Pervert wanted to ‘educate’ schoolgirl
A pervert who wanted to teach a schoolgirl how to have sexual activity with men was caught by paedophile hunters.
John Sewell thought he was talking to a 14-year-old called Ellie when he told her he had “taught a few shy virgins” in the past.
He sent explicit videos and gave graphic descriptions then arranged to meet up at a Metro station.
In fact he had been communicating with a decoy profile set up by vigilantes Geordie Chasers.
And when he turned up hoping to meet the youngster at Hebburn Metro Station last January, the paedophile hunters and police were waiting for him.
Now the 28-year-old, of Dene Road, South Shields, has been jailed for two years and eight months at Newcastle Crown Court.
Recorder Tom Little QC told him: “You asked her if she would be THE circumstances around Consett backpacker Luke Ramage’s death in a red light district hotel in Thailand remain unknown.
Now – speaking for the first time since his death – grieving mum Kathleen Rowell has paid tribute to her “lovely” son as the family fundraise to bring him home.
Dad-of-two Luke arrived in Bangkok for a six-week holiday to Thailand and Cambodia dubbed “the boys on tour” on December 13.
But within a matter of days, he was found dead in the city’s Bavana Hotel at the age of just 31.
Staff nurse Kathleen has bravely opened up on the agony of her loss, and believes the pain of her son’s death still feels as raw almost a month on.
She said: “My daughter Emily has been really, really strong.
“I don’t know whether it has hit her yet, she’s been keeping me going.
“I’m falling apart, I’m struggling to get through every day.
“I didn’t think it was real, I thought it could have been his friends playing a prank.
“It’s probably worse now than when I found out.
“As time goes on I think it’s starting to hit home.
“I just feel heartbroken and empty.”
Born in Shotley Bridge Hospital, Luke was raised in Stanley, County Durham.
Luke attended South Stanley Junior School and Stanley School of Technology, before completing a two-year plumbing apprenticeship at Durham College.
The dad-of-two then setup his own professional cleaning business Proclean NorthEast in Consett to help support his eight-year-old daughter and two-year-old son.
Luke also held a passion for boxing and going to the gym.
Kathleen, 50, said: “Luke was really close to his children. He took them out for meals, to play parks, and to the zoo.
“He was lovely, he would help anyone out. He enjoyed spending time with his friends and always made a point of coming to see me.
“Luke came across as a proper lad with a tough exterior, but he was the kind of person that would help an elderly person across the road.
“He would carry their shopping for them – he was that kind of man.”
The Thailand trip was the realisation of one of the doting dad’s longterm dreams.
But that dream soon turned into a nightmare, and Kathleen was left devastated after one of Luke’s friends broke the news to her.
She added: “Luke’s friend rang and asked if they could come and see us – I was just absolutely devastated. “They have said it’s going to take about 45 days for the post-mortem report. We have not got any of his documentation so I don’t know anything more.
“If I had the money I would go over. It does make it harder not knowing why.”
Kathleen says the family have Kathleen Rowell been told Luke’s body will be handed over to a local Bangkok charity for a burial or cremation service on January 15.
Sister Emily, 22, has setup a GoFundMe page in a desperate attempt to bring her brother home and pay for a funeral.
More than £4,500 has already been raised in a matter of days, but the family have calculated they need £10,000 to bring the dad home and bid their final goodbyes.
Kathleen said: “People have been so supportive and we are so grateful. At the moment he is half way around the world.
“Luke was so proud so he probably would not like to ask for charity, but we have no other option.
“It would mean the world to us, it would allow us to grieve.
“I want to be able to see him and I think it would finally hit home.”
I didn’t think it was real, I thought it could have been his friends playing a prank