York Crown Court Sentencing Results

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but admitted using controlling or coercive behaviour on the day his trial was due to start, and other allegations were withdrawn.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.

Ben Stevenson strangled his pregnant partner to the point of unconsciousness just before midnight on May 14 after she told him she wanted to end the relationship. He hit her on the back of the head, placed her in a choke hold with his forearm against her neck, straddled her, and later grabbed her by the neck again, preventing her from breathing and dragging her onto a bed. The victim lost consciousness and woke to find Stevenson's full weight on her. Police were called and arrested him shortly after midnight. The victim, who was about 28 weeks pregnant, was taken to hospital and later experienced trouble with her voice.

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.

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.

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 Moorland Drive, 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.

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 Union Street, 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.

Oliver Hartley, 24, of Bentley Lane, Meanwood, Leeds, stole his mother's black Audi A7 from her home in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, after spending the evening drinking. He went on an intoxicated joyride, speeding southbound on the A6055 between Catterick and Leeming Bar at around 2.18am on August 1, 2021. Location data showed he travelled up and down the A1(M) and A6055 seven times, exceeding speed limits, reaching speeds of 95-105mph immediately before the collision and at least 72mph at impact. He was driving on the incorrect side of the road when he smashed head-on into the 65-year-old victim's blue Kia Ceed. The victim was returning home to Tunstall after babysitting her grandchildren and died at the scene. Hartley recorded 119-203mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, above the legal limit of 80mg.

Marcus Lee Noble, aged 26 from York, sexually abused an underage teenage girl when he was 23. He took full advantage of her age for his own sexual gratification. The conviction followed a police investigation, during which Noble lied and failed to provide the passcode to his mobile phone.

John Andrew Smith, 24, from Byram, Selby, was driving a van belonging to his friend without insurance or a licence. On June 17, 2023, after leaving a pub in Eggborough, he ran a red light, approached a sharp bend at high speed, and misjudged an overtake on the A645 Weeland Road, resulting in a head-on collision with another vehicle. This crash killed his friend and seriously injured the other driver, who required multiple operations and now faces reduced mobility.

Joshua Anthony Strickland and an accomplice forced their way into a man's home, poured petrol over him, and set him on fire, causing grievous bodily harm. He later intimidated a witness and assaulted a police officer.

Robinson Peter Fitch Binks and an accomplice forced their way into a man's home and set him on fire by pouring petrol over him, causing grievous bodily harm.

Joel Humberstone, 27, of Woodville Square, Leeds, targeted an 11-year-old girl walking to school in Ripon on June 11, 2024, by lifting her skirt and taking a photo. He was chased by witnesses but escaped initially; his phone was later seized after police identified him.