Lewes Crown Court Sentencing Results

In December 2019, Mark Giles Jnr conspired with his father Mark Giles Snr, his sister Emma Giles and Sam Millis to murder Richard Lidbetter, the on-off partner of Emma Giles. They paid £3,000 to an unknown assailant to stab him. On 21 December 2019, Emma Giles lured Lidbetter to the gate of his home in West Chiltington, where he was attacked and stabbed in the chest. He survived. Phone and vehicle data showed all four were in the area and in communication before, during and after the attack. They were arrested and convicted following a trial.

In December 2019, Mark Giles Snr conspired with his daughter Emma Giles, his son Mark Giles Jnr and Sam Millis to murder Richard Lidbetter, the on-off partner of Emma Giles. They paid £3,000 to an unknown assailant to stab him. On 21 December 2019, Emma Giles lured Lidbetter to the gate of his home in West Chiltington, where he was attacked and stabbed in the chest. He survived. Phone and vehicle data showed all four were in the area and in communication before, during and after the attack. They were arrested and convicted following a trial.

Osmon Koroma, aged 31 from Littlehampton, West Sussex, along with co‑defendant Max N'Gasa, targeted a group of 12 girls aged 13 to 15 between 2010 and 2014 at Wick Parade in Littlehampton. They provided cigarettes and alcohol in exchange for sexual acts, using Koroma's flat as a central location for the abuse. Koroma was convicted of eight sexual offences, including rape, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Victim impact statements revealed profound effects, with one girl feeling 'worthless'. Both defendants were placed on the sex offenders register for life.

On 12 February 2025, Donald Excell attacked his cousin, Rita Lambourne, at her home in Bexhill-on-Sea. He walked to her house carrying an axe and entered through the back door, which she left unlocked for family members. While she was on the phone to her partner, Excell struck her at least four times with the axe, killing her. CCTV showed a man with an axe matching Excell's clothing. He later disposed of the murder weapon and clothing in a lake; they were recovered by police. At his flat, officers found a stockpile of weapons including lock knives, machetes, and axes. Months earlier, the victim had told a family member that she believed Excell was 'a very dangerous person' after he threatened to kill her.

In December 2019, Emma Giles conspired with her father Mark Giles Snr, her brother Mark Giles Jnr and her then-boyfriend Sam Millis to murder Richard Lidbetter, her on-off partner. They paid £3,000 to an unknown assailant. On 21 December 2019, Emma Giles lured Lidbetter to the gate of his home in West Chiltington, where the attacker stabbed him in the chest. Lidbetter survived. Phone and vehicle data showed all four were in the area and in communication before, during and after the attack. They were arrested and convicted following a trial.

Derek Winston Seekings, a retired Surrey Police sergeant, raped a woman on two occasions between 1994 and 2000 in Surrey. One attack occurred during his meal break while on duty in Farnborough; the other off duty. He was charged in July 2019, originally with seven counts reduced to two. Found guilty on January 8 following a four-day trial. Victim suffered severe psychological harm.

Glenn Trevor Williams befriended a teenage girl after meeting her in St Leonards, East Sussex, and lured her to his flat in Bexhill under the pretence of offering help with accommodation and work. He raped the girl, sexually assaulted her, and took indecent images of her. He had previously been convicted of child sexual offences involving sexual communication and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

On 27 August 2022 around 3am on Brighton seafront, Bereke Russom approached a woman who was alone and intoxicated after a night out. He snatched her phone, dragged her to the beach, and pinned her down, pulling open her clothes and exposing himself. He attempted to rape her, ignoring her pleas to stop. The assault was interrupted by a beach patrol officer on a quad bike, who alerted police. Russom denied involvement, but CCTV evidence contradicted his account. Convicted of attempted rape and sexual assault by penetration after a trial at Lewes Crown Court in January 2023. He failed to attend the sentencing hearing and was sentenced in his absence.

Ben Bamford, an 18-year-old drug user from South Street, Crowborough, met Paul Jefferies, a 52-year-old civil servant, on the Grindr dating app. On February 23, 2016, Bamford visited Jefferies' cottage in Coggins Mill Lane, Mayfield, East Sussex, with the intention of exploiting him for money to pay off a £400 drugs debt. During the visit, Bamford killed Jefferies in a prolonged brutal attack using three knives and candlesticks, inflicting more than 40 injuries including significant head and neck injuries and a slash to the throat. There were signs of a struggle throughout the property. Bamford locked the door, fled in Jefferies' grey Audi TT, and sought hospital treatment for a hand injury sustained during the attack.

Brian Hoad, aged 66, of Kings Road, Lancing, West Sussex, repeatedly raped his step-daughter over a four-year period beginning in August 1985, when she was 12. He plied her with wine and raped her in the family home on 1 August 1985, and continued to rape her 'at every opportunity' until she was 16, sometimes with other family members present. The victim, now in her 50s, reported the abuse to Sussex Police on 3 June 2021. Hoad was arrested the following day and charged with four counts of rape of a girl under 16 and two counts of sexual assault on a girl under 16. He was found guilty on all counts on 14 July 2023 after a trial, and sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on 17 July 2023.

Brian Matthews, of London Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, began sexually assaulting his victim when she was nine years old, continuing the abuse into her late teens. Offences included four counts of assault on a girl under 13 by touching, four counts of assault on a female over 13 with penetration, rape of a girl aged 13 to 15, two counts of rape of a female aged 16 or over, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and cruelty to a person under 16. He also subjected the victim to emotional and psychological abuse to normalise his behaviour and control her.

Clive Garton, a serving Kent Police sergeant, approached his victim as she sat on the stairs and raped her despite her repeatedly pleading for him to stop. The victim endured years of stalking and controlling behaviour from Garton, who tracked her mobile phone to monitor her location. He placed listening devices in her home, admitting he could dial into them to listen to her. While on bail for these offences, Garton attempted to track her mobile phone again, perverting the course of justice. Allegation made in October 2016.

Cameron Grocutt, 24, punched Mohamed Mahmoud Snnai, a 66-year-old complete stranger, on the back of the head, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in October. Witnesses described hearing a 'sickening thump'. Snnai was taken to hospital and his life support was later withdrawn. He died on 12 November.

Alex Patel-Wills, a 26-year-old graduate from the University of Sussex, was sentenced to 25 years in prison at Lewes Crown Court for a series of brutal sexual offences committed against five women between 2019 and 2020. While studying in Brighton, Patel-Wills exploited his role as a Class A drug dealer to prey on vulnerable young female students, using drugs and alcohol to incapacitate them before carrying out rapes and sexual assaults in their accommodation or his campus room. The court heard that Patel-Wills raped four women, including fellow students, and sexually assaulted a fifth, demonstrating a complete disregard for his victims. One attack occurred while he was on police bail for a previous rape allegation and under university investigation. Her Honour Judge Christine Laing KC described him as a 'dangerous narcissist' with a 'predilection' for sexual activity with women who were asleep or unconscious. She highlighted his lack of remorse, noting that he boasted about his sexual conquests and claimed to be 'irresistible to women' during the trial. Patel-Wills was found guilty of four counts of rape, two sexual assaults, and one assault by penetration following a trial. He met two victims in nightclubs, where they awoke to find him assaulting them. His victims reported profound, lasting trauma, with one stating, 'The anxiety is like a weight I can't lift,' and another describing how the ordeal changed her on every level, leaving her feeling unsafe in her own body. In sentencing, Judge Laing imposed nine years for three counts of rape, sexual assaults, and assault by penetration, followed by ten years consecutively for the fourth count involving multiple rapes, plus an extended six-year licence period. Patel-Wills must serve at least two-thirds of the 19-year determinate sentence before parole eligibility, and he will remain on the sex offenders' register for life. The judge considered a life sentence but opted for the extended term due to his high intelligence and sense of entitlement. Detective Constable Vicki Blythe of Sussex Police praised the victims' bravery in reporting the crimes, which led to Patel-Wills' conviction.

In December 2019, Sam Millis conspired with Emma Giles, her father Mark Giles Snr and her brother Mark Giles Jnr to murder Richard Lidbetter, the on-off partner of Emma Giles. They paid £3,000 to an unknown assailant to stab him. On 21 December 2019, Emma Giles lured Lidbetter to the gate of his home in West Chiltington, where he was attacked and stabbed in the chest. He survived. Phone and vehicle data showed all four were in the area and in communication before, during and after the attack. They were arrested and convicted following a trial.