Harrogate man denies rape of girl under 13

A Harrogate man has denied raping a girl under the age of 13.

Carl Briggs, 42, of Wisteria Gardens, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court to face two charges on Friday (April 28).

Briggs, who spoke only to confirm his name and enter a plea, denied two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 13.

He pleaded not guilty to the first charge, which is alleged to have taken place at a house in Knaresborough between September 13, 2013, and September 13, 2017.

The 42-year-old denied a second count, which is alleged to have taken place in Bradford.

Magistrates ordered Briggs to appear before York Crown Court on May 30, 2023.

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Couple deny defrauding Harrogate estate agents with £24m wealth claim

A couple have denied a string of fraud offences after it was alleged they dishonestly claimed to have wealth of £24 million to gain a tenancy on a house in the Harrogate district

John and Jacqueline Carnell appeared via video link from their home in Loule, Portugal, to face the charges at Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between July 2014 and December 2018.

Mr Carnell, 70, denied 10 charges, including dishonestly making a false representation to Hopkinsons Estate Agents that he had personal funds of £24,172,421 to gain a 12-month tenancy agreement to rent a property named in court as Highfield House.

He also denied continuing to make false representations about his wealth, including being the beneficiary of a trust fund, to maintain renting the property.

Mr Carnell also faced a charge of being in possession of letters purporting to be from Barclays Wealth suggesting an account balance of between £24 million and £26 million “for use in the course of or in connection with a fraud”.

Meanwhile, the 70-year-old pleaded not guilty to changing names on cheques to his wife’s and presenting two cheques to Hopkinsons representing that there was sufficient funds to pay his tenancy, when there was not.

Mr Carnell also faced two charges of stealing cash transfers which were made for a specific purpose.

One count was in relation to £40,810 being made for the purchase of vehicles and another for £102,910 which was made for the payment of disbursements for a planning application at Archer Hill.

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He was also charged with two counts of obtaining credit without informing that he was an undischarged bankrupt.

The 70-year-old denied all charges.

Meanwhile, Ms Carnell, 73, pleaded not guilty to changing the name on a signed cheque to her own to induce Barclays Bank to accept it as genuine.

She also denied a charge of presenting two cheques to Hopkinsons Estate Agents representing that there was sufficient funds to pay the tenancy at Highfield House, when there was not.

Antony Farrell, prosecuting, requested that the case be heard at crown court due to the “long and complex” nature of the charges and the values involved.

The magistrates ordered both defendants to appear before York Crown Court on May 30, 2023.

Man pleads guilty to failing to stop after serious crash in Harrogate

A man has pleaded guilty to failing to stop and report a serious crash on Harrogate’s Cold Bath Road last year.

Harris Hendry-Hussain, of Swinton Court, Harrogate, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning charged with three offences.

The 21-year-old, who spoke only to confirm his name and address, was charged with driving without insurance, failing to stop after a road accident and failing to report the accident.

The prosecution told the court Hendry-Hussain was driving a Volkswagen Golf on the morning of the incident on March 6, 2022.

At 3.10am, police were called when Hendry-Hussain’s car crashed into two parked cars on Cold Bath Road.

The prosecution said a male, who was a passenger in the Volkswagen, was left at the scene and required hospital treatment for neck and back injuries.

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It added the 21-year-old was later identified on CCTV fleeing the scene of the crash.

In a statement at the time, North Yorkshire Police said it was only by “sheer luck” that no one died as a result of the collision.

Hendry-Hussain pleaded guilty to all three charges put to him in court this morning.

Harrogate Magistrates Court adjourned the case for sentencing on May 11.

Harrogate woman jailed for hammer threat

A woman from Harrogate has been jailed for six months for threatening a person with a hammer.

Angela Gromett, 53, of Wetherby Road, pleaded not guilty to the offence, which occurred at her home in December last year.

But Gromett, who also uses the name Angela Bennett, was found guilty following a summary trial and was sentenced on Thursday at Harrogate Magistrates Court.

Court documents say she was jailed because it was “an unprovoked attack of a serious nature”.

Gromett was also ordered to pay £156 towards victim services.

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Driver fined for seriously injuring pedestrian in Killinghall

A woman has been fined for a collision in Killinghall which left a father of young children with serious injuries.

Susan Marshall hit the man with her car as he used the pedestrian crossing near the Tesco Express shop in the village at around 5.15pm on Monday, January 30 this year.

She pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court today.

The man, who was named in court, had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. His ankle was broken in several places and he had significant bruising to his hip, as well as a haematoma on his brain.

He had to have an operation to insert two plates into his ankle and was kept in hospital for four days for observation.

The cast on his ankle had only recently been removed and he was still having physiotherapy, the court heard.

Prosecutor Alison Whiteley said:

“He was previously very active and athletic. Now, of course, he has difficulty walking, let alone running, and it impacts on his driving ability.

“He needs to drive as part of his job. In addition to that, he lives alone with young children and of course he needs his car to ferry them about and look after them.”

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The court heard the collision took place in the dark in heavy traffic, when weather conditions were good. Ms Marshall, 56, pulled out of the Tesco car park to turn right and travel north on the A61 towards Ripley.

A passenger in the car behind said the lights on the pedestrian crossing ahead of her turned red, but Mrs Marshall failed to slow down. She collided with the pedestrian, who was knocked to the ground.

Defending, Andrew Coleman of Watson Woodhouse solicitors said Ms Marshall’s record to that point was otherwise unblemished, without even any points on her driving licence.

Describing the collision as a “momentary lapse in concentration”, he said:

“She was concentrating on the traffic and she didn’t see the red light.

“She stopped immediately and went straight to the victim to see if he was OK. She didn’t realise the extent of his injuries.

“She shouted immediately for someone to assist in calling an ambulance. She stayed until the emergency services came.”

He told the court she had worked as a carer for 30 years and, faced with losing her licence, was determined to continue in her job, despite a two-mile walk from her home in Town Street, Shaw Mills, to the nearest bus route.

Magistrates imposed a £500 fine, £200 victim surcharge and £85 costs on Ms Marshall, along with a 12-month driving ban.

They said compensation for the victim was not for the court to decide and would be arranged through their insurance companies.

Leeds United star fined for speeding by Harrogate magistrates

Leeds United winger Crysencio Summerville has been fined for speeding on the A1(M) by Harrogate Magistrates Court.

Summerville, 21, was caught speeding near Ingmanthorpe, near Kirk Deighton, on August 19 last year.

He was fined £220 and endorsed with three points on his licence.

The 21-year-old, of Ackworth, Pontefract, was not required to appear in court.

Summerville was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £88 and court costs of £90.

The Netherlands under-21s international has made 20 appearances for Leeds in the Premier League this season, scoring four goals including the winner against Liverpool at Anfield in October.

He joined the Elland Road club from Feyenoord in 2020.

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Harrogate woman jailed for 10 weeks

A woman from Harrogate has been jailed for 10 weeks for failing to comply with a community order.

Claire Read, 28, of Fairfax Avenue, admitted the offence when she appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday.

Read received a suspended sentence, which included a community order, on September 23 last year.

As part of this, she was required to attend an appointment on February 15 but failed to do so.

Court documents say Read was jailed for ‘wilful and persistent failure to comply with the requirements of a community order’.

The documents added her guilty plea was taken into account when the sentence was imposed.

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Ripon man admits making indecent images of children

A man from Ripon has pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.

Dilan Anwar, of North Road, Ripon, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday where he spoke only to confirm his name and enter a plea.

Anwar, 20, admitted two charges of making indecent photographs of a child on June 3, 2021.

Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court that police searched the 20-year-old’s bedroom in June 2021.

Officers seized devices, including an iPhone, were a category B image and 12 category C images were found.

Ms Tyrer told the court that the images were of females aged between 10 and 17.

Brian Nuttney, mitigating for Anwar, said the 20-year-old felt remorse for his actions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

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Mr Nuttney added that the case was different to other indecent images cases.

He said:

“They are not the blizzard of images that you see in other cases. These [offences] were committed some time ago.”

Mr Nuttney added that Anwar’s family had sent him for counselling in order to “ensure this does not happen again”.

He said:

“They feel he is in a position to put this behind him.”

Magistrates ordered Anwar to appear before York Magistrates Court for sentencing on April 19.

Woman denies being in charge of dangerous dog in Harrogate

A woman has denied being in control of a dangerous dog which is alleged to have attacked a 15-year-old boy in Harrogate.

Deborah Patterson, 60, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning charged with being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury in the small park at the junction of Skipton Road and Ripon Road on August 1 last year.

The court heard claims the boxer dog bit the teenager on the leg while he was sitting on a bench.

Ms Patterson, of Southville Terrace in Harrogate, was also charged with being the owner of a boxer dog on August 9 on Ripon Road, which is also alleged to have been dangerously out of control.

She denied both charges.

A trial date was set for May 18 at Harrogate Magistrates Court.

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Knaresborough man jailed for ‘flagrant disregard for court orders’

A Knaresborough man has been jailed for 12 weeks after admitting theft.

Frankie Gilmour, 33, of Nora Avenue, pleaded guilty to stealing a bag worth £99.99 from TK Maxx in Harrogate when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The offence, on February 20, came while Gilmour was serving a suspended eight-week jail sentence issued two weeks earlier.

Magistrates imposed a four-week jail sentence as well as the eight weeks he was sentenced to previously.

Court documents said he was jailed because of his “flagrant disregard for court orders” and “because the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending”.

He was also fined £154.

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