Here are just some of the Kent criminals, including, burglars, drug …
Lots of people who committed crimes this year were jailed earlier this month and spent their Christmas behind bars.
Here are just some of the criminals, including, burglars, domestic violence abusers, drug dealers, flashers, killers, perverts and thugs who committed crimes in December.
Jake Chambers
Two men left a dad with a fractured cheekbone in a "gratuitous" attack witnessed by his screaming three-year-old daughter outside her home and one of them kicked off in the courtroom when he was jailed.
Neighbours Mark Stannett and Jake Chambers were said to have reacted "grossly out of proportion" to a row taking place between Adam White and his ex-partner in a communal area of a block of flats in Margate[1].
However, after the pair had been picked out in police identification procedures, Chambers – who has 26 previous convictions for 56 offences including seven for battery since 2011, as well as assault and false imprisonment in 2020 – claimed Mr White had attacked him and the pair ended up in a tussle.
Stannett, a former warehouseman of Edgar Road, Margate, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and the court heard he has eight previous convictions for 16 offences – the last having been committed when he was a teenager and none for violence.
Chambers, now of Percy Road, Ramsgate, also admitted causing GBH[2] as well as damaging property in respect of a phone which was damaged and the court heard he had been diagnosed with bipolar, ADHD and autism, and prescribed both antipsychotic drugs and mood stabilisers, but that at the time of this offending he was "self-medicating" with alcohol and drugs.
Recorder Daniel Stevenson said while he could spare Stannett immediate custody, Chambers's previous convictions as well as poor compliance with community and court orders could not be ignored and he reacted aggressively on being jailed, shouting and banging after being led from the dock to the court cells resulting in extra staff being summoned for assistance.
Chambers was jailed for 27 months and Stannett was given an 18-month jail term suspended for two years with 250 hours of unpaid work and the judge told the pair: "Whatever the reasons for the altercation (between Mr White and his former partner) were, I have no doubt it was this that caused you to act in the way you did, however, your conduct was grossly out of proportion.”
Both men were excused paying a victim surcharge in favour of compensation to Mr White totalling £346 and both were also made subject to a five-year restraining order.
Ricardo Cain
A drug dealer who used the home of a vulnerable person as a base to sell cocaine and heroin was jailed.
On October 23, investigators from Kent Police’s County Lines and Gangs Team learned Ricardo Cain was travelling from Penge to Swanley[3] to supply class A drugs.
Officers found the 24-year-old used a specific phone number to send texts offering the substances to local users and after raiding the home, police found Cain inside with £250 in cash.
As the officers entered, he threw seven deals of heroin and 49 wraps of crack cocaine out of a window, which were quickly recovered by an officer waiting outside and he was found to be dealing the drugs from the home of a vulnerable person.
Cain, who was already on licence for a drug-dealing offence at the time, was arrested and taken into custody and the drugs were later analysed and found to have an estimated street value of between £500 and £1,120.
The following day, Cain, of no fixed address was charged with being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.[4]
He later pleaded guilty to the offences at Maidstone Crown Court.
Earlier this month he was locked up for four years.
Lawrence Neeley
A man was jailed after throwing an axe at a pregnant woman’s stomach.
Lawrence Neeley bruised the victim after hurling the weapon at her and swinging it at her arm in Maidstone[5].
The woman was forced to endure a period of sustained abuse and threats between August and September 2022.
Other assaults included Neeley cutting her chin with a knife and headbutting her.
He was arrested on September 5 after the victim secretly mouthed help to staff at a bank in Maidstone.
The 48-year-old appeared before Maidstone Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm, assault by beating, and resisting a constable in the execution of their duty.[6]
He also admitted possessing cocaine.
Neeley was sentenced to two years and eight months’ imprisonment.
Terrance Kamara
A convicted serial flasher repeatedly exposed himself while behind bars in a bizarre bid to be deported.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Terrance Kamara would ring his emergency cell alarm as a ruse to attract a guard.
Then, once he knew they were female, would greet them with the shocking sight of his bare genitals as they peered through his door's observation panel and 27-year-old committed the act while serving a sentence at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey[7] for flashing women and girls at Canterbury’s Whitefriars shopping centre and a Boots[8] store in March last year.
He later told police he made certain the officer who came to his cell was a woman before dropping his trousers and pants as he feared a male officer would beat him up, and even the warning of being filmed by a bodyworn camera did not deter him as he simply moved closer to the door, making grunting noises while performing a sex act.
Then, after he had been placed on report, his deviant behaviour escalated when he slapped another female guard's backside so hard he left a bruise.
She later described him as "creepy and concerning", adding she was shocked by the force he had used and the court heard Kamara, a Sierra Leone national, had exposed himself in prison twice before, in July and August that year,[9] and in similar circumstances.
Kamara, of no fixed address, was not charged with the offences until after he had been released from prison in May this year but after admitting three counts of exposure, sexual assault, and an assault on an emergency worker, he was sentenced earlier this month via video link with HMP Chelmsford in Essex.
Jailing Kamara for a total of 56 weeks, Judge Simon James said the victims of his "inappropriate" actions were "entitled to look at the courts for protection in their workplace."
Stuart Harris
A homeless thug violently assaulted a friend who had given him a bed for the night with a large spirit level and then sent him sinister texts in hospital saying "lucky I didn't finish you".
Victim Justin Slater was having his head stapled and leg stitched when he received the taunting messages from his attacker, Stuart Harris.
Canterbury Crown Court heard a second text contained a smiling emoji with love heart eyes and the third menacingly read: “Have you been to Staplehurst or are you on another level?”
Mr Slater, who suffered a fractured skull, said he took this as a reference to the treatment he needed and the 6ft-long tool he had been struck unconscious with[10] on July 14 last year.
Harris, 37, from Leyburne Road, Dover, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Slater, as well as assaulting neighbour Matthew Sparkes - who injured his hand as he blocked one of the blows from the implement - and possessing an offensive weapon.
Mr Sparkes later described how he feared Mr Slater would die in the "quite disturbing" incident.
Prosecutor Caroline Knight told the court Harris had, in an "act of charity", been invited to stay at Mr Slater's home overnight, only to react violently after being asked to leave the following day.
Harris, who has 14 previous convictions for 18 offences including numerous for assault and offensive weapons, was posed as a danger to the public by Recorder John Bate-Williams, who imposed an extended sentence consisting of five years and four months' imprisonment with an additional two years added to any licence period once released.
Charlie Willett
A bully who mugged a vulnerable man of his bike had to miss the forthcoming birth of his first child after being jailed.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Charlie Willett, from Faversham, deliberately picked on his victim in the street in November as he considered him to be an "easy target" who would not put up a fight.
The 24-year-old was already riding a bicycle when he blocked the man's path in Lower Road, Ospringe, and demanded he hand over his £650, "pristine" Giant-branded one.
When met with a refusal, Willett wrestled it from his grasp by threatening violence and then rode off, nonchalantly gesturing to take his.
The victim refused however, fearing that one had also been stolen, and although his bike was eventually returned to him it was by then damaged.
Willett, who has 12 previous convictions for 36 offences, had previously stolen as many as four cycles from the same man and prolific thief often wept during his sentencing hearing[11] and his lawyer Phil Rowley told the court that although the dad-to-be was "realistic" about having to miss his child's birth in February, he hoped to serve his time, reunite with his family and "avoid the courts" in the future.
The court also heard the expectant father was just 10 days into a community order imposed for shoplifting and possessing cannabis when he targeted the bike, and in the intervening four months had racked up further convictions for theft and assaulting an emergency worker.
Willett, of Abbots Road, Faversham, admitted robbery as well as failing to surrender to court bail on November 6 and was jailed for for 80 weeks, and consecutive to the 16-week term he is currently serving for unrelated matters, Simon Taylor KC told him to see it as "a lesson" on how crime impacts others.
To
To see the criminals locked up in November click here.[13] Esmatullah Sharfi A man who wielded a gun-shaped cigarette lighter on Halloween, leaving innocent bystanders in Canterbury[14] city centre terrified, was jailed. In the space of just 12 minutes, Esmatullah Sharfi frightened two girls into seeking refuge in a hotel where the receptionist was also terrified, robbed a 17-year-old of £10, and put a tearoom worker in fear for her life as she stared directly down the barrel of the fake firearm. While the item was later discovered to be a lighter, Judge Simon James said the 31-year-old’s "brazen and public" use of the imitation weapon was intended to cause his victims to fear it was real and Canterbury Crown Court heard police were first alerted to a gunman at 5.53pm on October 31 when two girls reported being followed by a man who had brandished the weapon from his waistband. The pair hid in the Abode hotel where the receptionist saw Sharfi wielding the item and waving the gun around and Sharfi, an Afghanistan national who came to the UK seeking asylum, then continued down the High Street before going into nearby Ding Tea and confronting a member of staff at the counter and after leaving, he was bravely followed by a teenage customer who had seen his strange behaviour and the staff member’s reaction to him. The court heard the teen, fearing for his safety with the gun pointed at him, handed over cash before walking away in a "shaken and traumatised" state and calling police and Sharfi was still in possession of the gun lighter when he was arrested at 6.05pm. At the time of the gun incident, he was subject to a community order for theft, spoke little or no English, was living in temporary accommodation in east Kent while still waiting for his asylum application to be processed, and had spent the day smoking cannabis and drinking alcohol with a friend in Ashford. Sharfi, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to robbery and three offences of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed earlier this month for four years, and on release, Sharfi will be referred to the Home Office for possible deportation. Kenneth Fenton A drug dealer who hid crack cocaine and heroin in hollowed out vapes was jailed for more than four years. An investigation was launched after a car owned by Kenneth Fenton, from Dartford[15], and being driven by Matthew Smith was stopped by the police in May. Smith was arrested after officers searched the vehicle and seized crack cocaine and heroin hidden in vapes and a mobile phone recovered from the car contained text messages from Fenton to Smith that implicated them both in the supply of drugs. Officers proved Fenton was running the Ash drug line in Dartford, and on Thursday, August 10, he was arrested while driving the same vehicle in Keyes Road.[16] More crack cocaine and heroin hidden inside vapes, along with cash and a mobile phone were recovered by officers. Fenton, 39, was later charged and the Balmoral Road resident was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court after he admitted being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin. Earlier this month month, he was jailed for four years and four months. Smith, 34, of Lane Avenue, Greenhithe, was charged with drug and weapon offences and was sentenced to three years and nine months earlier this year. Claudiu Patrascu A hit-and-run driver who killed a disabled army veteran had packed a bag to flee the country before he was tracked down by police. Claudiu Patrascu, who had only been in the UK for three months, had no licence and was driving a stolen car with false plates when he crashed into trike rider Glyn Clarke[17]. Canterbury Crown Court heard the 45-year-old then fled the scene as the ex-serviceman lay dying in the road, with one witness describing him as "running for his life". By the time police had traced him to his caravan near Faversham[18] more than 12 hours later, he had packed a bag with food, his passport and a Romanian identity card. A breathalyser test revealed he had been drinking but, as he claimed to have had four beers after the collision, the prosecution was unable to prove what, if any alcohol, had been consumed before he struck 69-year-old Mr Clarke. The court heard the horrific incident was witnessed by the victim’s sister-in-law, Linda Coleman,[19] as she followed the much-loved and well-respected grandfather in her car while he rode along the A2050 in Harbledown, near Canterbury[20], shortly before 1pm on Saturday, August 26. Mr Clarke was travelling at no more than 20mph in the direction of Faversham when Patrascu, on the opposite carriageway, pulled across his path at the junction near Faulkner's Lane. Patrascu pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, failing to stop, failing to report an accident, and driving without a licence and while uninsured and was jailed for 11 years and three months and was also banned from driving for 14-and-a-half years. Brandon Browne A Kent man was one of five people to have been convicted of killing a 44-year-old father-of-two. Brandon Browne, of Laburnum Road, Strood[21], was jailed for 15 years for the manslaughter of Vishal Gohel. The 23-year-old had been cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. He must serve two-thirds plus eight years for conspiracy to rob, to run concurrently.[22] Five people convicted of killing the victim in Hertfordshire were jailed for a total of 100 years. They appeared at St Albans Crown Court earlier this month for sentencing having previously been convicted of the robbery and killing of Mr Gohel. The victim was discovered unresponsive inside his second-floor flat in Bushey High Street at about 10.45pm on January 23, 2022. The six defendants had denied murder and in July a jury at St Albans Crown Court found three of them guilty of murder and two guilty of manslaughter, a sixth defendant was cleared of all charges. Jack Poore A woman was left in constant fear after her ex-boyfriend threatened to slit her throat and petrol bomb her home in a series of explicit and disturbing phone rants. Describing Jack Poore as a “very unhinged individual”, she told Canterbury Crown Court the anxiety she suffered as a result of his behaviour was “overwhelming” and had forced her to change her daily routine. Such was the extreme nature of her former partner’s four-month campaign of harassment that the sentencing judge even questioned why the 32-year-old had not been prosecuted for a more serious offence. As well as having a previous conviction for assaulting the same woman during what she described as a “toxic and controlling” relationship[23], Poore was also on bail, in breach of two protective orders made by two separate courts, and subject to a suspended sentence. The court heard he also had a history of poor compliance with previous orders designed to prevent him contacting the woman when, in March this year, he began to plague her with calls and messages and then she received a Snapchat message from him using the name John James in which he sinisterly warned: “You will be in a petrol bomb by 10pm.” Other threats from the warehouseman followed, as well as highly derogatory and offensive insults but interspersed with apologies and requests for communication on a “human to human level.” The victim later told police how Poore’s behaviour was “playing havoc” with her mental health. Poore, of Hope Avenue, Hadlow, admitted a charge of harassment, as well as breaches of a non-molestation order, a restraining order and a suspended sentence order and was jailed for 34 months and three weeks. Robert Mills A woman raped twice by a man in a squalid caravan he crudely labelled his "shag pad" finally saw her attacker brought to justice. Robert Mills attacked his victim four years ago in the dirty and unkempt mobile home in New Romney[24] after she accepted his offer to walk her home. Having given evidence earlier this year at Canterbury Crown Court[25] - earning praise from a judge for her bravery in doing so – she returned this month to see the depraved 28-year-old jailed for more than eight years. Mills had met the woman on a night out in New Romney in August 2019 but later, under the pretence of seeing her home safely, took her through woods where he pulled out a knife. Then, once she found herself at a caravan in his father's back garden, she was ordered inside, told to strip and subjected to a "degrading and humiliating" ordeal and the court heard the woman initially refused but, scared by the sight of a second knife on a counter and fearing he would kill her, she undressed. Mills, of Hardy Road, Greatstone, then forced himself on her, ignoring her distressed sobs[26] and repeated pleas to stop, but the victim was eventually able to flee the caravan and phoned a relative "bawling her eyes out hysterically", a jury heard. Mills was arrested a few hours later and two knives were found - one in his jacket pocket and the other driven into the caravan toilet door and he claimed however that he and the woman had "hit it off" and she had agreed to go back to his caravan, where they had consensual sex, and even said she had even given him a love bite on his neck. But jurors saw through his lies and in August he was convicted of two offences of rape after a retrial and was jailed for eight-and-a-half years, of which he will have to serve at least two-thirds, with a further five-and-a-half years added to any licence period. Justin Kola A drug dealer was jailed after more than 20 wraps of cocaine worth £2,000 were recovered from his car. Police spotted a man parked in a Nissan in a remote area of Harmony Street, Rusthall, in Tunbridge Wells[27] on July 25. After approaching the car, the driver told officers he was waiting for his girlfriend - but couldn’t recall where she lived. Police then seized 23 wraps of cocaine, a mobile phone and around £65 in cash[28] after the man was detained for a search. The drugs were analysed and found to have an estimated street value of around £2,000. Justin Kola, of no fixed address, was arrested and taken into custody. The 28-year-old was later charged with possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. Kola pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment earlier this month. Robbie Murray A banned driver once dubbed a “one-man crimewave” led police on an hour-long chase through several Kent[29] villages at speeds of more than 100mph. Robbie Murray's desperate bid to shake off pursuing patrol vehicles and even the force helicopter also saw him driving the stolen Peugeot 208 on the wrong side of the road, ignoring a one-way sign, and heading into oncoming traffic in Canterbury[30] city centre. The 23-year-old, who has notched up a staggering 27 previous convictions for 68 crimes despite his young age, had been spotted at the wheel of the pink Champagne-coloured vehicle on January 2. But after failing to stop for police in Worth, near Sandwich, he made off, reaching the breathtaking speeds as he journeyed through the villages of Ash, Wingham, Goodnestone and Fordwich[31] trying to evade capture and so lengthy was the chase that different officers took over from each other at the halfway stage, Canterbury Crown Court was told. When the prolific offender was finally stopped in his tracks in Sturry Road, Canterbury, he revealed he had taken the class B drug amphetamine and it was also discovered that he was under police investigation at the time in relation to the theft of a motorbike which he had been caught riding by the owner just two days after it had been taken. Murray, formerly from Thanington in Canterbury but now of no fixed address, later admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and without insurance, failing to provide specimens of breath and blood, two offences of handling stolen goods and one of possessing cannabis. The court heard that Murray was not only subject to a one-year driving ban imposed in May last year but also a suspended sentence order for an offence of battery and a previous report on KentOnline of Murray's appearance at the same court in 2019[32] detailed how he was labelled a "one-man crimewave" after racking up 40 offences before his 20th birthday. In February this year, he even leapt from the dock during another hearing and had to be tackled by a clerk as he tried to make a run for the door, but this month, Judge Simon Taylor KC jailed him for a total of 26 months and also banned him from driving for 38-months. Terence Allen, Nigel Rogers, Frank Asante, Alexis Miranda, Daniel Oliver and Ermal Shtrezi Seven men imported more than £1 million worth of cocaine hidden on broom handles. The drug-laden brooms were hidden amongst an order of clean ones shipped from overseas. And earlier this month, six of them were jailed with a seventh still due to be sentenced after police and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) raided a unit at Darent[33] Industrial Park in October 2021, where the mops and broom handles were being unloaded and the gang were arrested. The Met began investigating the group in December 2020, but during 2021, NCA officers who were separately investigating one of the men, provided intelligence that they were planning to import 30kg of cocaine from overseas, with a street value of more than £1 million and decided to conceal the drugs by coating broomsticks in a lacquer containing cocaine, shipped in a container via legitimate means. To the naked eye, the broom handles looked completely normal and were hidden among clean ones, but the cocaine had undergone a chemical process in Colombia to convert it into a lacquer which was used as a varnish and a shipping container containing the brooms was transported to the industrial unit in Dartford and five of the people unloading the lorry were arrested at the scene and two others were arrested later the same day and were all later charged with conspiracy to import cocaine.[34] Six men were jailed for a total of 135 years at Kingston Crown Court this month, they were, Nigel Rogers, 61, of Olympia Way Whitstable, who was jailed for 23 years. Frank Asante, 49, of Ledbury Road, Kensington and Chelsea, was jailed for 18 years, Yuni Alexis Pacheco Miranda, 54, of The Roundway, Tottenham, was locked up for 29 years and Daniel Oliver, 52, of The Parade, Margate, was jailed for 29 years, while Ermal Shtrezi, 40, of Lyndhurst Road, Haringey, was jailed for 23 years. Terrence Allen, 74, of Wordsworth Road, Welling, was sentenced to 13 years and the seventh man, William Adams, 75, of Brunswick Field, Teynham, will be sentenced at a later date. Mark Taylor A crook who smashed his way into a restaurant in the early hours of the morning before helping himself to bottles of wine, was locked up Mark Taylor, 51, of no fixed address, had attempted to smash the front window of the restaurant in Rochester[35] High Street on November 28. After kicking it and throwing an object at it, he finally made a gap big enough to crawl through and once inside the venue, he stole two bottles of wine worth £60 before fleeing. However, police looked at CCTV of the area and arrested Taylor two days later, he was then charged with burglary. He pleaded guilty in front of magistrates in Folkestone this month and was jailed for 14 months[36] and his punishment included breaching two suspended sentences. After sentencing, PC Peter Hambleton said: “Taylor is a prolific criminal who thought nothing of burgling a local restaurant while on two suspended sentences. “The cost of repairing the window was more than £400 - an expense the owners should not have had to face. “This brazen act could only have one conclusion; the suspect was swiftly identified by neighbourhood officers and will not be a threat to law-abiding businesses for several months.” Bradley Simmonds A trucker binged on cocaine before climbing behind the wheel of a 7.5-tonne lorry and killing a beloved dad in a horror smash. Bradley Simmonds failed to take evasive action when his skip lorry ploughed into the back of Luc Brou’s Peugeot in Thanet[37], causing the car to “explode into the air”. Mr Brou’s heartbroken partner told of the despair she and her children faced since that fateful day, when he left for work and never returned. Simmonds, 39, was locked up for four-and-a-half years at Canterbury Crown Court earlier this month, where the case’s tragic details were heard. Mr Brou, a father-of-two, is understood to have broken down[38] on the outside lane of the A299 Thanet Way, near St Nicholas-as-Wade[39], at 1,40pm on August 16, 2021, but having consumed a large amount of cocaine in the days before the crash, Simmonds’ white DAF skip loader smashed into the back of Mr Brou’s vehicle causing devastating injuries. Mr Brou, a French national who lived in Sidcup aged in his 50s, sustained fatal injuries which doctors said were unsurvivable even with immediate care from expert surgeons and Simmonds, of Oaklands Close, Sevenoaks[40], initially claimed the car had come across in front of him, but his account proved inconsistent with dash-cam footage. The 49-year-old initially denied causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drugs, but later changed his plea to guilty and althought he didn’t have active ingredients of cocaine in his system at the time of the collision, he had more than 11 times the legal limit of benzoylecgonine[41] - the drug’s breakdown by-product. Judge Mark Weekes jailed Simmonds for four-and-a-half years and banned him from driving or applying for a new licence for eight years and three months. Sita Tamang A heartless carer who pawned precious jewellery she had stolen from elderly people with dementia while working night shifts was jailed. Former teacher Sita Tamang wept in the dock at Canterbury Crown Court as she learned her fate while her husband waited anxiously in the corridor outside with their one-year-old son. At the sentencing hearing earlier this month, it was said that Tamang was “petrified at her predicament", but a judge told the 33-year-old that notwithstanding all he had heard and read about her, including her previous good character and genuine remorse, he saw "no reason" to spare her from prison for such an abuse of trust. He also refused a subsequent request by her lawyer that she be granted immediate bail pending an appeal against the jail term. The court heard Tamang, the daughter of a former Second World War Gurkha, had been working at Highland House Care Home in Canterbury since 2017, in a highly trusted role when, in March last year, she targeted her three vulnerable victims.[42] The women were aged between 80 and 92 years old, with one said to be in the advanced stages of dementia while another had limited brain function due to a stroke and although it was not said how much money Tamang had been paid for them, the court was told all the jewellery was recovered. Tamang, of Buffs Road, Canterbury, pleaded guilty to four offences of theft and in June was committed by magistrates to the crown court for sentencing. Jailing Tamang for two years, Recorder Matthew McDonagh said she had targeted her victims knowing their dementia reduced the likelihood of being caught. Eliot Dobkin A traumatised teen revealed how she washes in bleach after a convicted sexual predator raped and sexually assaulted her. Eliot Dobkin's depravity had the "most horrendous" impact on his victim’s life, robbing her of her "innocence and childhood" and leaving her with PTSD, a court heard. The 35-year-old was in Canterbury[43] in the early hours of February 14 this year when he met up with the teen and twice forced himself on her and as she desperately tried to fight him off, he ignored her tears as well as her repeated pleas to "get off". The attack was later reported to police and Dobkin was arrested at his home on the Guinness Trust estate in Stamford Hill, north London. He denied any wrongdoing but was unanimously convicted by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court in September of two charges of rape, one of sexual activity with a child and one of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity. Sentencing was adjourned for reports, and this month, Judge Mark Weekes jailed Dobkin for 10-and-a-half years of which he must serve at least two-thirds[44], with a further three-and-a-half years added to any licence period. On his eventual release, he will be subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order. Jurors were told at Dobkin's trial that he had been convicted in 2018 of three offences of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and has been jailed for two years. Christopher Key A “dangerous predator” who raped a young boy on a train after a sustained and sexual attack on a woman was jailed for 16 years. Christopher Key, of Folkestone[45], followed the lone child onto a train, joined him at a table seat, and then raped him. The brave 14-year-old managed to photograph his attacker before he fled, and handed the footage to police, sparking a huge manhunt and Key, 39 and of Westbourne Gardens, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court to 16 years in prison, with an extended eight-year licence period. The court heard the victim earlier this year boarded the train alone at Margate after spending time with friends when Key also boarded at the station, and when the victim sat at a table seat he took the opportunity to sit opposite him. After quizzing the teenager with inappropriate questions Key stared at him, making him uncomfortable and bravely, the victim was able to capture a short video of Key’s face before Key proceeded to threaten and then rape him. The victim was then able to get away and attract the attention of a couple on the train, who intervened and bravely confronted Key, allowing the victim to get off the train safely and the boy ran home and alerted his mother to the incident, who called 999. Meanwhile, the couple who intervened remained on the train with Key and alerted a train guard and after being arrested and charged, Key pleaded guilty to raping the teenager and also admitted a seperate sexual assault charge[46] after subjecting a woman to a sustained attack in 2020. The court was told “depraved” Key viciously abused and sexually assaulted her where, on one occasion, he threw her to the ground and beat her with his fist leaving her with bruises and she managed to record audio of the sexual assault on her phone and despite initially denying the allegations he later pleaded guilty at the same court to sexual assault and actual bodily harm. Luke Wallace A sex offender was jailed for 17 years after repeatedly abusing, raping and threatening his young victim. Luke Wallace, from Swanley[47], was deemed a “dangerous offender” after being found guilty of more than a dozen child sex offences. Wallace was first arrested on June 14, 2022, after abuse allegations were made to police and an investigation by the West Kent Child Protection Team found he had persistently targeted the victim over a period of between three and four years. After his arrest, police seized a mobile phone which had a secure folder on it containing illegal images of children and Wallace dismissed all the allegations during police interviews and also denied taking or downloading the images found on his phone, he claimed it must have been down to someone else. The 36-year-old, of no fixed address, denied a total of 16 child sex offences at Wood Green Crown Court and the case went to trial and he was found guilty of four counts of rape, four counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and two counts of sexual assault.[48] He was also convicted of four charges relating to making and taking indecent images of a child, and the jury returned a verdict of not guilty for a further two counts of rape. Wallace was deemed by Judge Alexander Jacobs to be a “dangerous” offender and earlier month he received an extended sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment with an additional four years on licence. He must serve at least two-thirds of the custodial sentence before he can apply for parole and he was also added to the sex offenders' register indefinitely. Joe Smith A violent man who left a woman needing 15 stitches in her lip and jaw was locked up. Joe Smith was sentenced to more than five years after the attack, which happened at a hotel room in Forstal Road, Maidstone[49]. On New Years’ Eve in 2022, Smith went to the hotel in an intoxicated state and met the victim, a woman who was already known to him. They left the room and walked to a nearby shop as Smith wanted to buy some alcohol, but he became increasingly abusive towards her. When they got back to the hotel room, Smith became aggressive again and punched her in her face with considerable force and made threats when she tried to leave, but the victim managed to get to the reception area and staff called police which led to Smith’s arrest. As a result of the assault, the victim had to have 15 stitches in her lip and jaw and Smith, of Heathfield Avenue, Dover[50], was later charged and on June 23, he was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent[51] following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court. The 28-year-old was sentenced earlier this month to five years and eight months’ imprisonment. On his release he will then have a further two years on licence and be subject to an eight-year restraining order. Rhys Brown A "ferocious" yob who bragged on social media about an attack that left an outnumbered 14-year-old boy with fractures to an eye socket and spine vertebrae burst into tears as he was jailed. Rhys Brown, from Ramsgate[52], became tearful on learning his fate at Canterbury Crown Court and then being refused a request to say goodbye to his family sitting in the public gallery. Similar upsetting scenes had unfolded when the 21-year-old was found guilty by a jury of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and robbery following a trial in October, having been released on bail, he returned for sentencing earlier this month with many loved ones in support. But they could only look on as a crying Brown first asked "Can I not say goodbye to my family?" and then, having been firmly told "No", pleaded "Not at all?" before being taken from the dock and down to the cells. The court heard Brown was just 18 when he and two unidentified accomplices kicked, punched and stamped on the teenager[53] during a confrontation outside Ramsgate railway station on February 27, 2021. The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was also assaulted with an implement - potentially a metal bar - and even one of his own trainers which was later paraded, bloodstained, on Snapchat with a sinister warning as to the consequences to anyone wanting to "man up". But on sentencing Brown, Recorder Edmund Fowler remarked the video was in fact "quite ironic" given the cowardly nature of the attack meted out, when violence flared after the boy, who had been sitting on a wall with his girlfriend, confronted the group on hearing one of them making a comment about being gay. When Brown began swearing and making threats, the teen punched him, causing him to stumble back with an injury to his nose, however, following what the judge accepted was an "unwarranted and aggressive" reaction by the youngster, all three then retaliated and attacked him, and this month, Brown, of Coleman Crescent, Ramsgate, was jailed for three years for the offences. Christopher and Colin Nourse A gun enthusiast who fired a lethal weapon at least nine times at a thief he believed was trying to steal his motorbike was handed a 30-year prison sentence. Christopher Nourse, 45, was convicted of attempting to murder a man in a car park in Greenhithe[54] and will have to serve at least 20 years before he can be considered for parole. His brother Colin, 42, was also jailed for 14 years for illegally possessing a firearm, after Maidstone Crown Court heard the brothers feared their motorbikes were being targeted by thieves and set up CCTV cameras to watch the area where the machines were locked away. After being alerted, the brothers went to confront the gang and Christopher fired bullets from a Glock pistol which passed through the arm of Ross Eaglestone[55] as he was allegedly trying to free the expensive bikes parked in Cooper Close. Christopher, from Ospringe Close, Penge and Colin, from Cooper Close, had bought the illegal weapons before flying to America for target practice and Judge Philip St John-Stevens said the brothers prepared themselves with semi-automatic weapons, and police believe at least nine shots were fired – including six at Mr Eaglestone. The brothers then left in their £37,000 Audi and £78,000 Mercedes as the injured Mr Eagletsone managed to get away, and Eaglestone, who is currently serving a jail sentence, had denied trying to steal the bikes and said he was present intending to buy cannabis nearby and the jury heard following the shooting, the thieves returned and stole the bikes. The jury heard that a handgun used in the shooting was later found hidden underneath a car parked a few streets away from Christopher's home and after being out for 15 hours, they acquitted Colin of attempted murder. He was then convicted of possessing firearms with intent to endanger lives and Christopher was also found guilty of possessing a prohibited firearm and he received a 30-year sentence and will have to serve two-thirds before he will be eligible for release and once free, will serve an extra four years on licence, while Colin was given a 14-year jail term and will serve another four years on licence when released. Nuno Rodrigues A beautician who was strangled and suffered facial scarring at the hands of her violent ex said she could finally “enjoy Christmas” after he was jailed. Leonie Waldock told Maidstone Crown Court how Nuno Rodrigues carried out a campaign of violent abuse against her – including threatening to run her over and posting personal images of her online. During the course of their relationship, the 28-year-old subjected Leonie to a series of attacks which left the beauty worker physically scarred and suffering nightmares. Speaking after his sentencing, Leonie, 23, told KentOnline: “I had to leave my job at the time, I had to leave where I lived. “We met in November 2021 and dated on and off before finally getting together in June 2022, it was that July that we moved in together and it all started, the abuse happened on a regular basis. “He tried to kill me that December and would make posts on social media to control me and get me to do things and even threatened to run me over and strangled me on multiple occasions.” Following her ordeal Leonie was diagnosed with PTSD and depression and at his sentencing, the judge also imposed an order he should stay away from her until further notice and confiscated the mobile phone which contained personal photographs and movies. Michael Quilligan A violent thug tore his wife's mouth open at a holiday park by using his fingers in a fishing hook motion. Drug and drink-fuelled Michael Quilligan, 44, was trying to stop his partner leaving a caravan when he grabbed her face and pulled from behind. The resulting wound, described by police as "horrific", left her covered in blood, unable to speak and with a "flapping" tear measuring 6cm by 3cm and a judge told Quilligan that his victim, now permanently scarred, would have a daily reminder of his attack every time she looked in the mirror. The couple had been in a relationship for 20 years, with six children together, when violence flared at the Marlie Holiday Park in New Romney[56] at about 10.30pm on August 11 and the victim later told police that Quilligan "started to become lairy" so she decided to leave "before it got worse", Canterbury Crown Court was told earlier this month. However, having initially been able to shrug him off as he grabbed the shoulder of her denim jacket, she then felt him grabbing at her face from behind. Prosecutor Douglas Scott said: "She continued to try and shrug him off and get out of the caravan but then in a matter of seconds he assaulted her causing the injury, with his fingers inside her mouth and pulling in a motion away from her face.” The court heard Quilligan, of Park Lane, Hornchurch, had been drinking and taking cocaine that night but owned up to the attack on arrest and later pleaded guilty to an offence[57] of wounding and has a total of 16 convictions for 26 offences both in this country and in Ireland, including for affray and assault causing actual bodily harm. He also has a caution for battery against the same woman in 2006, but the court heard that in respect of the wounding charge she neither supported the prosecution nor gave any form of statement to police and judge Simon Taylor KC jailed him for 25 months. Rackeem Thomas A “dangerous” 18-year-old was jailed a day after he was caught carrying a large combat knife at a railway station. Magistrates heard how Rackeem Thomas was discovered with the blade when stopped by a ticket inspector who wanted to check his ticket one day earlier this month. He failed to provide one and officers from the British Transport Police (BTP) became suspicious as he was acting nervous and he had provided a fake name. Thomas was detained at Dartford[58] railway station but when officers prepared to search him, he attempted to flee and was stopped and tackled to the floor with the help of rail staff. While down, the teenager tried to withdraw the hidden Rambo-style knife in his waistband.[59] Thomas, of no fixed address, appeared before Medway Magistrates’ Court the nexd day where he plead guilty to possession of a knife. He was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay £85 as well as a £154 victim surcharge. Magistrates also ordered the knife be destroyed. Simonas Moise A delivery driver who hid more than £700,000 of illegally earned cash in the side panelling of his van was jailed. Simonas Moise, 49, was attempting to leave the UK via the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone[60] on June 6 when his vehicle caught the attention of security staff. Police officers attended and searched the seemingly empty van, before discovering around 90 separate bundles of cash hidden in a secret compartment. Moise, of no fixed address, was arrested and claimed in an interview to have been transporting the money on behalf of a contact in Romania. He denied the cash was linked to criminal activity but was found guilty of money laundering following a trial at Canterbury Crown Court and sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment earlier this month.[61] Investigating officer DC Gemma Simpson of Kent Police’s Border Investigations Unit said: “Moise claimed to be an innocent middle-man with no knowledge of any wrongdoing but if that were true he would have had no need to go to such great lengths to hide the vast sums of cash he was attempting to smuggle out of the country. “He was in fact well aware the money had been earned through criminal means and was trying his best to exit the UK undetected.” The cash seized from Moise was forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act at a previous court hearing in September and will be redistributed to agencies including Kent Police under the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme. Alfie Kibble The family of a man murdered in a deadly ambush as he left a takeaway say they “will keep him in their hearts forever”. Three teenagers, including a 15-year-old boy, were convicted after Gabriel Petrov Stoyanov was fatally stabbed in Bromley[62]. The 21-year-old victim had been out with pals at a pub in Sydenham and had boarded a bus home with his friend, two stops before the trio got on. But an altercation broke out and he was later hunted down and killed by the group. Alfie Kibble, 18, of Manor Close, Thamesmead, was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 14 years and nine months.[63] A 17-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 15 years and a 15-year-old boy was sentenced to six years and eight months. Both Kibble and the 17-year-old were convicted of the murder of Gabriel Petrov Stoyanov in August after a trial at the Old Bailey and the 15-year-old had been found guilty of manslaughter, all three were sentenced this month. Speaking after the sentencing, Gabriel’s family said: "No words can explain how painful it has been to lose Gabriel in such a senseless and unnecessary way and he will always be remembered and we will keep him in our hearts forever.” Christopher Rawe A paedophile was locked up more than 30 years after carrying out a series of child sex attacks. Christopher Rawe, who has been profoundly deaf since birth, was said to have "fixed" on his victim in the 1980s. Rawe repeatedly molested the boy, ignoring his pleas to stop, and was "almost begging" for time to carry out his deviant acts. The pensioner, now 69, stood trial at Canterbury Crown Court in June this year but after the victim, described as a "stoic character", had given evidence and before cross-examination began, Rawe changed his pleas to guilty on four offences of indecent assault. Rawe, from Ramsgate[64], returned for sentencing earlier this month where, as at trial, he was assisted by both a sign language interpreter and a deaf intermediary. Prosecutor Paul Valder said the victim had kept the ordeal he suffered to himself for many years. Jailing Rawe for four years and nine months,[65] Judge Mark Weekes praised the victim's courage, saying his childhood was "wrecked" by the abuse he endured. On his release, Rawe will be subject to indefinite sexual offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order. He will also be barred from working with children and vulnerable adults.
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