Durham Crown Court Sentencing Results

Jonathan Deric Stuart, a registered sex offender classified as high risk, was arrested in Bishop Auckland in October after a police dog named Louie detected a hidden mobile phone and other devices, including covert USB pens and hard drives, believed to be used for possessing indecent images of children. This led to charges for multiple breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He was initially set for trial but changed his plea to guilty, resulting in his sentencing.

Dylan Renwick, 31, of Tindale Street, Consett, admitted to five offences including acquiring, transferring, and converting criminal property. Between January and December 2021, he deposited £97,457 into 12 different Post Office accounts, mostly in £1,000 amounts, which was then filtered into other accounts and converted into cryptocurrency worth £87,000, with £10,000 kept for personal spending. He gave no comment during police questioning.

Christopher Orton, 30, of Loveless Gardens, Gateshead, admitted to one count each of acquiring and transferring criminal property. He received sums of money into his bank account as part of a scheme where large amounts were deposited and transferred, exceeding his legitimate income. He claimed the money related to purchasing a car and motorcycle.

Oliver Bright was driving an uninsured black Hyundai vehicle when stopped by police on the A68 near West Auckland on October 18, 2023. He provided false identity details, including the name and date of birth of an innocent man, to avoid consequences for driving without insurance and not in accordance with his licence. This led to the innocent man being contacted by police and suspected of the offence, causing him concern. Bright was traced, arrested on October 23, 2023, and admitted to the acts.

In the early hours of May 19, 2024, Steven Kay, 32, of Sunny Blunts, Peterlee, instigated a violent disturbance in Peterlee, County Durham, where he used a glass vodka bottle to strike a man and a woman, leaving them with bloodied facial injuries. Kay himself sustained a significant cut requiring hospital treatment. Police received a confused call from a woman naming Kay as the attacker who smashed bottles over everyone, but witnesses did not provide statements.

In summer 2024, Anthony Wilkinson, 36, of Weavers Close, Peterlee, was drinking and playing pool at Eden Bar in Peterlee when an argument broke out with another man. The victim verbally threatened Wilkinson, who then smashed a pint glass into the victim's face, causing a deep gash above the left eyebrow that reached the bone, and pushed him to the side of the room before leaving. The victim required 20 stitches and has suffered memory issues since.

Richard Pallister, 36, from Bede Street, Easington Colliery, threatened to set fire to his neighbours’ house during an argument in June 2019. When the couple dismissed the threat and went to the pub, they received a call that their home was ablaze. CCTV footage showed Pallister leaving the property moments before smoke billowed from inside. He was arrested soon after but initially denied the crime. After a lengthy probe, he admitted the offence.

While serving a life sentence for murder at HMP Deerbolt in County Durham, Mitchell Ingham possessed and used an illicit iPhone to communicate with a female prison officer, Ellis Eyles, including FaceTime calls and messages where he called her 'babe' and she responded 'miss you'. He also messaged family members and asked Eyles about the location of another prisoner, stating he wanted him 'done in'. The phone and charger were discovered in June 2023 behind a false panel in a cabinet during a cell search. Ingham, aged 25, had Googled himself and signed messages as 'Mitch'.

Aiden Ward breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order seven times shortly after it was imposed, following a previous suspended prison sentence. These breaches occurred in late 2023, leading to his admission of guilt and subsequent sentencing in December 2023.

Joseph Anthony Coils broke into his ex-partner's home in Shildon on December 1, 2022, via an insecure window, breaching a restraining order issued just weeks earlier. He attacked a man in the bedroom and ejected him, then assaulted his ex-partner, ignoring her protests, by dragging her downstairs by her hair and delivering repeated blows to her face, which fractured her eye socket and caused cuts, bruises, and permanent facial scarring. The victim suffered serious psychological harm and expressed fear of future attacks.

Claire Makepeace posted online threats to slash the victim's face, then approached and attacked her in The Avenues, Chester-le-Street, on November 21, 2023, using a bladed implement to inflict a 12cm cut from the left jaw to cheekbone, piercing muscle tissue and leaving permanent scarring; the victim required surgical sutures, experienced physical and mental trauma, became reclusive, and the attack was premeditated as an act of revenge related to a short-lived relationship the defendant had with a man the victim was with that night.

On Christmas Day, John Bostock, while intoxicated, punched and strangled his father after being questioned about missing beer at his father's home in Trimdon Station. He assaulted his sister when she intervened, grabbed his father by the throat causing him to fear for his life, threatened his nephew with a knife, and later returned to the home two days later to threaten his father again by grabbing his neck and saying 'I’m going to kill you'.

Stacie Mason invited friends to her home for drinks on April 22, 2023. During a drunken row, she was pushed and lost her footing, then picked up a glass bottle and struck a man on the head, causing a 4cm cut that required stitches. The victim reported ongoing headaches and discomfort. Mason has no memory of the incident but accepted responsibility, amid her mental health struggles and prior hospitalisation for an overdose.

In November 2021, Stephen Edward Oliphant, a 25-year-old pub bouncer, planted a fake bomb made from items including a bingo dabber in the toilet of the Hat and Feathers pub in Seaham, County Durham. He raised the alarm claiming to have found a suspicious device, leading to the evacuation of the pub and the deployment of a specialist bomb disposal team. The device was confirmed as a hoax, with Oliphant's DNA found on each component. Additional parts were discovered during a search of his home at Stanley Street, Houghton-le-Spring.

Roger Pilling, a 77-year-old metal detectorist from Loveclough, Lancashire, was involved in conspiring to sell 44 ninth-century Anglo-Saxon coins worth £766,000, which were part of the Herefordshire or Leominster Hoard discovered in 2015. The coins, believed to have been buried by a Viking between 874 CE and 879 CE, included two rare two-headed examples showing Alfred of Wessex and Ceolwulf II of Mercia. Pilling attempted to sell them to an undercover police officer posing as an expert for a wealthy buyer, after they were not declared as treasure. Forty-four coins were recovered in a sting operation, though two were never found as Pilling claimed they were broken.

Kurtis Mawson, a sex offender, engaged in repeated voyeuristic activities, including covertly filming women using a public toilet next to The Odeon Cinema in Durham and performing a sex act on himself in public while standing behind a female tourist taking a photo of Durham Cathedral. These offences occurred in 2022 and 2023.

The defendant breached a restraining order from November 2018 by sending e-mails to Durham Constabulary that were not for reporting a crime or in a genuine emergency, one of which was racially abusive towards an officer.

Between January and March 2020 excavation waste was transported from a construction site in Consett to Snailum’s land at School House Farm, Kiln Pit Hill, and illegally dumped. An Environment Agency investigation found over 5,000 tonnes of waste had been dumped, five times the 1,000 tonnes allowed under his registered waste exemption. The waste was used to level land, which requires an environmental permit.

A 66-year-old man from Shildon was jailed after being caught with child abuse images while subject to a suspended sentence for similar offences. Phillip Gibb, of Auckland Terrace, Shildon, County Durham, appeared before Durham Crown Court after police made a routine visit to his home last month and examined a laptop computer. The device contained two still images classed in category A – the most serious bracket for such material – featuring the sexual abuse of children aged between five and nine. Gibb had previously admitted child sexual abuse images charges in November last year and received a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years, as well as a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to restrict and monitor his online activities for ten years. Judge Richard Clews noted that Gibb had completed 100 hours of unpaid work and attended almost all supervision sessions. The judge rejected Gibb’s claim that the images were accessed out of curiosity and not for sexual gratification. Gibb, who was unrepresented, apologised and said his actions were an aberration under stress. Judge Clews activated 12 months of the original suspended sentence and added a further six months for the latest SHPO breach, resulting in an 18‑month custodial sentence. The SHPO remains in place until November 2035, and Gibb must register as a sex offender for a further ten years.

Paul Bell, of Yewtree Avenue, Shildon, County Durham, carried out sexual assault on a woman, sexual activity with a child, and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity while drunk. Victims described significant impacts including mental health issues, nervousness around drinkers, fear of not being believed, sleep issues, and affected education.

Samuel Kettell, a 22-year-old from Peterlee, County Durham, was subject to a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order after receiving a 16-month suspended sentence at Durham Crown Court on 29 March for downloading and distributing indecent images of children. The order required him to notify police of any internet-capable devices and make them available for inspection. On 7 June during a monitoring visit, he failed to disclose an iPad, which was found during a search. The iPad's internet history had been deleted, constituting a breach. He admitted using it for YouTube and adult pornography, but the judge concluded the deletion suggested illegitimate use, stating he had paid 'lip service' to the order. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, comprising 8 months activated from the suspended sentence and 4 months for the breach. A deprivation order was made for the iPad.

Shai O'Brien, a 22-year-old from Shildon, County Durham, was sentenced to eight months in prison after police executing a warrant at his home on 23 May 2020 discovered a large collection of indecent images of children on his mobile phone. The device contained 233 category A images, 297 category B images, and 1,489 category C images, depicting children aged between one and 17 years old, uploaded between 2014 and 2020. Over 300 additional images were found in a Dropbox account, and messages indicated O'Brien communicated with others about sharing such images. He had pleaded guilty to making indecent images at Durham Crown Court.

Steven Watson, subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed in 2015 following offences in 2011, breached the order and his notification requirements. During an unannounced police visit to his home in Plawsworth in August 2020, he claimed to have lost his mobile phone. Over seven weeks later, he again denied having one. In October 2020, following an anonymous tip, he was arrested and found with a phone he claimed to have had for only days. Examination revealed searches for teenage pornography using various aliases in breach of the SHPO.

Thomas Smalley, a 61-year-old mobility scooter user from Chilton, County Durham, approached a young woman in her early 20s at a bus stop in Ferryhill. He called her 'beautiful' and made lewd suggestions after she remarked he was old enough to be her grandfather. Two hours later, he approached a 14-year-old girl and her 13-year-old friend at another bus stop, called the 14-year-old 'gorgeous' and made sexually explicit suggestions, then used threatening and insulting words when the girl objected. The incidents breached his lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order, imposed after prior convictions including rape and sexual assault of a child.

In May 2022, officers from Durham County Council observed a fire at a compound on Salters Lane burning plastics, furniture, wood, metal and a boxing bag, with evidence of previous fires. In January 2023, Environment Agency, council and fire service attended and found burning waste including demolition waste, a fridge freezer, washing machines, shopping trolley and bathtub. In May 2023, clearance instructions issued. On 14 June 2023, Crossling was instructed not to carry out waste activities. He admitted collecting and burning scrap with his sons and allowing others to deposit scrap without paperwork.

Lee Aston was found in possession of indecent images and videos of children on a Sony mobile phone seized by police from his home in Rowan Court, Spennymoor, County Durham, on September 15, 2020. The material, committed between October 2018 and September 2020, included 11 category A images and 56 videos, 13 category B images and 10 videos, and 49 category C images and 9 videos. He distributed some images and videos to other paedophiles via the Telegram app and referred to himself as a 'proper perv' in conversations. Some material depicted children aged four and five years old. He admitted the offences upon arrest.

Kenneth Pybus, a 75-year-old from Sacriston, County Durham, was released on licence in February 2022 after a five-year sentence for child sexual offences. He was prohibited from unsupervised contact with children but began speaking to children and giving them sweets and dog treats to 'establish relationships'. Durham Police became aware of his actions shortly after his release and arrested him, leading to his recall to prison. The court identified his behaviour as classic grooming techniques.

Liam Michael West, 42, a registered sex offender, was stopped by police on 8 April while driving a vehicle containing another registered sex offender as a passenger. He failed to provide the PIN code for a phone found in the car. He later admitted to messaging a woman with whom the other sex offender had been living, putting her under pressure to withdraw her police statement against that offender. West had previously received a 14-year sentence in 2017 for two sexual assaults on a girl under 13 and was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prohibited contact with other registered sex offenders.

Leroy Wesley Allen, aged 22, of Willington, County Durham, preyed on two underage girls, manipulating and coercing them into sexual activity. He provided one girl with alcohol and took her virginity despite her explicit requests to stop. He controlled her by confiscating her mobile phone and isolating her. The abuse continued until 2017 when the victim came forward after learning of Allen's previous imprisonment for grooming. A second girl also reported manipulation; text messages showed Allen criticised her sexual responsiveness. Both victims suffered severe psychological harm. Allen had a prior conviction in December 2016 for inciting underage girls to send indecent images under false pretences.

Mark Oakley, 59, of Coundon near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, amassed hundreds of indecent images of children over more than two decades. Police visited his home on 17 April 2023 and seized devices, uncovering 420 indecent images across all severity categories, ten prohibited computer-generated indecent child images, and 13 extreme pornographic images involving bestiality. He made no comment in two police interviews. Oakley had one prior unrelated conviction.

Martyn William Fryatt, a former Christian missionary and retired NHS nurse, groomed a young boy over the course of a year by sending sexually explicit WhatsApp messages, images, and videos of naked men and young boys. He repeatedly instructed the boy to delete the photos to avoid detection by his parents. The boy's mother discovered the content on her son's phone and reported it to the police. Following his arrest in June 2023, officers found indecent images and videos on Fryatt's phone. He was charged with three counts of making indecent images of a child, one count of possessing prohibited images of a child, and one count of engaging in sexual communication with a child.