Newcastle Crown Court Sentencing Results

William Crallan, 81, of West Allotment in North Tyneside, collected hundreds of repugnant videos and pictures of babies and children being abused and raped since September 2007. The images were discovered on 10 January 2025 by an IT worker performing a software update on his laptop, who saw a collage of children ranging from babies to about seven years old being abused. Police seized devices and found 1,008 indecent images of children, including 292 in the most serious category, with victims averaging five or six years old up to 15. Over 30,000 additional images were found but not fully categorised. Online searches for indecent images of children were also discovered.

Tyler Crowther, 36, from Cleckheaton, was arrested in June 2024. Officers recovered digital devices during a house search which contained a library of terrorist publications. He had publicly shared extreme right-wing views, Nazi propaganda and instructional material that could assist terrorism, and attempted to set up his own right-wing neo-Nazi group using an alias on social media to share racist and antisemitic views. He pleaded guilty to 1 count of encouragement of terrorism (Section 1 Terrorism Act 2006), 1 count of dissemination of a terrorist publication (Section 2 Terrorism Act 2006) and 6 counts of possession of documents likely to be useful to a terrorist (Section 58 Terrorism Act 2000).

Ross Jackson caused serious injury by dangerous driving on the A697 near Wooler, Northumberland, on 10 November 2023. The court heard that he overtook between 10 and 15 vehicles at high speed before colliding with an oncoming Audi Q3. His VW Golf struck the Audi at 98mph, flipped into the air and cartwheeled, hitting several other vehicles. The driver of the Audi sustained whiplash and post-traumatic stress disorder, was unable to work and lost two businesses. A front-seat passenger sustained a broken breastbone and broken ribs and described living in near constant pain.

Matthew Bello attacked a police officer at a Gateshead petrol station on 10 August 2024, slashing the officer's arm with a machete before ramming a police car and fleeing. He was arrested nearby in Saltwell. He originally faced attempted murder but pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.

Kristopher Follos attempted to steal cash from an ATM in Powburn, Northumberland, in May. CCTV images showed him trying to blast his way into the cashpoint at Hedgeley Service Station. The explosion attempt failed and those involved fled empty-handed. When officers raided his home in Morpeth, bomb disposal experts attended after improvised explosive devices were found.

Adam Leddra met his victim on social media in June 2012 when she was 15 years old and he was 19. He groomed the teenager online before sexually abusing her on several occasions, coercing her through emotional blackmail to share indecent images, and giving her a sexually transmitted infection. When arrested, he denied remembering the victim or the abuse. The victim suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.

On September 14, around 4.15pm, Bryan Storey, 39, of no fixed address, fell asleep while driving a borrowed heated Vauxhall Corsa on a single carriageway section of the A1 near Alnwick, Northumberland, after a sleepless night in a cold caravan at Haggerston Castle holiday park. He had driven to Tyneside to collect earnings from roofing work and was returning when he dozed off, causing the vehicle to drift into the oncoming southbound lane. It collided head-on with a Jeep driven by a 29-year-old woman with her 29-year-old friend in the passenger seat. The passenger suffered breaks to both bones in her forearm requiring surgery with metal plates. The driver sustained a knee injury with nerve damage that could be lifelong. Another driver in an Audi took evasive action but was also struck, causing his vehicle to spin out of control. Storey was unconscious behind the wheel at the time.

Simon Lancaster, 34, was part of an organised crime group led by Shaun Monaghan operating between March and June 2020 in the North East of England. The gang distributed over 50kg of cocaine, 20kg of heroin, and 200kg of amphetamine, and had access to firearms including a machine gun, pistols, and a grenade. Lancaster used EncroChat for communications, which was infiltrated by French police. He fled the UK after the hack, using a false passport, and was eventually returned from Oman. Police raids uncovered weapons and drugs at associates' properties.

Mitchell Smith, along with others, participated in two arson attacks on January 31 and February 2, 2025, at a mixed business and residential property on Fossway, Byker, occupied by the victim. On January 31, a VW Golf was set alight outside the property. On February 2, a Range Rover was reversed into the cafe below the residence and set on fire, but the fire was prevented from spreading by the victim.

Grant Royal, along with others, participated in two arson attacks on January 31 and February 2, 2025, at a mixed business and residential property on Fossway, Byker, occupied by the victim. On January 31, a VW Golf was set alight outside the property. On February 2, a Range Rover was reversed into the cafe below the residence and set on fire, but the fire was prevented from spreading by the victim.

Grant Curley, along with Walter Patterson, directly carried out the arson attacks on January 31 and February 2, 2025, at a mixed business and residential property on Fossway, Byker, occupied by the victim. On January 31, they doused a VW Golf in fuel and set it alight. On February 2, Curley drove and reversed a Range Rover into the cafe below the residence, after which it was set on fire.

Walter Patterson, along with Grant Curley, directly carried out the arson attacks on January 31 and February 2, 2025, at a mixed business and residential property on Fossway, Byker, occupied by the victim. On January 31, they doused a VW Golf in fuel and set it alight. On February 2, after Curley reversed a Range Rover into the cafe below the residence, Patterson set it on fire; he was apprehended by occupants.

John Reid, along with others, participated in two arson attacks on January 31 and February 2, 2025, at a mixed business and residential property on Fossway, Byker, occupied by the victim. On January 31, a VW Golf was set alight outside the property. On February 2, a Range Rover was reversed into the cafe below the residence and set on fire, but the fire was prevented from spreading by the victim.

Natalie Wolf, also known as Ryan Haley, of Byker, Newcastle upon Tyne, engaged in sexual activity with a child, devastating the victim's life and leaving her with shame, self-doubt, and a sense of disconnection. The victim described the abuse as making her body feel like a battlefield and accused Wolf of destroying her as a child, teenager, and adult. Wolf promoted conspiracy theories claiming the jury was hypnotised or planted, and that the victim hypnotised police, but these were rejected by the judge.

On October 21, 2025, Steven Hogg, a 57-year-old Newcastle United fan without a match ticket, was drunk and abusive outside the players' entrance at St James' Park during Newcastle's Champions League clash with Benfica. He shouted, swore, tried to grab paramedics, refused to leave when asked by police, called officers abusive names, and attempted to fight them, leading to his arrest.

Mark Purvis, 60, of Jarrow, assaulted his neighbour in Cleveland Court, Jarrow, South Tyneside, in September 2024. The victim, who moved in next door in 2016, picked up a plank of wood to move Purvis's outdoor camera, which annoyed Purvis. Purvis came out of his door and struck the victim once to the head with a rubber mallet, causing a two-inch laceration that required sutures at hospital. The incident followed a history of ill-feeling, including complaints about noise, cannabis smoking, threats, and counter-allegations. The attack was captured on CCTV. Purvis claimed he acted in self-defence after being woken by loud music and seeing the victim with what looked like a fence post.

On November 28, 2024, around 10am, Liam McClean, driving a Vauxhall Zafira, turned right from Cauldwell Lane into Woodleigh Road in Monkseaton, North Tyneside, cutting the corner which created a blind spot due to the A-pillar. He failed to see a 75-year-old woman in a highly visible red coat crossing with her dog, striking her with the front near side of his car. She suffered a severe ankle injury leaving her foot hanging by a thread, requiring surgery, a second operation with metal screws and bolts, and 12 days in hospital. Previously active, she now feels trapped, unable to drive, and requires assistance. McClean was looking for parking to visit a cash machine.

On April 22, 2024, Brandon Holmwood, in an on-off relationship with the victim, turned up at her home in Gateshead. After shouting and swearing, she told him to leave and began packing his belongings. He smashed the TV in her bedroom, then lunged at her, pinning her to the bed and strangling her with both hands around her neck, suffocating her. She kicked him off in self-defence. He then shouted 'This is what you make me do', grabbed her hand, and hit her with it while saying 'Why are you hitting yourself?'. He headbutted the door, shouted abuse, and eventually left. The victim suffered PTSD, depression, anxiety, sleep issues, and required counselling; she changed her vehicle registration out of fear.

On the afternoon of April 12, 2025, at Felling Metro Station in Gateshead, Ian Stubbs, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, lit a firework in his hand and deliberately threw it onto a patch of oil or flammable liquid on the ground, setting alight and completely destroying a parked 15-year-old Ford S-Max owned by an unknown victim. The incident was captured on dash cam footage from another vehicle, showing Stubbs looking around before throwing the firework. He was identified via facial recognition software on a police database after images were shown to the car owner.

Gareth Henry falsely imprisoned and assaulted two sex workers in separate incidents in Sunderland. On February 6, 2025, he picked up an escort, took her to his caravan, and refused to let her leave after sex, pinning her to the bed and assaulting her to get her phone while police arrived. She was rescued after texting an Uber driver for help. He assaulted a female police officer during arrest and fled, later found with cannabis. On March 5, 2025, he visited a masseur's premises, became aggressive over payment, pushed her, prevented her from calling police, and blocked her escape attempt before she fled and alerted authorities.

On August 22, 2025, Ethan Forster, 28, of Villette Path, Sunderland, attacked his partner of six years at their home in Sunderland after taking five Valium tablets against her wishes. He strangled her by pinning her to the bed with both hands around her neck, preventing her from breathing, then pushed her to the floor, grabbed her arms, and bit the left side of her face beside her lip, saying 'If I can't have you, no one can'. The victim suffered bruising to her arms and reddening to her face and neck, fled the scene, and reported being terrified, losing her home, friends, and family, with ongoing nightmares.

William Offer, 30, of Highbury Park, London, acted as a courier in a drug distribution network led by Malachi Jamieson, delivering cocaine and cannabis to customers across the North East. On July 2022, he was caught supplying drugs from a Skoda car on Grosvenor Road in Jesmond, with further quantities found during a strip search. Mobile phone evidence showed he confirmed deals with thumbs up emojis in group chats and was directed by Jamieson on multiple occasions that day.

Malachi Jamieson, 29, of Manchester, coordinated hundreds of drug deals via encrypted Signal app group chats, directing couriers including William Offer to distribute cocaine, cannabis, and other narcotics across the North East, including Newcastle and Durham. The operation was uncovered in July 2022 when police witnessed a deal on Grosvenor Road in Jesmond, leading to the discovery of drugs in a hire car and £950 cash on Jamieson. He played a leading role in supplying large quantities of drugs, fueled by his own drug use.

Sean Blount, 50, of Newcastle, consumed alcohol at The Strawberry pub in Newcastle city centre and was more than two times over the legal limit (88mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, limit 35mcg) when he drove his VW vehicle on September 13, 2025. Concerned pub staff reported him to police, who stopped him nearby. He failed a roadside breath test.