Source: Cambridgeshire Police published on this website Friday 17 October 2025 by Jill Powell

A former priest who claimed allegations against him were “nonsense” has had his sentence for historic child sex offences extended by 11 years.

Dennis Finbow, 77, was convicted in early 2023 for sexually abusing a child in the 1980s while offences in the most recent case date back to 1974.

Finbow claimed all the allegations against him were “nonsense” in police interview, however, he later admitted multiple offences and on Friday (10 October), at Cambridge Crown Court, had his current sentenced extended.

He admitted touching a boy in 1974 at a school where he was teaching, prior to being ordained.

He also abused an altar boy between August 1984 and August 1985, a girl between February 1984 and February 1985, a girl between 1987 and 1991 and a third girl between 1987 and 1988.

Finbow met these victims through his work as a priest in the Catholic Church.

He admitted eight counts of indecent assault of a girl under 14, four counts of indecent assault of a boy under 14, two counts of indecent assault of a girl under 16 and one count of indecent assault on a woman over 16. 

Finbow was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

DC Annette Renwick, who investigated, said:

“This has been a long and complex investigation and I wish to commend all of the victims for their patience, understanding and bravery in coming forward and working together with the force to bring Dennis Finbow to justice.  

“Dennis Finbow was a prominent figure within the Catholic Church in Cambridgeshire during the 1980s and 1990s that parishioners looked up to. At the time, he was seen to do a lot of good within the community: running youth social clubs, football clubs and taking part in charity events.

“We never want to entertain the thought that a person in a position of trust would harm a child, yet unfortunately it does happen and Finbow used his role in society to engineer opportunities to offend.

“The Diocese of East Anglia has been instrumental in working with the force by allowing access to their records and taking their own safeguarding actions against Finbow, who said that he was ‘disgusted’ by the accusations when interviewed by police, yet pleaded guilty to 15 counts of child sex offences. His offending was prolific, and over many years.

“I would encourage anyone who has been affected by sexual abuse, no matter how long ago, to come forward and report it.”

You can report sexual abuse through the force website.

Source: Department of Works and Pensions published on this website Wednesday 15 October 2025 by Jill Powell

Pensioners are being warned to look out for Winter Fuel Payment text message scams following a surge in activity from opportunistic criminals ahead of next month's payments.

New data from HMRC shows reports of scam texts more than doubled in the last week of September when compared to the previous week

These scams – which see fraudsters exploit pensioners by posing as government officials processing Winter Fuel Payment applications – had begun to drop off after a peak in June but are now increasing again ahead of payments being made next month.

This warning comes as the DWP ramps up its social media campaign in partnership with Action Fraud to raise awareness of these scams across Facebook and Twitter. This is alongside DWP’s continued work with trusted partners and charities such as Independent Age to ensure accurate and timely information is available.

Winter Fuel Payments are made automatically, and the government will never ask for bank details by text. Anyone who receives a text message inviting them to apply for a payment should not engage with it and instead forward it to 7726.

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said:

“If you get a text message about Winter Fuel Payments, it’s a scam. They will be made automatically so you do not need to apply. These despicable attempts by criminals to target people are on the rise. We are raising awareness to make it harder for fraudsters to succeed. If you receive a suspicious message about Winter Fuel Payments, don’t engage - forward it to 7726 and delete it immediately.”

Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Thursday 16 October 2025 by Jill Powell

Nazli Merthoca, 24 (19.01.2001), of Homerton High Street, Hackney, was convicted of manslaughter by a jury at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 14 October. Her partner, Herbert Kalanzi, 35 (02.06.1990), of Ranelagh Road, Newham, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child. This was in connection with the death of their daughter, Kaylani Kalanzi.

Kaylani died in Great Ormond Street Hospital on Tuesday, 23 July, 2024. The trial heard she had suffered traumatic brain injuries weeks prior after being shaken by Merthoca,

Detective Inspector John Marriott, from Specialist Crime North - who led the investigation - said: 

“Merthoca carried out a horrific assault on her own child. To add insult, she then spun a web of lies to the emergency services in order to cover up her responsibility. Though Kaylani’s life was cut short by this hideous abuse, there were relatives who loved and cared for her. They have been left traumatised by her killing, and our thoughts are with them at this time.

“Investigators compiled extensive digital evidence, which, coupled with overwhelming medical evidence, painted a damning picture of the defendant at trial. Offences against children – especially of this gravity – are some of the most difficult cases police deal with. The evidence here was particularly harrowing and complex, and I would like to commend the investigation team for their work bringing Merthoca to justice.”

Around 22:30hrs on Monday, 8 July 2024, paramedics attended an address in Homerton High Street. Merthoca, who was living at the property, had called 999, claiming her baby daughter, Kaylani, had stopped breathing. The infant was found in critical condition and was taken to Homerton hospital.

Police were alerted by staff at the hospital, after scans revealed Kaylani had suffered extensive brain damage consistent with physical abuse. On Tuesday, 9 July, officers attended the family home, where they arrested Merthoca on suspicion of attempted murder.

In an exchange captured on body-worn video, Merthoca became visibly irate with the arresting officers. While being processed in police custody, she threatened to leave the country if released on bail.

In her initial police interviews, Merthoca maintained that Kaylani became unwell while she was caring for her, ultimately slipping into unconsciousness. She denied that any assault had taken place. Merthoca was remanded in custody.

On Tuesday, 9 July, Kaylani was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital. Despite the best efforts of staff, her condition deteriorated over subsequent weeks. A decision was made to remove life support, and around 18:00hrs on Tuesday, 23 July, she was pronounced dead.

A specialist postmortem carried out on Tuesday, 30 July, confirmed that Kaylani had died due to blunt force trauma – a finding which contradicted her mother’s account at police interview. Investigators’ suspicions of foul play were confirmed by the forensic pathologist, who found that Kaylani’s injuries could only have arisen from severe shaking.

Merthoca’s devices were seized by police, and a digital search revealed a pattern of toxic and abusive behaviour. This was subsequently produced as evidence in court.

Merthoca will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday, 15 December.

Source: Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) published on this website Tuesday 14 October 2025 by Jill Powell

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) proudly joined child protection advocates at an outdoor stunt in Brussels Monday, October 13 to ensure that victim and survivors’ voices are being heard in the fight against child sexual abuse.

At the event, the European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group (ECLAG)^* called attention to the threat posed to the safety and wellbeing of millions of children as vital EU child sexual abuse legislation continues to be delayed.

Stunt organisers staged a hauntingly empty schoolroom scene, symbolising the European children whose lives have been blighted by sexual abuse, online and offline, because of political inaction.

The public were able to walk through the schoolroom setting and, through reading stories of real-life survivor experiences, get insight into the high cost of the stalled EU Child Sexual Abuse Regulation.

A key aspect of the draft law requires technology companies to prevent child sexual abuse on their services and to detect and remove child sexual abuse material online, while upholding the privacy of all users. Some companies already act voluntarily – but voluntary action is not enough.

As EU Member States fail to reach accord on the Regulation, which was first proposed in 2022, children continue to be ruthlessly groomed, exploited and taken advantage of by predators online. Child sexual abuse and exploitation is rampant on the internet and abusive images can be disseminated and downloaded within seconds.

The EU lies at the very heart of the crisis: 62% of the child sexual abuse reports dealt with by the Internet Watch Foundation in 2024 were hosted in the EU. ECLAG members took a stand in Brussels today to urge EU leaders to #PassTheLaw and provide a permanent legal basis for voluntary and mandatory detection of child sexual abuse images and videos across the EU.

Securing the Regulation is all-the-more urgent because of the fast-approaching expiration of the temporary derogation from the EU’s ePrivacy Directive, which allows companies to proactively scan for child sexual abuse material on their platforms on a voluntary basis. The derogation runs out in April next year.

The ECLAG coalition is formed of more than 70 child rights organisations working across the EU to raise awareness of the pressing need to protect children online in our ever-developing digital world. The Steering Group of the coalition is made up of ECPAT International, Eurochild, the Internet Watch Foundation, Missing Children Europe, Terre des Hommes Netherlands and Thorn.