Thursday 24 July 2008
Holidaymakers asked to net ‘Most Wanted’ child sex offender
Holidaymakers heading for Europe are being urged to look out for a sex offender who poses a significant threat to children.
Joseph Herbert Millbank, 48, is the latest offender to be posted on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre’s ‘Most Wanted’ website following appeals from Tayside Police to locate him.
He is the first Scottish offender to be posted on the site.
Millbank is a registered sex offender who was most recently seen in the Perth area of Scotland on Friday 27 June 2008. He is believed to have travelled to France and could be further afield within Europe.
He is considered a danger to children and has previously posed as a council official.
He was released from prison on May 6, 2008 and has now failed to comply with his notification requirements and has breached the conditions of his license, of which the latter carries a maximum penalty of 13 years imprisonment. A warrant has been granted for his arrest.
Millbank is six feet two inches tall and of medium build. He has green/brown eyes and short dark hair and is bald on top. Anyone who sees him or who knows of his whereabouts should contact the police immediately.
Sarah Craig, Senior Media Relations Officer at Tayside Police said;
‘Every police force in the UK and Europe is now aware that we are looking for Millbank. Whilst we continue to work closely with our colleagues at Interpol and SOCA in a bid to establish Millbank’s whereabouts, by adding his photograph and details to the CEOP website we now have thousands of additional eyes looking out for him.’
Tom Halpin, who holds the CEOP portfolio in the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, said:
“Joseph Millbank is the first Scottish offender to be posted on CEOP’s Most Wanted website. We will not stop at our own borders in trying to locate high-risk individuals who may pose a threat to children, wherever they may be. I hope that people will look at his picture and look out for him on their travels.”
Ten of the UK’s highest risk child sex offenders - missing for a combined total of over 20 years – have so far been located as a direct result of the ‘Most Wanted’ website.
The CEOP Centre continues to appeal for information about outstanding offenders: Andrew Eden, Stephen Burnell, Peter Wheatherley and Stephen Clare. They are sought for failing to comply with notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Eden's last known address was in the Manchester area.
Fifty-four year old Stephen John Burnell is wanted by North Yorkshire Police for failure to comply with his notification requirements on the Sex Offenders Register. He is the thirteenth offender to be posted on the website.
Wheatherley is missing from the South Yorkshire area but is known to have links in the north of England. Intelligence also indicates that he could be in Spain, or elsewhere in Europe.
Stephen Clare has previously had connections with the Bromsgrove area of the West Midlands and Brighton in East Sussex.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre joined forces with the charity Crimestoppers to develop Most Wanted. It was launched in November 2006 as the UK's first national website dedicated to locating child sex offenders who have failed to comply with notification requirements. This is an arrestable offence, with a punishment of up to five years imprisonment.
Ends
Notes to Editors
1. For media enquiries or photographs relating to Joseph Millbank, please contact Sarah Craig, Senior Media Relations Officer at Tayside Police on (01382) 596730.
For media enquiries relating to the Most Wanted website, please contact Miriam Rich, Vicky Gillings or Clive Michel at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre on 0870 000 3434.
2. Members of the public can safely help locate 'missing' offenders by viewing photos and descriptions via the CEOP and Crimestoppers websites. If they recognise someone they are urged to contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or the local police force.
The initiative to publish details of some of the UK's child sex offenders forms a key element of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre's approach to tracking and bringing child sex offenders to account. All individuals published on the site are sought because they have subsequently failed to fulfil their requirements as part of their placement on the Sex Offenders Register.
Details of previous offences will not be disclosed to the media for the reasons stated above.
Photographs of offenders will only be published with the consent of the local police force. Individual forces are under no obligation to publish their offenders on the Most Wanted site. Further offenders will be considered for inclusion on the 'Most Wanted' site in consultation with local police forces. The decision to publish the details of all offenders detailed on the site has been risk assessed by the CEOP Centre and relevant local forces.
The CEOP Centre works in both online and offline environments to protect children from sexual exploitation. Full information on all areas of work as well as online safety messages and access to online reporting can be found at www.ceop.gov.uk.
The organisation is affiliated to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and powers are derived from the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. It is based in Pimlico, London with developing outreach channels to all areas of both domestic and international policing as well as industry and specialist support and educational faculties.
For further information please contact the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre Press Office on 0870 000 3434.