Liverpool Crown Court Sentencing Results

On August 30, 2023, at around 9.30pm on Birchwood Way, Warrington, Bridie Trotter, then 36, who was over the drink driving limit and high on cocaine, drove her two young sons (aged five and four) and swerved onto the other side of the road, causing a head-on collision with a car carrying the 36-weeks pregnant victim, her partner, and two children (aged eight and six). The crash resulted in serious injuries to all seven people involved, including Trotter's five-year-old son who was placed in an induced coma for four days with fractures to his collarbone and pelvis, a scalp wound, broken nose, and mouth injury requiring surgery. The victim suffered bruising to her baby bump, was hospitalized for four days, and feared for her baby's life; her children had severe seatbelt burns and bruising. Trotter's blood alcohol was 137mg (over 80mg limit) and cocaine metabolite four times the legal limit six hours post-accident. She had been struggling with mental health, domestic violence, drinking, and drugs prior to the incident.

Raymond Hawthorne groomed and sexually abused two young boys between 1988 and 1995 while living on the Wirral in Merseyside. The offending was prolonged and serious, including touching the children, sexual assault, and rape over many years. He gained the trust of the children's parents by offering to look after the children, repeatedly abusing this trust. He plied the children with gifts and money, took them on trips or to his own home to isolate them, and as they got older, gave them drink and drugs. On several occasions, one victim was drugged without knowledge and sexually abused while unconscious. Hawthorne has a history of running a child sexual exploitation ring and committing sexual offences against children.

Thomas Dean, 36, of Lancaster Avenue, Whiston, carried out a violent and sustained attack on a woman on November 7 last year outside a shop in Prescot, leaving her with head injuries that required hospital treatment. The incident was captured on CCTV.

On 10 February 2024, Amanda Young, 49, was looking after her godson and the XL Bully dog Snoop, owned by her son Lewis Young, in their flat on Wadham Road, Bootle, when an eight-year-old boy came to call and play. The banned breed dog attacked the boy, causing life-changing injuries. Amanda Young was unable to stop the attack. The dog was destroyed at the scene.

On 10 February 2024, an XL Bully dog named Snoop, owned by Lewis Young and kept in a flat shared with his mother in Wadham Road, Bootle, attacked an eight-year-old boy who had come to play. The dog, a banned breed, was not registered and had not undergone behaviour training. Lewis Young had taken the dog from a friend a few months prior and claimed he did not know it was banned. The boy sustained life-changing injuries, and the dog was destroyed at the scene.

Alan Cherry, 67, from St Helens, started a conversation with a 13-year-old child over the internet, inciting the child to engage in sexual activity. He was identified and arrested by police from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit on March 25 this year.

Kyle Shaw, 37, from Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, Wirral, embarked on a persistent campaign of stalking Strictly Come Dancing judge the victim, 64, between August 31, 2017, and November 29, 2023, causing serious harm or distress. Believing the victim's late brother, who died by suicide in 2003 at age 44, was his father based on information from his mother, Shaw sent messages and threats to the victim, her friends, and colleagues. He accused the victim of responsibility for her brother's death, set up social media accounts in the victim's late brother's name, posted menacing threats on Twitter including her home address, and approached the victim's 86-year-old mother in a Wirral shop in 2019, claiming she was his grandmother, which led to her relocation to London. Shaw also messaged the victim's niece, the victim's former partner, and work colleagues from Loose Women and Strictly Come Dancing, and taunted her about upcoming book signings. This caused the victim significant distress, including sleepless nights, reluctance to socialise, and avoidance of public transport. Shaw has complex mental health issues since childhood, exacerbated by cannabis use.

Kevin Clark travelled from Wigan to Southport and participated in violent disorder on July 30, 2023, where he threw multiple bricks and rocks at police officers for a prolonged period, demonstrating extreme aggression and injuring an officer.

Cornneliu Mihai Magureanu participated in violent disorder in Liverpool city centre on August 3, 2023, where he watched a crowd throw missiles at police, then threw a rock at the police line and shouted at officers.

On 2 August 2023, June Mills, driving her Vauxhall Corsa, mounted the kerb while manoeuvring around a parked car outside the Elbow Lane bridge club in Formby, Merseyside, after finishing a session. She hit two pedestrians, killing a woman, 76, and injuring another woman, 80. Mills stated the accelerator pedal felt as if it had dropped to the floor, causing the car to shoot forward uncontrollably. She now accepts she mistakenly applied too much acceleration.

Andrew Dickson, 39, from Pleasant Street, Blackpool, flew from Alicante, Spain, to Liverpool John Lennon Airport on an easyJet flight, arriving around 1pm on January 25, 2024. He retrieved an overweight Samsonite suitcase from baggage reclaim containing 22 blocks of cocaine weighing 25.55kg (80% purity), valued at £432,000 wholesale and £1.9 million street value, packaged with Champions League, Tesla, and F1 branding. Traces of cocaine were found on his passport. He claimed the bag belonged to a friend and contained holiday gifts, denying knowledge of the contents. He was apprehended by officers at the airport.

Sarah Williams, a former prison officer at HMP Altcourse, engaged in illicit relationships with multiple prisoners, including Elias Morgan, starting from early 2020. She communicated with them using mobile phones found in cell searches, leading to her arrest on July 8, 2020. An investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit's anti-corruption department revealed her misconduct, which involved accessing unauthorised data.

Natalie Mottram, a Cheshire Police intelligence analyst, abused her position by disclosing sensitive information about Operation Venetic to Jonathan Kay. This involved unauthorised checks on police systems and passing on details of the EncroChat hack, which could have compromised an international investigation into organised crime. She was arrested on June 12, 2020, after being caught in a surveillance operation.

Jonathan Kay received sensitive information from Natalie Mottram about the EncroChat hack and passed it on to others, potentially undermining Operation Venetic, a major investigation into organised crime. He was the partner of Leah Bennett and was involved in the leak, leading to his arrest on June 12, 2020, along with the recovery of £200,000 in cash from his home.

Jordan Ellis targeted a vulnerable victim dealing with drug issues, pressuring him via Snapchat to send bank details and subsequently stealing his wages. He engaged in a prolonged campaign of blackmail against the victim and his family, making threats to burn down their house and business, pretending to be a police officer, and using multiple phones and identities. This occurred between July 2022 and March 2023, resulting in the theft of £11,417.36, which Ellis spent on gambling. The actions had a severe impact on the victims' mental health, including suicidal thoughts.

Kristian Kolar installed concealed spy cameras in the living room, bedroom, and bathroom of a woman's home in February 2019. He recorded 20,315 voyeuristic images and 4,311 videos of her intimate moments, including in the shower, on the toilet, in bed, and having sex with her boyfriend, over a period of around a year and a half. The behaviour was exposed in September 2019. Police also discovered 17 extreme pornographic images and two videos involving bestiality (women with horses and dogs) on his computer, collected since 2017, used for his sexual gratification.

Jonathan Gordon was recruited by Philip Waugh to throw acid on the victim's face to blind the victim and his girlfriend, in exchange for payment. He arranged for the collection of acid from Robert Brazendale and planned the attack, including surveillance of the victim's home. Gordon had previously carried out an acid attack on another individual, a victim, in April 2019, and discussed methods to ensure the acid caused permanent damage.