Canterbury Crown Court Sentencing Results

Explore 118 verdicts at Canterbury Crown Court (Canterbury, Canterbury). Updated with the latest court outcomes.

September 2024 2 cases

Qari Sher Mohammad

Sexual touching of a child *

Sentence

10 years imprisonment

Qari Sher Mohammad, 61, from Woodford Road, Forest Gate, London, sexually assaulted four children over nearly a decade while acting as an imam at a mosque in Thorold Road, Gillingham, between March 2014 and December 2023. Initial concerns raised in 2018, with further assaults reported in 2022-2023. One victim, now an adult, supported prosecution.

Convicted after trial on 16 indictments of sexual touching of a child. Subject to a 5-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order upon release.

12 Sep 2024

Joel Loba

Supply of class A drugs *

Sentence

5 years and 7 months imprisonment

Joel Loba, 27, from Westbrook Road, Margate, was arrested on June 25, 2024, at a property where officers seized three phones, £1,360 cash, and class A drugs. Investigations linked three phone numbers used for bulk marketing to drug users in Margate to Loba, confirming his role in supplying crack cocaine and heroin.

Pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, possession with intent to supply a controlled drug, and possession of criminal property.

11 Sep 2024

July 2024 1 case

Dr Gregory Manson

Sexual assault *

Sentence

7 years imprisonment

Dr Gregory Manson, of Tower Way, Canterbury, conducted inappropriate and unnecessary intimate examinations on several male patients at Cossington House Surgery in Canterbury. Complaints led to an investigation starting in 2017, and he was arrested on February 21, 2018. He was charged with 24 offences and convicted of 14 counts of sexual assault and four counts of indecent assault.

Found guilty after a trial of sexual assault and indecent assault. Victims reported unnecessary intimate examinations not recorded in medical records.

4 Jul 2024

February 2024 1 case

Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss

Murder *

Sentence

Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years

Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss ambushed Claire Knights, 54, while she was walking her dog near Minnis Bay on August 23, 2023. He sexually assaulted her, beat her, and stomped on her head, causing fractures and brain damage. He then hid her body in a dyke, where it was discovered two days later. Prior to this, he had pleaded guilty to upskirting another woman at his workplace the day before the murder.

Pleaded guilty to murder and upskirting. Sentence was increased by the Court of Appeal for being unduly lenient, with judges citing insufficient weight given to aggravating factors such as targeting a lone woman and hiding the body. He feigned symptoms of psychosis after arrest.

1 Feb 2024

January 2024 3 cases

Rafal Czajka

Importation of controlled drugs *

Sentence

9 years imprisonment

Rafal Czajka, a 39-year-old Polish national and lorry driver, attempted to smuggle 45 kilos of cocaine, worth an estimated £2.1 million at street level, into the UK. The drugs were hidden in six metal box sections built into the bulkhead of his trailer, covered by a wooden board secured with rivets. The lorry was stopped and searched by Border Force officers at the port of Dover on November 16, 2021. It also carried a legitimate load of ventilation blower parts from the Netherlands destined for Basingstoke, Hampshire. A rivet gun and pop rivets were found in the cab.

Pleaded guilty to the importation of controlled drugs.

18 Jan 2024

Daniel Whereatt

Importing heroin *

Sentence

6 years imprisonment

Daniel Whereatt, 48, of Seymour Road, Bristol, was stopped at Dover’s Eastern Docks on March 18, 2019, as he returned to the UK from Amsterdam. He claimed to have been on a day trip to Dunkirk, but phone analysis confirmed he was in Amsterdam picking up heroin. Border Force officers searched his car after noticing a strong smell of fuel and found 18 tape-wrapped packages submerged in the fuel sender tanks, containing 6kg of heroin worth £800,000 and 2kg of cutting agents (paracetamol and caffeine). His DNA was on a screwdriver and metal file near the concealment area. The vehicle was insured for only two days, believed to be solely for the drug importation.

Pleaded guilty to importing 6kg of heroin. DNA found on tools used to conceal the drugs.

5 Jan 2024

Bryan Anthony Hughes

Importing a Class A drug *

Sentence

7 years and 6 months imprisonment

Bryan Anthony Hughes, a 30-year-old lorry driver from Ballymena, County Antrim, was smuggling eight kilos of cocaine, valued at £480,000 on the street, hidden in baggage and a locker in his cab. The lorry, carrying a legitimate cargo of frozen potatoes from Tilburg, Netherlands, for delivery in the north west of England, was stopped at the UK Inbound border in Coquelles, France, on October 16, 2023.

Pleaded guilty to importing a Class A drug. No comment during initial interview.

5 Jan 2024

December 2023 1 case

Ross Patrick Deffley

Attempting to import class A drugs *

Sentence

10 years imprisonment

Ross Patrick Deffley, 26, of Solihull, West Midlands, attempted to smuggle 183kg of heroin and cocaine, valued at £16.5 million, hidden inside canisters of nitrous oxide within catering supplies. He was stopped at the Dover border on September 21 while driving a van. Border Force officers found the drugs concealed in the boxes, along with an extendable baton in the cab. His fingerprints and DNA were on packages containing 97kg of heroin and 86kg of cocaine. Deffley claimed the packages were for the catering industry but they were destined for a residential address he could access. He had set up companies to transport the nitrous oxide canisters used for smuggling.

Convicted of two counts of attempting to import class A drugs on November 30. Earlier convicted of possession of an offensive weapon. Subject to confiscation investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

7 Dec 2023

November 2023 1 case

Alan Leggett

Sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety *

Sentence

10 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, and a 15-year restraining order

Alan Leggett, a 44-year-old YouTuber, targeted antisemitic abuse at a Jewish woman during a livestream broadcast in September 2020. The woman knew Leggett through her work for an organisation that investigates antisemitic abuse online. The abuse was deeply offensive to the victim and the Jewish community.

Pleaded guilty to sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety. CPS committed to prosecuting hate crime with harsher sentences.

16 Nov 2023

October 2023 4 cases

Ashari Mohamed

Facilitating illegal entry into the UK *

Sentence

3 years imprisonment

Ashari Mohamed, 28, a Sudanese national, piloted a small boat carrying 37 people including Sudanese, Iraqi, Syrian and Albanian nationals and eight children across the English Channel. The vessel was intercepted by the Border Force on July 10, 2022. Mohamed allegedly received 600 euros for the role due to his previous experience, though he claimed he did it for free in exchange for passage.

Pleaded guilty to facilitating illegal entry into the UK. Previous 8-month sentence for illegal entry to be served concurrently. Paid 600 euros to pilot the boat.

18 Oct 2023

Azad Ahmadi

Conspiracy to assist with unlawful immigration *

Sentence

4 years 6 months imprisonment

Azad Ahmadi, 31, of Westgreen Avenue in Derby, was the paymaster in a people smuggling ring, intimately involved in planning to bring seven Iraqi nationals illegally into the UK. He transferred £4,280 to the Fullwoods' account to facilitate two smuggling attempts in December 2018 and January 2019.

Pleaded not guilty but convicted following trial in 2022. Acted as paymaster, transferring £4,280 to the Fullwoods. At the head of the conspiracy chain. Has wife, two young children, and employs seven in car wash business.

2 Oct 2023

Pamela Fullwood

Conspiracy to assist with unlawful immigration *

Sentence

2 years imprisonment suspended

Pamela Fullwood, 45, of Wingfield Road in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, joined her husband in attempting to smuggle Iraqi nationals into the UK. In December 2018, her husband was stopped by French authorities with five migrants. In January 2019, they tried to smuggle two Iraqis hidden in furniture in a hired van, with their 13-year-old daughter travelling with them. Received £4,280 from the scheme's paymaster.

Pleaded guilty ahead of trial. Has significant problems with intellectual reasoning, high suggestibility, history of cancer, and upcoming preventative operation in March. Involved out of misguided loyalty to husband. Recorder Michael Turner spared immediate imprisonment to allow operation.

2 Oct 2023

Nicholas Fullwood

Conspiracy to assist with unlawful immigration *

Sentence

3 years imprisonment

Nicholas Fullwood, 48, of Wingfield Road in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, hired a van and attempted to smuggle five Iraqi nationals into the UK in December 2018 but was stopped by French authorities. A month later, he and his wife attempted to smuggle two more Iraqis hidden inside furniture in a second hired van, with their 13-year-old daughter present.

Pleaded guilty in August 2021. Involved due to desperation from loan shark threats, but offending not excused. Recorder Michael Turner accepted mitigation.

2 Oct 2023

October 2022 1 case

Callum Wheeler

Murder *

Sentence

life imprisonment with a minimum term of 37 years

On April 27, 2021, Callum Wheeler, 22, ambushed PCSO Julia James, 53, in Ackholt Wood near her home in Snowdown, Kent, while she was walking her Jack Russell dog Toby. Wheeler had been roaming the countryside with a railway jack, a large metal bar used to lift train tracks. He lay in wait in bushes for a lone female victim, motivated by sexual intent. When Mrs James spotted him, her Apple Watch data showed her heart rate spiking as she attempted to run away and change her route. Wheeler inflicted multiple blows to her head, causing catastrophic injuries described by a pathologist as the worst he had ever seen. DNA on the breast area of her white top indicated sexual touching. Wheeler had no connection to the victim but targeted her when she became vulnerable, away from other dog walkers. He was a prolific user of internet pornography, having searched for terms like 'raped' two days prior. Upon arrest, he admitted to uncontrollable actions and stated he would return to the woods to rape and kill if released, claiming Mrs James deserved to die.

Found guilty of murder in May. Sentenced by Mr Justice Wall. The judge described the attack as brutal, vicious, planned in advance, and sexually motivated. Wheeler showed no emotion during sentencing and was escorted from Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital.

28 Oct 2022

September 2022 2 cases

Cherrelle Clarke

Robbery *

Sentence

5 years imprisonment

Cherrelle Clarke, along with her mother Dionne Clarke, targeted elderly victims in Canterbury and Ramsgate between May and June 2022. On 25 May 2022, they robbed a man in his 80s of his wallet in a Canterbury supermarket car park, pulling it with force and causing him to fall and sustain grazes. They discarded the wallet in a river after removing bank cards. In June 2022, they stole a purse from a woman in Ramsgate by pretending to help with her shopping. The stolen bank cards were used to purchase items in shops, a café, and a pub, where the pair were arrested.

Admitted to offences of robbery, theft and fraud. Behaviour described as callous by police.

1 Sep 2022

Dionne Clarke

Robbery *

Sentence

3 years and 8 months imprisonment

Dionne Clarke, along with her daughter Cherrelle Clarke, targeted elderly victims in Canterbury and Ramsgate between May and June 2022. On 25 May 2022, they robbed a man in his 80s of his wallet in a Canterbury supermarket car park, pulling it with force and causing him to fall and sustain grazes. They discarded the wallet in a river after removing bank cards. In June 2022, they stole a purse from a woman in Ramsgate by pretending to help with her shopping. The stolen bank cards were used to purchase items in shops, a café, and a pub, where the pair were arrested.

Admitted to offences of robbery, theft and fraud. Behaviour described as callous by police.

1 Sep 2022

June 2022 1 case

Jon Pughe

Robbery *

Sentence

6 years imprisonment

Jon Pughe, 41, of Clifftown Gardens, Herne Bay, Kent, entered a Post Office in Margate Road, Margate, on 12 February 2022, wearing a balaclava and holding a crowbar. He hit a female staff member in the face, stole a large amount of cash from the till, and fled in a white Renault van. He was later arrested in Herne Bay town centre after police linked him via CCTV footage showing a tear in his jeans matching those he was wearing.

Admitted robbery. Caught due to matching jeans in CCTV footage. DCI Keith Taylor commented on the violent actions and their terrifying impact on the victim.

10 Jun 2022

February 2019 1 case

Timothy Davies

Rape *

Sentence

6 years imprisonment

Timothy Davies, 45, raped a woman in a train toilet after she became unwell around 1am in December 2018 while travelling to Ramsgate, east Kent. CCTV showed him touching her inappropriately before leading her to the toilet where she was sick. He locked the door and raped her during the attack. His wife knocked on the door three times, but he claimed the woman was being sick. The couple left the train at Ramsgate. The victim reported the incident to her family and the British Transport Police the following day. Davies claimed the activity was consensual, but a jury found him guilty.

Found guilty by jury of rape on 7 February.

7 Feb 2019

Disclaimer: The information on this page is compiled from publicly available court records and published media reports. It is provided strictly for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as a definitive record of any individual's criminal history or legal status.

Offence names marked with an asterisk (*) reflect descriptions used in media reporting and may not correspond to the formal legal charge or indictment. Sentencing details are as reported and may be subject to subsequent appeal, variation, or correction by the courts.

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Crown Court

Chaucer Road, Canterbury, Canterbury, Canterbury, CT1 1ZA, United Kingdom

+441227819200

www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk

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About Canterbury Crown Court

Canterbury Crown Court, located in Canterbury, Canterbury, is a Crown Court that handles serious criminal cases including murder, rape, robbery, and other indictable offences. With 118 sentencing records in our database, it is one of the Crown Courts serving the Canterbury, Canterbury area. Crown Courts sit with a judge and jury, and have the power to impose the full range of sentences available under UK law.

The court can be found at Chaucer Road, Canterbury, CT1 1ZA.

For enquiries about cases heard at this court, you can contact the court by telephone on +441227819200 or visit the official court website for further information.

All sentencing information published on this page has been sourced from publicly-available records and verified by our editorial team. If you believe any information is inaccurate or should be removed, you can submit a removal request directly from the relevant listing above.