But I suppose its typical of money-grubbing USA college students who set up a web idea and just rake in the cash for their invention,..with no concern over decency
- Expat (Thank God), overseas, 02/10/2009 08:17
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Well as usual you all jump and stamp your feet in protest.What an out rage hang em ? This goes on all the time and they get sentenced and you all scream no place safe for them. Well why are the Bulger killers free? Why because they will go to prison and be given all the help and safety they need and in a few years a do gooder will say let them out and YOU will be doing your shopping next to them as you are now as hundreds of scum like them walk the streets free as birds.The victims will suffer and not them.Lets see what they get from the so called British justice system.
- Allan, Brasil, 02/10/2009 02:08
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I agree with JK and nick in london in summarising that that people like these should be locked up for life and the key thrown away. Ideally, they should be executed for crimes against children as an example to other child abusers. Then we can see how relentless they are in their pursuit in the abuse of kids and their sick collection of images of children.
- Farooq J. Choudhry, Glasgow, U.K., 02/10/2009 00:41
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So we cant put our kids in nursery cause of people like this but then again we cant get our friends to look after our children either due to ofted laws!so where does this leave us?
- Sue, london, 01/10/2009 22:43
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if they are guilty of this hidious crime against children they should be executed that will help protect the children in future.
- Paul Culver, basildon, 01/10/2009 21:13
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The judiciary will go soft on them like they did on the three abusers who recently got done for dog fighting. Lets hope they do a long stretch and do not get their identities changed, after all the children that have been violated and abused will never be able to take their images off of the internet, dog fighters/child sex abusers go hand in hand, its recognised in the USA and South Africa,these countries do not give lenient sentences, it always makes me think that our judiciary have these abusive leanings themselves and thats why the perpetrators get off lightly time and time and time again, bang them up for life with no parole cos thats what the great unprivileged and deliberately uneducated majority with real common sense and true justice demand
- Sean O'Leary, Walthamstow London, 01/10/2009 19:42
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There is never any excuse for this behavior.
What hope is there for any child if they are exposed to this sort of treatment? It is hard enough to make your own way as it is, in a normal upbringing.
If ever there was a case for a minimum 50 Year sentence, child abuse is definitely one of them.
- Macdangler, Wimbledon SW19, 01/10/2009 18:34
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Oh dear, Mickinlondon is waxing lyrical again.
Child abusers are not let off lightly Mick.
Which European countries have paedophiles as its executive?
You seem to think that the crime of robbing a train and killing the driver (eventually) is OK.
You usually blame Labour for all the worlds ills. This time it is everyone. you want a review, but then say, nothing will change.
Try and compose a coherent argument and back it with facts or keep quiet. You sound like a nutter.
- Kerry, Purley, 01/10/2009 16:57
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There will be no place on earth safe enough for these people, either in jail or out.
Their crime is so utterly despicable that they'd better plead for solitary confinement when they're locked up.
I hope they're not given new identities when they eventually get out of prison as they deserve everything that's coming their way.
- George, Cambridge UK, 01/10/2009 15:53
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Sick people - this is why you should bring back hanging.
- Jk, London, 01/10/2009 14:59
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Whilst the law and the courts go easy on child abusers; child abusers will continue to abuse, assault, rape, and kill children.
It is the same in many countries; especially Europe; where high ranking officials, police, and government ministers are often involved.
In my opinion; adults that abuse children in anyway; should receive a permanent life sentence; if not; our children will always be in danger from these perverted people.
The first priority of any civilised nation; should be the full protection of all its children and babies; if not; then we cannot call ourselves civilised in any possible way.
Shame on this nation; that allows these situations to exist; and has always allowed it to carry on.
Thirty years for robbing a train? Far less for the abuse of defenceless children?
I think our laws and our justice system, are in need of some serious rethinking; but nothing will change; it never has, maybe many at the top do not want anything changed.
Protect your children at all times; because the law rarely does.
There is a saying: There are none so tall that stoops to help a child; and I add, no so low that harms a child.
When will Great Britain finally defend its children totally, and with the full force of the law?
- Mickinlondon, london, 01/10/2009 14:46
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Taking one look at these revolting specimens I can imagine anyone wanting leave their children in their care.
- Stuart, London, 01/10/2009 13:41
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