Portsmouth Crown Court Sentencing Results

Paul Anderson, 49, from Croydon, committed burglaries in Gosport between August and October including: jewellery from a flat on The Anchorage (September 26-27), clothes from a house on Peel Road (October 24), jewellery from a home on Monckton Road (October 29), Dimensions Hairdressers on North Cross Street (October 1), Fox and Sons Estate Agents on High Street (October 14), homes on Molesworth Road, Rectory Close, Green Road, Grove Avenue, Elson Lane, St Thomas’ Road, Blake Road, and Peel Road, and theft from a boat at Gosport Marina (August 19). He also faced charges for three burglaries in London.

Michelle Jewell, 42, of no fixed abode, entered a flat on Clarence Road, Gosport, on 1 December 2021, where she stole two wallets belonging to a man in his 80s. Bank cards from these wallets were then used by Jewell to purchase goods at local shops. Following an investigation led by the Operation Hawk team, Jewell was arrested and charged.

Martyn Dereck Yates went on a crime spree across Hampshire shops in November 2018. On 13 November, he stole £91 of goods from Sainsbury’s in Waterlooville. On 18 November, he stole £58.89 from Co-op in Purbrook. On 29 November, he brandished a knuckle duster at a security guard in Asda, Havant, stealing £689 of toys. On 30 November, he threatened staff at Matalan, Waterlooville, with the knuckle duster while stealing £2,000 worth of designer underwear. Later the same day, he threatened Tesco staff in Portsmouth and stole over £1,000 of toys and alcohol.

Nicky Russell committed a spree of burglaries and handling stolen goods. On 18 March, he broke into a house on Mayfield Road, stealing bank cards, a tablet, laptop, phone, and jewellery. In the early hours of 27 March, he burgled two homes on Shaftesbury Road, taking a Samsung mobile, Playstation 4, handbag, wallet, iPhone, Nokia phone, and car keys. On 26 March, he attempted a burglary on Woodstock Road but failed. On 1 July, he was found with a stolen suitcase and a grey man bag, which he admitted knowing were stolen.

Austin abused two girls in 1986, when they were aged five and seven. The victims reported the abuse to police in 2020, leading to a thorough investigation. He was charged with four counts of gross indecency with a girl under 14 years of age and two counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14 years of age.

On 2 September 2023, a woman reported being sexually assaulted while walking alone through Littlehampton town centre at night. She was followed and grabbed by an unknown man who sexually assaulted her, pushed her to the ground and fled. CCTV showed the suspect loitering and following other women. Police deployed plain clothes officers. In the early hours of 1 October 2023, a female plainclothes officer was followed by Mark Stankus for over 30 minutes through the town centre and seafront to Harsfold Road. Wearing a face covering, he chased after her, grabbed and assaulted her. He was intercepted and arrested by nearby officers. He pleaded guilty to sexual assault and causing actual bodily harm.

Michael John Smith entered a garage at a property on Locksway Road shortly after 11am, reported on 25 September, taking a pair of gardening gloves before breaking into the house via a dog flap in the back door. Several items were stolen including jewellery worth more than £7000. The items were later recovered.

On December 6 2020, Bell attended the address of a victim in her 20s in Waterlooville in relation to a Facebook Marketplace advert, forcibly kissed her and touched her inappropriately over her clothing before being disturbed and leaving; he later messaged her to meet again. While on bail, in the early hours of Boxing Day, he entered the bedroom of a woman he knew in Chichester while she slept and sexually assaulted her, prompting her to shout at him to leave.

Terrance Patrick Braden broke into an 80-year-old woman's home in Lee-on-the-Solent on May 5, stealing a handbag containing £100 in cash. Police matched his DNA to the break-in.

Simon Taplin, a former cadets leader, used his position of power to sexually abuse two girls. The first incident occurred in 1996 when the victim was in her teens, and the abuse continued multiple times over four years. The second victim was abused around the same time during a cadet event. Both victims reported the abuse to police, leading to an investigation that began in September 2020.

Stephen McDermott, of Frosthole Close, Fareham, abused three boys on a number of occasions between 1983 and 2005 in Portsmouth and Havant. The abuse came to the attention of police when one of the victims reported it in May 2020. Two further victims came forward shortly afterwards. An investigation was launched and McDermott was arrested and later charged.