Maidstone Crown Court Sentencing Results

Paul Crabtree plotted a burglary in Maidstone on September 2, 2024, by providing instructions and messages to accomplices who broke into a home, threatened the occupants, and stole cash.

Alex Buckwell subjected his partner to a lengthy campaign of physical and emotional abuse between February and November 2024. This included restricting her phone use, dictating her clothing, preventing her from going out alone, punching, kicking, strangling her in the presence of a child, driving towards oncoming traffic, dragging her by her hair, damaging property, and continuing harassment after separation through repeated calls.

George Ivers engaged in dangerous driving, including making 'doughnut' manoeuvres near the Sheppey Crossing and speeding through Sheerness, as captured in footage from late 2021 and early 2022. He was also involved in perverting the course of justice related to a fatal collision.

Ozgur Suyolcu subjected his partner to a year of bullying and random attacks, including being attacked with a hammer, a heavy-duty bike lock, and burnt with a clothes steamer. The victim suffered severe injuries such as collapsed lungs, bruises, bite marks, fractures to her jaw, shoulders, breastbone, ribs, vertebrae, and internal bleeding. She was unable to speak or walk and was close to death when she called the police on April 13, 2024. Officers found her in a flat near Tunbridge Wells, while Suyolcu attempted to mislead them about the incident.

Jimmy Lovelock, who had been in a relationship with the victim for almost 20 years, concealed a secret listening device in her flat and hid GPS trackers in her car as part of a campaign of abuse. He assaulted her, made threats to harm or kill her, including threats to burn down her flat, and exerted control over her use of phones and social media, isolating her from friends and family. The abuse occurred over several years, with incidents including smashing her car windscreen and slashing her tyres. He was arrested in May 2024 following the discovery of the devices.

Paul Knight, a registered sex offender, breached his court order by communicating with young girls online, engaging in sexually explicit conversations, sending indecent photos, and asking for illegal ones in return. His devices contained 129 indecent images of children, including category A images. Police found an undeclared iPhone during a search of his home on November 10, 2023.

Ryan Perrins supplied cannabis to a vulnerable teenage girl and sexually abused her over approximately seven months up to October 2023. He assaulted her by slamming her head against a parked van and bombarded her with 59 calls in 12 hours when she tried to end contact. The abuse involved a sustained campaign of violence and exploitation.

Chelsea Dunn agreed to meet her victim to exchange cigarettes near Sutton Road in Maidstone on November 7, 2024. She revealed a large kitchen knife and stabbed the victim several times, leaving the victim with multiple wounds. The victim raised the alert and was taken to hospital. Dunn was arrested at her home and later told officers the assault was linked to her misuse of cocaine, though she denied being under the influence at the time.

Lloyd Cundall groomed a teenager using social media platforms and convinced her to meet in secluded areas around Quarry Road, including woods and alleyways. He provided her with cocaine, cannabis, nitrous oxide, and alcohol before pressuring her into performing sexual acts. He was arrested on September 24, 2024, after DNA evidence, invisible to the naked eye, was discovered with the assistance of a police dog.

Sensenal Amaglo caused the death of a woman on the M2 near Faversham due to excessive speeding. The fatal collision occurred on the London-bound carriageway between junctions 6 and 5 on the morning of November 27, 2022. His Mercedes C-Class, travelling at over 120mph, struck the rear of the victim’s vehicle, resulting in her immediate death. The woman, in her 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene. His own dashcam captured the incident. Following an investigation by Kent Police, Amaglo was charged.

Jack Davey, 21, from Meopham, lied about his age to meet and sexually abuse girls, convincing them to perform sexual acts during video calls that he recorded without their knowledge. His crimes included grooming a 14-year-old girl and multiple breaches of a previous Sexual Harm Prevention Order between November 2023 and January 2024.

Andy Gilchrist was riding his motorcycle at more than 60mph in a 50mph zone on the A262 Tenterden Road in Biddenden on September 18, 2022, when he collided with the 72-year-old victim, who was crossing the road after stepping off a bus. Witnesses reported Gilchrist overtaking vehicles at 75 to 78mph prior to the collision. The victim suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene, while a passenger on Gilchrist’s bike sustained a serious leg injury.

Roger Crabtree, subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order due to previous convictions, was found to have downloaded illegal images and videos of children on a laptop during an unannounced police visit to his home in Snodland, on November 2, 2023. The devices contained 33 illegal images and videos, including several in the highest category showing children being subjected to abuse. He also unlawfully deleted internet history on a Kindle device in January 2024.

Brandon Coleman, 22, from Chatham, breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed after conviction for making indecent images of children in October 2021. Breaches included spending unsupervised time with children, using electronic devices to access the internet without permission, downloading Snapchat, using online aliases, and further prohibited activity found on his mobile phone. Arrested on 16 October 2024 following Kent Police investigation.

Yuan Hang played a leading role in the prostitution of vulnerable trafficked women at over 50 brothel locations across the UK, including in Kent towns such as Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Some women were brought into the country illegally and forced into sex work to pay off family debts. The operation involved coercion, deceit and exploitation for selfish, greedy reasons, impacting local communities with noise, criminal damage and constant visits.

Chung Fu Wang played a leading role in the prostitution of vulnerable trafficked women at over 50 brothel locations across the UK, including in Kent towns such as Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Some women were brought into the country illegally and forced into sex work to pay off family debts. The operation involved coercion, deceit and exploitation for selfish, greedy reasons, impacting local communities with noise, criminal damage and constant visits.

Lina Wang played a leading role in the prostitution of vulnerable trafficked women at over 50 brothel locations across the UK, including in Kent towns such as Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Gillingham, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. Some women were brought into the country illegally and forced into sex work to pay off family debts. The operation involved coercion, deceit and exploitation for selfish, greedy reasons, impacting local communities with noise, criminal damage and constant visits.

Ian Collard, 34, from Medway, breached the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by downloading banned apps such as Snapchat and setting up online dating profiles using aliases, despite prohibitions on accessing the internet without informing authorities, using social media or dating apps, and conditions requiring device inspections. Following a routine visit by Kent Police, prohibited activity was found on his mobile phone. He was arrested on 17 May 2024 and charged the same day.

Beau Devlin, 33, from east London, along with Matthew Byrne, attempted to import around five tons of cocaine between March 2020 and June 2020 via ports in Europe including Antwerp and the UK, and discussed smuggling between five and 10 tons at a time over the previous eight years. They used banana consignments as cover loads, created front companies, conducted dummy runs costing £300,000, used 'plug cars' with hidden compartments, paid lorry drivers £50,000 each for smuggling 250 kilos, and paid £3 million for a 600-kilo load. Devlin was tasked with transferring cash and gold to and from launderer Chris O'Shea, and personally requested £100,000 in clean £20 notes for a 3% commission.

Matthew Byrne, 44, from Sevenoaks, and Beau Devlin attempted to import around five tons of cocaine between March 2020 and June 2020 via ports in Europe including Antwerp and the UK, and discussed smuggling between five and 10 tons at a time over the previous eight years. They used banana consignments as cover loads, created front companies, conducted dummy runs costing £300,000, used 'plug cars' with hidden compartments, paid lorry drivers £50,000 each for smuggling 250 kilos, and paid £3 million for a 600-kilo load. Byrne also traded in prohibited weapons, including Mac 11 submachine guns, and discussed breaking contacts out of prison vans. They laundered profits through Chris O'Shea in Hatton Garden, exchanging cash for clean money, gold bars (10-15 at £40,000 each), and designer watches.

On 20 November 2023, Jack Hickey, 28, of Snodland, created a profile on Chat Avenue targeting a user he believed to be a teenage boy. He moved communication to Snapchat, sending pictures, sexually explicit messages, and an indecent image of himself. Identified by bedroom wallpaper and arrested on 30 November 2023. Between 15 and 19 November 2024, he used another Snapchat account to target another believed teenage boy, sending lewd messages, requesting explicit photos in school uniform, and arranging to meet in Canterbury, where he was arrested.

Danny Butt, a 42-year-old from Brixton, London, was driving a Seat Leon on Woodlands Road, Gillingham, on the evening of June 24, 2022. He exceeded the 30mph speed limit, ran a red light at the junction with Cornwallis Avenue, and struck a 10-year-old boy pedestrian crossing the road. The child sustained serious head injuries and was airlifted to hospital. Butt was arrested at the scene; blood analysis revealed cannabis and cocaine exceeding legal limits.

Christopher Christou made an intimate recording of the victim from an address in Kent in 2019, including both himself and the woman, allegedly filmed without the victim’s knowledge or consent. In June 2021, from Famagusta, Cyprus, he made repeated attempts to contact the victim in England via phone calls and messages, threatening to distribute the footage to other members of her family. On 30 June 2021, after a male relative answered the phone and demanded he leave her alone, Christou sent the sexually explicit video to the relative via WhatsApp. Kent Police arrested him on 8 August 2024 in Rochester after he returned to the UK.

Owen Payne, 24, from Maidstone, breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by failing to notify police of three mobile phones, a tablet, a gaming device, a computer, and 16 online aliases. During a routine home check in September 2024, officers seized the devices and later uncovered nine bladed weapons, including knives and swords, at his property.

Jake Booth, a convicted sex offender from Tonbridge banned from communicating with children under a sexual harm prevention order, created an internet chat group for motorbike enthusiasts and used it to contact a teenage girl online. Conversations moved to Snapchat before he arranged to meet the girl and her parents, gained their confidence by posing as a close friend, and was allowed to stay in their home. He was arrested on 11 April 2024 when found in the child’s bed, breaching the order which prohibited unsupervised contact or communication with anyone under 16.

Luke Seffens, 34, conducted a sustained campaign of domestic abuse against his partner between September and December 2023, including random acts of violence, constant demands for proof of whereabouts, and stalking at her workplace. In December 2023, he subjected her to a brutal attack in a flat, beating her repeatedly, breaking a coffee mug on her head, and holding her captive while threatening to stab and strangle her. The victim escaped the next day, leading to his arrest. Despite conditional bail, he continued contacting her. In July 2024, he fled police in Tunbridge Wells town centre, leading to a chase ending in woodland near Vauxhall Lane where he was apprehended with Police Dog Elsa.

Michael Numan sexually abused a child in April 2023, committing repeated offences over a few hours. During the abuse, he attempted to manipulate the child by claiming they were in a 'special relationship' and warning them not to disclose the abuse to anyone. The victim confided in family members, leading to Numan's arrest shortly after the abuse occurred.

James Anderson, 46, attacked a 50-year-old man outside a pub in Maidstone in the early hours of 4 August 2024. He headbutted the victim, punched him to the ground, hit him with a pint glass, and stamped on him five times, leaving the victim unconscious with severe head injuries. Anderson fled the scene but was arrested later that day and charged with wounding with intent. He pleaded guilty on 25 September 2024.

Jayren Kadamen sent a series of sexual messages online in the hope of arranging to meet a child for sex. He travelled to meet a girl on 23 October 2024 but was arrested by police upon arrival. Officers searched his car and found a mobile phone containing multiple indecent images of children.

Robert Fletcher, 40, of Broadway, carried out a violent street assault in Lower Stone Street, Maidstone, on 18 August 2024. Police were called at 9.40am to a disturbance. Fletcher had been with acquaintances when an argument started. The victim was lying down on a nearby wall when Fletcher suddenly approached and violently assaulted him, later returning to stamp on his defenceless victim a second time, leaving him with facial injuries. The victim was taken to hospital and discharged. Fletcher was located nearby, arrested, and a large bag of cocaine was recovered when searched.

Dougie Frankham, 38, from Maidstone, repeatedly breached a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) issued in February 2022, which restricted his access to only three specific retailers. Between April and August 2024, Frankham was caught on camera and identified by staff stealing alcohol and groceries from stores including Co-op and Lidl, all in direct violation of his CBO. Following his arrest on August 13th, 2024.