Leicester Crown Court Sentencing Results

In January 2023, Rio Carter, then 16, met a 13-year-old girl on Snapchat and invited her to his home in Sileby, near Leicester. He persuaded his mother to let her stay overnight, telling the girl to say she was older if asked. In his bedroom they smoked cigarettes and cannabis before having sex. The girl was worried she was pregnant afterwards. Staff at her children's home noticed love bites on her neck; she fled and was later found by police on Carter's bed. Carter denied the offence but pleaded guilty to charges of penetrative sex and sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl on the day his trial was to begin at Leicester Crown Court. He was sentenced on 12 June 2026.

Robin Cockayne, a homeless crack and heroin addict, stole chocolate, coffee, laundry products and alcohol valued at £1,354 from the One Stop shop in Ling Road, Loughborough, between April 23 and May 4, 2026. He had been banned from the store by a court order and had previous convictions for similar thefts from the same shop, resulting in short prison sentences earlier in 2026. He was arrested on May 5, 2026.

James Siddell, along with his brother John, spent more than four years fabricating lies about John's health conditions to prevent John from facing prosecution for child sex offences. Their deception was uncovered by DC Matt Gibson. Both pleaded guilty in September 2025.

John Siddell committed 15 child sex offences (five counts of sexual assault, five counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, four counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity) against three boys in Leicestershire between May 2018 and June 2021. He and his brother James fabricated lies about his health to avoid prosecution for over four years. Both pleaded guilty in September 2025 after the deception was uncovered.

Michael Lawrence first approached a 12-year-old girl at Kettering station during the summer of 2022. Over the next two years, he sent her more than 1,200 messages and voice notes across social media platforms, initially building a friendship before escalating to explicit communication. He admitted having a 'crush' on her, attempted to initiate sexual contact, suggested they could 'be together secretly', and warned her to be cautious about telling her father about him. In one month-long period, he sent 223 messages. The exchanges came to light during a separate police inquiry, leading to his arrest by British Transport Police.

Ryan Lockwood, 23, of Gretton, committed horrific sexual offences against boys during 2024 and 2025. He admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child, three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, and two counts of taking indecent photographs of a child. Lockwood was employed at Gretton House, a home for adults with Prader-Willi Syndrome, until his arrest, but no victims were connected to the home.

Rahul Singh was driving a red Audi A4 on a provisional licence when he overtook dangerously on the wrong side of the road around a bend and collided with a cyclist riding an e-bike just before midnight on 28 July. The cyclist was taken to hospital with severe life-changing injuries. Singh left the scene but later returned and admitted he was the driver; he was found to be over the drink-drive limit. CCTV, phone analysis and forensic investigation linked him to the collision.

Chloe May, 24, from Oakham Drive, Coalville, was evicted from Jaylets Motel in Loughborough Road, Hathern, near Loughborough, after causing £450 of damage while staying there due to homelessness. In July 2023, she falsely alleged to Leicestershire Police that she was anally raped by a male guest while the female hotel manager and another man held her down, put a cloth over her mouth, and forced her face into a pillow. The false complaint led to police raids and arrests of the three victims in early September 2023. The alibis were supported by CCTV and other evidence, resulting in no further action. May persisted with the lie during her police interview in November 2023, showing no remorse. She was influenced by an abusive partner and was struggling with drugs and mental health issues at the time.

Scott Hastings, 43, contacted undercover police officers posing as men offering their underage daughters for sexual abuse via the Chatiw app in May 2022. In the first incident, he attempted to arrange sex with a fictitious daughter without discussing age. A week later, he contacted another officer pretending to be a paedophile with a seven-year-old daughter, expressing intent to commit various sexual offences against her and planning to meet the following weekend. He was arrested at his home in Leicestershire before the meeting. Additional indecent images of children were found on his phone. He has since moved to Willington Road in Etwall, Derbyshire.

Shaun Thornton, 54, of Wigston, was visiting his self-storage unit in Leicester in July 2024 when he took out a .22 calibre gas-powered air rifle with a telescopic sight. He called to a nine-year-old girl, the daughter of a friend who was with him, and when she turned to face him, the rifle discharged. The pellet went through her skull and halfway into her brain, causing a life-threatening injury. The girl collapsed with blood coming from her head and was rushed to Leicester Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham for a five-hour surgery to remove the pellet and bone fragments. She has suffered ongoing trauma including mood swings, PTSD, temporary blindness, pain, low self-esteem from scars, absence episodes, and a change from her bubbly personality.

David Azumara, a 21-year-old Leicester university student studying business and marketing, allowed £15,033 to pass through his bank accounts in 2022 as part of a high-value texting scam. Fraudsters sent fake texts to victims pretending to be family members in need, such as children claiming their phone was broken and requesting money transfers. One female victim sent £4,611 in one day, and a married couple paid over £3,680. The money typically ended up as cryptocurrency. Azumara was asked by others to use his accounts, expecting assistance for his university course but received nothing and lost money on transfers. He had no knowledge of the original fraud.

Tony Smith, 26, formerly of Green Acre, Needingworth Road, Cambridgeshire, was involved in a crime spree of 16 burglaries between May and July 2025, using stolen vehicles to ram-raid small supermarkets and steal ATMs across five counties including Leicestershire, Dorset, and others. Specific incidents include ramming the Knighton Co-Op on London Road, Leicester, on May 29, 2025, at 3.30am with a Mitsubishi Shogun, stealing the cash machine later found abandoned; and on July 9, 2025, at 4.07am, ramming the Co-Op in Cambridge Road, Whetstone, with a blue Toyota Hilux, colliding with a police car during escape. He was evidentially linked to similar offences in Christchurch, Ludlow, Shillingstone, Uttoxeter, Southampton, Blandford Forum, Shaftesbury, Shardlow, Craven Arms, Gillingham, Ilkeston, and thefts of vehicles and lifting equipment.

On January 22, 2024, shortly before midnight, Cory Heritage, who had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis, was driving a Ford EcoSport on Barlestone Road in Bagworth, near Coalville, with his uncle, the victim, in the passenger seat. Heritage drove too quickly around a bend, lost control, causing the vehicle to flip and crash into a tree, resulting in the victim's death. Upon arrival of Leicestershire Police, Heritage lied, claiming the victim was driving, and later attempted to destroy evidence by hiding and washing his clothes. Forensic examination of the airbags confirmed Heritage was the driver. No charges for drink or drug driving were brought due to errors in blood sample paperwork.

Craig Thompson, a married man in his mid-40s from Norman Street, off Narborough Road in Leicester, began an affair with an 18-year-old woman in April 2024. During the relationship, which lasted until October 2024, he exerted complete control over her through coercive and abusive behaviour, including sending up to 45 abusive messages daily accusing her of cheating, leaving insulting voice messages, threatening self-harm, and threatening to harm her pet dog to ensure compliance. This made her feel worthless and depressed, severely impacting her mental health. The victim reported a minor assault to Leicestershire Police in September 2024 but initially declined prosecution upon discovering she was pregnant with his child. After she ended the relationship in October 2024, Thompson stalked her with threatening messages involving fear of violence. She reported him again, leading to charges. Thompson denied the offences, but was found guilty at a two-day trial in his absence after failing to appear on the second day. The victim gave birth to their child in May 2025 and expressed ongoing fear of Thompson finding her and harming her or the child.

Gurwinder Singh drove his car into a crowd of people in De Montfort Street, Leicester city centre, in the early hours of Saturday, May 31, 2025, during a private event, injuring six victims (four men and one woman with serious injuries requiring hospital treatment, plus one from a preceding fight). The car fled the scene but was found hours later in Margaret Street with number plates removed to evade capture. Singh handed himself in at Keyham Lane police station on the evening of May 31, 2025.

Karen Spragg, co-defendant of the co-defendant, was involved in the situation surrounding the co-defendant's false claim to be the missing child. Although found not guilty of stalking and harassment, she was deemed to have enjoyed the drama and was therefore subjected to restrictions to protect the victim's family.

On May 9, 2024, at approximately 9pm, Liam Keran, along with Kira Newton and Joanna James, forced their way into a vulnerable woman's flat in Kibworth Harcourt, near Market Harborough. The attack was pre-planned as revenge because the victim had refused to give Newton £10. Keran grabbed the woman around the neck and throttled her until she became dizzy and fell to the ground. While she lay on the floor in the corridor outside her home, Keran stamped on her face and then grabbed her head. The assault ended when Leicestershire Police arrived. The victim, who has a serious medical condition, was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary suffering from blurred vision, headaches, bruises, and cuts to her face, neck, and arm.