Taunton Crown Court Sentencing Results

Mark John Butcher, a 36-year-old man from Evercreech, Somerset, was sentenced to four years and seven months in prison at Taunton Crown Court on April 12, 2019, after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault. The attacks occurred within a three-month span in 2018, targeting vulnerable women in the Street and Shepton Mallet areas. The first incident took place on June 5, 2018, on Somerton Road in Street, where Butcher pushed a 24-year-old woman against a wall and sexually assaulted her. The victim shouted for him to stop, prompting Butcher to flee the scene. Avon and Somerset Police investigated the report and linked it to subsequent assaults. On July 19, 2018, an 18-year-old woman was attacked shortly after leaving a supermarket. Butcher grabbed her around the throat and pulled her backwards during the assault. She managed to fight him off and run home, where her mother called the police. The third assault occurred on August 31, 2018, in Dark Lane, Shepton Mallet, around 7pm. While jogging, a 20-year-old woman was grabbed by the throat and pulled to the ground by Butcher. She resisted, kicking him to escape, and later provided police with details of a Peugeot car with an 'S' prefix registration plate seen nearby, which aided in identifying the suspect. Following his release, Butcher will be on licence for three years and placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for life.

On the evening of 23 July 2021, Liam Davies approached Gary and Samantha Sipthorpe in Taunton as they walked home from a pub and asked for a lighter. When they said they did not have one, he punched Gary in the head multiple times, knocking him to the ground, and continued the attack while Gary lay defenceless. He pushed Samantha over when she intervened, threw Gary's phone across the road when he tried to call police, and fled after Samantha called 999. Gary sustained a bleed to the brain, detached retina, fractures to rib and nose, and continues to experience headaches and vision issues.

Karl Pitcher sexually assaulted four girls on numerous occasions over a 10-year period between 1993 and 2003. The victims were aged between two and 14 years old. In 2020, two victims came forward, leading to enquiries that identified two further cases reported in the 2000s which had previously been investigated but not prosecuted.

Dustin Gandley, aged 37 and residing in Hamp Brook Way, Bridgwater, sexually assaulted a girl under 13 years old on 11 separate occasions over a four-year period. The abuse came to light when the victim disclosed it to her mother, who reported it to the police. At Taunton Crown Court, Gandley, a Jehovah’s Witness and cabinet-maker from the Highbridge area, pleaded guilty to ten charges of sexual assault against a female under 13 and one charge of inciting the victim to engage in sexual activity. The prosecuting barrister noted Gandley’s reluctance to admit the full extent of his actions due to concerns about his standing within his religious community. The victim’s mother spoke after sentencing, expressing devastation and urging other parents to watch for signs of abuse such as changes in a child’s mood.

Daniel Vaughan, 42, of West Hendford, Yeovil, was arrested by Operation Remedy officers earlier in 2021 and charged with burglary at a residential address in Avon Close, Yeovil, and attempting to gain access to a property in Percy Road, Yeovil on Friday 2 April. He admitted to two further dwelling burglaries, a theft from a vehicle, and a shoplifting offence.

Christopher Dean, of Taylors Meade in Combe St Nicholas, stole meat and health and beauty products worth £355 from Tesco in Tapstone Lane, Chard.

Christopher Rost-Aldridge, 31, from Highbridge, committed several non-dwelling burglaries in Bridgwater. On Thursday 22 April, he entered the staffing area of a bakery and stole a purse. Four days later, he committed a similar offence at a joinery firm, stealing clothes and bank cards. He used the bank cards to purchase items worth £37.49 the same day.

On 11 September 2019, Adam Harding committed two burglaries in Burnham. First, he targeted a woman with limited mobility on Abingdon Street. He knocked at around 7am, returned later, broke in through an insecure rear door, threatened her in bed demanding money, searched drawers and under the bed, then left. The victim identified him. Later at 5.50pm, he broke into a property in Rosewood Avenue via an open rear window on the first floor. The owner heard a bang, confronted him in her rear bedroom, and he left through the same window. CCTV footage and a witness identified him.