Sex kidnap pervert will be caged, judge warns

A jury at Carlisle Crown Court yesterday found odd-job man James Warke, 36, guilty of eight charges of indecency against the boy and two of his school friends. He was cleared of three others.

After the verdicts it emerged that Warke - who claims to have suffered repeated sex abuse as a child in his native Northern Ireland - had a string of previous convictions for sex offences against boys, going back to when he was just 15 years old.

Even his own barrister, Philip Wakeham, admitted: "He is a man who is likely to represent for some time a threat to children."

And Judge Peter Openshaw QC told Warke: "You are an exceptionally dangerous man from whom the public must be protected by a very lengthy prison sentence."

The judge explained to the jury that in cases like this it was more important to protect the public than to help the guilty man.

Warke was remanded in custody for probation and psychiatric reports. He will be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on a date yet to be fixed.

As Warke was led away to the cells, he asked the judge for permission to say "just one thing."

The judge refused, saying he had already had an opportunity, when giving evidence, to say all he could say.

Warke, who sparked a nationwide hunt after he disappeared with the boy, had originally denied abducting him, but changed his plea to guilty half way through his ten-day trial. He had maintained his not guilty pleas to 11 charges of indecency involving the boy and two of his school friends. The court heard that at least seven boys regularly visited Warke's flat in Audley, Blackburn, after he befriended them on a golf driving range.

"Young boys were drawn to the flat like moths to a flame," prosecuting counsel Michael Murray told the jury when he opened the case.

On May 4 Warke disappeared with one of them - described in court as "streetwise but easily led" - after the boy ran away from home following an argument with his parents.

The two - pretending to be father and son - travelled 300 miles by overnight bus from Manchester to Brighton, where, apart from one night staying in a double room at a guest house, they lived rough, sleeping on a golf course, behind a hedge and on a demolition site. Every night Warke committed indecent acts in the boy's presence.

"Having got him away from the control of his parents, he behaved to him with obvious sexual impropriety," Mr Murray said. "The boy was something of a plaything."

Several people later reported having seen them around Brighton, but none thought there was anything suspicious about them.

Warke was arrested on May 10, when a member of the public called the police after seeing him and the boy walking on the sea front at Worthing.

The court heard it was only when the police interviewed the 12-year-old boy's friends while he was missing that they learned about other indecency Warke had previously committed with them in his flat.

After yesterday's verdict Detective Chief Inspector Mick Turner said the promised lengthy prison sentence would be just reward for the "warped behaviour" Warke had indulged in with the boys.

Jail record of abuser who preyed on young lads

PAEDOPHILE James Warke has a long history of criminal convictions and this is not the first time has been sent to prison for kidnapping and attacking young boys.

Warke, 36, was jailed for three years in 1996 after he admitted kidnapping two teenagers in Blackpool.

The sex attacker has more than ten convictions for attacks on boys as young as four years old and is well known to several police forces.

He was sent to prison in 1996 after he admitting abducting two teenagers from an amusement arcade in Blackpool's Golden Mile and sexually assaulting them.

Warke kept the youngsters away from their distraught families for nine days, and when they were discovered they had had their hair shaved off and were wearing new clothes.

Warke was originally from Coleraine, Northern Ireland, and it is believed he was forced to flee to England after local people discovered he was a paedophile.

Police describe Warke as a drifter who has lived in a number of areas including Blackburn and Accrington. He was either unemployed or took casual work and often moved from house to house.

Despite being rootless, Warke had to tell the police where he was living at all times because he was placed on the sex offenders register when he was jailed.

Wherever he settled, Warke set out to meet and talk to local children and find new victims.

He often targeted the most vulnerable children. His victims have included a profoundly deaf boy with learning difficulties and a youngster who preferred to spend his time with Warke rather than going to school where he was being bullied. His latest victim had been having problems in school and was carefully chosen by his attacker.

During his stay in Accrington, Warke was sent back to prison because he had broken the terms of his parole.

It has also been revealed an accusation of indecent assault against a 14-year-old boy from the Blackburn area was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service because of a lack of evidence.

Warke had been living in the Audley area of Blackburn for several months and was well known to children in the neighbourhood.

He was known as Jimbo, and neighbours told police that children regularly visited his flat.

An inquiry was launched in the aftermath of the kidnapping because Warke was being supervised by police and probation officers during the time he befriended his latest victims.

When the abducted 12-year-old boy arrived home after his week with Warke, he burst into tears when he saw dozens of friends and relatives waiting to meet him under a "Welcome Home" banner.

The boy's father said: "We couldn't really believe he was all right until we saw him get out of the police van. You couldn't see him for people hugging him.

"He was overwhelmed when he saw us all. I think he realised how much everyone missed him."

The family thanked the Lancashire Evening Telegraph and other media for alerting the public and helping to find the boy.

He said: "They've all been great. We appreciate the press and the coverage that they have given us. We can't thank them enough."

Police tell of 'danger man' fears

THE detective who led the nationwide manhunt for paedophile James Warke today praised the press and public for their part in the case.

Detective Chief Inspector Mick Turner said: "Had Warke not been caught when he was, I dread to think what we might have been investigating".

Mr Turner explained why the police had taken the unusual step of naming Warke and appealing for information early in the case.

He said: "James Warke was a known registered sex offender and as such a particular danger to young boys. From the moment we believed him to be involved in the abduction we knew we needed to act quickly and decisively.

"We believed the public would be our most vital tool in finding Warke and the vulnerable 12-year-old boy and we are especially grateful to the media for the responsive and responsible way they dealt with our appeal for information and to the public for the way they reacted.

"That the boy was found safe and well, and that Warke was arrested, was in no small way due to the nationwide media coverage.

"I'm pleased with the outcome of the court case as I believe a very dangerous man has now been removed from the streets."

'No fault' in sex register system

AN INQUIRY set up in the wake of the James Warke case has given all the agencies involved a clean bill of health.

Warke was a registered sex offender when he abducted his latest victim from Blackburn and the police were fully aware of his presence in the town.

He had to tell the police where he was living and they knew he had a history of abducting and sexually abusing young boys.

Despite being on the register there were reports from neighbours after Warke's arrest that youngsters were regular visitors at his flat in Audley.

When Warke disappeared with his school boy victim there was a public outcry and calls for an inquiry.

Several high profile cases in East Lancashire in recent months have added to the sense of unease over the way sex offenders are monitored.

And Blackburn MP Jack Straw called for an inquiry into the way Warke was handled. The Home Secretary promised that any lessons learned from the case would be put into practice at a national level.

But the authorities say they are happy with the way the Warke case was handled and point the finger at the law, claiming tougher regulations needed to be introduced. The child protection team, a group made up of the probation service, social services, the police, education, health and housing departments and a legal representative, organised the inquiry.

Stephen Sloss, chairman of the team, said: "An in-depth review was held following this dreadful incident, to judge whether any mistakes had been made or lessons to be learnt.

"The review concluded that all the agencies involved carried out their responsibilities to the full, and indeed at times exceeded their duties in monitoring this man's activities."

He added: "It is still an issue of national debate as to how to prevent such determined individuals committing such crimes.

"The Home Office is currently engaged in wide-ranging policy reviews and policy projects to back up toughening of legislation.

"The review supported the Home Office's current work on strengthening treatment programmes in prisons and widening the range of appropriate accommodation when offenders are released."

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