York Crown Court Sentencing Results

Ashley Palliser threw a mixture of potassium hydroxide and potassium carbonate into the face of his ex-partner during an argument outside his flat in Eastfield on 12 October last year. The victim suffered facial burns to her temple, earlobe, inside the ear canal and chest, and was treated at a specialist burns unit. CCTV showed Palliser leaving his flat carrying a bottle, throwing the substance at her car and then at her face. He initially claimed the attack was an accident while cleaning his dentures, but later admitted wounding.

Lewis Bonson admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child. The offences took place in 2025 when he had sex with an under-age teenage girl. The victim said in a statement that the incident had affected her mental health. Bonson was drunk at the time and had mental health problems, including multiple personality disorders. He was on prison licence when the sexual offences occurred and was recalled to prison in March to serve the remainder of an earlier sentence. He was jailed for two years and two months and placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

Malcolm Dale, 62, from Pickering, appeared for sentence at York Crown Court on 16 September 2026 and was jailed for 11-and-a-half years for sexual offences.

Robert Viv Chinchen, 37, of no fixed address, was subject to a Slavery and Trafficking Risk Order after making residents' lives a misery on the Barrowcliff estate in Scarborough. An interim order was imposed in July last year, with a five-year full order in place from October 31. Chinchen breached the order by attending prohibited properties in the area on June 30 and between July 3 and 7 this year. He admitted the breaches at York Magistrates' Court on August 25.

Jordan Lee subjected his partner to repeated controlling and coercive behaviour between January 2024 and February this year, including regular shouting, derogatory names, threats to damage property, assaults, and threats to harm her friends. The victim reported him to police after an incident in which Lee jabbed her on the cheek and jaw, dragged her into the kitchen, and pushed his thumbs into her eyes. He denied all allegations but admitted using controlling or coercive behaviour on the day his trial was due to start, and other allegations were withdrawn. He was also in breach of a suspended sentence imposed in May 2024 for possession with intent to supply cocaine.

Harrison Douglas Long drove a van at a police officer who was attempting to stop him in Scarborough, colliding with a member of the public's car and a police vehicle before fleeing the scene. He was arrested later near Malton after being seen as a passenger. The civilian vehicle was written off and the police vehicle required extensive repairs.

Between August and December 2023, Jason Hepworth and Andrew Johnson stole from or attempted to steal from over 40 vehicles across North Yorkshire, targeting vehicles in at least seven towns and villages including Whitby, Malton and Pickering. They operated under cover of darkness, often trying door handles and breaking into vehicles. The incidents included stealing £400 of tools from a work van in Malton, cash, loose change, Ray-Ban sunglasses and a woman's house keys. During the four-month period, 44 thefts or attempted thefts were reported to police. Hepworth admitted conspiracy to steal and had 77 previous offences, about half of which were thefts.

Between August and December 2023, Andrew Johnson and Jason Hepworth stole from or attempted to steal from over 40 vehicles across North Yorkshire, targeting vehicles in at least seven towns and villages including Whitby, Malton and Pickering. They operated under cover of darkness, often trying door handles and breaking into vehicles. The incidents included stealing £400 of tools from a work van in Malton, cash, loose change, Ray-Ban sunglasses and a woman's house keys. During the four-month period, 44 thefts or attempted thefts were reported to police. Johnson admitted conspiracy to steal and had 54 previous offences including theft and numerous convictions for vehicle interference.

Carl Andrew Stevenson drove the victim to remote locations and engaged in sexual activity with her in his car on numerous occasions more than a decade ago. He told her that if she told anyone she would be put into care, keeping her in constant fear. The victim reported the offences in 2022, but Stevenson denied any wrongdoing and showed no remorse. A jury at York Crown Court found him guilty and he was sentenced on 23 July 2026.

Stephen Davies, 27, of no fixed address in Huddersfield, was jailed for coercive and controlling behaviour against a woman in the Kirklees area between August and November 2025. He admitted the offence on the first day of his trial and was also made subject to a 15-year restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.

Joshua Donnelly attacked a 38-year-old man at Flamingo Land Resort in Kirby Misperton just after 1am on 18 September 2025. He took a four-inch black-handled knife from a caravan kitchen drawer and stabbed the victim three times in the abdomen during a domestic dispute when the victim tried to calm the situation. The victim was on a family holiday in a nearby caravan, suffered a punctured colon, and required emergency surgery. Donnelly fled but was later arrested in a car after police enquiries. The discarded knife was found in bushes and forensically linked.

Noah Munson, 21, from Ripon, struck a woman with such force during an argument on Queen Street in September 2023 that she was knocked to the ground, suffering two large cuts to her head. While on bail for the assault, he was reported by a second woman for repeated harassment and coercive control, including threats and physical violence. He admitted to two assaults and controlling or coercive behaviour.

Ashley Parr, 35, of Guiseley, led police on a dangerous chase on July 21, 2025, after a member of the public reported his vehicle driving dangerously on the A166 near Garrowby Hill. The vehicle was registered to an address in Leeds. Parr failed to stop and reached speeds of 140mph on roads including the A64 and A1. He careered through the air over a roundabout, with the BMW rolling several times before landing in a hedge. He was drugged-up during the incident.

Maximillian Barnes was involved in a three-week blackmail plot against a victim between 3 and 23 July 2024. The victim was pressured over a debt linked to her ex-partner and handed over a PlayStation 5, an Apple Watch, and two £100 cash payments. Threats continued, including in front of the victim's mother.

Matthew Hull, 22, from Sherburn-in-Elmet, performed a dangerous overtake on the B1222 near Sherburn-in-Elmet on 27 May 2024, driving a Renault Clio Sport. He overtook on a stretch of road with limited visibility due to a hidden dip and crest, entering the wrong lane and colliding head-on with motorcyclist the victim, 65, who died at the scene. Hull admitted in a police interview that he made a stupid overtake due to impatience.

Ashton Kevin Fredrick Saunders, 37, previously of Chesham, ran a sham recruitment service through NJP Recruitment Ltd, posting adverts for non-existent jobs between November 2014 and February 2016. He tricked dozens of jobseekers across the UK into paying between £70 and £100 each for fake DBS and criminal record checks, moving nearly £18,000 of victims’ money through his bank accounts and transferring funds overseas to Thailand. Victims submitted CVs, completed application forms, and in many cases took part in telephone interviews for roles that did not exist. They were then told they had been successful and required to pay for a DBS check before starting work, directed to fake websites operated by associates. Some victims received DBS certificates, while many did not. The scam exploited unemployed people desperate for work, stealing their money and crushing their hopes. One man, unemployed for months, thought he had found work only to discover it was fake. Another woman moved to Leeds from Shropshire, paid six months’ rent in advance, and was left without income when the job never materialised. After failing to attend court on 1 February 2017, he fled to Thailand, was detained in August 2025 after deportation, and remanded in custody since.

Jonathan Waldron, a Yorkshire waste operator, was sentenced at York Crown Court after illegally acting as a director of four companies while bankrupt.

Jack David Anthony Merry, 25, of Scarborough, set upon a 20-year-old man as he walked with friends in Aberdeen Walk near the old job centre building on Sunday, September 7, 2025, at around 10.45pm. Merry was riding a bike when he confronted the man, chased him down, punched and kicked him after he fell to the floor, and then stamped on his head while he lay unconscious. Witnesses filmed the attack and feared the victim was dead; the victim escaped with relatively minor injuries but suffered great trauma.

Andrew Philip Russell, 35, from Pontefract, conducted a campaign of stalking involving serious alarm or distress against his victim over almost two years in the Selby district. While in a relationship with another woman, he manipulated and controlled the victim by masquerading as her imprisoned ex-partner, sending threatening messages from fake social media accounts, fitting a tracking device to her car, attempting to hack her accounts, breaking into her house, disabling her wifi and security cameras, and making threatening phone calls to her and her family. The victim, initially believing the threats came from her ex-partner who had assaulted her, lived in constant fear, refused to attend court, and was forced to move home multiple times with her children. Russell was caught via CCTV topping up a phone used in the stalking. The abuse caused profound mental health impacts, anxiety, and instability for the victim and her children.

Grant Morgan Cowlishaw was in a relationship with the victim for several years and subjected her to controlling and coercive behaviour from April 2021 until March 2025. The behaviour included using violence on at least three occasions, repeatedly degrading her with verbal remarks, and monitoring her phone use. After the relationship ended in February 2025, the abuse continued into March 2025, with Cowlishaw breaching his bail conditions by repeatedly sending messages to the victim and turning up at a relative's home.

Between April and June 2024, Timothy Glen Jarrett, 45, of Flaxman Croft, Copmanthorpe, York, supplied drugs and alcohol to teenage girls in exchange for sexual acts, which he filmed on his phone and shared with others, including at least one video with one of the victims and two videos with two acquaintances. He drove one victim to his home where he provided drugs and alcohol before having sex with her, which he recorded. His actions targeted vulnerable teenage girls for his own sexual gratification.