Man jailed for biting police officer in Harrogate

A notorious thug has been jailed for biting a police officer following a disturbance in Harrogate town centre.

Adam Snowdon, 31, was arrested following a drunken incident in Parliament Street and brought into Harrogate Police Station, where he bit one officer and allegedly assaulted two others.

He was charged with affray and assaulting three police officers. 

He initially denied all allegations but admitted affray on the day of trial. 

Snowdon, of Lupton Close, Glasshouses, was tried by a jury on three allegations of assaulting a police officer.

At York Crown Court yesterday (Monday, September 12), he was found guilty of one count of assaulting a policeman but not guilty of attacking the two others.

The substantive charge on which he was found guilty was biting a named officer at the police station on Beckwith Head Road on May 1. 

Prosecutor Ben Whittingham said that Snowdon was on a community order at the time for previous offences, including violence against police officers. 

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Defence barrister Allan Armbrister said Snowdon was “very much a loner” who desperately needed help after years of mental-health issues. 

He said Snowdon had not yet received that professional help and would now “lose that chance” due to the inevitable jail sentence for his “awful behaviour” in the town centre in May.

He added that Snowdon had recently become a father but any hopes of family life were now “completely lost” because his now-ex partner didn’t want “anything more to do with him”.

Snowdon, who was no stranger to prison, had been diagnosed with behavioural problems as a child.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, said he had “taken a chance” with Snowdon when he gave him a community order earlier this year, but jail was now the only option because of his “bad” record for violence.

He said although Snowdon didn’t start the violence in the town centre, it was a “prolonged incident thereafter, on a busy street where people are fed up with…drunken violence”. 

Jailing Snowdon for 19 months, the judge said he would reserve all future cases involving the Harrogate man to himself and would “come down on you like a tonne of bricks if you cause trouble in North Yorkshire’s towns and cities”.

Snowdon will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Former headteacher given community order for child abuse images

A former Harrogate headteacherhas been spared jail after he was found guilty of making over 3,000 indecent images of children.

Matthew Shillito, 43, repeatedly visited a Russian website where he viewed sexual images of children, York Magistrates’ Court heard.

Shillito, who was appointed headteacher at Western Primary School in 2019, was arrested after police searched his home in January 2020 and seized a Dell laptop and Macbook Pro, on which they found thousands of sexual images of under-age girls.

On Friday, district judge Adrian Lower told Shillito his teaching career was now “in ruins” as he handed him an 18-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work.

Shillito was also placed on the disbarring lists preventing him from working with children ever again.

Shillito was convicted of the offences last month following a trial at the magistrates’ court. He had denied making 20 Category B images and 3,829 Category C images between September 2007 and December 2015, claiming the illegal images inadvertently found their way onto his devices while he was looking at other photographs online.

But judge Mr Lower found him guilty of both counts and said the evidence against the disgraced former teacher was “incontrovertible and inescapable”.

‘Repeat viewing’

Shillito – who was previously headteacher across the Goldsborough Sicklinghall Federation of schools – had claimed that he was searching for holiday snaps because he had an interest in photography.

He also said he visited several websites for educational purposes because he was “dissatisfied in the way sex education was being taught at school”.

But prosecutor Philip Morris said that Shillito – who was understood to be in a relationship until shortly before his arrest – had visited some of these websites “30 or 40 times”. One of these websites was called ‘Pre-Teen Love’.

He added:

“It is deliberate and intentional, repeat viewing of (indecent) images and (web) pages.”

There was evidence of Shillito viewing the illicit images  in 2011 and then again in 2015 when further images and “albums” with titles such as ‘Girls Line Up’ and ‘Girls Love Girls’ were found.

He had used search terms such as ‘Lolita’ while trawling the web for the illicit material, said Mr Morris.

‘Previous good character’

After being arrested in January 2020, Shillito was immediately suspended from his teaching post and subsequently dismissed.

Kevin Blount, mitigating, said that Shillito had since “re-trained in another role” following the collapse of his teaching career.

He added:

“Clearly these are matters that are going to live with him for the rest of his life.”

Judge Mr Lower told Shillito:

“I know you are a man of [previous] good character. You have worked in the teaching profession for a number of years, achieving the rank of being a headmaster and I’ve no reason to [doubt] that you did all that was expected of you in the course of your employment.”

He added, however, that Shillito’s “disgrace is complete” following the discovery of the sordid images.

He said Shillito had a “corrosive, addictive interest” in viewing indecent images of children, adding:

“You will realise… that you are never going to work in the teaching profession again, a profession to which… you gave your all.

“This kind of behaviour is serious and the law-abiding public… would expect me to send a strong message to people like you, that if you are guilty of this behaviour you are going to be punished for it and you can have no complaint about that.”

Imposing the 18-month community order, Mr Lower told Shillito:

“The very fact that you have been found guilty and the consequences that follow from that is probably more punishment to you than anything else [in terms of sentence] I can propose.”

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As well as unpaid work hours, Shillito will also have to complete 24 days’ rehabilitation activity. He was placed on the sex-offenders’ register for five years and made subject to a five-year sexual-harm prevention order to curb his internet activities and allow police to monitor his online use.

He was also ordered to pay £600 prosecution costs and a £60 victim surcharge.

None of the offences related to Shillito’s employment at any of the schools where he worked.

Detective Constable Andy Lowes, of North Yorkshire Police’s Online Abuse and Exploitation Team, said:

“North Yorkshire Police is committed to preventing child sexual abuse, helping victims and bringing offenders to justice.

“Those who obtain and distribute child-abuse material directly contribute to the sexual exploitation of children. This is because the children involved are continually re-victimised every time the images are viewed.”

Teen denies Harrogate cannabis farm charge

A Vietnamese teenager has denied being concerned in the production of Class B drugs after police discovered a cannabis farm in Harlow Hill, Harrogate.

Manh Nguyen, 18, of no fixed address, appeared at York Crown Court today (Monday, September 5) when his case was adjourned for a trial in January next year.

Mr Nguyen was arrested after police raided a property in West Lea Avenue, in the Harlow Hill area, last month.

It’s understood that during a search of the property, they found about 500 cannabis plants and other items linked to drug production.

Mr Nguyen was charged with being concerned in the production of a Class B drug but denied the allegation when he appeared in court via video link today, aided by a Vietnamese interpreter.

Judge Simon Hickey adjourned the case for a trial starting on January 25 next year. A further case-management hearing will be heard on November 11 this year.

Mr Nguyen was remanded in custody until that date.

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Cocaine dealer jailed for ‘peddling misery’ in Harrogate

A cocaine dealer who “peddled misery” in Harrogate has been jailed for nearly three years after being snared by an undercover cop posing as a drug addict.

Jack Milner, 25, bragged to the officer that he was “making a good wage” from his trade but he was being played from the outset, York Crown Court heard.

Milner supplied cocaine to the plain-clothed officer on three separate occasions in December 2019, said prosecutor David Povall.

Mr Povall added:

“The officer was part of a wider operation focusing on county lines (drug networks) and it appears the defendant has crossed their sights.”

He said although Milner wasn’t involved “in that level of criminality”, he was working with others to supply the Class A drug.

The undercover officer, who used a pseudonym, was introduced to Milner on December 9 when he was supplied with cocaine. 

The following day, the officer called Milner to arrange another deal and he was “again supplied with (cocaine)”.

On the third day, the officer rang the same number and spoke to a different man who supplied him some wraps of heroin and cocaine.

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The court heard that Milner only supplied cocaine and was not involved in the dealing of heroin. However, the officer later saw Milner with this “second man…giving him permission to supply the officer with a further wrap”.

Milner, of Harehills Lane, Leeds, was duly arrested and found with a “burner” phone – a cheap, pre-paid mobile which criminals often use to evade detection.

He initially denied any involvement in Class A drug-dealing and maintained his innocence until the day of trial in June, when he finally admitted supplying cocaine.

Living on the streets

Nick Cartmell, mitigating, said Milner was living on the streets with his girlfriend at the time and had pneumonia. 

He said although Milner clearly made a “quite significant” financial gain, it was simply to buy his “next McDonald’s (meal)…and not going hungry”.

Mr Cartmell added:

“He was a fool and he has a penalty to pay.

“The defendant appears to have been operating a telephone number for the supply of drugs with others and been directly involved in handing them over to addicts.”

He said that Milner stood to make a “significant financial gain” although the amount was unknown.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Milner: 

“You were peddling misery on the streets and…that is very serious.

“You said to the undercover officer that you were being paid a good wage for what you were doing. In my book, peddling Class A drugs is so serious that there has to be an immediate prison sentence because there has to be a recognition of deterrence for others. 

“You were out and about distributing this filth on the streets. Who know how many lives you wrecked?”

Milner was jailed for two years and nine months. He will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence. 

Man jailed for stealing MBE medal in Harrogate burglary

A man has been jailed for over three years after he admitted stealing an MBE medal, jewellery and cash during a burglary at a woman’s home in Harrogate.

Shane Bainbridge, 31, broke into Patrycia Scott’s home in Wayside Avenue, Harrogate, and stole a “considerable quantity of personal items” including her MBE medal, prosecutor Brooke Morrison told York Crown Court.

Bainbridge, of King Edward Road, Ripon, was arrested nearby with a “couple of sacks containing (the victim’s) property”, she added.

He was charged with stealing jewellery, cash and the MBE medal during the burglary, which occurred on March 8.

Bainbridge denied the offence right up until the day of trial today (Monday, August 22) when he entered a last-minute guilty plea.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, jailed Bainbridge for three years and three months.

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Woman who headbutted Harrogate nightclub manager spared jail

A woman who headbutted a nightclub manager, busting her nose open, has been spared jail.

Jodie Milburn, 19, butted the victim with such force that blood “soaked” the wall outside the Viper Rooms in Harrogate town centre, prosecutor Eleanor Durdy told York Crown Court.

CCTV captured the moment Milburn repeatedly slapped the named woman, who was assistant manager at the popular nightclub, situated in the Grade II-listed Royal Baths building in Parliament Street.

With her arms restrained, Milburn, of Mayfield Grove, Harrogate, then head-butted the victim who was bleeding profusely.

Ms Durdy described the drunken attack, on August 15 last year, as “prolonged and persistent”.

A witness said there was “lots of blood, so much so that the blue wall was soaked in it”.

The victim’s clothes were also covered in blood and she was said to be “stunned”.

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Milburn set upon the manager after what she claimed was an incident inside the club involving a man and one of her family members, but this “wasn’t supported by the evidence”, the court heard. 

It was initially suspected that the victim’s nose was broken but this didn’t prove to be the case. 

Milburn was arrested and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm but denied the offence. 

A jury found her guilty following a trial earlier this month.

She appeared for sentence yesterday when her barrister Andrew Stranex said that an immediate jail sentence would scupper her hopes of working abroad.

He said she had a troubled upbringing but had done well at college, had good references from her employer and had a new job lined up overseas.

‘Disgraceful piece of behaviour’

Judge Simon Hickey described the attack as a “disgraceful piece of behaviour”.

He told Milburn: 

“What you did…was throw your head back when (the victim) was simply doing her public duty…and head-butted her on her nose. 

“She reeled backwards and blood poured out of her nose and onto her clothing. A witness said (the victim) was stunned and remained stunned for quite some time. It was a nasty injury (and) you were clearly in drink.”

However, Mr Hickey said the incident was “clearly out of character” and Milburn had “strong personal mitigation” including good character reports.

The judge said that for those reasons, he would not be locking her up and preventing her taking up her new job abroad.

Instead, Milburn was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay the victim £1,000 compensation “for the hurt and the pain” caused to her.

Chef jailed after shooting teenage employee in the eye at Harrogate pub

A “bullying” chef who shot his baker in the face, blinding him in the eye, has been jailed for more than two years.

Brad Tristan Plummer, 25, fired the gas-powered ball-bearing gun at Aidan Corbyn at their workplace, the Nelson Inn on the A59 near Harrogate.

The metal ball bearing lodged in Mr Corbyn’s left eye and he was taken to hospital for an operation to remove the bullet, but his loss of vision would be for life, York Crown Court heard.

Plummer admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied possessing a firearm with intent to cause Mr Corbyn fear of violence during the incident, which a judge described as “dreadful”.

In July, a jury found him not guilty of the second count, but he was remanded in custody to await sentence for GBH.

Prosecutor Howard Shaw said Mr Corbyn was busy at work in the kitchen when Plummer walked in and announced in a “bragging” way that he had an air pistol.

Plummer started pointing the pistol at Mr Corbyn’s face, “pretending to shoot him”.

‘Laughing and joking’

At that stage, it appeared that Plummer had the safety catch on, but Mr Corbyn was so worried he tried to get away from him. However, his boss followed him, “laughing and joking and pointing the gun at Mr Corbyn”.

Things turned uglier when Plummer “rested” the pistol on Mr Corbyn’s face for about five seconds and then pointed it at him “from a distance of about one metre”. Mr Shaw said:

“He pointed the gun straight at his face [and] the air pistol discharged.

“Aidan Corbyn was shot in his left eye, the ball bearing lodging in his eye, effectively blinding him.”

He said Mr Corbyn was “scared” of Plummer, who was one of four bosses at the pub.

Mr Corbyn, who was 18 at the time, said he was “miserable” at work due to Plummer’s bullying behaviour towards him and that he made several job applications because he wanted to leave the pub business.

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A waitress who witnessed the incident, which occurred at about noon on September 29, 2020, said she saw Plummer “pointing the gun” at Mr Corbyn and resting it on his forehead for “five to 10 seconds”.

Plummer, who lived at the pub on Skipton Road, was arrested and told police he thought the air pistol wasn’t loaded when he shot Mr Corbyn. The prosecution accepted he would not have known there was a ball bearing inside the gun chamber.

‘Grave and permanent’ injury

At the sentence hearing yesterday, Mr Shaw said Plummer had been “bullying” the victim and shot him from a distance of a few feet. He added:

“This has resulted in the loss of stereoscopic vision and inevitably affects his ability to judge distance.”

“The injury sustained is particularly grave, permanent and irreversible (and will) have a substantial, lifelong effect on [Mr Corbyn’s] ability to carry out his normal, day-to-day activities and which may impact on his work ability.”

Mr Shaw said that in the days and weeks leading up to the shooting, Plummer had “abused his position of power over the victim” by bullying Mr Corbyn and it was also alleged that he had assaulted him, causing bruising to his arm. However, Plummer was never charged with any prior assault.

Mr Corbyn, described as a “very gentle character”, said the incident had had a massive effect on his life. He added:

“I thought I had managed to come to terms with what happened, but recent confirmation from a doctor that the sight (in my left eye) would not return was devastating.”

He had suffered from depression and nightmares about the shooting and had lost all his confidence. He now had difficulties even with cooking, reading and crossing the road, and he was still having regular hospital appointments to check his eye condition.

He said he now “walked into things regularly” and had to abandon plans to take up driving lessons. He still suffered from a “pulsing” eye ache.

Heavy drinking

Mr Corbyn, who has since moved to Leeds to take up a university course, said the entire aftermath of the incident had been “very traumatic” and at one stage he had lapsed into heavy drinking to cope.

His GP had recently prescribed him anti-depressants and his family had also been badly affected. He now only saw blackness with his left eye.

Defence barrister Deborah Graham said Plummer was otherwise a hard-working family man of hitherto “exemplary good character” who had shown “clear” remorse.

Judge Simon Hickey said the “dreadful” incident had resulted in a “grave” injury and a “life-changing” effect on Mr Corbyn, “in that he’s now blinded in his left eye” and faced annual medical checks.

He said Plummer had abused his position of “leadership and power” at the pub by “bullying and intimidating this young man” in the days and weeks before the incident. He told the disgraced chef:

“Not only was he physically slighter than you but he was much younger and a very gentle character, easily intimidated, and [during the trial] he pointed out this game that was played, not in a jovial way… but in a more unpleasant and nasty way which resulted in some injuries.”

Plummer was jailed for two-and-a-half years, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.

The judge banned him from keeping firearms for five years and ordered the destruction of the ball-bearing gun, as well as two air rifles and ammunition which Plummer had also kept on the premises.

Amazon driver found guilty of causing death of Ripon biker

A rookie Amazon driver has been found guilty of causing the death of a motorcyclist by dangerous driving.

Daniaal Iqbal, 22, was running out of fuel and texting on Snapchat when he knocked over and killed Peter Rushforth in a horror crash near Ripon in September 2019, a jury at York Crown Court was told.

Iqbal, who was on only the second day of his new Amazon delivery job, was also allegedly using a navigational app on his mobile phone when the collision occurred.

He was driving around a sweeping bend on Kirkby Road when he collided with Mr Rushforth Kawasaki Ninja travelling in the opposite direction, said prosecutor Katherine Robinson.

Mr Rushforth, who was believed to be in his late 50s, was on the correct side of the road as he came around the bend, but Iqbal’s white Transit van was on the wrong side. The side of the van struck Mr Rushforth’s helmet, part of which broke off, added Ms Robinson.

Mr Rushforth and his motorbike then slid along the road towards the grass verge, crashing into a stone wall. He then collided with some tree branches before falling to the ground. Other motorists went to his aid, but he suffered fatal injuries and was certified dead at the scene.

Ms Robinson said that about 15 minutes before the collision on September 21, Iqbal exchanged five text messages with an Amazon colleague about needing to refuel and arranging to meet up at the Morrisons petrol station in Ripon because he didn’t have a company fuel card.

He then made a delivery in Ripon and was travelling on Kirkby Lane, towards the town, when the crash occurred at about 6.30pm.

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Mr Rushforth and his bike were “thrown from the road into nearby vegetation and a small wall”.

Police were called out and Iqbal, who was described as looking “completely shocked”, remained at the scene.

Snapchat activated

Phone records showed that minutes before the collision, he had carried out a search on the Apple Maps navigation app to get directions to the fuel station.

At 6.30pm, around the time of the crash, records showed that the camera and Snapchat apps on Iqbal’s phone had been activated as he approached the collision site.

A forensic officer said his investigation suggested that Iqbal had sent a Snapchat message to a friend at about the time the delivery van came round the bend into the path of Mr Rushforth’s motorbike. Ms Robinson said:

“The conclusion is that (Iqbal) hadn’t seen the motorbike until after the collision because, we say, he was using his mobile phone.”

The collision expert said Iqbal could have been looking at the Apple Maps navigation aid or pressing the activate button on Snapchat around the time of the collision.

Iqbal, of Toller Lane, Bradford, claimed he hadn’t been using his phone and was on the correct side of the road at the time of the crash. He didn’t dispute that he caused the death of Mr Rushforth but denied that he was driving dangerously.

Motorbike enthusiast

Graham Atkinson, a friend of Mr Rushforth and a fellow motorbike enthusiast, said he received a text from his mate on the day of the crash saying that he was coming to see him and was “setting off in five minutes”.

Mr Atkinson had offered his friend a motorbike and Mr Rushforth was on his way to look at the bike when the fatal crash occurred.

He said Mr Rushforth never showed up and when he tried to call him later that evening, his phone went to voicemail.

He said they had known each other since the mid-1960s when Mr Rushforth’s parents ran a post office in Ripon.

He said Mr Rushforth was a “quiet chap” who had a garage on North Street where he kept his motorbikes.

The jury found Iqbal guilty as charged following a week-long trial. Judge Simon Hickey adjourned sentence to October 14.

Harrogate man jailed for 14 years for sexual abuse of young girl

Warning: This article contains details some people may find disturbing.

A Harrogate paedophile has been jailed for 14 years for the systematic sexual abuse of a young girl, which a judge described as “unforgivable”. 

Neil Michael Stubbs, 27, was convicted of 13 separate offences following a four-day trial. He appeared for sentence today when York Crown Court heard harrowing testimonies from the victim.

During the trial in April, the jury heard that Stubbs, of Kingsley Park Road, groomed and sexually abused the youngster over a prolonged period.

They found him guilty of all 13 charges including one count of attempted rape of a child under 13, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, sexual assault, possessing indecent images and several counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Prosecutor Paul Newcombe said that some of the offences, including sexual assault and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, were “specimen counts”, meaning they happened on multiple occasions.

He said that Stubbs would perform lewd acts on himself in front of the girl and got her to perform sexual acts on him on at least six occasions. Stubbs also “pestered” her to send him naked photos of herself. 

On one occasion, he tried to rape the youngster, but she kicked him away. On another, he told her he had a “fantasy of having sex with a virgin” and warned her not to tell anybody about the abuse, and that she had to “take it to her grave”.

‘My mental health has dramatically declined’

Following Stubbs’ arrest, police seized his mobile phone on which they found indecent images of children including some naked photos of the victim, who is from Harrogate but cannot be named for legal reasons. Some of the other images were rated Category A – the worst kind of such material.

Mr Newcombe said it showed that Stubbs had an “unhealthy obsession” with children.

In a statement read out in court, the victim said that Stubbs had “stripped” her of her childhood and she was now living with the dreadful consequences of his wicked actions.

She added:

“Since the sexual abuse my mental health has dramatically declined.

“I’ve suffered from suicidal thoughts and have on two occasions attempted suicide.”

She had suffered from “severe social anxiety” and struggled to leave her house. She found it hard to make friends and trust people, particularly men.

She had sought the help of counsellors and multiple support agencies such as the NSPCC but the abuse still had a “profound” effect on her, she added.

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She said that Stubbs had robbed her of her childhood innocence by putting her through “what I can only describe as “mental torture”.

Her mother, who has also received counselling since the offences came to light, said: 

“The impact this whole incident has had on my family as a whole is monumental.

“The worst thing in the world is knowing that (my daughter) will always suffer for the rest of her life.”

Defence barrister Robert Mochrie said that according to a doctor’s report, Stubbs was on the autistic spectrum, but the same report added that this wouldn’t have reduced his culpability.

He said that Stubbs, who had been brought up in care, was a “social loner” who had previously worked in a shop and had never offended before.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, described the campaign of abuse as a “catalogue of offending” and told Stubbs:

“While you may have perhaps some traits of autism, this does not excuse your behaviour. You know right from wrong.

“You repeatedly abused (the victim). You described to her the fantasy of having sex with a…virgin. That was your fantasy and it very nearly came about.”

Mr Morris said that both the girl and her mother had been utterly “traumatised” and blasted Stubbs for putting the victim through the ordeal of a trial when the evidence against him was “absolutely overwhelming”.

Jailing Stubbs for 14 years, the judge told him: 

“This is a sentence that you richly deserve. This girl attempted suicide twice and has had her life turned upside down by the abuse she suffered at your hands…and it is unforgivable.”

Stubbs will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on parole, but the judge ordered that he would serve an extended one-year period on prison licence because he was an “offender of particular concern”.

Stubbs was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life and given a sexual-harm prevention order which will last for 20 years and is designed to limit his contact with children. 

Ripon man jailed for arranging to meet underage girls for sex

A Ripon man has been jailed for arranging to meet underage girls for sex and carrying a knife.

Mark David, 32, was sentenced at York Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to both offences.

David admitted carrying a lock knife in High Street, Starbeck, on December 15, 2019, which was the same day he had arranged to meet a 14-year-old girl for sexual purposes.

Prior to his guilty plea to the knife offence, David had already admitted two counts of attempted sexual communication with two girls under 16 years of age.

Those offences occurred in Harrogate between November 25 and December 16, 2019. The communication was via Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.

David, of North Street, Ripon, also admitted the offence of arranging to meet an under-age girl for sex in Harrogate.

He was sentenced to 43 months in prison, placed on the sex offenders’ register and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £181.

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