Swindon Crown Court Sentencing Results

Charlie Foster led police on a dangerous pursuit through Swindon and into Oxfordshire on 10 July. When officers attempted to stop a black Range Rover suspected of being driven by a disqualified driver, Foster mounted a verge, drove along a footpath, and collided with another vehicle before accelerating away. During the pursuit he drove the wrong way around roundabouts, went through red lights and weaved in and out of traffic. A stinger punctured the front tyres, but the pursuit continued until Foster abandoned the vehicle near Coleshill and fled. He was arrested at Taser point and later remanded in custody.

Paul Webb, 28, pretended to be a 15-year-old girl online and repeatedly attempted to engage teenage boys in sexual conversation. He was investigated by the Paedophile Online Investigation Team and later pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting to cause/incite a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity.

Benjamin Hopkins was involved in a network of brothels disguised as massage parlours operating in Wiltshire, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridgeshire and Reading. He maintained the properties and helped move women to and between premises. The operation was exploitative and run for profit, with women treated as commodities and controlled in their movements, work and living arrangements.

Khondaker Fuad Hasan was involved in running a prostitution network that operated from seven massage parlours across England and generated more than £500,000 in profit. He managed day-to-day operations and finances. The operation used Chinese health and massage businesses as a front for sexual services. One woman was trafficked from China to work at the venues, and other women were recruited through advertisements and travelled from across the UK. Prosecutors used telephone and financial records, CCTV footage and surveillance evidence to secure guilty pleas.

Khondakar Hasan was involved in a network of brothels disguised as massage parlours operating in Wiltshire, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridgeshire and Reading. Women working at the premises were instructed to dispose of tissues and other evidence of sexual activity in public waste bins. Hasan ensured bills, rent and salaries were paid and that the premises appeared to be legitimate Chinese health and massage businesses, although they were a front for sexual services.

Liu Xu Hopkins was involved in a network of brothels disguised as massage parlours operating across Wiltshire, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridgeshire and Reading. She played a crucial role in finding women to work at the massage parlours and ran the operational side of the business liaising with customers. The operation was described as exploitative and run for profit, with women treated as commodities.

Connor Nevison used messaging apps to groom a 15-year-old boy, falsely claiming to be 17 and using a fake name. Despite the victim’s mother’s objections, Nevison continued sending sexual messages and arranged to meet the boy with the intention of abusing him. The offences occurred between September and October 2023. He was arrested during an unrelated investigation, where incriminating material linked to this grooming case was discovered on his phone.

Trevor Fernandes, aged 41, from Dixon Street, Swindon, groomed and blackmailed multiple young girls aged between 1 and 16 in England, America, Canada, Ireland, and Norway via social media and online messaging apps using usernames such as 'cuteandstrict', 'cutestrictsadist', 'Reckitt03', and 'TcTrevor'. He coerced them into sending sexualised images, engaging in sexual activity, and in one case, forced a 13-year-old girl in Garland, Texas, to film herself abusing another child, threatening to distribute the material to her friends and family if she refused. Devices seized in December 2020 revealed extensive evidence of these offences against numerous victims worldwide.

On June 30, 2025, Kenneth Moore and John Johnstone deliberately set fire to the hallway of a block of flats on Bedford Street, Gloucester, using an accelerant. The fire endangered residents inside, leading to evacuation, two hospitalizations for smoke inhalation, damage to multiple flats, and residents being relocated to temporary accommodation. The flats remain uninhabitable due to extensive damage. Police were alerted at around 10am by fire services.

On June 30, 2025, John Johnstone and Kenneth Moore deliberately set fire to the hallway of a block of flats on Bedford Street, Gloucester, using an accelerant. The fire endangered residents inside, leading to evacuation, two hospitalizations for smoke inhalation, damage to multiple flats, and residents being relocated to temporary accommodation. The flats remain uninhabitable due to extensive damage. Police were alerted at around 10am by fire services.

Jake Clark, 29, of Portway, Chippenham, met a woman in her 30s on Tinder. After meeting in person on March 6, he used her bank card to withdraw hundreds of pounds. That night, he became aggressive, headbutting and punching her multiple times, causing an injury to her eye socket. He prevented her from leaving his address and smashed her phone. On March 7, around 9am, police were called after a member of the public noticed her asking for help from inside the property.

Cody Tierney began grooming a 13-year-old girl known to him in April 2023 with vile messages she was made to delete. The abuse escalated to sexual touching, including an attack on a train in May 2023. In July 2024, he coerced the then 14-year-old into sexual activity and warned her to stay silent. The victim’s mother reported the abuse to police in September 2024. Tierney initially denied the charges but changed his plea in July 2025.

On March 16, 2025, Tyrike Rasgado and five other men, wearing masks, entered an O2 store in Borough Parade, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in an attempt to commit theft as part of an organised crime group. They were intercepted by store staff and pursued by undercover police officers who tackled and arrested them. The incident involved a chase and caused fear and anxiety among staff and customers.

On March 16, 2025, Jason Hunte and five other men, wearing masks, entered an O2 store in Borough Parade, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in an attempt to commit theft as part of an organised crime group. They were intercepted by store staff and pursued by undercover police officers who tackled and arrested them. The incident involved a chase and caused fear and anxiety among staff and customers.

On March 16, 2025, Jaheim Thompson and five other men, wearing masks, entered an O2 store in Borough Parade, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in an attempt to commit theft as part of an organised crime group. They were intercepted by store staff and pursued by undercover police officers who tackled and arrested them. The incident involved a chase and caused fear and anxiety among staff and customers.

On March 16, 2025, Jesse Madika and five other men, wearing masks, entered an O2 store in Borough Parade, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in an attempt to commit theft as part of an organised crime group. They were intercepted by store staff and pursued by undercover police officers who tackled and arrested them. The incident involved a chase and caused fear and anxiety among staff and customers.

On March 16, 2025, Nusret Arslan and five other men, wearing masks, entered an O2 store in Borough Parade, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in an attempt to commit theft as part of an organised crime group. They were intercepted by store staff and pursued by undercover police officers who tackled and arrested them. The incident involved a chase and caused fear and anxiety among staff and customers.

On March 16, 2025, Billy Gladdish and five other men, wearing masks, entered an O2 store in Borough Parade, Chippenham, Wiltshire, in an attempt to commit theft as part of an organised crime group. They were intercepted by store staff and pursued by undercover police officers who tackled and arrested them. The incident involved a chase and caused fear and anxiety among staff and customers.

Agron Seferi, 59, of Norfolk Close, Walcot, deliberately started three separate fires in his family home on March 10, following a heated domestic argument while intoxicated. He collected fuel containers from the garden, brought them inside, set the fires, and left a fuel container in the hallway before driving away. This caused approximately £30,000 in damage to the property, with firefighters extinguishing the blaze and preventing it from spreading to the neighbouring house. No casualties occurred, and a fire service investigation confirmed the fires were started intentionally.

Alistair Eccleston drove 120 miles from his home in Wiltshire to Stoke-on-Trent in February 2021 to meet a 15-year-old boy at Festival Park, where he engaged in sexual acts, including kissing, touching, and performing a sex act. He was made subject to a SHPO following this incident. He later breached the SHPO multiple times by being in the company of and communicating with persons under 16.

Hayden O'Brien was involved in a premeditated revenge attack on a 14-year-old boy outside St Joseph's Catholic College in Swindon on an afternoon as pupils were leaving school. The group, including O'Brien, wore balaclavas and used weapons, such as a hammer and a bicycle seat, to punch, kick, and strike the victim, causing a laceration to the back of his head and a broken finger. The assault was planned via messages on Snapchat and WhatsApp, which included violent threats and racial slurs, and was motivated by a prior assault on one of the defendants.

Mark Cartner, aged 59 and of Sprats Barn Crescent in Royal Wootton Bassett, was involved in possessing a prohibited image of a child and making indecent photographs of children.

Matthew McKechnie, aged 39 and of no fixed abode, attacked a man in his 60s in the town centre on January 29, leaving him with serious injuries to his leg and ankle.

Michael Pretto, aged 53, wounded or inflicted grievous bodily harm without intent against another man on June 20, 2021.

John Butters, a 77-year-old from St Albans Close in Rodbourne, Swindon, breached his sexual harm prevention order by using a prohibited TLC mobile phone from August 2024 to February 2025, employing banned apps such as Clean Up and DuckDuckGo, and failing to notify police of his new passport. Additionally, on February 6, 2025, he assaulted a detective constable from Wiltshire Police. This incident follows his prior convictions, including a 20-month jail sentence in October 2020 for attempting sexual communication with a child, making indecent images, and assaulting a police detective.

On January 24, 2025, Liam Jones deliberately set fire to a barn in Bratton, destroying winter feed and straw bedding worth around £25,000. Roughly 300 feed bales and 30 straw bales were lost. Jones phoned police to confess and pleaded guilty the next day. The farmer reported stress to young cattle from smoke inhalation and said the ordeal caused considerable distress to his family.

Drew Stanton-Foreman attacked a 17-year-old boy without provocation at a house party in Swindon, stabbing him with the stem of a broken champagne glass. The victim suffered deep lacerations and emotional trauma, requiring hospital treatment.

Rhys Cutler engaged in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl on three occasions between May 4 and 8, 2024. He breached a 10-year sexual risk order that was imposed on May 1, 2024, by contacting another 13-year-old girl on June 13, 2024.

On September 3, Peter Melville, 60, approached two girls aged 10 and 11 who were playing in a driveway in Covingham. He told one girl she was beautiful, gave her a two-pound coin, and attempted to expose himself by unzipping his trousers. The girls fled in fear, as captured on Ring doorbell footage and nearby CCTV. Melville, who was on police bail and working as a vehicle courier, fled the scene in his van and was arrested later that day by armed police near the M4. The incident caused significant trauma to the victims, affecting their sense of safety and daily activities.

Anthony Dugard, a 60-year-old man, was arrested on July 4, 2024, in Swindon after travelling to meet who he believed was a child with the intention of abusing them, but he was met by police. Further investigation revealed he had coerced and exploited a real 15-year-old child over several months. The victim provided evidence of the abuse, and her mother highlighted the emotional impact in a personal statement.

Bethan Guy, 26, from King John Street, met her victim on Snapchat where she sold adult photos of herself. She threatened to inform his partner about the purchases unless he paid her money, leading to unwarranted demands for financial gain between July 20, 2022, and August 3, 2022, which caused the victim significant distress and financial strain.

Damien Saunders arranged or helped arrange illegal sexual activity involving a child between April and July 2024, contrary to section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. He admitted the offence in August and was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court.