June 2017 Play centre worker Michael Gibbons jailed for child sex abuse A former employee who sexually abused young children at a summer holiday playscheme and in other locations has been jailed for 11 years. Michael Gibbons, 27, of Yateley, Hampshire abused seven children, some aged as young as four, a court heard. He pleaded guilty in April to nine sexual assaults, including two at Farnborough Leisure Centre where he was employed as a play worker. The offences happened in Hampshire and Berkshire between 2009 and 2016. Gibbons also admitted one count of rape and six other sexual offences. They included four counts of inciting children to engage in sexual activity and two attempted sexual assaults. Gibbons, of Dickens Way, was arrested in December after he confessed his crimes to the mental health charity Mind. In phone calls to the charity he admitted sexually touching two children at the play centre holiday club, even though the crimes were never reported to the police. One young victim told the police how her “body felt sad” after Gibbons assaulted her, while other children reported having nightmares, the prosecution said. Sentencing him at Winchester Crown Court judge Jane Miller QC said Gibbons had shown “some remorse” for the lasting harm he had caused his victims and their families. April 2017 Yateley man admits multiple sex offences against children under the age of 13 including rape A Yateley man has admitted a series of child sex offences including rape. Michael Ian Lee Gibbons, 26, of Dickens Way, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of serious sexual offences against children under the age of 13 when he appeared at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday (April 19). Gibbons admitted nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, four counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, two counts of attempting to sexually assault a child under 13 and one count of rape of a child under 13. The case has been listed for sentence on June 1 and Gibbons was granted bail with an electronically monitored curfew. Hampshire Constabulary said the charges relate to alleged offences against children at locations in north Hampshire and Berkshire from 2009 onwards. Gibbons first appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on March 21 and the matter was sent to the crown court.