Exeter Crown Court Sentencing Results

Barry Jones, 28, originally from Liverpool but living in Wykes Road, Exeter, launched a vigilante attack on a 65-year-old man in a flat in Torquay on February 22, 2021. After a 15-year-old boy delivered crack cocaine to the property, Jones falsely accused the victim of making a sexual comment. He dragged the bleeding man into a living room, bound him to a chair with gaffer tape and told him, 'You're my hostage for the night.' Jones barricaded the door with a wardrobe and forced the victim to wash his blood off in the shower while fully clothed. He struck the victim with a metal table leg, causing a fractured wrist and two broken eye sockets. Jones then took a photo of the victim's broken face and posted it online with the word 'NONCE' superimposed over it, joking that he looked like 'The Elephant Man.'

At Newton Abbot three offences of engaging in sexual communication with a child. Between 13/06/2017 and 23/06/2017 at Newton Abbot made indecent photographs of a child in all categories of seriousness by downloading.

Connor Calam fly-tipped a large quantity of rubble and other building waste from insurance repairs on a property in Plymouth across a track near Pudson Farm, Okehampton, between 10 and 27 February 2017, blocking access to three fields. The waste was traced to his company Plymouth Skip Hire in Stonehouse, Plymouth. He was paid £245 by Zenith Construction Ltd to remove it, despite not being a registered waste carrier.

Connor Larbalestier, 30, intentionally caused or incited a girl to engage in sexual activity, committed multiple breaches of a sexual harm prevention order, and made indecent images of children by downloading them. He pleaded guilty at court.

Christopher Reed was seen on CCTV in the early hours smashing the window of Parrotts barbershop in Queens Walk, causing an estimated £2,300 in damage. He had previously received a suspended sentence in December for seven thefts and five breaches of a criminal behaviour order, but just 10 days later he was shoplifting. He rarely turned up for appointments, showed minimal effort with probation and admitted breaching the order. The final straw came on 6 June when he caused criminal damage to the barbershop. The owner said it was a family-run business, only open for three months. Reed, a drug addict, said the theft was for food not drugs, and he had problems getting Universal Credit. He was also subject to an exclusion order not to enter parts of Barnstaple.

Christopher Garrett, 64, repeatedly imported around 12,000 tonnes of controlled mixed construction and demolition waste, including asbestos, onto land designated as a floodplain at his home alongside the A380 dual carriageway in Devon between July 2018 and May 2022. He burnt some of the waste and buried large quantities of Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM), posing a risk to the environment and human health. He received hundreds of thousands of pounds for the illegal tipping despite previous prosecutions and warnings from the Environment Agency. The site remediation cost is estimated at least £2.5 million, with his financial benefit at £2.88 million.

Carl Barton was convicted for a lesser part in an assault on a man in Paignton in the early hours of April 14, 2025. He admitted grievous bodily harm and received a community order for 18 months.

On 08/11/2022 at Barnstaple, Kane Thorne distributed an indecent photograph of a child, possessed an extreme pornographic image, and downloaded indecent images of children.

On 10 November 2025 at Newton Abbot, intentionally suffocated a female.

Lee Sherratt, 28, of Paignton, hit elderly holidaymakers the victim, 75, and her husband, 76, with his BMW convertible on Belgrave Road, Torquay, on 31 August 2006. The couple from Caerphilly, were crossing the road after a bingo game during their holiday at the Derwent Hotel. Sherratt was driving between 29 and 35mph, failed to see them despite having ample time and distance, and struck them outside the Rainbow Hotel. The victim died at Torbay District Hospital; her husband sustained severe injuries.

On 06/10/2026 at Paignton breached a restraining order by contacting a named female.

Doe, a roofing contractor, quoted for roofing work for three customers during 2024, removed some roof slates, then claimed a whole new roof was needed and increased the price significantly. The work carried out was of a very poor standard, customers who rejected the higher quoted price were charged extra, and the company's five-year guarantee was not honoured. The three customers paid £20,105 for work that was poor or not carried out.

Lee Blatchford, a 46-year-old convicted paedophile formerly known as Lee Jowett, began exchanging messages online at the end of January 2026 with a woman he believed was the mother of a nine-year-old girl. He discussed sexually abusing the child, sent explicit videos, and arranged a meeting at a café in Exeter city centre. He arrived with a rucksack containing a digital camera and overnight clothing, intending to abuse the child on what he called a 'first date'. The 'mother' was in fact an undercover police officer, and no child existed. He was arrested at the scene.

Former Avon and Somerset Police officer Lewis Wood shared images and videos with family and friends relating to incidents he attended between December 2018 and August 2020, including images showing the body of the 39-year-old victim, who was found stabbed to death in a Highbridge garden in June 2020. He used his personal phone to illegally share legitimate body-worn video footage and still images captured on his work mobile.

James Mortiboy, aged 73, of Ipplepen, downloaded more than one million images of child abuse over a 25-year period from 1998 to 2025, including babies and young children, mostly boys aged between seven and 10, being sexually assaulted by adults. The images, covering all categories of seriousness and including rape of very young children, were downloaded from the dark web. He was a Scout leader for much of that time. Police found the images on multiple devices after a tip-off from the National Crime Agency regarding suspicious activity on the Bing search engine. He was arrested in 2025. No evidence of contact offences.

James Ward, aged 57, developed a fixation on a female neighbour in a South Hams village starting in June 2022. He left roses and cards on her doorstep, proposed marriage, invaded her privacy by observing her home, threatened her partner, damaged his car multiple times including putting nails in tyres, shouted abuse, made rude gestures, breached bail conditions and a Stalking Protection Order. The behaviour escalated in December 2023 when he attacked her car with a hammer while disguised in a wig, smashing windows, cutting his hand and smearing blood on the car and her home.

James Jarvis made indecent images of children and distributed indecent images of children between 8 February 2012 and 2 October 2024 in Ottery St Mary.

Between 01/03/2025 and 21/01/2026 at Torbay, James Barry, aged 44 from Marldon Road, Paignton, conspired to fraudulently evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug of Class B namely cannabis and was concerned in the supply of cannabis.

On 30/01/2026 at Torquay with a view to gain or with intent to cause loss to another, made an unwarranted demand of £3,000 from a male with menaces (blackmail). Threatened a person with a knife.

Jay Jay North intentionally strangled a woman in Crediton on 24 December 2023.

Jay Price committed an act of outraging public decency at Sourton Cross Service on 30 March 2025 by masturbating in public view in a public toilet. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to an 18-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work.

In July 2018, Jessica Ann Smith, 41, set up an online profile pretending to be a 21-year-old woman and communicated with what she believed was a 14-year-old girl but was actually a decoy from a paedophile hunter group. She sent sexual pictures and arranged to meet in person. When told a 12-year-old might also come, she encouraged it and indicated the 12-year-old should be part of sexual activity. When the group arrived, they found Smith hiding in bushes dressed as a male. She tried to talk her way out but police were called. Smith initially denied intending to meet an underage girl or commit a sexual act, but later admitted the offences.

In January 2025, Jessica Smith attempted to incite a child to sexual activity by communicating online with an individual she believed was a 12-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover police officer. Smith also breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order by creating internet accounts and possessing a laptop without notifying police. She had a previous conviction in 2021 for arranging to meet a 14-year-old decoy and was caught by paedophile hunters.

John Matthews subjected his former partner to a campaign of harassment, violence and intimidation between August and September 2024. He bombarded her with phone calls and messages, threatened to stab any future partner, and headbutted her in a hotel foyer in Paignton, leaving a significant bump to her forehead. He continued contacting her despite bail conditions. He also admitted assaulting an emergency worker at Torquay police station, theft of an Amazon parcel, two counts of common assault on tradesmen and criminal damage to a vehicle.

On 04/10/2025 at Avenue Road, Torquay dangerous driving.