Hundreds of people were locked up in the region over the course of the last year, with courts busy dealing with countless crimes
(L-R) John Baldwin, Simon Vickers, George Ness, Reece Galbraith, Jaifar Trigwell, Jack Lawson, Brenda Heslop and Craig Howse(Image: Chronicle Live)
Hundreds of North East criminals were jailed in 2025, from murderers to the Sycamore Gap offenders, with courts busy dealing with the large amount of criminal cases taking place in the region.
As well as the aforementioned crimes, the range of offences included vile sexual crimes, drug-related offending, violent assault, burglary, and dangerous driving. These crimes have seen people be jailed for some lengthy sentences.
Below are some of the North East criminals given big jail sentences in 2025.
January
Andrew Mackay
Andrew Mackay, jailed for rape and sexual assault(Image: Northumbria Police)
A pervert who raped an unconscious child after giving her alcohol was jailed for 14 years.
The youngster woke to find Andrew Mackay, 64, forcing himself on her. She made her objections clear and he said it wasn’t fair. She lapsed back into unconsciousness, only to come round to find him continuing to abuse her.
Mackay, of Bute Drive, High Spen, Gateshead, denied the attack but was found guilty by jurors of two counts of rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration. Read the full court report here.
Mark Dodds
Mark Dodds(Image: handout)
A vile paedophile who targeted young girls on Snapchat was jailed. Mark Dodds, 38, physically and emotionally abused a large number of children between the ages of eight and 15 over a ten year period, often blackmailing them if they refused to send him naked images or perform sexual acts during the contact.
His offending came to light when Durham Constabulary were notified by another police force that he was having sexual contact over Snapchat with a 12-year-old. Newcastle Crown Court heard officers attended the defendant’s home in Spennymoor in August 2020 to arrest him after an investigation by the other force.
The court heard Dodds asked his victims to perform sex acts on video calls and would record them without their knowledge. When the victims wanted to stop speaking to Dodds, he would threaten to distribute the videos and images.
Dodds pleaded guilty to offences which included sexual communication with children; blackmail; taking, possessing and distributing indecent images. Last October, he pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexual assaults on a child at Durham Crown Court. Following a three-day trial, in which the victim provided evidence, it took jury members just 11 minutes to find him guilty of all six counts.
Appearing at Newcastle Crown Court on January 6, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail and six years on extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Ben Hughes
Ben Hughes(Image: Northumbria Police Copyright – No Reproduction Without Permission)
A mum was stabbed and slashed 27 times by a brutal murderer who told her “you’re going to die” as she screamed for help.
Laura Robson had only properly met Ben Hughes the day before her death and they got on well and it appeared they were at the beginning of a relationship. But on her second night at his flat in Gateshead, he murdered her for no apparent reason.
Hughes’ upstairs neighbour heard the horrifying sounds of Laura being murdered and begging for help and savage Hughes’ callous reply as her life ebbed away. Sentencing Hughes to life imprisonment with a minimum term of at least 17-and-a-half years before he can even be considered for parole, Judge Paul Sloan KC said this was a “sustained and particularly brutal attack involving gratuitous violence” and added: “It will have been a terrifying ordeal for Miss Robson and will have resulted in her experiencing extreme physical pain and mental suffering before she succumbed.” Here’s the full court report.
Antony McNamara
Antony McNamara
A beast who sexually abused an underage girl in County Durham was jailed for 13 years.
Antony McNamara groomed and raped the victim and was branded a “child molester” by a judge. The 46-year-old monster left the vulnerable victim feeling “haunted” by his abuse as well as battling suicidal thoughts.
McNamara appeared at Durham Crown Court to be sentenced for four counts of rape, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, assault by penetration and sexual activity with a child. He had pleaded guilty to the offences.
McNamara, of Manor Park, East London, was jailed for 13 years. Here’s the full story.
Ian Black
Ian Black, who murdered Christopher Henderson(Image: Northumbria Police)
A murderer brutally stamped and kicked a much-loved dad to death just 12 days after his son was born.
Ian Black saw red after being accused of infidelity in a hospital toilet and savagely set upon Christopher Henderson for sharing the allegation with his fiance, who was Mr Henderson’s stepdaughter. In a prolonged onslaught caught on CCTV, Black delivered 20 kicks and stamps, mainly to his head after he had been knocked out.
Black, 42, of Havelock Terrace, Gateshead, changed his plea to murder from not guilty to guilty and was jailed for life. He was told he would have to serve at least 19-and-a-half years behind bars before any chance of parole. Read the full court report here.
Christopher Sams
Christopher Sams, 34, repeatedly targeted his young victim (Image: Northumbria Police Copyright – No Reproduction Without Permission)
A rapist was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of historic offences.
Christopher Sams, 34, repeatedly targeted his victim over the course of a six-year period. The victim bravely reported the abuse in 2021, after which officers in Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding Department launched an investigation.
Sams, of Kenton Road, North Shields, was arrested and denied all offences. He was later charged with eight counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
A week-long trial took place at Newcastle Crown Court where Sams was found guilty by a jury on all counts. He was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. Here’s the full story.
Leandro Lopes, Jordan Tams and Kriesha Stroud
Leandro Lopes, found guilty of murder and attempted murder(Image: Northumbria Police)Jordan Tams, who murdered Gary Belfield(Image: Northumbria Police)Kriesha Stroud, convicted of murdering Gary Belfield(Image: Northumbria Police)
Teenage killers who savagely killed a dad in his own home were locked up.
Kriesha Stroud was just 15 when she recruited boyfriend Jordan Tams, 17, and Leandro Lopes, then 17 and now 18, to attack Gary Belfield and his son, Luke Williams, in a “senseless” attack in their home in Gateshead. After organising the fatal attack at the father and son’s home, Stroud was later covertly recorded as saying she was “glad” Mr Belfield died and “disappointed” his son had survived.
Stroud, of Eastcote Terrace, Walker, Newcastle, Tams, of Wesley Court, Felling, Gateshead, and Lopes, of Archer Street, Wallsend, were all detained at His Majesty’s pleasure, which is effectively a life sentence for youths. Tams and Lopes must serve at least 26 years while Stroud has to do 20 years. Here’s the full court report.
John Baldwin
John Baldwin, who has admitted murdering Eve McIntyre in Gateshead(Image: Northumbria Police)
A murderer may have tried to decapitate his girlfriend with a meat cleaver in scenes of “indescribable horror”.
John Baldwin left Eve McIntyre with 37 wounds to her head, neck and torso during a sustained attack using a cleaver and at least one knife. She was found dead in their ground floor flat in Gateshead, with her hands tied behind her back.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Baldwin had a history of controlling and violent behaviour towards the 57-year-old in the lead up to the murder last August. Baldwin was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars.
He pleaded guilty to murder as his trial was due to start, having previously admitted manslaughter, affray and having a bladed article. Here’s the full court report.
Mohammed Rahman
Mohammed Rahman(Image: Northumbria Police Copyright – No Reproduction Without Permission)
A man raped two schoolgirls in his car after buying them alcohol.
Mohammed Rahman, of West Vallum, Newcastle, was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty at trial of three counts of rape. Newcastle Crown Court heard how Rahman had initially spoken to the two girls outside of a corner shop, where he bought them alcohol before striking up a conversation with them.
The court heard he continued engaging with them, despite them telling him their ages. On a later date he picked the pair up in his car before driving them to a deserted car park, where he forced himself onto one of the girls despite her repeated protests.
Around a month later, the second girl had been walking home in a drunken state when Rahman stopped to offer her a lift. However, instead of driving her home, he drove her to a remote location where he raped her twice. Here’s the full story.
Gavin Hall
Gavin Hall, jailed for causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving(Image: Northumbria Police)
A show-off danger driver killed his brother’s girlfriend after losing control of his souped-up new car.
Gavin Hall, 39, had just acquired an Audi S3 which had been modified by its previous owner to give it around 350bhp. He took his brother, Tony, and both their girlfriends out for a spin in horrendous weather conditions.
Hall reached speeds of around 90mph on the 70mph A194 in Washington. His excessive speed caused him to aquaplane and the car careered out of control.
Tony’s girlfriend, Lois Davidson, was killed while Tony, Hall’s girlfriend, Kelly McHugh, and Hall himself were all seriously injured.
Hall, of Ellen Court, Jarrow, who has previous driving offences and was caught speeding after the fatal collision, was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for 12 years. Read the full court report here.
February
Thomas Dodds
Thomas Dodds, jailed for rape(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist who attacked a woman as she was bent over being sick was jailed for eight-and-a-half years.
Thomas Dodds took advantage of the victim’s vulnerability in a horrendous sexual attack which she says ruined her life. Newcastle Crown Court heard the woman, who had been drinking alcohol, began to feel unwell during the evening and ended up lying on a bed with a bucket nearby after being sick. After feeling unwell again, she crawled to the bucket.
While she was on her hands and knees, Dodds, who had come into the room, raped her. Dodds, 56, of Thames Road, Hebburn, South Tyneside, was convicted of rape by a jury after a trial. Read the full story.
Christopher Stockton and Paula Roberts
Christopher Stockton and Paula Roberts
A Darlington man who murdered a toddler who had been cruelly neglected was jailed for life.
Christopher Stockton murdered 22-month-old Charlie Roberts on January 12 last year after the child was left in his care by his mother, Paula Roberts. Charlie suffered catastrophic, fatal injuries, including to his brain after being “shaken or thrown with considerable force”.
Stockton, 38, of Darlington, was found guilty of murder and child cruelty by a jury at Teesside Crown Court after having denied both charges. Roberts, 41, who was also facing trial, went on to admit a charge of child cruelty for failing to seek medical attention for several injuries Charlie sustained over a nine-month period.
Stockton was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years. An eight year prison sentence was imposed for child cruelty, which will be served concurrently. Paula Roberts was jailed for four years. Read the full court report here.
Simon Vickers
Simon Vickers(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A dad was given a life sentence for murdering his teenage daughter by stabbing her through the heart.
Simon Vickers must serve a minimum of 15 years behind bars after he was found guilty of murdering his 14-year-old daughter Scarlett in the kitchen of their family home in Geneva Road, Darlington. The schoolgirl died after sustaining a single stab wound through her heart on July 5 last year.
Exactly how the murder came about remains something of a mystery and Teesside Crown Court heard that only Vickers knowns “precisely what happened”. Vickers was jailed for life and must serve a minimum term of 15 years. Here’s the full court report.
Sophie Waugh
Sophie Waugh(Image: North Yorkshire Police)
Killer driver Sophie Waugh had been “persistently” on social media in the moments before she drove into “much-loved” grandfather Ian Morris, who was riding his bike.
Waugh, 31, was a serving soldier at the time of the offence. Formerly of Longleat Gardens, South Shields, and later of Broadway West, Dormanstown, Redcar, she was at the wheel of a Ford Focus which “veered” into the back of Mr Morris on his bike. This took place at around 2.15pm on June 28 2023 on the A6055 near to Thirsk in North Yorkshire.
She was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison at Teesside Crown Court. She had previously admitted the offence of causing Mr Morris’s death by dangerous driving. Here’s the full court report.
Ian Campbell
Ian Campbell, jailed for child sex offences(Image: Northumbria Police)
A pervert who sexually abused a young girl was caught after boasting about it to a police officer.
Ian Campbell was talking to what he thought was a fellow pervert online but it was an undercover officer posing as a paedophile. Newcastle Crown Court heard Campbell told the officer he had engaged in sexual activity with a child.
Campbell explained what he had done to the youngster before saying he wish he’d been “brave enough” to rape her. His admissions sparked an investigation which led to his victim being identified and spoken to by police.
She disclosed the sexual abuse he had subjected her to and said he had also taken indecent images of her. He later threatened to post the pictures he had taken of her on the internet if she didn’t agree to his demands.
Campbell admitted sexually assaulting the girl and causing or inciting her to engage in sexual activity. He also admitted a separate sexual assault on another child.
The 34-year-old, formerly of Gateshead but latterly of Mill Road, Kettering, admitted nine offences, including assault by penetration, sexual assault and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for eight years with an extended licence period of a further four years. Here’s the full story.
Ryan Elsender
Ryan Elsender, jailed for causing death by dangerous driving(Image: Northumbria Police)
A teenager out riding his bike with friends was knocked off and killed by a speeding danger driver who had the victim’s cousin and a toddler in the car.
When Ryan Elsender saw a group of youths riding bikes ahead of him, he sped up to 71mph on a 30mph road to accelerate past them. But he slammed into 16-year-old Jayden McGuinness, leaving the “happy loving boy with a heart of gold” fatally injured.
The crash happened weeks after the boy’s father had died and the court heard he also lost his mother when he was just 12. In a further tragic turn for the family, Elsender’s passenger was Jayden’s cousin who was faced with the heartbreaking discovery that he was the victim of the fatal collision when he got out of the car.
Elsender, 29, of Lichfield Avenue, Walker, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and dangerous driving after the collision. He was jailed for eight years. Here’s the full story.
Pearse Kavanagh
Pearse Kavanagh, jailed for manslaughter(Image: Northumbria Police)
A violent bully killed his partner’s frail brother when he told the 19-stone brute to stop attacking his sister.
Abusive control freak Pearse Kavanagh attacked Sarah McQueeney in front of her brother, Philip, punching her repeatedly in the face. Philip, 40, who weighed just 7.5 stone and was in poor health, bravely told Kavanagh to get off his sister, prompting the thug to turn his violence on him.
He punched him, then kicked him so hard he caused a tear to his liver and internal bleeding. Kavanagh, 46, of Coldwell Terrace, Gateshead, was found guilty of manslaughter and was jailed for nine-and-a-half years. Read the full court report here.
Owen Rutherford
Owen Rutherford, who admitted causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving(Image: Northumbria Police)
A family birthday celebration turned from joy to tragedy when a killer driver rushing to have his Sunday lunch left one of them dead and three badly injured.
Having gathered for the 60th birthday party in Northumberland, some members of the Hain family had decided to take a trip to Kielder Forest for a walk. But as they made their way there, their lives were changed forever by a speeding driver.
Owen Rutherford, who had been aggressively overtaking other cars on a notoriously dangerous stretch of the A68, was doing at least 85mph when he raced over a blind summit just before its junction with a minor road. David Hain had just pulled out and Rutherford’s Seat Leon FR suddenly smashed into him.
Mr Hain, 69, died, his 25-year-old daughter, Megan, suffered severe brain injuries and has been left unable to communicate and living in a care home in Whitley Bay. His wife, Phillipa, and another person were also seriously injured while the family dog, Millie, was killed.
Rutherford, 25, of Ridsdale, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and three counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for eleven years and four months. Read the full court report here.
Craig Curry
Craig Curry, convicted of murdering Neil Selkirk(Image: Northumbria Police)
A savage murderer who left a harmless homeless man dying in a park with his trousers pulled down in a final act of humiliation was jailed for life.
Craig Curry subjected Neil Selkirk to a sustained attack which left him unconscious and with a series of injuries. Had he received prompt medical attention, his life could have been saved, but instead Curry degraded him by removing his lower clothing then abandoned him as his life ebbed away.
Curry, 33, who was found guilty of murder, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years and 181 days. Read the full court report here.
David Stewart
David Stewart was jailed for 11 years(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A dangerous motorcyclist who killed his friend while driving 100mph trying to escape the police was jailed for more than 10 years.
Disqualified driver David Stewart sped away from police in Peterlee, County Durham, with pillion passenger, Lee Stevenson, in the early hours of March 25, 2023. Stewart crashed into a roundabout on the 30mph Passfield Way in less than a minute of the pursuit starting, throwing both himself and Mr Stevenson from the bike.
Officers immediately gave first aid to both men but sadly Mr Stevenson died at the scene. A post-mortem later concluded that the 27-year-old, who was not wearing a helmet, died as a result of a head injury.
Stewart, 34, was taken to hospital in a critical condition and remained there for several months. Toxicology reports showed Stewart had cocaine in his system at the time of the collision and was over the drug-drive limit.
He was later charged with causing death by dangerous driving and was due to stand trial before changing his plea to guilty. Stewart, of Stockton, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Here’s the full story.
March
Mason Ibbotson
Mason Ibbotson, locked up for the manslaughter of Corporal Shaun Roberts(Image: Northumbria Police)
A hero soldier who served his country with distinction was killed in a one-punch attack by a teenager.
Dad-of-four Corporal Shaun Roberts was enjoying a night out with army colleagues while training in the North East when they appear to have been singled out for not being local. An altercation took place between Mason Ibbotson’s group and the four soldiers after leaving a nightclub in Blyth.
This ended in Corporal Roberts, who served in the Royal Anglian Regiment as a sniper and had been mentioned in dispatches for running into the line of fire to save a fellow solider, being felled with a single punch by Ibbotson. The 18-year-old, of Norham Close, Blyth, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sent to a young offenders institution for six years. Read the full court report here.
Aaron Whitwell
Aaron Whitwell(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A pervert pretended to be 17-years-old and groomed an underage girl into engaging in sexual activity with him.
Aaron Whitwell began chatting to the girl on social media, gave a false name and lied about his age. Whitwell, who was in his mid-twenties at the time, pretended to be a teenage boy and met up with the girl and engaged in sexual activity and kissed her.
Whitwell, 28, carried out the offences whilst on bail for other child sex offences and was finally arrested when a concerned parent notified the police. When his vulnerable victim found out his real name and age, she was left battling mental health issues and self-harm.
Whitwell, who is currently serving a seven year prison sentence at HMP Moorland, appeared at Durham Crown Court via link to be sentenced for offences of sexual activity with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and breach of a sexual harm prevention order. He was given a 12-year extended prison sentence, seven years of which will be custodial and must be served after his current jail sentence ends. Here’s the full story.
Paul Clemmett
Paul Clemmett(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A rapist who sexually abused children was caged for 16 years.
Paul Clemmett committed heinous sex offences against youngsters and was branded a “significant risk to children” by a judge. The 53-year-old was said to have a “deviant sexual interest in children” when he appeared at Durham Crown Court.
Clemmett, of Sherburn Hill, appeared at the court to be sentenced for one count of rape of a child and five counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He pleaded guilty to the offences and was jailed for 16 years. Here’s the full court report.
George Ness
George Ness, convicted of murdering John Smyth(Image: Northumbria Police)
A murderer who savagely bludgeoned to death a “hero” neighbour was jailed for life.
When crack cocaine addict George Ness tried to force entry into a woman’s flat in Wallsend in the early hours of the morning, her 63-year-old neighbour and friend, John Smyth, bravely went outside to try to chase him away and paid with his life. Ness bludgeoned the dad to death with a lump of wood before despicably stealing his phone as he lay fatally injured in the back yard.
Ness, 41, of Avon Avenue, North Shields, who was convicted of murder, was told he will serve a minimum of 22 years of a life sentence behind bars. Here’s the full court report.
Andrew Harston
Andrew Harston, 39, has been jailed for 14 years(Image: handout)
A former Durham University director was jailed for 14 years after sexually assaulting two women.
Andrew Harston sexually assaulted one woman and while being investigated by police, went on to sexually assault a second woman in a separate incident. The 39-year-old denied the offences, but was found guilty following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.
Harston, of Shiell Heights, Aykley Heads, Durham, was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and two counts of assault by penetration. The charges date back to when Harston was Director of Development and Alumni Relations at the university.
The jury found that Harston sexually assaulted a drunk, sleeping woman at a home and committed assault by penetration. The second sexual assault related to another woman, who was also said to be intoxicated at the time. The court heard the offences dated back to while Harston was under police investigation for the first set of allegations.
Harston was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Read the full story here.
Kenneth Dick
Kenneth Dick who has been jailed for offences including rape(Image: Northumbria Police)
Vile paedophile Kenneth Dick was jailed for 14 years for abusing a schoolgirl.
The 66-year-old raped and sexually assaulted the girl, forcing her to perform sexual acts with him. His victim told a family member what had happened to her in June 2021 and Dick was arrested.
He denied the allegations against him but was convicted of rape, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity with a child and causing a child to watch a sexual act, by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court. Dick, of Ryde Terrace in Dunston, Gateshead, was jailed for 14 years. Read the full story here.
Robert Green
Robert Green(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist was caged for 14 years after his teenage victim confided in a nurse during a hospital visit.
Robert Green abused his teenage victim, raping her multiple times as well as subjecting her to a number of assaults. The 30-year-old’s offending came to light when the victim attended a hospital appointment where a nurse became concerned about her demeanour.
After support had been offered by the nurse, the victim disclosed what had happened to her and police were contacted. Green was arrested and after a complex investigation by officers in Northumbria Police’s Safeguarding Department, he was charged with a number of offences.
Green, of no fixed address, was convicted of four offences, including rape, assault, and non-fatal strangulation. A judge sentenced him to 14 years in prison. Here’s the full story.
Karla Dodds
Karla Dodds, convicted of causing Truman Hub’s death by dangerous driving(Image: Northumbria Police)
A grieving mum branded a speeding drink driver who killed her son then fled the scene “wicked and cowardly”.
Karla Dodds had seven people crammed into a very small Hyundai i10 car, was well over the drink drive limit and going too fast when she lost control and crashed, killing Truman Hub, who had been hanging out of the window to feel the wind in his hair. As the 22-year-old from North Shields lay fatally injured, with his girlfriend doing CPR, Dodds ran away from the scene with her friend.
As the 25-year-old was jailed for 12 years, Truman’s mum, Rozalind Hub, said in a victim impact statement she is “overwhelmed with grief and emotions” following the death of her youngest son, who had autism and ADHD. She said: “Truman was full of sunshine, laughter, mischief and love, whose presence would light up any room.” Here’s the full court report.
Alec Calvert
Alec Calvert, 77(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A child rapist from Bishop Auckland was jailed for 24 years.
Alec Calvert was brought to the attention of Durham Constabulary after one of the brave victims disclosed the abuse to police officers. She told officers how Calvert had abused her by sexually touching her on numerous occasions.
Another victim came forward the following month and disclosed he had also been sexually touched and raped and that Calvert had also taken photos of him when he was naked. Officers carried out a search of Calvert’s address and seized several electronic devices. They were analysed by specialist officers who found a number of indecent images of children on his mobile phone.
Calvert was interviewed and bailed with strict conditions not to communicate with a child. But while the investigation was under way, Calvert disregarded these conditions and was found nearly naked in his car with a child, parked in a disused docks area.
He was charged with several offences including rape, assault on a child by touching, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault, engaging in sexual communication with a child, making indecent photographs of a child and possession of extreme pornography. Calvert disputed the charges but unanimous guilty verdicts were returned on all 11 counts by a jury.
The 77-year-old was jailed for 24 years. Here’s the full story.
Daniel Chatto
Daniel Chatto, jailed for offences including kidnap and false imprisonment(Image: Northumbria Police)
A woman was kidnapped twice within a few days and subjected to shocking violence – including being stabbed with a crochet needle and having a cigarette stubbed out on her hand.
Daniel Chatto left the woman seriously injured after locking her in his flat and attacking her, including using a sword to hack off some of her hair, whipping her with a bow from a bow and arrow and repeatedly punching her. The 41-year-old, formerly of Dunston, Gateshead, was jailed for more than seven years.
Chatto admitted offences of kidnap, false imprisonment, wounding with intent, assault and two counts of GBH with intent. He also admitted dangerous driving and possession of cocaine after failing to stop for police in October 2022. He was jailed for a total of seven years and eight months with an extended licence of a further four years. Here’s the full court story.
April
Daniel Holland
Daniel Holland, jailed for raping two women(Image: Northumbria Police)
A “Jekyll and Hyde” dating app rapist who attacked two women he met online was branded a “monster” as he was jailed for more than 12 years.
Former Royal Navy harbour pilot Daniel Holland subjected two women to sickening and painful attacks and also violently attacked one of them. A court heard Holland also tried to communicate sexually with a 13-year-old child online.
The 39-year-old, formerly of Newcastle, was branded a danger by a judge as he was locked up. He pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and one of GBH. He was convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child. Read the full story here.
Curtis Cruickshank
Curtis Cruickshank jailed after breaching court order to groom teenage girl(Image: Northumbria Police)
A persistent predator who breached a court order to abuse a teenage girl around Newcastle city centre was jailed for 13 years.
Curtis Cruickshank, now 23, was handed a two-year Sexual Risk Order in April 2021 which prohibited him from having any unsupervised contact with children and using the internet to contact children. This was in response to a series of emerging and worrying behaviours exhibited by Cruickshank indicating he had a sexual interest in children.
However, in November 2022, he added a teenager on social media, pushing her to send illicit pictures and videos of herself to him. Cruickshank’s offending soon intensified as he persuaded the girl to meet up with him in derelict spots of Newcastle city centre where he pressured her to have sex with him and perform sexual acts on him in public.
The teen disclosed what had happened to a family member who later informed police – and an investigation was launched. In August 2024, Cruickshank – who was already in prison for breaching his SRO in an unrelated offence – was charged with 19 offences, including engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child, meeting a child following grooming, and breaching a Sexual Risk Order.
In November, he stood trial at Newcastle Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to all 19 offences. And in April, a judge sentenced him to 13 years and six months’ imprisonment, with a further six years on extended licence once he is released. Here’s the full story.
Alan Dugdale
Alan Dugdale, jailed for offences including robbery and burglary(Image: Northumbria Police)
A Good Samaritan was slashed and stabbed with a steak knife by a man whose life he saved in a “gruesome” attack.
The victim had previously come to the aid of Alan Dugdale after he overdosed outside his house in Byker, Newcastle. When Dugdale later turned up at the man’s home with partner Jamie Burrows, he ended up agreeing to let them in, a court heard.
Jessica Slaughter, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court the trio consumed alcohol and then there came a point where: “The couple suggested the three of them have sex together.”
The victim agreed but as he engaged in a sex act with Burrows, Dugdale attacked him. Dugdale pleaded guilty to robbery and having a bladed article. The 51-year-old, of Laurel Street, Wallsend, also admitted assaulting police when they arrested him on another occasion.
Dugdale was jailed for a total of 12 years and four months. Here’s the full story.
Jeffrey Rose
Jeffrey Rose from Otterburn in Northumberland who has been jailed
A rape victim told her abuser how he made her feel like a “piece of meat” as he was jailed for vile crimes committed almost 50 years ago.
Jeffrey Rose, who escaped justice for almost half a century, was put behind bars thanks to the woman’s bravery. Rose, now 75, targeted his victim in the late 1970s. However, she did not report what had happened to her until 2020.
He denied the allegations but following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court Rose was found guilty of 20 offences including rape, attempted rape and indecent assault. Rose, of Hazel Cottages, Otterburn, Northumberland, was jailed for 17 years. Read the full story here.
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith, jailed for manslaughter(Image: Northumbria Police)
A shoplifter killed a pensioner by shoving her out of the way as he fled a sports shop after stealing socks.
Joseph Smith was on drugs and looking for valuables when he helped himself to three packs of socks from Sports Direct and made a run for it after setting off store alarms. As he raced around a blind corner into a back alley, he came face to face with football fans Christine and Sidney Vasey.
The childhood sweethearts had travelled to watch a Sunderland match from their home in Doncaster and were in the city centre ahead of the game. Smith forcefully shoved 68-year-old Mrs Vasey out of his way, causing her to fall back and crack her head on the ground, leading to a devastating head injury from which she died a few days later.
Smith, 37, of Halstead Square, Sunderland, was jailed for six years for manslaughter. Here’s the full court report.
Devon Critchlow
Devon Critchlow, jailed for sex attack on stranger(Image: Northumbria Police)
A ‘creepy’ predator followed a stranger walking alone at night then barged his way into her home and subjected her to a terrifying sex attack.
Devon Critchlow was out on the streets wearing black clothing with his hood up when he spotted the victim on her own, changed direction then tailed her through the darkness. Newcastle Crown Court heard when the woman got into her home, Critchlow pushed his way in and carried out a violent sex and strangulation attack that made her fear she would be raped and killed.
Prosecutors say it was only the woman’s courage in fighting him off that brought the violence to an end. Critchlow, 21, of Rochester Close, North Seaton, Ashington, admitted assault, intentional strangulation and sexual assault. He also admitted committing an assault offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He was jailed for five years and three months with a five year extended licence. Read the full court report here.
Aaron Hinsley
Aaron Hinsley, jailed for offences including wounding with intent and aggravated burglary(Image: Northumbria Police)
Aaron Hinsley repeatedly stabbed his former partner’s friend after finding him hiding in her wardrobe.
The jealous thug had warned his ex he would do harm to any new man in her life and started stalking her. On his birthday last October, Hinsley forced entry to her home in Blyth, Northumberland, while her male friend was present.
The woman told the man to hide in her wardrobe but when Hinsley opened the door and found him, he pulled out a knife and stabbed him. The 27-year-old, of Ingram Drive, Blyth, was jailed for five years and nine months for wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and stalking. Here’s the full story.
Peter Dellbridge
Peter Dellbridge(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist forced a child to watch pornography during sickening sexual abuse.
Peter Dellbridge carried out the horrific sexual abuse and rape of a young child. The 64-year-old’s grooming behaviour and abuse was said to have had a devastating impact on his vulnerable victim.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Dellbridge’s offending finally came to light when his victim confided in their partner and a therapist years after the abuse. Dellbridge appeared at the court to be sentenced for offences of causing a child to watch sexual activity, sexual assault of a child, assault by penetration, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of rape.
Dellbridge, of Seaton Delaval, North Tyneside, was found guilty of the offences following a trial. He was jailed for 16 years. Here’s the full story.
Michael Holmes
Michael Holmes, who was found guilty of several violent and sexual offences and has since been jailed(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A County Durham rapist was jailed after he attacked a woman with a crossbow and threatened to kill her.
Michael Holmes raped and assaulted the woman and even aimed a crossbow at her and said: “I’m going to f****** kill you this time”. However, after pulling the trigger, the crossbow malfunctioned and the arrow missed the woman. Holmes also broke the woman’s nose after punching her in the face three times, the court heard.
Holmes was arrested and charged with several offences, including two counts of rape, one count of attempted rape, sexual assault, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm. The 42-year-old, of West Cornforth, denied the offences but was found guilty following a five-day trial.
He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars, with three years on extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Thomas White
Thomas Andrew White, who has been jailed for rape and other offences(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist left his victim “living every day in fear”.
Thomas White raped his victim multiple times last year at a property in Gateshead. He forced his hands around the woman’s throat and dragged her around by her neck, before slapping her in the face.
Following a seven-day trial, White was found guilty of nine offences, including two counts of rape, two counts of intentional strangulation, sexual assault and assault. He was given a 14-year prison sentence, with a further five years on an extended licence once he is released. Read the full story here.
May
Stephen Cliff
Stephen Cliff who has been jailed(Image: Durham Police)
A close friend of murderer Stephen Bonallie was jailed for causing his death in a New Year’s Eve horror crash. Stephen Cliff pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving over the collision, which happened near Durham city centre, on December 31, 2022, just around a year after Bonallie was freed from prison. Bonallie was just 17 years old when he battered vulnerable Brent Martin to death, along with William Hughes and Marcus Miller.
All three were jailed for life for the senseless slaying, in 2007, during which Brent, 23, begged for his life. But Bonallie was released in 2021 after serving his minimum prison term. And during the early hours of New Year’s Eve 2022 the 32-year-old died after the Audi car he was in collided with a tree, on the A167.
Dad-of-three Cliff, of Rose Lea in Witton Gilbert, County Durham, was also seriously injured in the collision. He later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. The 40-year-old was jailed for eight years. Here’s the full story.
Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson, who shot a man in Byker(Image: Northumbria Police)
A gunman opened fire on a rival in a broad daylight shooting on a Newcastle street after losing a fight. Stephen Thompson was in Byker when he encountered Nikki Stuart and the pair ended up scrapping.
What Mr Stuart didn’t know was that Thompson had left his home that day to head to his friend’s house armed with a loaded pistol in his man bag, as well as a knife and a bottle of ammonia. Newcastle Crown Court heard when Mr Stuart got the better of the fight, Thompson pulled out the firearm out of his man bag and shot him. The bullet went into his arm and out of his chest but “miraculously” did no major, lasting damage.
Thompson, 50, was originally charged with attempted murder. That charge was dropped after he pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a corrosive substance and possessing a bladed article. He pleaded guilty on the basis he had been subjected to street violence in the past and had previously suffered head injuries which he did not wish to repeat. He said he left his home carrying various weapons that day to protect himself.
Thompson was jailed for 12 years with an extended licence period of a further four years. Here’s the full story.
Reece Galbraith
Reece Galbraith who changed his plea to guilty for the manslaughter of seven-year-old Archie York and Jason “Jay” Laws(Image: PA)
A cannabis dealer who killed a seven-year-old boy in a huge drugs lab explosion was jailed for 14 years. As little Archie York and his family slept in their home in Violet Close, Benwell, Newcastle, they had no idea that just feet beneath them were more than 100 butane canisters.
The highly dangerous gas was being used in the flat below to create a highly potent form of cannabis known as “shatter” for use in making sweets known as cannabis gummies. Experts found that the explosion was caused by the ignition of liquid butane gas, which had been released and built up within the premises as part of the illegal “shatter” production.
Reece Galbraith, 33, was sentenced for the manslaughter of Archie and Jason Laws, who was involved in the criminal enterprise with him. He also admitted production of cannabis and being concerned in the supply of cannabis. Here’s the full story.
Bailey Stubbs
Bailey Stubbs, 22, who was has been jailed for 14 years for raping a teenage girl (Image: Durham Constabulary)
A man was jailed for 14 years for raping a teenage girl after she repeatedly told him ‘no’. Bailey Stubbs was talking to the girl on Snapchat before they met in December of 2021, and she was under 16 at the time that the crimes took place. The criminal supplied her with alcohol after they met up for the first time, before taking her back to his home in Murton, County Durham.
When they arrived, he sexually assaulted the girl multiple times, and forced her to have sex with him, despite her repeatedly telling him “no”, as well as strangling her and spitting in her face. He was charged with several offences, including four counts of sexual assault, rape, assault and false imprisonment, which he denied.
However, a jury sitting at Durham Crown Court found Stubbs guilty of the offences and he was jailed for 14 years. Here’s the full story.
Kevin Wood
(Image: Northumbria Police)
A thug attempted to murder a man by severely beating him with full beer cans and asked him: “Why aren’t you dying?” Drunken Kevin Wood unleashed a “prolonged and vicious” attack on a man in a Wallsend street and left him with serious facial injuries. The 38-year-old used beer cans to beat the man as he lay helpless on the ground and hurled racist abuse throughout the seven minute ordeal in which 50 blows were delivered.
Wood, of York Drive, Wallsend, was sentenced for attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon – the beer cans. He pleaded guilty to the offences and was handed an extended prison sentence of 20 years – 15 years of which will be custodial. Read the full court report here.
Valentino Nikolov, Giacomo Nikolov, Jela Jovanovic, Charlie Jovanovic
Burglars (L-r) Valentino Nikolov, Giacomo Nikolov, Jela Jovanovic and Charlie Jovanovic
A gang of burglars who had Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak under surveillance before they broke into his house were jailed for more than 30 years. Four Italian nationals targeted the Sweden international’s Darras Hall home during three high value raids at homes across the North East in which they stole property worth £1.3 million.
As the quartet were sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court, it emerged they had spent hours in the vicinity of the Magpies’ Benton training ground in reconnaissance missions to work out his movements. When they were arrested, police also found pictures of the footballer on a mobile phone seized from one of the gang.
Family members Valentino Nikolov, Charlie Jovanovic, Jela Jovanovic and Giacomo Nikolov were all locked up for conspiracy to burgle which also saw them target award-winning Newcastle charity boss Helen McArdle.
Valentino Nikolov was convicted after a trial of conspiracy to burgle and the other three pleaded guilty to it. Valentino Nikolov was jailed for ten years, Charlie Jovanovic, was jailed for six years and nine months, Jela Jovanovic, was jailed for seven years and two months, and Giacomo Nikolov, was jailed for eight years. Here’s the full story.
Karl Whitehouse
Karl Whitehouse, jailed for drugs and money laundering offences(Image: Northumbria Police)
A drug dealer was caught with narcotics and cash worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. Karl Whitehouse was caught with high value heroin and cocaine when police raided two homes in Hebburn, South Tyneside, last year.
They also found vast amounts of cash in his possession. In May, the 32-year-old was jailed for seven years and two months for possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and money laundering offences.
Judge Carolyn Scott said Whitehouse “held an operational role in the chain” and handed him a prison sentence. Chris Knox, defending, said it was not Whitehouse’s cash or drugs. He said he was “frightened” and added: “He was not Mr Big.” Here’s the full story.
Liam Ramsey and Stephen Hurst
Liam Ramsey and Stephen Hurst have been jailed(Image: Durham Constabulary)
Two paedophiles were jailed after supplying a child with drugs and alcohol before sexually abusing her. Liam Ramsey and Stephen Hurst purchased £120 worth of Class A drugs after drinking with their victim in pubs around Durham city centre.
They plied the girl with wine and cocktails throughout the day then gave her the cocaine they had bought on their way home. The victim told police that because of all the cocaine they had given her, she had a nosebleed and went upstairs.
As the victim went upstairs, Ramsey and Hurst followed her. The victim was then subjected to physical and sexual abuse throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning.
Liam Ramsey and Stephen Hurst were arrested and officers later charged them with 18 offences and they were remanded into court. The pair made some initial admissions but also denied many of the offences and so were taken to trial.
The jury found Ramsey and Hurst guilty of numerous offences including sexual activity with a child, intentional strangulation and supply of a class A drug. Ramsey, 40, of Sunderland, was jailed for 11 years whilst Hurst, 46, of Richmond, was jailed for nine years. Here’s the full story.
Milan Dano, Thowkir Ahmed, Petr Balaz, Steven Langley, Pavel Vasko, David Gabor
Gang who supplied drugs from Newcastle Quayside flat jailed for total of 27 years(Image: Northumbria Police)
A criminal gang who conspired to supply drugs across the North East from a flat on Newcastle Quayside were jailed fore more than 27 years combined. After months of gathering intelligence, a warrant was executed on a flat on The Close on the Quayside on October 26 last year.
The flat was being used as a drug supply house, with multiple phones heard ringing and buzzing with notifications from suspected buyers. Searches uncovered thousands of pounds in cash, along with large quantities of cannabis, cocaine, ketamine and MDMA; and drug paraphernalia such as scales and plastic bags.
Milan Dano and Thowkir Ahmed were in the property when the raid began. As it continued, Pavel Vasko turned up at the property, followed by Balaz in a car outside, and Langley; all of whom were unaware of the police presence.
They were arrested at the scene, and their associate David Gabor later handed himself in after he was identified advertising a drugs line on the seized devices. The group admitted to a string of offences, and were sentenced over two days for conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B controlled drugs, concealing criminal property and money laundering.
Between them, they were sentenced to more than 27 years behind bars combined. Read the full court report here.
June
Christopher Mason
Christopher Mason, 36, has been jailed for 17 years for a string of sexual offences(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist who strangled his victim was jailed after being found guilty of 10 offences. Christopher Mason raped his victim and forced his hands around the woman’s throat until she nearly lost consciousness, verbally abused her, damaged her property and physically assaulted her.
The offences were reported to police and Mason was arrested and interviewed in connection with the report. The next day Mason, of Russell Avenue, South Shields, was charged with a string of offences.
He was found guilty of 10 offences at a six-day trial, including three counts of rape, two counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of sexual assault, assault and criminal damage. He was sentenced to 17 years and three months in prison. He will serve a further four years on extended licence once he is released. Here’s the full story.
Matthew Hindhaugh
Matthew Hindhaugh, 22, of Newton Aycliffe, who has been jailed for 16 years after kidnapping and attempting to sexually assault a girl(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A vile predator was jailed for 16 years after he kidnapped a girl and attempted to sexually assault her. Matthew Hindhaugh, of Newton Aycliffe, admitted to targeting the girl when she was walking in the street but had claimed he was trying to help her, saying that she had fallen over and hurt her face.
But overwhelming CCTV evidence and witness statements proved otherwise. The victim recalled how Hindhaugh approached her, punched her in the face, and put his hands over her mouth and told her to ‘shh’. He then forced her into his house and onto his bed, where he held her down.
The teenager told him that she wouldn’t tell anyone what had happened if he let her go, giving her a few seconds to run out of the property. She left one shoe behind as she fled to a nearby property and called the police.
Durham Constabulary officers arrested Hindhaugh and his protests of innocence were proven to be lies when the victim’s shoe was located on the stairs, as well as other evidence linking him to the incident. During searches of his home, police discovered a ‘rape list’ made up of various social media influencers and seized a sword from his bedroom.
He went on to plead guilty to kidnap, kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence, intentional strangulation, possession of an offensive weapon, and three charges of making hundreds of indecent images of children from 2015 to 2024. He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars. Here’s the full story.
Ryan Callaghan
Ryan Callaghan, who raped a woman who later took her own life(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist whose victim killed herself after her family inadvertently took her for a walk past his house was jailed for ten years. Ryan Callaghan’s victim, already vulnerable, was left “completely broken” after the sex attack, her mum said.
When her family went for a walk at the coast a few weeks later, they had no idea their route would taken them past Callaghan’s home. The victim called a relative to take her home and, shortly afterwards, she took her own life.
A court heard that in a note she left for her mum, it was “absolutely clear the rape of her by the defendant was one of the factors which was forefront in her mind”. Callaghan, 33, of Mowbray Road, South Shields, who was found guilty by a jury of rape, was jailed. Here’s the full story.
Michael Armstrong, Steven Brownless
Michael Armstrong, jailed for conspiracy to supply cocaine(Image: Northumbria Police)Steven Brownless, jailed for conspiracy to supply cocaine(Image: Northumbria Police)
Cocaine suppliers who thought they were “untouchable” were given lengthy prison sentences. Michael Armstrong and Steven Brownless thought the encrypted communications network they were using meant they could openly discuss their illegal trade.
But when French police hacked EncroChat, their offending was laid bare. Armstrong, 35, of Harlow Avenue, Fawdon, Newcastle, who played a leading role and was involved in buying and selling more than 4 kilos of cocaine and large amounts of cannabis, was locked up for more than ten years while Brownless, 38, of High Meadows, Kenton, who helped him, got more than seven years.
Armstrong and Brownless both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Armstrong also admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis and Brownless admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply. Read the full story here.
Steven Rycroft
Steven Rycroft, jailed for rape(Image: Northumbria Police)
A teenager was praised for fighting off her rapist as he was jailed for more than ten years. Steven Rycroft subjected the girl to a terrifying attack which left her traumatised.
After abusing her, he issued death threats, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Rycroft, 43, formerly of North Tyneside, pleaded guilty to offences including rape and sexual assault and was jailed for ten years and five months. Read the full report here.
Kai Bell
Kai Bell has been jailed for a series of sex offences(Image: Northumbria Police)
A “dangerous predator” sent explicit pictures and videos of himself to what he believed to be children. Kai Bell, also known as Ben Ryan Barclay, spoke with a number of decoys who were posing as 12-year-old girls.
After sending the explicit images and video, he arranged a meet up time and place with the intention of committing further offences. Now 20, he was arrested in June last year and charged with a series of offences later in September after breaching his imposed bail conditions.
Bell, of Saint Peters Road, Newcastle, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to 13 offences comprising of three counts of attempting to cause a child under 13 to watch an image of sexual activity, two counts of attempting to cause a child 13-15 to watch an image of sexual activity, two counts of attempting to incite a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, four counts of sexual communication with a child, and one count of meeting a child following grooming. He was jailed for six years. Here’s the full story.
Kevin McMahon
(Image: Northumbria Police)
A “prominent member” of an organised crime gang was jailed for transporting three kilos of cocaine. Drug dealer Kevin McMahon spearheaded a gang which sought to flood the North East with Class A drugs.
McMahon was brought to justice after a police investigation which was carried out between July and September 2023. McMahon was responsible for transportation along with the distribution and supply of drugs in and out of the region.
The 59-year-old was also found to be behind the transportation of three kilos of cocaine. McMahon, of Hexham Road, Throckley, was arrested in February last year and was charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.
He was found guilty following a two-week trial and was jailed for eight years. Here’s the full story.
Bradley Richmond
Violent bully Bradley Richmond has been jailed for up to 14 years(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A “violent and dangerous” bully stabbed his girlfriend and bit a man’s ear off. Bradley Richmond flew into a fit of jealous rage after going through his then-partner’s phone and seeing a selfie of her with an old school friend.
The 29-year-old attacked the woman with a knife and stabbed her through her hand. Bleeding heavily, the woman went to hospital where she was operated on by plastic surgeons, but the attack left her with permanent nerve damage.
The stabbing happened in 2016, but the victim didn’t report what had happened to police until last year, after the relationship had ended and Richmond made further threats against her. He was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent following an investigation by Durham Constabulary. He denied the offence but was found guilty following a trial.
Richmond was also sentenced for another incident of causing grievous bodily harm in which he bit a man’s ear off in Darlington. He was handed an extended prison sentence of 14 years and nine months, 11 years and nine months of which will be custodial and a further three years on extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Joshua Wilson and Taylor Ford
Joshua Wilson and Taylor Ford, who have been jailed for 14 years each(Image: Durham Constabulary)
Two men were jailed after a dispute between rival organised South Durham crime gangs descended into violence and destruction. Taylor Ford and Josh Wilson, both 20, were involved in a series of counterblow attacks in March last year, involving the use of petrol bombs, a shotgun and a machine gun.
The pair travelled to a house in St Helen Auckland on March 5, 2024 and threw a lit petrol bomb at the living room window and fired a shotgun at the front door. On March 11, they used another stolen vehicle and threw a petrol bomb at the front door of a house in Shildon, before firing a shotgun and a Skorpion machine gun, resulting in damage throughout the property.
In a third attack, Wilson threw another petrol bomb and also fired a 9mm pistol at a house in Darlington on March 17, causing damage to the premises. Nobody was injured in any of the three incidents.
The pair were charged with three counts of conspiracy to possess a firearm, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition and one count of conspiracy to commit arson. Ford and Wilson were found guilty during a trial at Teesside Crown Court and were sentenced to 14 years in prison and four years on extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Gary Slator
Gary Slator, jailed for machete attack on his friend(Image: Northumbria Police)
A machete wielding thug cut his friend’s hand in half in a “gruesome” attack. Gary Slator swung at his victim’s head with the weapon but he put his hand out to protect himself and it took the brunt of the blow.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the blade went between two of his fingers, into his right hand and caused permanent, irreversible injury. The victim, who was then a close friend of Slator, said in an impact statement that he was caused enormous “physical and emotional pain” as a result of the attack.
Slator, of Teviot Way, Jarrow, South Tyneside, denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent but was convicted by a jury after a trial. He was jailed for eight-and-a-half years. Read the full story here.
July
James Gregory
James Gregory has been jailed for eight years(Image: Northumbria Police)
A man who raped a sleeping woman called police and admitted what he’d done soon after the attack. James Gregory phoned the police and told them he’d raped a woman – but later went on to claim his confession was not true.
But last year, a jury found the 32-year-old guilty of rape. In July, he was put behind bars for eight years. Here’s the full story.
Barry Houston
Barry Houston has been jailed for six years and six months.(Image: Northumbria Police Copyright – No Reproduction Without Permission)
A man was jailed for abuse he committed almost five decades ago. Barry Houston, now 63, repeatedly sexually assaulted the school-aged boy when he was a teenager.
After living with the effects of Houston’s crimes for most of his life, the victim came forward and reported the assaults to police in 2023 – following a surprise public encounter with his abuser. Houston denied the offences when interviewed by officers.
However, following a three-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Houston, of Tennant Street, Hebburn, was found guilty of six offences. These offences comprised of four counts of indecent assault on a boy under 14, and two counts of buggery of a boy under 16 – being that the offences occurred before the Sexual Offences Act was introduced in 2003.
He was jailed for six years and six months. He will also serve a further one year on an extended licence once he is released from prison. Here’s the full report.
David Wilkinson
David Wilkinson(Image: Northumbria Police)
A rapist who treated his child victim like a “piece of meat” was caged for 19 years for historic sex offences. David Wilkinson subjected the victim to horrific sexual abuse and rapes.
The 55-year-old would groom the child by plying them with alcohol, buying them gifts or taking them on trips. The abuse left the victim battling mental health issues and struggle in their later life.
Wilkinson, of Wood Grove, Newcastle, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court to be sentenced for rape and sexual assault, and rape and sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. He was found guilty after a trial and was given a 20 year extended prison sentence, 19 years of which will be custodial. Here’s the full story.
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers (Image: Northumbria Police/AFP via Getty)
Two former friends who chopped down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree in an act of “sheer bravado” were each jailed for more than four years. Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham set off on their “moronic mission” from Cumbria to Northumberland in the dead of night during a storm to carry out the wanton destruction, which sparked anger, upset and condemnation from around the world.
The pair, convicted by a jury of damaging the tree and Hadrian’s Wall, onto which it fell, finally admitted they were part of the dreadful deed, with Carruthers wielding the chainsaw which left the totemic tree lying broken on the ground while Graham filmed the destruction on his phone. Both men then revelled in their notoriety as news broke of what they had done in September 2023.
While they accepted being part of it, a judge rejected assertions by Carruthers that it was drunken stupidity and claims by Graham that he had just gone along with Carruthers’ plan. Jailing them for four years and three months, Mrs Justice Lambert said while their motivation was not clear, “sheer bravado” was a factor in what they had done and said the reaction afterwards “gave you some kind of thrill”. Here’s the full court report.
Anthony Douglas
Anthony Douglas, of Hartlepool, was jailed for 16 years with a one-year extended licence.(Image: Durham Constabulary)
Two child abusers were jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for a string of historic sex offences after one of their brave victims went to police. It then led police officers to speak to further survivors of their vile attacks.
As well as raping a schoolgirl, the court heard Neil Willis and Anthony Douglas also sexually abused a boy, while Willis also assaulted two other young children. The two rapists were living in Peterlee at the time of the abuse, Willis was formerly known as Neil Blenkinsop.
Willis, 57, admitted some charges and was found guilty of others, including rape, indecent assault, buggery, and gross indecency with a child following a two-and-a-half-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Douglas denied all offences, but the 58-year-old was found guilty of several counts of rape, indecent assault, and gross indecency with a child.
Willis, now of Ealing, in London, was jailed for 13 years, while Douglas, of Hartlepool, was jailed for 16 years with a one-year extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Joshua MacFarlane
Joshua MacFarlane, jailed for sex offences against young boys(Image: Northumbria Police)
Online sex predator Joshua MacFarlane is behind bars after targeting “extremely vulnerable” young boys via his PlayStation and Facebook. MacFarlane, who subjected boys as young as nine to sickening abuse, was unmasked as a pervert when police attended his home and seized his devices after receiving intelligence.
Newcastle Crown Court heard they contained indecent images of children and also evidence of offences against young boys, including online contact with two nine year olds and a 13-year-old. He had befriended one of the nine year olds via his PlayStation and the conversation moved to Snapchat and he subjected him to online abuse for months before his mother realised what was happening.
The 20-year-old, of Coquet Avenue, South Shields, pleaded guilty to a total of 29 offences, including sexual communication with a child, causing a child to watch sexual activity, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, meeting a child following sexual grooming, paying for the sexual services of a child, distributing and making and possessing indecent images. He was jailed for ten years and four months, of which he must serve two-thirds behind bars, with an extended licence period of a further four years. Read the full story here.
Mckenzie Dicicco
Mckenzie Dicicco(Image: PA)
A North East footballer was imprisoned for a “cowardly” one-punch assault that resulted in the death of another non-league player following a “nonsensical argument” at a railway station. Mckenzie Dicicco, 22, struck married father-of-one James Hitchcock from behind as he dined at Burger King within York station after spending the day with mates.
James Hitchcock, 32, who played as a goalkeeper for Barton Town FC in North Lincolnshire, sustained a fatal head injury and succumbed to his injuries in hospital three days on. In July, Dicicco, who has turned out for Thornaby, Northallerton, and Pickering football clubs, received a sentence of six years and eight months having admitted to manslaughter. Read the full story here.
Michael Lesko
Abuser Michael Lesko has been jailed(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A man was jailed for 10 years after travelling more than 100 miles to intimidate and abuse a woman. In autumn last year Michael Lesko travelled to Durham with intentions to harass the victim. He waited inside the bus station for the victim and after spotting her, he jumped on the same bus and headed towards Ferryhill.
As the victim arrived in Ferryhill, she went into a pub for her own safety, again with Lesko following behind. The victim left the pub when she thought Lesko had disappeared and made her way home however he was waiting outside and began following her.
Lesko got into an argument with the victim and pushed her, grabbed her hair and lifted her up before hitting her head off the road. After reporting the incident, the victim also disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted by Lesko and raped on another occasion by him. Michael Lesko travelled a total of 120 miles, from his home in Bridlington to Durham.
The 29-year-old was found guilty following a trial of rape, stalking, sexual assault and assault causing actual bodily harm, all in breach of a suspended sentence order made last year. Lesko, of New Burlington Road, appeared at Durham Crown Court on July 24 where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Here’s the full story.
Daniel Curtis
Daniel Curtis who has been jailed for sex offences(Image: Northumbria Police)
A fugitive paedophile who tried to escape justice is now finally behind bars. Daniel Curtis abused the girl after getting her to send a string of sexually explicit messages on social media.
The 40-year-old was reported to police after the messages were discovered and he was charged with a number of sexual offences in 2022. But Curtis, of Hugh Gardens in Benwell, Newcastle, attempted to evade justice by repeatedly failing to appear at court, prompting Northumbria to launch a manhunt to find him.
He was eventually apprehended and following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Curtis was found guilty of seven offences of sexual activity with a girl. He was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment. Read the full story here.
Dean Matthews
Drug dealer Dean Matthews has been jailed after he was identified by police for his unique tattoo(Image: Northumbria Police)
A drug dealer who had the word “ouch” tattooed on his foot saw his downfall brought about by the unique ink. Police officers discovered that Dean Matthews had a main role in the supply and distribution of cocaine throughout the South Tyneside, Sunderland and Durham area.
Officers linked Matthews to offences by a distinctive tattoo of the word “ouch” on his foot, which he sent a picture of via messages on an “EncroChat” encrypted mobile device, which he used to co-ordinate drug deals. The plot was uncovered between March 2020 and May 2020, with the drugs totalling 22kg with a street value of £803,000.
Matthews was arrested in May 2022 and charged with concern to supply Class A drugs. In July, Matthews, of Lawrence Avenue, South Shields, was sentenced to 13 years behind bars. Here’s the full story.
August
Hugh Holmes
Hugh Holmes was jailed after driving his car at a man who had been trying to break up a fight(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A man was jailed after driving his car at a man who had been trying to break up a fight in a street. Hugh Holmes drove a Renault Megane at the victim and James Cowie in Ferryhill in December last year.
Holmes and Cowie had begun fighting a short time earlier after Holmes’ girlfriend, who had been a passenger in the car, claimed the people in Cowie’s van had been offensive to her. On the day of the incident, Holmes pulled over and approached Cowie who was standing alongside his van and threw a punch at Cowie, who ducked. Cowie then punched Holmes to the ground and continued to punch and kick him.
Holmes managed to get up and went back to his vehicle and drove away. Cowie began punching a male passenger in Holmes’ car.
The victim in this case, an innocent bystander, approached Cowie and tried to stop the fighting and encouraged Cowie to get back in his vehicle, which he did, but then got out again. While Cowie and the victim were talking, Holmes drove his vehicle straight at them.
Cowie jumped out of the way, but the victim was hit and then jammed between Holmes’ car and Cowie’s van. He suffered traumatic brain injuries for which he received seven months’ hospital treatment.
Cowie and Holmes were arrested at the scene and it later came to light that Holmes had a previous conviction for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The Crown Prosecution Service charged Holmes with a S18 Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent Order relating to the events of December last year. He offered several times to plead to the lesser charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but the CPS refused to accept that as it was felt that the charge did not fully reflect the seriousness of his offending.
Cowie pleaded guilty to affray at Teesside Crown Court. Holmes pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified, failing to provide a specimen for analysis and driving without insurance, but refused to plead to the Section 18 offence.
The CPS pursued a trial on the more serious charge and a jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with an extended license period of three years. Cowie was sentenced to eight months immediate imprisonment, which was considered served because of the time he had spent in custody. Here’s the full story.
Darren Gilmore, Carl Stewart and Benjamin Porter
Darren Gilmore, jailed for conspiracy to supply cocaine(Image: Northumbria Police)Carl Stewart, jailed for conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis(Image: Northumbria Police)Benjamin Porter, jailed for conspiracy to supply cocaine(Image: Northumbria Police)
Three members of a large-scale cocaine supply network were jailed for a total of more than 20 years. Using an expensive encrypted messaging service to run their lucrative trade, they believed they were untouchable.
But when police in Europe cracked EncroChat, a rich seam of evidence was there to be mined because organised criminals had let their guard down, believing their chats would remain private. Darren Gilmore, Benjamin Porter and Carl Stewart became the latest drugs gang members to pay the price.
Porter, 40, of St James Terrace, Percy Main, North Shields, Stewart, 36, of Humshaugh Road, North Shields and Gilmore, 42, of Riddings Road, Sunderland, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Stewart also admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis.
Porter was jailed for six years and four months, Stewart got seven years and eight months and Gilmore got six years and nine months. Read the full court report here.
Jordan Stoker, Brian Stoker, Paul Lamb, Christopher Sowerby, Shaun Sowerby, Ian Sowerby, Matthew Goodwin, Trelawny Brown
Eight of ten people convicted over an international drug smuggling operation – Drugs with a street value of £13m were seized by police during Operation Box – which smashed a gang importing illegal drugs from Thailand to County Durham(Image: NEROCU)
A number of criminals face years behind bars for their part in an international drug smuggling operation which saw “mules” sent to Thailand to bring back illegal narcotics. The County Durham-based gang, thought to be led by Jordan Stoker, were, specialist police said, involved in a massive operation and when this was dismantled, cocaine and cannabis with a street value of £13m was seized.
After being charged, the individuals involved admitted their crimes and were jailed at Teesside Crown Court. Stoker, of Hambleton Road in Coundon, Bishop Auckland, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to fraudulently evade a ban on importing controlled drugs – and he will face 19 years behind bars.
His mother Sarah Leighton, father Brian Stoker and half-brother Ethan Smith were also sentenced. Brian Stoker, 48, of Birch Avenue, Shildon, admitted the latter conspiracy charge and was sentenced to five years and two months in prison. Paul Lamb, 45, of McCullagh Gardens in Bishop Auckland, admitted the same charge and will be jailed for seven years and two months.
Leighton, 48, and Smith, 23, both of Queen Street, Bishop Auckland, were given sentences of 22 months and 18 months respectively, each suspended for two years. They admitted money laundering charges – as their role had been to count and store cash.
Christopher, Shaun and Ian Sowerby – all of Teesdale Walk, Shildon, admitted the same charges. Christopher Sowerby, 30, and Shaun Sowerby, 37, were both jailed for 13 years and one month. Ian Sowerby, 32, was jailed for ten years and ten months.
Matthew Goodwin – of Kinnaird House, Curtis Street, Wigan, and Trelawny Brown, – of Leedham Close, Sheffield – both admitted their part in the conspiracy. Each acted as the drugs mules themselves. Goodwin, 25, was jailed for three years and nine months, while Brown, 30, will face three years and four months behind bars. Here’s the full story.
Rhys Conn
Rhys Conn, jailed for rape and sexual assault(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A rapist who attacked a teenager after offering her a lift home was branded “evil” by his victim as he was jailed for 11 years. The victim had been out with friends when she saw Rhys Conn in a pub.
There was a conversation between them, during which she told him she had a boyfriend. The teenager said when they decided to go to a friend’s house, he offered to give them a lift to a garage to get some drinks.
While a friend got out of the van to go into the garage, Conn carried out his first sexual assault. When they ended up alone in the van again, he tried to kiss her again, dismissed her when she said she had a boyfriend and asked her to perform a sex act on him.
While they were at an address with others, he made no further advances towards her. When she decided she wanted to go home, he offered to give her a lift and she accepted the offer.
However, at the end of the street, instead of turning right to go in the direction of her home, he turned left towards his home. And after that his disgraceful behaviour began again as he sexually assaulted her.
Conn, 33, of Attlee Avenue, Blackhall Colliery, Hartlepool, was found guilty of two counts of rape, three of sexual assault and one of attempted sexual assault. Read the full story here.
Alfred Liddle
Alfred Liddle(Image: Northumbria Police)
A convicted rapist was back behind bars for trying to engage in sex chats online with a 14-year-old girl. Alfred Liddle was locked up in 2012 for raping a woman on their first date after meeting her online and was also jailed in 2017 for trying to meet a 13-year-old girl for sexual activity.
In that previous offence, the 13-year-old was a decoy profile set up by vigilantes and in the new offence, it was a decoy profile set up by police. A court heard that at the time of the new offences, Liddle was already on bail for breaching a sexual harm prevention order, by having an Apple watch he had not notified police about.
With days of his arrest for that, he started a conversation with a profile on Snapchat which was purporting to be a schoolgirl but was actually a law enforcement officer. Liddle asked how old they were and when told 14, he initially ended the communication, saying “that’s not cool, you are one year older than my kid and underage, come back when you’re 16”.
However, he continued to view Snapchat stories uploaded by the profile, showing what appeared to be everyday schoolgirl activities. The court heard Liddle then started messaging her again, asking what she was doing and what she had been up to.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that as time went on, the conversation became sexual. He pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempted sexual communication with a child, attempting to possess indecent images of a child and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order. He was jailed for five years and three months, with an extended licence period of a further two years and nine months. Here’s the full court report.
David Hodgson
David Hodgson(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A cocaine-addicted rapist who “degraded and humiliated” his victim was caged for 24 years. David Hodgson raped and assaulted the woman and left her feeling “destroyed”.
A court heard that Hodgson left his victim suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, and is now on medication. A judge told the 34-year-old he had “unhealthy, perverse sexual desires” and used his physical strength to overpower her.
Hodgson, of Ryton, Gateshead, appeared at Durham Crown Court to be sentenced for six counts of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by penetration, and common assault. He was found guilty following a trial and then jailed for 24 years. Read the full story here.
Richard Clough and Anthony Thompson
Richard Clough and Anthony Thompson
Homes across the North East were plundered of valuables worth around £70,000 by a pair of thieves during a spate of burglaries. Richard Clough and Anthony Thompson targeted houses while homeowners were out, stealing items including cash, watches and jewellery.
Newcastle Crown Court heard 16 homes in Birtley, Gateshead, Washington, Chester-le-Street, Springwell, Whickham and Burnopfield were all broken into on ten different dates. Clough, 58, of Market Street, Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton-le-Spring, and Thompson, 40, of Wear Street, Chilton Moor, Houghton-le-Spring, were found guilty of conspiracy to burgle in relation to 16 break-ins on ten different dates between December 2020 and January 2021.
Clough was jailed for eight-and-a-half years while Thompson got seven years. Here’s the full court report.
Warren Jackson
Warren Jackson
A pervert pleasured himself with a My Little Pony plush toy during live chats with children. Police found a collection of child abuse images on Warren Jackson’s computer devices as well as footage of him carrying out vile sex acts during online calls with young victims, which he had recorded and kept.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Jackson would ask children as young as nine “can I show you something” and then expose himself and perform sex acts. The court heard during three of the videos, Jackson encouraged youngsters to do the same and he sometimes used the soft toy on himself.
Jackson told police the recordings had been a “cut and paste job” and that he had never communicated with a child, which resulted in detectives getting help from computer specialists who confirmed the videos were real. Jackson, 43, of Cowpen Road, Blyth, Northumberland, admitted three charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, 19 of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, two of making indecent images of a child, one of possessing prohibited images and one of possessing extreme pornography. He was jailed for eight years and three months. Here’s the full report.
David Gillan
David Gillan(Image: Northumbria Police)
A paedophile left a teenage girl “crying hysterically” after he sat next to her on a bus and carried out a sex act. Loner David Gillan sat next to the girl on an almost empty bus and scared her by carrying out the vile act while looking directly at her and asking her questions.
The 63-year-old pervert left the girl terrified, but claimed he was only “adjusting” his groin area when arrested by police. At the time of the incident, Gillan was on bail for entering into sexual chats with what he thought were two 14-year-old girls – they were actually adult decoys. Later, indecent images of children were found on his mobile phone.
Gillan, of Lumley Tower, Sunderland, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court to be sentenced for three counts of making indecent images, outraging public decency, two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, four counts of attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and arranging the commission of a child sex offence. He had pleaded guilty to the offences and was sentenced to six years in prison. Here’s the full story.
Joseph Coils
Joseph Coils broke into the woman’s home while she was in bed and attacked her(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A violent abuser who attacked his ex-partner in her own home, leaving her with a fractured eye socket, was jailed for ten years. Joseph Coils broke into the woman’s Shildon home while she was in bed in the early hours of December 1 last year – just 13 days after being released from prison following a previous attack on her.
The 23-year-old dragged the terrified woman out of bed by her hair, punched her repeatedly, and tried to gouge her eyes out so that she “could not see another man”. The attack took place in front of the couple’s three-year-old son, who hid from Coils under his bed covers.
He was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent and breaching a restraining order that had been put in place previously to protect the woman from Coils. The offender, of Stanley, admitted breaching the restraining order but denied causing grievous bodily harm.
However, a jury took just 40 minutes to find him guilty of the offence and he was jailed for ten years. Here’s the full story.
September
Simon Walton, Andrew Wright and Joseph Henderson
Simon Walton, Andrew Wright and Joseph Henderson
A gang kidnapped a terrified taxi driver from the streets of Newcastle at gunpoint after lying in wait for him and his passenger. As the victim drove out of a car park in Jesmond Vale, his Suzuki was blocked in and stopped by a red Range Rover in a targeted attack.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim had picked up the second man on August 24 last year. They were then boxed in and snatched a couple of hours later and taken to Gateshead at gunpoint in the taxi.
In September, Andrew Wright, Simon Walton and Joseph Henderson were jailed for their part in the offence. Wright and Walton pleaded guilty to kidnap and Wright also admitted possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence and driving while disqualified. Henderson pleaded guilty to participating in activity for an organised crime group, his role being limited to driving the Range Rover to Gateshead in convoy with the taxi after the kidnap.
Wright was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, Walton got four-and-a-half years and Henderson was locked up for two years. Here’s the full court report.
Khaled Ibrahim
Khaled Ibrahim, jailed for a sex attack in a Wallsend park(Image: Northumbria Police)
A drunk and lost young woman was lured to a secluded park and sexually assaulted by a predator posing as a Good Samaritan. The victim, in her 20s, had been out in Wallsend when she became separated from her friends.
Newcastle Crown Court heard she had turned the wrong way when she left the last bar she had been in and was walking in the wrong direction when she encountered stranger Khaled Ibrahim and his friend coming the other way. Having been told where she wanted to go, Ibrahim said he would help her.
The 46-year-old and his friend walked with the woman and Ibrahim told his friend he wanted to have sex with the victim and gave him some money to go to buy alcohol. Ibrahim and the victim then walked to a park behind Wallsend Health Centre, where they sat on a bench and smoked a cigarette. The court heard that he sexually assaulted her.
Ibrahim, of Saint Hilda’s Avenue, Wallsend, was found guilty by a jury of assault by penetration. He was jailed for five years. Here’s the full story.
David Farrow, Susan Farrow and Joseph Wills
L-R: David Farrow, Susan Farrow, and Joseph Wills. The trio have been jailed for sexual offences against a child dating back to the 1990s(Image: Northumbria Police)
A married couple and their friend who sexually abused a child in the 1990s were jailed. David Farrow, 60, his wife Susan Farrow, 52, and their friend Joseph Wills, 74, were brought to justice thanks to the bravery of the victim reporting what had happened to them more than 20 years later.
The extent of the offending came to light after the victim reported the abuse by the trio in the Sunderland area. In October 2022, all three were charged in connection with the abuse.
Following two trials at Newcastle Crown Court in April 2024 and April 2025, David Farrow was found guilty of 11 offences, including seven counts of rape and four counts of indecent assault – being that the offences occurred before the Sexual Offences Act was introduced in 2003. Susan Farrow was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and Wills was found guilty of one count of rape.
David Farrow, of Gregory Terrace, Fencehouses, was jailed for 20 years. Susan Farrow, of Gregory Terrace, Fencehouses, was jailed for 15 months. Joseph Wills, of Borrowdale Street, Hetton-Le-Hole, was jailed for seven years. Read the full story here.
Jaifar Trigwell
Child rapist Jaifar Trigwell(Image: Durham Constabulary)
Vile child rapist Jaifar Trigwell boasted of his crimes to a police officer online. The Darlington man thought he was talking to a fellow paedophile when he revealed the sickening details, but in fact he was conversing with a police officer online.
Though he initially denied his crimes, Trigwell, 42, later confessed and pleaded guilty to four counts of child rape, two counts of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and four counts relating to possession and creation of indecent images. He was jailed for 29 years. Here’s the full story.
Aidn Cowen
Aidn Cowen, jailed for a series of sex offences including rape
A serial sex predator who raped a young boy and abused another youngster went on to rape an adult after being released on bail. Aidn Cowen was handed a prison sentence of more than 17 years after abusing three victims in separate offences.
Newcastle Crown Court heard he had already been arrested for carrying out a sickening catalogue of offences against two children when he raped the adult. In relation to the first victim, Cowen was convicted of two counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of assault by penetration.
In relation to the second victim, he was convicted of two counts of rape and two counts of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. In relation to the third victim he admitted two counts of rape in relation to the adult complainant.
Cowen, 23, of Mitchell Street, Annfield Plain, Stanley, County Durham, was aged between 16 and 20 at the time of the offences. Read the full court report here.
David Cairns and Gary Mitchell
David Cairns and Gary Mitchell
Two cocaine gang lynchpins who buried drugs and cash underground in a quarry in a “slick and professional” operation were jailed for a total of 40 years. David Cairns, who had already served two sentences totalling 18 years for drugs supply offences, and Gary Mitchell, were leading lights in a highly lucrative cocaine operation involving the buying and selling of large amounts of the drug.
During the first Covid lockdown, the pair were up to their eyes in deals involving 23 kilos of cocaine. A court heard they used Tuthill Quarry, in County Durham, to store their narcotics and cash, with CCTV cameras installed to keep watch over their criminal assets.
Cairns was jailed for 22 years while Mitchell was locked up for 18 years after they were each convicted of being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Here’s the full story.
Paul Woodmass
Paul Woodmass, convicted of raping an elderly dementia sufferer in her own home(Image: Northumbria Police)
A dog walker who raped a dementia suffering pensioner in her own home was branded dangerous as he was jailed for nine years for the shocking attack. Paul Woodmass hunted down the elderly stranger after chatting to her while they walked their pets a few weeks earlier.
The married grandfather then raped the vulnerable victim after tricking his way into her home. As police spoke to the woman hours later, Woodmass turned up outside her house, refused to give his name to police until he was arrested and was found to be in possession of a packet of condoms, having gone back hoping to strike again.
The 66-year-old, of Linnel Drive, Lemington, Newcastle, had denied rape and said they only chatted and had a cup of tea, despite his saliva being found inside her underwear. Jurors at Newcastle Crown Court unanimously convicted him after a trial.
He was jailed for nine years plus an extended licence period of a further three years after a judge branded him a dangerous offender. Here’s the full story.
Kevin Taylor and David Jeavons
Kevin Taylor and David Jeavons
Organised crime group kingpin Kevin Taylor was jailed for 27 years for running an £68m plot to flood the North East with cocaine. Taylor, of Chapel Park, Newcastle, and other members of his gang imported huge amounts of the drug into the country from Europe in gas canisters.
The plot was busted when the encrypted messaging service they had been using to conduct their illegal business was cracked by French police. David Jeavons, of Felton, Northumberland, was described as an “organiser and facilitator” involved in making arrangements for the large shipment of cocaine to be imported and then moved into the North East. He was jailed for 10 years and eight months.
David Bowen, 53, of Fleming Mead, Mitcham, London, was said to be a middle man who helped arrange the importation of 42 kilos of cocaine. He was jailed for four years. Taylor, Jeavons and Bowen admitted conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of drugs and conspiracy to supply cocaine, between March and June 2020. Here’s the full story.
Mark Hall and Scott Steanson
Mark Hall and Scott Steanson
A violent disturbance at a North East jail ended with an inmate suffering multiple stab wounds. The prisoner was targeted in his cell in a pre-planned and co-ordinated attack by a group of men.
A court heard some of them had armed themselves with weapons. Five men had previously been sentenced for their roles in the violent disorder at HMP Northumberland and now Mark Hall, Scott Steanson and Jack Miles have all been given prison sentences for their roles in it.
Hall, Steanson and Miles all admitted violent disorder and Steanson also admitted two counts of assaulting his ex partner and possessing a bladed article. Hall, of Seaton Delaval, was jailed for 22 months. Steanson, of Felling, Gateshead, got three years and three months. Miles, 28, of Edgeware Road, Deckham, Gateshead, got 23 months. Read the full story here.
Jasmine Somerville
Jasmine Somerville(Image: Northumbria Police)
A woman who distributed a video of herself sexually assaulting a young child was jailed. Jasmine Somerville recorded herself touching the youngster’s genitals before sending it to someone online.
Somerville pleaded guilty to sexual assault and indecent images offences on the basis she had been engaging with people online, including on Snapchat. She said she “can’t clearly recall” who requested videos or images, adding: “I wish to make it clear I was manipulated and threatened online.”
Somerville pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child and making and distributing indecent images of a child. She was jailed for 38 months. Read the full story here.
October
Peter Hudson
County Durham drug dealer Peter Hudson
A County Durham drug dealer who went on the run to Dubai was jailed for 14 years after being arrested in Belgium. In August 2023, Peter Hudson was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted in his absence of being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Hudson absconded before his trial at Durham Crown Court and is believed to have fled to Dubai. But he was arrested in Belgium and, after being detained in Brussels, was extradited back to the UK to face court.
The 28-year-old appeared at Teesside Crown Court and was sent down to serve the prison sentence he was given two years ago. He was also sentenced to an extra 40 days after admitting failing to attend court. Read the full story here.
Dean Wilkinson and Dale Fowler
Dean Wilkinson (left) and Dale Fowler (right)(Image: Northumbria Police)
Sadistic thugs held a woman in a dog kennel, hit her with a dog lead and threatened to rape her during a horrendous Christmas ordeal which only ended when she leapt out of second floor window. Between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, the victim was falsely imprisoned in her own home and subjected to shocking mental and physical abuse.
Dean Wilkinson, 35, and Dale Fowler, 30, were both found guilty of false imprisonment. Wilkinson was jailed for ten years with an extended licence period of a further five years and Fowler got seven years extended by four years. Here’s the full court report.
Jack Lawson
(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A teenager was jailed for murdering a County Durham dad. Jack Lawson, 18, stabbed Craig Yorke three times in an attack in Eldon Lane near Bishop Auckland in the early hours of December 14, 2024.
Following a seven-week trial at Teesside Crown Court, Lawson, 18, was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years less time served.
Despite the best efforts of the emergency services and passers-by, Craig died from his injuries. In the days following the attack, five people were arrested and charged with murder.
The other men and one boy were acquitted. Lawson pleaded guilty to manslaughter but claimed he had not intended to kill or cause serious harm. He had brought a knife to the scene of the planned fight, which he ultimately used to stab the victim during an outburst of extreme violence. Here’s the full report.
John Quinn
Rapist John Quinn has been jailed for 10-and-a-half years (Image: Northumbria Police)
A man who raped a woman before telling her that she looked beautiful while crying was locked up for a decade. John Quinn, 30, sexually assaulted the woman before raping her at an address in Gateshead.
After the assault, the 30-year-old, of Barford Court, Low Fell, Gateshead, told the female: “you look beautiful when you’re crying”. The brave victim came forward and reported the abuse to police.
The next day, Quinn was charged with a number of offences related to the abuse. He was found guilty of rape and sexual offence following a six-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
He was sentenced for the two offences as well as perverting the course of justice, breaching a suspended sentence and two counts of breaching a restraining order. He was jailed for 10-and-a-half years in total, eight-and-a-half of which was for the sexual offences. Read the full story here.
Malcolm Clixby
(Image: Durham Constabulary)
An attacker followed a teenager through a park and tried to rape her. Malcolm Clixby followed the victim as she walked to a party before grabbing her from behind and attempting to rape her.
The 43-year-old failed in his attempt when the brave victim managed to bite Clixby’s hand several times, which caused him to let go of her. She then ran to a nearby petrol station for help.
The attack, which happened in South Park, Darlington, resulted in a police search being launched. Clixby later attended Darlington Police Station to hand himself in.
Clixby, of Darlington, admitted sexual assault, but denied attempted rape. A jury sitting at Durham Crown Court found him guilty of the offence following a trial.
He was given a 14-year extended sentence. The sentence was made up of eight years in prison and six years on extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Lee Brumby
Lee Brumby who has been jailed for sex offences
A pervert teacher jailed for raping a child was once a head at a Newcastle school. Lee Brumby was locked up for 16 years after he was convicted of five historic sex offences against a child.
The 64-year-old had been working at a school in Essex when his horrific past came to light. But Brumby did also spend a number of years as a head teacher in Newcastle.
Brumby, now of Witham in Essex, was found guilty of two counts of raping a child, one count of indecency with a child and two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. He denied all charges. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and one year on extended licence. Here’s the full story.
Mohammed Sarfaraz
Mohammed Sarfaraz, 45, who has been sentenced to nine years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court for hurling hot cooking oil at police in an attempt to avoid arrest(Image: Northumbria Police)
A violent taxi driver left a police officer with burns to his face and chest by throwing hot oil at him. Officers had turned up to arrest Mohammed Sarfaraz when he was found to have a smoking frying pan in his hand.
When PC Christopher Bain entered the kitchen with his taser drawn, having been warned of the potential threat, Sarfaraz swung hot oil from the pan at him and his colleague. Newcastle Crown Court heard PC Bain suffered agonising burns which left his children shocked.
Now Sarfaraz, 45, of Kingston Park Road, Gosforth, Newcastle, who tried to “blackmail” a judge into not giving him a long sentence by saying he would kill himself if he did, has been jailed for nine years. Read the full story here.
Craig Martin
Craig Martin, jailed for conspiracy to supply cocaine
A cocaine courier trusted to transport 100 kilos of the drug in a £68m plot has been jailed – meaning the gang have now being given prison sentences of more than 150 years. The conspiracy, which involved 172 kilos of high purity cocaine being delivered to wholesalers in the North East, was run by Kevin Taylor and others, who were jailed previously.
Trusted courier Craig Martin, one of those caught after encrypted messaging system EncroChat was infiltrated, has now joined them behind bars. Newcastle Crown Court heard cocaine was transported the length of the country to the region in 12 gas bottles, each containing between 12 and 16 kilos, and was then passed on to buyers.
The 47-year-old, of Dorcas Avenue, Benwell, Newcastle, was responsible for transporting 100 kilos of the drugs. Martin, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine between October 2019 and June 2020, and he was jailed for nine years and seven months. Read the full story here.
Brenda Heslop
Brenda Heslop, who admitted murdering John Hardy(Image: Northumbria Police)
A woman who murdered her vulnerable neighbour to “teach him a lesson” over a £60 debt has been jailed for life. Brenda Heslop knifed much-loved John Hardy to death in the street where they lived while demanding he repay a loan she had made to him the day before.
“Kind and gentle” John, 68, known as “Limpy John” following a childhood accident, had a gambling habit and would regularly borrow money from neighbours. But while most treated him with patience and kindness, Heslop had previously said he was “getting on her nerves” and had warned she would stab him.
She carried out that threat in November last year on Sceptre Place, Elswick, after going to his home armed with a knife they lying in wait until he returned from a cashpoint. Now Heslop, 63, has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. Read the full story here.
Andrew Nicholson
Andrew Nicholson, 30, of Consett, targeted his victims as they slept(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A repeat rapist found with video footage of his sick actions has been jailed. Andrew Nicholson raped two women, and sexually assaulted a further victim.
As police investigated the rape of one of the women, they discovered footage he had filmed of him raping another woman. Now the 30-year-old has admitted two counts of rape and two of sexual assault against three women in separate incidents.
Last week, Nicholson, of Consett, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He will have to serve two thirds before being released on licence. He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and restraining orders against all three women. Read the full story here.
November
Jason Campbell, Gaetano Manco, Ross McMullen
(L-R) Jason Campbell, Gaetano Manco and Ross McMullen have been jailed for a combined total of 24 years after a drugs conspiracy in the North East(Image: Northumbria Police)
Three men involved in a cocaine conspiracy in the North East as part of an organised crime group were jailed for a total of 24 years. Gaetano Manco, Ross McMullen and Jason Campbell were brought to justice after the illicit scheme was uncovered by officers investigating as part of Operation Venetic.
Two of the three men communicated via an “EncroChat” encrypted mobile device to co-ordinate dealing large quantities of cocaine throughout the region. Manco played a leading role in the conspiracy by sourcing large quantities of cocaine to sell, whilst McMullen was responsible for receiving and distributing the drugs on Manco’s behalf.
Campbell acted as a courier, moving both drugs and criminal cash as part of the conspiracy. Manco, 36, of Beamish View, Birtley, was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. McMullen, 38, of Eastgarth, Newbiggin Hall, was charged with supply Class A drugs.
Campbell, 41 of Walker Road, Newcastle, was charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of cocaine with intent to supply. After a nine-day trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the trio were found guilty.
Manco was sentenced to 11 years, while McMullen was sentenced to eight years and Campbell received five years behind bars. Read the full story here.
Sam Asgari-Tabar, Reece Parish
Sam Asgari-Tabar and Reece Parish
A car thief who left a 94-year-old woman with a broken neck and spine after smashing into a care home during a police chase was jailed for more than five years. Sam Asgari-Tabar had exceeded 100mph in a desperate bid to flee from police in a car he had stolen with Reece Parish, when he lost control and crashed into the care home building.
A 94-year-old woman living in Highcliffe Care Home, in Witherwack, Sunderland, was badly injured and had to be dug out of rubble when the BMW slammed into the care home with so much force a ceiling collapsed on top of her.
As Asgari-Tabar, 21, of Stratford Avenue, Sunderland, was locked up, it emerged he was already banned from the roads for drug driving and on a suspended sentence for assaulting his parents. He was jailed for five years and eight months for robbery and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Parish, 21, of Fordham Road, Sunderland, got three years and one month for the robbery and a separate offence of violent disorder during the infamous Sunderland riots. Here’s the full story.
Anthony Crozier
Anthony Crozier, 54, has been sentenced to jail time(Image: handout)
A sexual predator who arranged to sexually abuse two children has been sentenced. Anthony Crozier, 54, was given jail time after he spoke to someone online he believed had access to two children for him to abuse.
However, what he didn’t know was that he was actually speaking to an investigating officer and thanks to the efforts of the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit and Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit, Crozier was arrested and subsequently charged.
Crozier had believed he had been speaking with another like-minded man who had access to a 7-year-old girl and young son. He sent sexually explicit messages including describing how he wanted to sexually abuse the children.
Thankfully officers acted quickly, and following the investigation, Crozier appeared at Durham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to Commission of a Child Sex Offence. Crozier, of Rutland Street, Seaham, appeared before Teesside Crown Court and was sentenced to jail for six years with a further two years on extended licence. Read the full story here.
Ian Hudson
Ian Hudson, jailed for offences including attempted rape(Image: Northumbria Police)
Ian Hudson gouged a stranger’s eyes, strangled her and bit her thumb while violently trying to rape her in a bus stop. Hudson had stalked a woman in her 60s through the streets late at night before pouncing on her when she stopped, hoping he would walk past and leave her alone.
The vicious attack was only brought to an end when a student walking past the scene heard the victim’s terrified screams and went to her aid. Hudson was convicted after trial of attempted rape, assault by penetration, two counts of assault and strangulation against the woman and assaulting the Good Samaritan.
He pleaded guilty to exposure and assaulting an emergency worker. He was jailed for nine years with an extended licence period of a further five years. Read the full story here.
David Straughan
David Straughan, jailed for domestic violence(Image: Northumbria Police)
A pregnant woman suffered a devastating miscarriage a day after her boyfriend twice stamped on her stomach during a sickening attack. The violence was one of a series of assaults the victim and another former partner suffered at the hands of David Straughan.
Newcastle Crown Court heard there is no medical evidence that Straughan’s violence caused the loss of the victim’s baby when she was 12 weeks pregnant. The attacks on that victim involved one incident where he punched her multiple times and kicked her, another where he struck her and she heard her ear drum pop and another when he put his hands around her neck and squeezed until she thought he was going to kill her.
Judge Robert Spragg said during one argument about money, Straughan headbutted the woman, bit her chin and hit her until she fell down. The judge added: “You stamped on her stomach twice. She was 12 weeks pregnant and she suffered a miscarriage the next day. There is no medical evidence linking the two.”
Straughan, 37, formerly of Sunderland, admitted three offences of assault and one of intentional strangulation on that victim. He also admitted intentional strangulation, intentional suffocation, threatening with a bladed article and two breaches of a non molestation order, in relation to a second woman.
He was jailed for a total of seven-and-a-half years with a 12-month extended licence period. Here’s the full court report.
Gareth Henry
Gareth Henry, jailed for false imprisonment and battery
Two sex workers were left terrified after being falsely imprisoned and assaulted by a customer. Former farm worker and scrapman Gareth Henry used force to prevent the two women leaving in separate incidents in Sunderland a few weeks apart.
Henry, of no fixed address but formerly of Sunderland, was convicted after trial of two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of battery. He pleaded guilty to assault with intent to resist arrest and possession of cannabis. He was jailed for six years. Here’s the full story.
Craig Howse
Craig Howse, convicted of murdering Michael Craig(Image: Northumbria Police)
A brutal murderer who left his friend with more than 90 injuries after attacking him with six weapons was told he must spend at least 20 years behind bars. Vulnerable and kind-hearted Michael Craig was a guest in Craig Howse’s Heaton flat when he was subjected to a horrific and prolonged attack.
Howse repeatedly battered his victim with a vacuum pipe, attacked him with two knives and a fork and also used a clock and mug to assault him. Howse was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years for the murder.
The 38-year-old, of Bolingbroke Street, Heaton, denied the offences but was found guilty by a jury following a three-week trial. Here’s the full court report.
Andrew McCreedy
Andrew McCreedy, jailed for dealing heroin(Image: Northumbria Police)
A heroin dealer who is a “walking, talking example of the perils of drug misuse” was jailed for peddling the narcotic which he believes will kill him. Police executed a search warrant at Andrew McCreedy’s home at Archer Street, Wallsend, in 2023.
Newcastle Crown Court heard officers seized 22.4g of heroin, worth up to £1,120 and McCreedy said it was all his and nothing to do with his girlfriend, who was present. An examination of his phone showed he had sent a number of bulk messages to contacts advertising his availability to supply heroin.
The court heard McCreedy, who was taking £200 of heroin a week, has a previous conviction for conspiracy to supply heroin from 2016, for which he was given a suspended sentence and a drug rehabilitation requirement. He also has convictions for possessing heroin, cocaine and amphetamine.
The 39-year-old, of Northumbrian Way, North Shields, pleaded guilty to possessing heroin with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of heroin. He was jailed for four years. Here’s the full story.
Jonathan Paton
Jonathan Paton, 36, has been jailed for sexual offences against a child(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A Chester-le-Street predator told a teenager “she should have his baby” once she turned 16. Jonathan Paton was 31 when he met the girl online, telling her he was 20 years old and called “Jonny”.
He struck up a conversation with her on Snapchat then arranged to meet her in summer 2020. Paton, now 36, encouraged the girl to go to his house where he had sex with her.
He continued to have sex with the teenager for several months, and said she should have his baby once she turned 16. The girl bravely reached out to police to report she had been raped after several incidents where she told Paton ‘no’ but he continued to have sex with her.
After the victim came forward, Paton tried to erase all previous contact with the girl by deleting messages and removing her off Snapchat. He was arrested and, while in interview, denied the offences of rape and denied having any sexual contact with the victim.
However, text messages downloaded from his phone proved the allegations. Paton was charged with rape of a child and four counts of sexual activity with a child, as well as grooming.
He was found guilty following a trial and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Here’s the full story.
Natalie Wolf, who was known as Ryan Haley
Natalie Wolf, jailed for sexual activity with a child(Image: Northumbria Police)
A sex attacker who made wild claims about a jury and police being hypnotised has finally been brought to justice and jailed. The defendant, named in court as Natalie Wolf, who was known as Ryan Haley to the teenage victim when the abuse happened, was found guilty of sexual activity with a child after a trial.
As Wolf, 47, of Shipley Walk, Byker, Newcastle, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court, the victim outlined the traumatic impact the offending has had on her and a judge rejected Wolf’s conspiracy theories.
Passing sentence, Judge Gavin Doig said he had read various notes provided by the defendant suggesting there had been a conspiracy involving the court, prison service, barristers, solicitors, police and many other people.
Wolf, who was convicted of sexual activity with a child, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and was given an indefinite restraining order, a sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offenders register for life.
December
Sahil Nagpal
Sahil Nagpal has been jailed for causing death by dangerous driving(Image: North Yorkshire Police)
A killer driver was jailed following a head-on collision which claimed the life of beloved dad who never got to meet his grandson. Sahil Nagpal, from Wardley, Gateshead, was driving his Hyundai i40 car along the A171 between Whitby and Teesside when he collided with a car travelling in the opposite direction.
In December, the 30-year-old was jailed for ten years at Teesside Crown Court after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, and three offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, after a four-day trial earlier this year. Nagpal was travelling on a rural stretch of the road when he made a dangerous overtaking manoeuvre that resulted in his car colliding head-on with a vehicle being driven by Paul Brand, from Loftus, North Yorkshire, who was on his way to work.
The collision not only tragically caused the death of Mr Brand, but also resulted in three members of Nagpal’s family, who were travelling with him in his car, being seriously injured. The court heard that at the time of the collision, Nagpal’s vehicle was wholly on the wrong side of the road. Here’s the full story.
Grant Curley, Walter Patterson, John Reid, Mitchell Smith and Grant Royal
Grant Curley, Walter Patterson, John Reid, Mitchell Smith and Grant Royal have all been jailed for arson offences
Five men were jailed for a total of 25 years after a car was reversed into John Henry Sayers’ property and set on fire. The arsonists had already torched a car belonging to Sayers two days earlier when they went back to “finish the job”.
CCTV footage captured the moment a Range Rover was reversed into the former Lou’s Diner, underneath Sayers’ home on Fossway, Byker. After it was crashed into the doors of the cafe, it was torched.
Footage shows Sayers emerge from the property, where he was with his family, and move the burning car away from the building, which prevented the fire spreading inside. Grant Royal, John Reid, Mitchell Smith, Grant Curley and Walter Patterson were jailed at Newcastle Crown Court after pleading guilty to the arson attacks.
Royal, Reid and Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, reckless as to whether Sayers’ life was endangered, between January 29 and February 2. Curley and Patterson pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether Sayers’ life was endangered on January 31 and February 2.
Royal, 49, of Bedfordshire Drive, Durham, was jailed for five years and nine months. Reid, 46, of Jubilee Crescent, Sherburn Hill, County Durham, was locked up for five years and six months. Smith, 26, of Elemore Lane, Easington Lane, Houghton-le-Spring, was jailed five years and four months. Curley, 35, of Luke Crescent, Murton, County Durham, was jailed for four years and nine months. Patterson, 38, of Jubilee Crescent, Sherburn Hill, County Durham, was locked up four years. Here’s the full court report.
Simon Lancaster
Simon Lancaster(Image: Northumbria Police)
A drugs and guns gang member who fled the country after an encrypted messaging service was hacked by police was jailed for more than 14 years. Simon Lancaster was the sixth member of the gang to be jailed and takes the total sentences imposed to more than 70 years.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Lancaster, 34, left the country when EncroChat was infiltrated. As the authorities sought his extradition from Dubai, he fled that country on a false passport to Thailand and then Oman, where he was held for entering with the fake documentation and eventually came back to the UK.
Lancaster, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin and amphetamines and conspiracy to supply firearms and conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate, was jailed for 14 years and eight months. Here’s the full report.
Timothy Paul Nellis and Sundeep Chahal
Timothy Paul Nellis and Sundeep Chahal
A conman who fleeced banks and a Covid loans scheme out of £1.5m was jailed for more than 17 years. Timothy Paul Nellis spun a web of lies, setting up a series of shell companies to trick financial institutions and then the taxpayer out of vast sums, some of which were ploughed into setting up highly lucrative cannabis farms.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the police investigation into these activities began “fortuitously” when Nellis did not pay a hotel bill for a rooms he had been renting between October 2018 and April 2019, having paid £6,850 over that period. As a result, housekeeping entered the room at Gosforth Grand Park Hotel, Newcastle, where they found a large number of mobile phones, documents and other items which hotel staff found to be suspicious.
They informed the police, who found an “office” containing paperwork, documentation, crib sheets of directors and banking details, credit and debit cards and burner phones which each related to numerous companies being run from that hotel room. Around 30 “shell” companies were being controlled by Nellis and everything he required to control them was within the hotel room.
The companies were investigated and it unearthed a sophisticated fraud, run by Nellis and Sundeep Chahal, from which money was laundered and used to finance organised crime group activities, such as setting up cannabis farms and selling unlicenced prescription medicines.
Nellis and Chahal were convicted following trial of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation by way of causing false representations to be made to banking institutions, transferring criminal property, conspiracy to produce cannabis, converting criminal property, conspiracy to produce a class C drug and transferring criminal property from website sales of the class C drug. Nellis was also convicted of contravening a disqualification on being a director of a company.
Nellis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to causing representations to be made to banking institutions to obtain bounce back loans during the Covid pandemic, knowing those representations to be false. He also admitted contravening a disqualification on being a director during those frauds.
Chahal was convicted in his absence, after absconding, of conspiracy to supply cocaine in relation to an EncroChat case. Chahal remains at large. Nellis, 58, of Mitford, Morpeth, was jailed for 17 years and nine months. Chahal, 45, of Shepherds Court, Durham, was jailed in his absence to 20 years. Read the full court report here.
Sean Reay, Thomas Sterling, Kelvin Lawson
Sean Reay(Image: Durham Constabulary) Thomas Sterling(Image: Durham Constabulary)Kelvin Lawson(Image: Durham Constabulary)
Three men who were found guilty of murder after the shooting of a County Durham granddad were jailed for life. Barry Dawson, 60, was shot through the broken living room window of his terraced house in South Moor, Stanley, on April 5.
Emergency services attended, but nothing could be done to save him. Sean Reay, 30, of Sabin Terrace, Stanley; Kelvin Craig Lawson, 38, of Frosterley Gardens, Stanley; and Thomas Lee Sterling, 22, of The Avenue, Stanley; were found guilty of Mr Dawson’s murder.
Upon sentencing, Judge Cotter told Reay, Lawson and Sterling: “You committed an extraordinary crime on an ordinary residential street on a spring Saturday. Children had been playing on the street moments earlier when you produced a gun to threaten one man and shoot another.
“You turned that street into something that you’d only see on TV or in films, and then not in this country. Use of illegal firearms is relatively rare but we must do what we can. If you use a gun, you should not expect nor will you get any sympathy from the court.”
Sean Reay was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 32 years, with a concurrent sentence of 76 months for a firearms offence. Kelvin Lawson was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years, and Thomas Sterling was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 26 years. Here’s the full court report.
Taranvir Galsinh
Taranvir Galsinh(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A Sunderland man was jailed for raping two girls aged just 14 and 12. Taranvir Galsinh took a 14-year-old to a hotel where he raped her, sexually assaulted her and paid her for having sex with him.
He sexually assaulted her in a car several times and on one occasion tried to strangle her. Galsinh raped a second girl who was 12 years old at the time and forced her to engage in sexual activity in his vehicle, before paying her.
The 45-year-old pleaded guilty to rape of a girl aged 13 to 15, two counts of rape under 13, intentional strangulation, three counts of paying for sexual services of a girl, sexual assault of a child, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child and assault by penetration of a child. He was sentenced to 11 years and three months behind bars. Here’s the full story.
Stephen Plant
Stephen Plant has been jailed for several sexual offences(Image: Durham Constabulary)
An “extremely dangerous” rapist is behind bars after a string of sexual offences. Stephen Plant was found guilty of three counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault on a woman earlier this year following a Northumbria Police investigation.
The 24-year-old raped and assaulted his victim several times. She reported the abuse to police.
A separate investigation by Durham Constabulary found that when Plant was 16, he met up with a girl in public places several times and gave her alcohol before having her carry out sexual acts on him. This resulted in him admitting four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.
Plant, of Washington, was sentenced to a total of 15 years for all of the offences at Newcastle Crown Court. Here’s the full story.
Craig Neill, Amy Cave
Craig Neill and Amy Cave have both been jailed(Image: Durham Constabulary)
A couple who left a child with a brain injury were jailed for over 20 years. Craig Neill, 26, and Amy Cave, 21, left a child with horrifically painful injuries, which a court heard were likely the result of “sadistic behaviour and significant force”.
Emergency services were called to a house in the Branksome area of Darlington following reports of an unresponsive child. The child was found to have extensive bruising across their body, including the head and neck, as well as burns to the hand, a fractured jaw and both wrists broken in three places.
The child was rushed to hospital where doctors confirmed a fractured skull and significant brain injury, requiring a section of skull to be temporarily removed to ease the swelling. Cave and her new partner, Neill, were arrested in connection with the incident but denied being responsible for the child’s injuries – which medical experts described as being caused by “blunt force” and highly likely to have been inflicted deliberately.
Cave, of Waltham Close, Darlington, and Neill, 26, of Yarm Road, Darlington, were both jointly charged with causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm. The pair pleaded not guilty to the charge but were found guilty following a trial.
Neill was sentenced to a 14-year extended prison sentence, 13 years of which will be custodial. Cave was jailed for 10 years. Here’s the full story.
James Barrass
James Barrass, jailed for raping two women
A dangerous rapist who attacked two women was jailed for 24 years. James Barrass was convicted of a series of offences by a jury following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Barrass, 37, of Priory Grange, Blyth, Northumberland, was found guilty of charges including rape, attempted sexual assault and assault by penetration. As well as the prison sentence, of which he will serve two-thirds behind bars, he must sign the sex offenders register for life and was given indefinite restraining orders. Here’s the full story.
Henry Renton
Henry Renton, convicted of raping a child
A predatory paedophile pensioner unmasked by a Sarah’s Law application was jailed for 18 years. To those who didn’t know him, Henry Renton appeared a harmless elderly man but behind that facade he was a serial child abuser.
The 81-year-old, already serving a 15 year prison sentence for multiple child rapes, was convicted of manipulating and sexually abusing a youngster in Northumberland. In December, he was told he will be 93 before he has any chance of release.
His latest abuse came to light when the girl’s dad got a phone call from social services suggesting he make a Sarah’s Law application, in which a parent or carer can check if someone poses a risk to a child. When this was done, it revealed Renton was a convicted child sex offender.
After that revelation, the victim confessed what had happened to her and that led to the police becoming involved. Renton was convicted of two counts of rape, two of sexual assault of a child, five of sexual activity with a child and one of assault by penetration.
He was told he must serve 12 years of the 18 years in custody before he can be released. Here’s the full story.
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