MANSFIELD AND PINXTON: Judges throw out sex case appeals

They were two of four men - who did not know each other - caught as part of a police investigation launched after concerns were raised about the safety of a group of teenage girls out on the city’s streets.

Ian Robert Yeoman, of Terrace Road, Mansfield, Stefan Godfrey, of George Street, Pinxton, Mark Mohammed Adaoui, of Derby, and John Shaw, of Kniveton, were all handed jail terms for various offences at Derby Crown Court in September 2012.

All four challenged their sentences at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, with their lawyers arguing they were ‘too long’, but their appeals were rejected by three of the country’s top judges.

The court heard the girls were vulnerable and had spiralled into drink and drug problems.

Yeoman (61), formerly of Derby, was jailed for four years and eight months after admitting 12 counts, including paying for the sexual services of a child and making indecent images of children.

The court heard he was ‘old enough to be the grandfather’ of the two 16-year-old girls he paid for sex.

He also took explicit photographs - including some of one victim engaged in sex acts with him - which he intended to display on the web.

Godfrey (46) received a six-year term after being found guilty of two counts of paying for the sexual services of a child.

He had sex with a 15-year-old girl, with another girl present, and continued to engage in sexual activity with her after discovering her real age.

Lord Justice Aikens, sitting with Mr Justice Globe and Judge Brian Barker QC, said: “The sentences were tough, but they were within the guidelines and they cannot be described as excessive.”