Rapist posed as wealthy salon manager to con over £9,000 out of a woman after his release from prison

Leon Calhoun convinced his victim he had a four-bed home in picturesque Durham, ran a salon in Leeds and was the dad of an adorable seven-year-old girl called Tilly.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 28-year-old sex attacker used a new name when he formed a relationship with a student he met on a night out, who had no reason to suspect his shocking criminal past.

And over a period of eight months, Calhoun, who was formerly called Leon Love, manipulated the woman into giving him money and claimed he would pay her back from an inheritance he had coming.

By the time the truth was revealed, the woman had handed over more than £9,000 and said was left feeling "like an idiot who swallowed every lie I was told".

Prosecutor Robin Patton told the court in 2013 Calhoun, then called Leon Love, was jailed for nine years for rape and another serious sexual offence.

He was released on licence in July 2017 but recalled later that year after he failed to comply with requirements.

Calhoun was released again in June 2018 and ordered to abide by licence conditions which included informing the authorities of any relationships he formed and being restricted to one mobile phone.

To abide by the requirements of the sex offender registration, Calhoun had to inform the police if he was away from home for overnight stays.

Mr Patton said Calhoun met his victim during a night out in Newcastle in September 2019 and they formed a relationship.

Mr Patton added: "He concealed the truth about his past and, in fact, his present. He didn't have a house, he didn't have a job, he even invented the fact he had a child, a daughter who was seven called Tilly.

"He said he had a four bedroom house in Durham, with a mortgage. He said he managed the Regis salon on Leeds.

"Over an eight month period he managed to extract just over £9,000 from her by way of a loan for his house.

"This was, he said, to furnish his home while he waited for an inheritance he claimed was due."

The court heard the woman was so convinced by Calhoun that she even gave him a gift voucher for his non-existent daughter's birthday.

Meanwhile, during visits from the Multi Agency Public Protection Agency, Calhoun denied being in a relationship and said he was too depressed to even socialise.

The truth came out when Calhoun eventually confessed to the victim that there was no inheritance and she demanded her money back.

Mr Patton said: "He then ultimately blocked her from all forms of contact with him."

The victim, who informed the police after she was blocked, said she was defrauded out of all of her savings and money she was paid through disability benefits and student support finance during the "callous betrayal".

She said: "I believed every word, every sob story I was told.

"Instead of feeling like a good person for caring and wanting to help, I feel like an idiot who swallowed every lie I was told."

She added that her self esteem has been left in tatters and added; "I was completely taken in by this man."

Calhoun, of Salvin Street, Croxdale, Durham, admitted fraud and failing to comply with notification requirements.

Mr recorder Ben Nolan QC sentenced him to three years behind bars with a restraining order.

The judge said: "You told her you had a house in Durham, which was completely untrue. You told her you had a mortgage, which was completely untrue. You told her you were the manager of a salon in Leeds, which was false. You even told her you had a daughter, someone whose name you invented.

"Over a period of eight months you lived a complete lie, leeching off that young woman until the point she had no funds to give you."

Penny Hall, defending, said Calhoun has now been recalled back to prison to continue serving the sex offences sentence.

Miss Hall said the fraud victim was not "targeted" and Calhoun believed she had "sufficient money" as she would often buy him gifts and transfer money.

Miss Hall said Calhoun considered their relationship to be a "friendship".

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