Slaithwaite man Neil Gilpin denies child-sex offences
http://archive.is/ca0k0
By
Examiner Live
- 00:00, 13 DEC 2011
- UPDATED 22:16, 11 JUL 2013
A SLAITHWAITE judo teacher is to stand trial in April after he denied sexual assault charges involving two young boys.
Neil Gilpin, 27, of Manchester Road, entered his not guilty pleas to the two allegations when he appeared before a judge at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.
The offences, which relate to sexual touching, are alleged to have been committed in September.
Gilpin also denied a third allegation of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
After discussions about the case, Judge Peter Benson confirmed that Gilpin’s trial will take place on April 16.
Although it is understood the charges do not relate to youngsters being taught by Gilpin, it is a condition of his bail that he does not teach judo until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
Sex abuse trial for Slathwaite judo teacher Neil Gilpin
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By
Examiner Live
- Updated 01:28, 12 JUL 2013
A JUDO teacher has been told his trial on sexual assault allegations will now take place in August.
Neil Gilpin, 27, of Manchester Road, Slaithwaite, had been due to go before a jury at Bradford Crown Court this month, but his case will now be heard on August 6.
Gilpin, who attended at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, has denied sexual assault allegations relating to two young boys.
The offences, which relate to sexual touching, are alleged to have been committed in September last year.
Gilpin also denied a third allegation of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
Although it is understood the charges do not relate to youngsters being taught by Gilpin, it is a condition of his bail that he does not teach judo to under-16s until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.
Judge Peter Benson extended Gilpin’s bail until his trial.
Huddersfield judo coach Neil Gilpin defends himself in sex assault trial
http://archive.is/2XwsV
By
Examiner Live
- Updated 22:50, 11 JUL 2013
A JUDO teacher accused of touching two young brothers has claimed the boys exposed themselves to him.
And he said he had offered to show them judo holds to calm them down.
Neil Gilpin, 27, of Manchester Road, Slaithwaite, denies charges of sexually assaulting four-year-old and seven-year-old brothers.
He also denies performing a sex act in front of the older boy in the bathroom of their home.
Gilpin is alleged to have inappropriately touched the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, while he was drinking with a friend, the boys’ uncle and their mother at her home in September last year.
On Monday, jurors at Bradford Crown Court were told that the older boy had told his uncle that Gilpin had told him to “keep it secret”.
But yesterday, taking the stand to give evidence, Gilpin, denied when questioned that he had touched them in an intimate way.
Judo coach cleared of sex charges
http://archive.is/wOjjQ
By
Examiner Live
- Updated 22:52, 11 JUL 2013
JUDO coach Neil Gilpin told of his relief after being cleared of sex crimes.
JUDO coach Neil Gilpin told of his relief after being cleared of sex crimes.
The Slaithwaite coach walked free from a court after a three-day trial at which he was accused of molesting young boys.
The jury took only an hour to acquit him of all charges.
But he said he fears it will haunt him forever.
“It was a case of guilty until proven innocent” he said.
“The nightmare is not over. People have seen the papers and they will still believe it.”
Meanwhile on the planet Earth
Paedophile Neil Gilpin from Slaithwaite jailed for 10 years for sex offences against young boys
By
Andrew Hirst
- Updated 20:42, 22 NOV 2016
An “utterly wicked” paedophile has been jailed for preying on two under-age boys during a boat trip after coaxing them into woods.
Neil Gilpin, 32, from Slaithwaite, was given a 10-year jail sentence by judge Paul Batty QC who said the “sinister” former judo coach had robbed the boys of their childhood innocence.
Gilpin targeted the youngsters after mooring his boat on the Selby and Goole canal in September near Selby.
Prosecutor Michele Stuart-Lofthouse told York Crown Court that the boys were playing with other children when Gilpin approached them and started to show off his “karate moves” and chase them with a water gun.
The two boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, ran into nearby woods whereupon Gilpin and other children followed them. The other kids eventually left the woods, leaving Gilpin alone with the two boys.
The prosecutor said Gilpin started talking to the boys about sex and told them to go into a ditch and perform sexual acts on themselves.
“They initially did not do so and the defendant said he was only joking,” added Ms Stuart-Lofthouse.
Gilpin and the two boys walked further into the woods where the perverted sports coach exposed himself while making extremely lewd comments. He then repeated his demands for them to carry out sexual acts on themselves, which “freaked out” the boys.
The incident came to an end when the father of one of the boys called his son in for dinner. Before they left, Gilpin told the boys “not to tell anyone about it or they will know about it.”
After dinner the boys were playing tig with other children when Gilpin reappeared, wanting to join in the game. He chose one of the boys as his tig partner and said he would show him where to hide.
Ms Stuart-Lofthouse said the boy “did not like it and was scared, but the defendant said it would be all right; it was a good place to walk”.
Once Gilpin had managed to coax the boy to a secluded area, he told him to engage in sexual activity with him. The boy initially refused, but was “in fear” of what would happen if he didn’t do what Gilpin asked and eventually relented.
Again, Gilpin told him not to tell anyone, but the boy’s parents were later informed. Gilpin was arrested and charged with child-sex offences.
Gilpin, of Manchester Road, Slaithwaite, appeared for sentence via video link after admitting two counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and one count of sexual activity with a child.
Ms Stuart-Lofthouse said one of the victims, who used to be a “happy-go-lucky boy”, had issued a “heart-rending” statement about the devastating effects Gilpin’s crimes had had upon him.
Defence barrister Holly Betke claimed the offences were “opportunistic rather than planned”, but Mr Batty QC rejected this and said the boys had been targeted.
He told Gilpin: “What you did on this day was utterly wicked. You robbed two little boys of their childhood innocence; you corrupted them for your own sexual gratification. This was utterly debauched, utterly outrageous conduct.
“You groomed them; you were playing with them. As far as they were concerned, it was all completely innocent and harmless, but you had a hidden agenda. The effect on one of them has been profound.”
As well as the 10-year jail sentence, Gilpin was placed on the sex-offenders’ register and subjected to a sexual-harm prevention order, which will run indefinitely and restrict his contact with children under 16 years of age.
Neil Gilpin was cleared of similar charges in a trial at Bradford Crown Court in 2012 – and at that time branded his alleged victims as liars.
During the three-day trial the jury had heard claims that Gilpin had inappropriately touched boys aged four and seven while he was at a party at a Huddersfield house in September 2011.
He was also accused of performing a sex act in front of the older boy in the bathroom.
Gilpin was first arrested after the elder boy told his family Gilpin had told him to “keep a secret”.
But Gilpin, a black belt judo teacher who has captained Great Britain’s impaired hearing team, maintained he was teaching the youngsters about his martial art.
Speaking after he was unanimously acquitted by the jury he said he felt like it had been a case of “guilty until proven innocent.”
“The nightmare is not over,” he said. “People have seen the papers and they will still believe it.
“I will struggle to get jobs and get back into teaching in schools even though I’ve been declared innocent.
“30 years down the line it will still be on the internet and it will crop up wherever I may go. There’s nothing I can do, I’m just hoping people read it properly and see my statement was consistent all the way through whereas their statements didn’t match which shows they were lying.”
