THESE are the criminals who appeared in court in south Essex this week.

From rapists to sexual predators, these crimes have been henious.

Here is a rundown of the cases heard at our courts this week.

Steven Casse

The former Southend Hospital employee tried to tempt someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl into sending him naked pictures.

Steven Casse sent explicit pictures of himself to the profile on social media and demanded sexual images from her before being caught by a group of paedophile hunters.

The 48-year-old of Windermere Road, Southend claimed the messages were a “one off”.

He was confronted by the groups of hunters, who had been behing the fake online profile, outside Southend Hospital in January this year and arrested.

Casse received six months in prison suspended for 22 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work and 40 days of rehabilitation, plus £340 in costs.

Read more >> Former hospital employee tried to tempt 14-year-old 'girl' into sending naked pictures

Terry Gowan

A radio DJ labelled his suspended prison sentence “a joke” and told a judge it was an “atrocity” before storming out of court in a rage.

Terry Gowan slouched in the dock and told Judge Samantha Cohen to “carry on darling” during his sentencing hearing after admitting being a part of an illegal radio station.

The 40-year-old of Davis Road, Grays had been due to stand trial at Basildon Crown Court for installing and using wireless receiving apparatus without a licence from Ofcom, which regulates broadcasting material.

Gowan had been a DJ for the pirate radio station, called Cyndicate FM, which was operating out of a studio inside a container in Askew Farm Lane in Grays, and broadcasting music across Essex and Kent.

Gowan received 14 weeks prison suspended for 18 months and must pay £400 in costs.

After being released from the dock, Gowan stormed up to Judge Cohen and said “what has happened here is an atrocity” handing her a letter.

He then left the court room saying “absolute f******, the lot of you”.

Read more >> Pirate radio DJ who illegally broadcast for months swears at judge in court rage

Malcolm Mason

A vile rapist lured a woman back to his home on the promise of a "cuddle" only to restrain and attack her for more than three hours.

Predator Malcolm Mason was just nine days out of jail when he carried out the "gratuitous" attack on the vulnerable woman in Southend.

He told her all he wanted was "a cuddle" and led her back to his home, where he turned from a friendly person into a "monster" once the door was closed.

Mason drew a pair of scissors from his jacket and held it to the woman's throat, saying "we can do this the easy way or the hard way" before restraining her.

Recorder Mayall told the court that the probation service had found that Mason poses "a high risk" to adult women, including any future partners and members of the public.

The recorder said that he "completely agreed" with the report.

He jailed Mason for 17 years with an extended licence period of five years.

Read more >> Vile rapist lured woman back to his home 'for a cuddle' before restraining her for hours