Couple jailed after Bower Road brothel reveals modern slavery in Harrogate

A married couple were jailed today for sexually exploiting seven vulnerable women in what amounted to modern day slavery in Harrogate.

Fabiani Alvez De Souza, 42, and Gareth Derby, 53, were both sentenced to five years’ imprisonment at Leeds Crown Court, having been found guilty following a two-week trial in December.

De Souza was charged with eight offences contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 of controlling prostitution for gain, along with seven offences contrary to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Derby faced two charges in relation to controlling prostitution for gain and arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation.

Both these offences involved the same woman who was the first to work as a sex worker in the rented flat in Harrogate.

They were handed slavery and trafficking orders that will last for 10 years following their release from prison.

The seven victims involved in the case are from Brazil, Portugal and Spain and aged between 26 and 60.

The convictions followed a four-year investigation by North Yorkshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit.

Harrogate sex workers

In January 2017, North Yorkshire Police launched Operation Oasis, which involved police officers conducting harm reduction visits to identify and support vulnerable sex workers in North Yorkshire.

Between October 2017 and May 2018, officers attended the same location on Bower Road, Harrogate, on six separate occasions during which they spoke to five women who were sex workers.

After the third visit in December 2017, it became clear that a brothel was being operated from the flat and that another woman was facilitating the travel of the women working at the premise to the UK and that she was also involved in the management of their activities.

These concerns were passed to Detective Inspector Fionna McEwan in North Yorkshire Police’s Organised Crime Unit. Her team began an in-depth investigation led by the officer in the case, Detective Constable Leah Kitchen.

It was established that De Souza was the person who was renting the flat on Bower Road in Harrogate and that she had created, posted and paid for the adverts on an adult website under “Escorts and Massages” in Yorkshire and the Humber with a partial Harrogate post code.

At the same time, she also paid for similar adverts in the South Wooton/PE30 area which related to another rented address on Nelson Street in Kings Lynn.

Rented flats in Harrogate and Norfolk

The investigators were able to establish a pattern of activity of De Souza or Derby paying for flights from locations such as Lisbon, Amsterdam and Brussels to Manchester and Stansted airports, as well as train and road travel within the UK including from these airports to the rented flats in Harrogate and Kings Lynn.

The first time this occurred, on 27 September 2017, is a perfect illustration of how the pair, from Upwell in Norfolk, operated their illegal enterprise.

Evidence showed that De Souza and Derby had travelled from their home address to Manchester Airport that evening in Derby’s work van.

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They collected a woman who had flown in from Amsterdam and they drove her to the flat in Harrogate.

At 6.28am the next day, financial enquiries confirmed that an advert was uploaded to an adult website paid for by De Souza.

Evidence again confirmed that De Souza and Derby left Harrogate to return to Kings Lynn shortly after the advert went live.

Cash deposits

Between 30 September and 13 October 2017, three cash deposits were made in Harrogate to De Souza’s bank account of £163, £600 and £1,045.

During this period neither De Souza nor Derby were in Harrogate.

When the first harm reduction visit at the flat was carried out by North Yorkshire Police on 8 October 2017, officers were able to establish that it was the same woman who had been collected from Manchester Airport by De Souza and Derby.

 

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De Souza and Derby clearing the flat out in Harrogate.

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The investigation showed that De Souza was controlling this woman’s activities. Between 25 and 30 October, two further cash deposits were made into De Souza’s bank account in Harrogate of £500 and £600 respectively, again during this period De Souza and Derby were in Norfolk.

Financial records showed that De Souza then paid £70.98 for an EasyJet flight for the same woman who flew from London Stansted to Amsterdam on 29 October.

On 8 August 2018, North Yorkshire Police and Norfolk Constabulary attended the couple’s then home address at Walpole St Andrew. Upon entering the property officers found one woman who had previously been encountered at the Harrogate flat.

Officers then had to force their way into the garage which had been converted into a small flat where they found another woman who was involved in prostitution.

De Souza was arrested and taken into custody for questioning. Derby was working out of the country at that time but was arrested on his return.

A detailed financial examination showed that the couple had spent several thousands of pounds setting up the business, including paying for the adult website adverts and travel and accommodation for the woman who worked as prostitutes.

However, cash deposits totalling more than £40,000 were found to have been paid into their bank accounts during this six-month period.

‘Controlling prostitution for gain’

Detective Constable Leah Kitchen, of the Organised Crime Unit, said:

“De Souza claimed throughout the investigation that she was just helping friends of hers who were working as prostitutes, while Derby repeatedly told the police that he was unaware of what was going on.

“The truth of the matter is that they, together, were operating an illegal business involving human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain.

“Among the considerable evidence we were able to recover were WhatsApp messages in which De Souza refers to herself as ‘the boss’.

“Tellingly, WhatsApp messages from De Souza to Derby in June 2017 included the following:

‘Let me tell you something…the first month was an experience, but there are still a lot of adjustments to make so we can actually make money.

‘At this point we have more than 10 women interested in working for us, but we need to have other conditions for our business to work. Try to find another apartment…or we’ll both try to find to make our business more profitable.’

“It is clear from these messages alone that they were determined to expand their business. They had invested thousands of pounds, but they had profited by more than £40,000 during this six-month period.

“This considerable sum of cash was gained through the exploitation of seven vulnerable women in what amounted to modern day slavery.

“I’m very proud that North Yorkshire Police, with assistance from Norfolk Constabulary, have rooted out this activity and brought the offenders to justice.”

DC Kitchen added:

“This is an important case as it is a victimless prosecution for a human trafficking and controlling prostitution investigation, which is unusual and more difficult to progress to court.

“It has also shown the importance of a safeguarding approach to policing, because if it wasn’t for the sex worker harm reduction visits carried out in Harrogate under Operation Oasis, this fledgling international sex trafficking business may have grown significantly without coming to the attention of the police.”

 

Jail for drug dealers who boasted of Harrogate street earnings

Two drug dealers who bragged they were making so much money they would soon need a “counting machine” have been jailed for a combined four years.

Notorious thug Sirus Alexander, 21, and Robert Varela, 26, immersed themselves in the “dark world” of the Harrogate narcotics trade in which money and hard drugs were so easy to come by that they treated four-figure profits as “minor” financial gains, York Crown Court heard.

They were finally caught thanks to eagle-eyed security staff and Harrogate Borough Council’s CCTV operators who spotted them engaging in a shady transaction in a red Audi with two “unknown men” behind an Early Learning Centre in the town centre, said prosecutor Michael Cahill.

Alexander and Varela scuttled off to a nearby Travelodge where they stashed over 60 wraps of heroin and cocaine in their room.

Police turned up at the hotel just after midnight, but Alexander and Varela had vanished.

A search of the room revealed a major cocaine and heroin stash worth about £2,575 — as well as a machete and digital weighing scales.

At about 4am the following morning, police received another call from CCTV operators who spotted the pair going into Asda in the town centre.

Officers swooped on the supermarket and arrested the two men. Varela was found with a large hunting knife in his jacket and about £300 cash. Alexander threw his mobile phone underneath a car just before his arrest.

Varela, formerly of Harrogate but lately of Bradford, and Alexander, from Elland, each admitted two counts of supplying a Class A drug with intent to supply. Varela also admitted carrying a blade.

£1,200 for cocaine a ‘minor’ amount

They appeared for sentence on Tuesday but only Varela was in the dock. Alexander appeared via video link from Hull Prison where he is currently serving a 10-year jail sentence for robbery and wounding following a stabbing incident in Harrogate just two months after he was arrested for the drug offences.

Mr Cahill said that security guards at the Early Learning Centre spotted the pair and the two unidentified men on the afternoon of April 23, 2019 in what was patently a drug transaction.

Alexander’s phone showed he had been dealing since 2017. It appeared that Varela had only been dealing in the days before his arrest.

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In one of the messages on their phones, they bragged that £1,200 – the “going rate” for an ounce of cocaine” – was a “minor” amount and that “we can smash this thing and that 46 (drug wraps) went in one hour”.

In another exchange, they boasted that they were “making so much money we are (going to) need a counting machine”.

Laced drink with bleach

Both men had previous convictions but it was Alexander whose criminal record was the most “worrying”.

He had previous convictions for violence, possessing a knife, racially aggravated harassment and vehicle theft, and one for administering poison in 2016, when he laced someone’s drink with bleach.

By far the most serious of his 26 previous offences was the incident in June 2019 when he robbed three men at knifepoint in Harrogate town centre while wearing a skull mask.

Alexander stabbed two of the victims in the thigh with a carving knife after ambushing them in Harrogate town centre. He told the “terrified” men they were “going to die” and ordered them to empty their pockets.

Alexander, who was a heavy cocaine user and fan of violent video games, was jailed for 10 years and nine months in February 2020 after he admitted two counts of robbery and two of wounding with intent.

The victims had been making their way home from a night out when Alexander pounced near the Asda store on the corner of Mayfield Grove and Strawberry Dale.

He took some cash, tobacco and a rucksack containing items including a mobile phone after slashing out with the large kitchen knife. The victims suffered “gaping” wounds and deep psychological harm.

Branded with hot knife

Harry Crowson, for Alexander, said his client still had another three years to serve of the 10-year jail sentence for the robberies.

He said that Alexander, who had spent his entire childhood in care, had been exploited by county lines drug bosses following a traumatic upbringing.

Christopher Haddock, for Varela, said his client had started dealing to feed his “expensive” drug habit and pay off debts to his suppliers.

He said that in October last year, Varela was hospitalised after his drug overlords “branded” him with a hot knife. Varela refused to disclose the identity of these men.

Judge Simon Hickey told the defendants:

“You know dealing in Class A drugs on our streets brings misery, degradation and death. You were both effectively street dealers in the middle of Harrogate.”

Alexander, of The Grove, Idle, was jailed for two years. He will serve half of that sentence behind bars, consecutive to the jail term he is already serving.

Varela, of Huddersfield Road, Elland, was jailed for two years and three months.

 

 

 

Man jailed for biting Harrogate police officer and spitting at another

A prolific offender who bit a Harrogate police officer and spat at another during the covid pandemic has been jailed for over a year.

Police were called to Sainsbury’s supermarket on Wetherby Road after Mark Murtagh, 34, attacked a security guard, York Crown Court heard.

The security man had been following Murtagh around the aisles, sensing he was up to no good, said prosecutor Muneeb Akram.

Murtagh suddenly turned round, asked the guard why he was following him and aimed a volley of vile racial abuse at him.

The security officer brought out his phone and tried to call police, but Murtagh knocked it out of his hand, sending it flying across a shopping aisle.

Coughed on police officer

A staff manager called police who quickly arrived to arrest Murtagh, who had no intention of going quietly.

As he tried to resist arrest, he shouted abuse at the two officers, telling them to “take these cuffs off” and “hand over your jacket”. Mr Akram said:

“(Murtagh) said he had covid and coughed directly at (the named female officer), causing spit to land on her.

“He’s restrained to the floor by officers (but) tries to resist and attempts to get back up with his legs by swinging them around.”

As Murtagh attempted to “push himself away” along the floor using his arms, he tried to bite the male traffic constable’s leg.

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The named officer managed to push Murtagh’s face away but as he did so, he was bitten on the wrist, causing puncture wounds which drew blood.

The officer finally brought Murtagh under control by spraying CS gas in his face and he was taken into custody.

The officer was said to have suffered psychological harm following the incident at about 5pm on September 10 last year.

Murtagh, of Findon Terrace, Bradford, was charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker, one count of resisting arrest and racially aggravated assault on the security guard.

He admitted the offences on the day his trial was due to be held and appeared for sentence via video link on Wednesday.

26 previous convictions

Mr Akram said Murtagh had 26 previous convictions for 42 offences including violence, resisting police officers, drink-fuelled disorderly behaviour, drugs matters, theft and handling stolen goods.

Vincent Blake-Barnard, for Murtagh, said the father-of-one’s violent behaviour in the supermarket was “born of frustration” due to problems he had at the time.

But judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, branded his behaviour “disgraceful”.

He slammed Murtagh for violently resisting two officers “doing a tough job, serving the public”.

Jailing Murtagh for 14 months, the judge told him:

“This was a lengthy and distressing arrest. Police officers are entitled to perform their duties without being assaulted.”

Murtagh will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on parole.

Harrogate man jailed for sex assault on toddler

A Harrogate child abuser and online groomer has been sentenced to six years and 11 months in jail.

Wenxiong Jiang, 26, was also made subject to a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the Register of Sex Offenders indefinitely.

Jiang was convicted at York Crown Court on Friday of the following offences that he committed between February 2017 and December 2020:

Detective Constable Rebecca Townsend, of Harrogate CID, led the intensive investigation into Jiang’s offending following his arrest on December 15, 2020.

Posed as 15-year-old boy

The inquiry uncovered that he had added a 12-year-old girl on Snapchat and engaged her in conversations while he was posing as a 15-year-old boy.

Jiang pressured and then eventually threatened the girl to send him naked pictures of herself engaging in penetrative sexual activity.

When he was arrested, officers recovered 250,000 images from his devices including a video of himself sexually assaulting a two-year-old boy.

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The Digital Forensic Unit examined all the material to help identify offences and possible victims.

DC Townsend said:

“Wenxiong Jiang is clearly a very disturbed and perverted individual who poses a danger to children.

“He has rightfully been brought to justice and is now facing the full consequences of his depravity with a significant prison sentence.

“As a registered sex offender, he is subject to robust public protection measures for the rest of his life. He will also have to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting 20 years which is designed to severely limit his ability to reoffend in the future.”

Reporting suspected crimes involving indecent images of children and sexual abuse

You can contact:

Victims who would prefer not to go direct to the police and are not in immediate danger, can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), on 0330 223 0362, email bridgehouse.sarc@nhs.net or go to www.bridgehousesarc.org/

Harrogate addict jailed after stamping on head of ‘defenceless’ victim

A mature student has been jailed after repeatedly kicking and stamping on the head of a man at his home in Harrogate, knocking him unconscious and breaking his jaw.

Matthew Childs, 39, a heroin addict and heavy drinker, kicked and stamped on the victim about 12 times, York Crown Court heard.

The victim was just leaving his friend’s flat when he bumped into Childs and told him: “Mind where you’re going, mate.”

This enraged Childs, who followed the victim to his home in Grove Avenue a short distance away, said prosecutor Gareth Henderson-Moore.

When the victim reached his front door and was about to put his key in the lock, Childs attacked him from behind and pushed him across the threshold.

The victim tripped over a step and fell to the ground in the communal hallway whereupon Childs began kicking and stamping on his head and body “repeatedly”.

Fractured jaw

A neighbour came to the aid of the unconscious victim and an ambulance was called. He was taken to hospital with a fractured jaw, multiple bruises to his head and body, extremely sore ribs and black eyes.

He discharged himself from hospital because it was the height of the covid pandemic and “he thought others would need hospital more than him, and he wasn’t thinking straight”.

Childs, of Dalby Avenue, Harrogate, was arrested and admitted causing grievous bodily harm. He appeared for sentence on Wednesday.

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Mr Henderson-Moore said the victim had been drinking at a friend’s house just before the attack at about 10pm in June last year.

The victim, who only had a passing acquaintance with Childs, said:

“I was laid on my back and without warning I was kicked and stamped on. I believe it was about 12 times.”

He said the kicks were “very forceful” and “repeated over and over”.

“I didn’t think he was going to stop.”

He said he had been in “a lot of pain” since the attack and struggled to walk and do activities with his daughter.

He said he remembered coming round when his neighbour came to his aid and then ending up in hospital.

The court heard that Childs had 10 previous convictions for offences including violence.

Troubled childhood

Philip Standfast, mitigating, said there was “clearly a long history of drink and drug abuse arising from (Childs’) troubled childhood and adolescence”.

He said Childs had recently started a course at Askham Bryan College in York but had not re-enrolled for the coming academic term due to these court proceedings.

Judge Simon Hickey said:

“This was a prolonged and persistent assault on that man on the floor when he was defenceless.”

Jailing Childs for 16 months, he said that only an immediate prison term could be merited for “attacking a man without warning and without provocation when he’s on the floor”.

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

Ripon paedophile jailed a second time

A registered sex offender from Ripon has been jailed for possessing videos showing girls as young as six being raped.

Andrew Burt, a former maintenance worker at Newby Hall, was on a strict court order which banned him from possessing any internet-enabled device without informing police, York Crown Court heard.

But when his monitoring officers turned up at his home in Skelton-on-Ure, which is between Ripon and Boroughbridge, they found two new devices which he hadn’t disclosed to police.

Police seized the devices, one of which was an LG mobile phone on which they found five video clips featuring the rape of young girls.

Burt was charged with possessing indecent images of children and two breaches of a sexual-harm prevention order which had been imposed in November 2017 for inciting an under-age ‘girl’ to engage in sexual activity.  He appeared for sentence on Thursday after admitting all three charges.

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Prosecutor Ms Hajba-Ward said Burt was a registered sex offender and still subject to the 10-year order when police called at his home earlier this month.

They found two unregistered devices including the mobile and a tablet of which police had not been notified.

The videos found on the phone were rated Category A – the worst kind of such material depicting the rape of pre-pubescent children.

Burt told police he had downloaded the images at a guest house “while drinking a lot of Strongbow (cider)”.

Caught by a vigilante

In 2017, Burt was jailed for 20 months after being caught by an online vigilante posing as a 14-year-old girl.

The adult decoy told police she had been chatting to a man on the internet who had used a false name and said he worked at Newby Hall.

Burt had sent her naked pictures of himself and a video of himself performing a lewd act.

He was ultimately identified by photos which showed that he was indeed a maintenance worker on the country estate.

The sexual-harm prevention order was imposed to prevent Burt cruising chatrooms and refusing a polygraph test.

Richard Reed, for Burt, said his client accepted he had a sexual interest in children and wanted help for his problem.

Judge Sean Morris jailed Burt for 32 months, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Mr Morris made a new sexual-harm prevention order for life. Burt will remain on the sex-offenders’ register, also for an indefinite period.

Vicious control freak jailed for military-like control of ex-partner

A vicious control freak has been jailed after preventing his pregnant partner from getting pain relief during labour and assuming military-like command of her day-to-day life, which included having to text him for permission to use the toilet.

During a 17-month period, the Harrogate woman was told when she could go out and with whom, was banned from speaking to family members and forced to make a daily list of “promises” to “obey his instructions”, York Crown Court heard.

The woman, who was 17 at the time, was also made to seek permission to use the toilet or have a drink and forced to record herself inside the lavatory to prove “that was what she was doing”, said prosecutor Matthew Collins.

Her partner’s cruelty came to a head when she became pregnant and he denied her midwifery care and pain relief for the birth of their baby daughter.

The tyrannical military man, who is in his 20s, even assaulted her during her labour at Harrogate District Hospital, added Mr Collins.

On other occasions, he forced her to hit herself and threatened to harm or kill her and the baby if she went to the police.

He was ultimately arrested and charged with assault and coercive or controlling behaviour. He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence yesterday.

Mr Collins told the court:

“During the course of that relationship she was subject to a number of degrading, offensive, aggressive and even physically violent behaviour.

“She was forced to write lists of promises to the defendant on a regular basis – promises which included…how she would behave towards him, obey his instructions and treat him in a manner to which he felt he deserved.

“She was forced to buy him clothing, car parts and spend her money on him in other ways. She could not use the toilet without texting him for permission and then recording herself going to the toilet…to prove that that was what she was doing.

“During the course of their relationship, they had a child. During her labour, the defendant refused, or attempted to refuse, the victim from having pain relief, including gas and air. He also refused to allow her to have (intimate) examinations by midwives.

“He also cut the victim off from her family, including her mother, brother and sister. When…she managed to escape from his presence, he would constantly phone the victim so as to monitor her movements and what she was saying and doing.”

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Grabbed her throat during labour

In December last year, he assaulted her while she was in labour by grabbing her by the throat.

Mr Collins added:

“The statements collected in the course of the investigation against this defendant, in particular statements from the midwives, make frankly for shocking reading.”

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was “always on edge (around her now ex-partner), scared I would do the wrong thing”. She added:

“I felt controlled in the relationship and didn’t know how to stop it,

“I felt I couldn’t be a mother properly and he wouldn’t let me. It really started to affect my mental health. I wasn’t sleeping and when I did, I was sleeping too much, and my mother would have to take care of (my) daughter.

“My anxiety got worse. I was scared of seeing him and feel like I’m suffering depression because of his behaviour. I’ve lost confidence in myself and others; I feel I can’t trust people.”

She said she was now in the habit of asking people “for things I shouldn’t have to ask for because I’ve always had to ask (her ex-partner) to do simple things, like, ‘Can I go to the toilet?’, or ‘Can I have a drink?’”.

Intended to humiliate and degrade

Just before his arrest while he was under investigation, she even bought herself a self-defence kit in case he came looking for her.

Mr Collins said:

“His conduct was intended to humiliate and degrade the victim, in particular those orders that she needed to ask permission to use the toilet and then record herself actively using the toilet.”

He said the woman had had to endure the “fear and trauma” of her child potentially being removed from her care due to her ex-partner’s behaviour and social services becoming involved. The child is still under the woman’s care. He added:

“This is a victim who is frankly scarred and it is a mean and disgraceful case.”

Her ex-partner had a previous conviction for domestic violence and abuse from 2013.

Disgraced soldier

Kevin Blount, for the defendant, whose name cannot be revealed to protect the victim, said his client was an enlisted soldier and was remorseful for his “intimidatory” behaviour. He added:

“That (military) career is (now) at an end.

“Dismissal proceedings have begun (due to the offences).”

Judge Simon Hickey criticised the disgraced soldier for “refusing hospital staff the chance to examine your victim” during her labour. He said:

“You refused her pain relief when she was in labour.

“You wouldn’t allow her to get proper care for her baby and got her to hit herself and injure herself. At times you threatened to hit or kill the baby should she speak to police, and she wasn’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything without your permission.

“This was physically violent, degrading, humiliating behaviour towards that woman. You threatened her (with violence) if she disobeyed your instructions, and steps were taken to stop this young lady reporting (the matters).

“There couldn’t be a more vulnerable position for a woman to be in when you assaulted her (during childbirth).”

Jailing him for 18 months, Mr Hickey told the defendant:

“Sadly, you were a valued member of the British army and you have thrown that all away.”

The judge also made a 10-year restraining order banning the defendant contacting or approaching the victim.

 

 

Harrogate cub scout leader jailed for stalking

A former scout leader and rugby player from Harrogate who stalked a woman and sent her bloodstained letters has been jailed for over three years.

Ian Binns, 46, followed his ex-partner in the street, drove past her home “shouting and screaming”, bombarded her with phone calls and text messages, and posted her “begging” letters smeared with his own blood, York Crown Court heard.

On one occasion, the former Harrogate Pythons and Harrogate RUFC player doused himself in fuel — thought to be petrol — and tried to set himself alight in front of the petrified woman, said prosecutor Michael Bosomworth.

In another incident, he threw a bloodstained letter at her in the street.

Binns, who was once a cub leader in the 3rd Harrogate Scout Group, was “obsessed” with the woman and couldn’t accept the end of their on-off, six-year relationship, added Mr Bosomworth.

The victim, who was named in court, ultimately ended the relationship just before going on holiday in September last year because she had “had enough” of his obsessiveness and aggression towards her. Mr Bosomworth said:

“When she returned from holiday, he was waiting for her in his car at the end of the road.

“He walked towards her; she told him to go away. There was a physical altercation.”

Bloodstained letters

Binns, of Woodfield Road, Harrogate, returned to the victim’s home in Harrogate the following day, on the pretext of collecting his belongings, and when she tried to close the door on him, he forced his way in, resulting in another “altercation”. Mr Bosomworth added:

“There then followed a series of (phone) calls and letters.”

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In the letters, Binns would “express his love” for the woman and wrote offensive things about another man with whom she had been in an on-off relationship, saying he “wanted him dead”.

In the stained letters, Binns told the victim, “I’m not worth anything. You know I can’t cope”.

Binns, a grandfather who worked as a self-employed electrical engineer, started bombarding her with Facebook messages and unanswered phone calls. He made 53 calls alone while she was on holiday. Mr Bosomworth said:

“When she (asked) him not to send her any more letters or contact her on Facebook…he took to putting notes through her letterbox.

“A number of (the letters) were bloodstained. The defendant was effectively threatening to kill himself.”

Followed in street

He said the rugby forward would follow the victim in the street — in some cases right up to her door.

In one incident, he cut his arm with a knife and grabbed her arm, trying to smear blood all over her. The victim cut her finger during the struggle. Mr Bosomworth said:

“He said, ‘My blood is on your hands.’

“In one incident in the street, (Binns) had a bottle of petrol or some kind of fuel.

“He drank some then poured it over his stomach and set it alight. She tried to put it out.

“He said, ‘What does it matter? It doesn’t matter anymore.’”

In a separate incident, Binns — whom the victim described as “reckless, irrational, dangerous and unstable” — walked up to her and pushed her to the ground. She suffered a scraped elbow.

She eventually reported Binns to police and he was duly arrested. He was charged with harassment, or stalking, which caused fear of violence.

He admitted the charge and appeared for sentence via video link on Thursday after being remanded in custody.

Hid in gardens

The court heard that the victim, who had ended the relationship once before, in 2017, only for it to be rekindled, had kept a typed diary of the harrowing events and the “self-pitying” letters sent to her. Mr Bosomworth said:

“He was threatening to harm himself or even to commit suicide and (was) making her feel she was responsible for that.

“The worrying feature is the repetitive nature of (the letters) and the number of times he is driving past her, following her and (he is) clearly, completely obsessed with her.”

The victim said she was still terrified and “hyper aware” when out in public despite Binns having been remanded in jail.

She said she used to “hide in people’s gardens so he couldn’t see me”, adding:

“He used to wait at the end of my street for me; he used to frighten me.

“He would get out of his van and shout at me. He was so angry.”

She said she was “very distressed” and had had “nightmares… about being chased, attacked, murdered”. She added:

“I’ve sadly come to terms with the fact that this is now my life; it will always be there.”

‘Outside normal behaviour’

Defence barrister Robert Mochrie said Binns had “certain” mental health issues and was taking tranquilizers at the time of the offences, but his stalking campaign was “so extreme that it is (outside) normal human behaviour”.

Recorder Alex Menary described Binns’ offending between September and December last year as “disturbing, inexplicable (and) extreme” for a man who had previously led a relatively blame-free life and volunteered for the Scouts.

He said the stalking campaign had had a “devastating” effect on the victim.

Binns was jailed for three years and four months and made subject to a lifetime restraining order, which bans him contacting the victim or going anywhere near her home.

Harrogate car salesman jailed for running over man

A car salesman from Harrogate has been jailed for running over and seriously injuring a 58-year-old man in his BMW.

Alexander Melville, 42 – an award-winning salesman of prestige cars who was banned from driving at the time – was said to be lighting a cigarette just before the BMW veered onto the pavement and struck pedestrian Richard Selby.

As Mr Selby lay  on the footpath beside Knaresborough Road, Harrogate, Melville “casually” collected his belongings from the car and walked off, York Crown Court heard.

Witnesses called 999 and Mr Selby was taken to hospital where he underwent a series of operations, including surgery to have pins inserted into his broken leg.

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Melville – formerly Audi’s leading UK car salesman for the JCT600 model – later handed himself in at Harrogate Police Station after seeing police social media appeals for information.

The collision occurred at about 8.45am on January 26, just after Melville had been to a garage to inflate the tyres on the “training” vehicle, which was unregistered and uninsured.

“A witness said he heard a loud noise of an engine revving,” said prosecutor Mohammed Khan.

“A car then accelerated up the hill…and swerved slightly left. Seconds later, he heard a loud bang and…saw debris and dust and the vehicle go backwards. He noticed (someone) laid on the pavement.”

The witness saw a man reaching into the BMW to “get some items out and then walk towards Knaresborough Road and off onto Rydal Road”.

Still needs crutches

Mr Selby’s injuries included a double fracture of the leg, a dislocated shoulder and a fracture of the shinbone at the knee joint. Eight months on from the accident, he still can’t walk unaided or without the help of crutches, and now relies on home carers.

Melville, of Roseville Drive, Harrogate, told police he had had the BMW for about a year but that it wasn’t insured and “wasn’t registered to anyone as it was used as a training vehicle”.

The salesman had been disqualified from driving last year by magistrates in Lincolnshire.

He appeared for sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving, driving while disqualified, having no insurance, failing to stop after a road crash and failing to report an accident.

“Lit a cigarette”

Richard Reed, acting for Melville, said his client had lost his job at Audi following his disqualification. He had previously been the “best-performing salesman” for the Sytner motor group, the UK’s leading retailer of prestige cars.

After losing his licence, Melville fell on hard times financially because his work required being able to drive.

As a result, “he lost his fiancée, the marriage was cancelled, he had no income and (was) left with a house with a (big) mortgage,” added Mr Reed.

He fell further into debt after taking out a loan and credit cards and ended up on benefits.

Just before the accident, he had “lit a cigarette in the car (and) noticed he had slightly veered over the other lane”.

“He corrected it and then the car went into a spin,” said Mr Reed.

Judge Sean Morris told Melville: “Richard Selby was (simply) walking along the Harrogate road.

“You are very lucky he survived – that man could have been dead or could have been paraplegic.”

Jailing Melville for five months, the judge told him: “When people are mangled by disqualified drivers, (the drivers) must expect to go to prison immediately, although you are ordinarily a decent man.”

Melville was also given a two-year driving ban.

 

 

Ripon businessman jailed for 80mph police chase in Knaresborough

A Ripon businessman led police on a cat-and-mouse road chase in which he shot through red lights and bombed through built-up areas at more than twice the speed limit on an uninsured Kawasaki motorbike.

Craig Hindson, 34, rode like a “lunatic” as he clocked up speeds of more than 80mph through Knaresborough and put at least one cyclist’s life in danger, York Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for six months and given a 15-month driving ban.

During the death-defying chase, the father-of-two taunted the pursuing officer by slowing down and “waving with his hand, indicating to pull over” – only to drop down the gears and speed off again, said prosecutor Dan Cordey.

At one stage, Hindson appeared to give himself up after pulling into a layby and stopping the bike. Police pulled in and an officer got out – only for Hindson to speed off again.

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The chase began on the A59 at the junction of York Road and Wetherby Road on 20 March.

Hindson began revving his engine aggressively in a line of traffic at temporary traffic lights at roadworks, drawing stares from people waiting at a bus stop.

Suddenly, Hindson “accelerated sharply, straight through a red light at high speed towards the Goldsborough roundabout”, added Mr Cordey.

80mph in 30mph zone

Among the queue of traffic was a marked police car, which gave chase but despite the wailing of sirens and flashing blue lights, Hindson sped up to “at least” 80mph on a 30mph stretch of road.

He shot through another set of lights, hotly pursued by police, just as two cyclists – a man and a woman – were crossing the junction.

The female cyclist had to stop in her tracks to avoid a potential collision. The scenes were witnessed by startled pedestrians walking along the pavement.

Hindson, wearing shorts, kept looking over his shoulder at the police car as he tore through Goldsborough.

“At times, he would slow down (and) wave with his hand, indicating to pull over, (then) drop gear before accelerating quickly away,” said Mr Cordey.

Ignored police

A short time later, Hindson appeared to give himself up when he pulled into a layby and came to a stop. The police car pulled up beside him, an officer got out and walked up to Hindson.

“He shouted at (Hindson) to remove his helmet and switch the machine off,” added Mr Cordey.

“The defendant nodded, but then very quickly accelerated away…onto the A59, towards the A1.”

The police vehicle managed to prevent Hindson pulling onto the A1 and instead the Kawasaki was forced into a dead-end, where it came to a halt. Hindson was duly arrested.

The officer found false registration plates on the Kawasaki, which Hindson said he had obtained from a “local lad”. The exact provenance of the motorbike remains unclear.

Hindson, of Princess Close, Ripon, was charged with dangerous driving, handling a stolen Kawasaki ZX and using a vehicle without insurance or a licence.

The tweed-jacketed businessman appeared in court on Tuesday when he admitted all three driving matters but denied handling stolen goods. His pleas were accepted by the prosecution and the handling charge was allowed to lie on file.

‘Foolish and out of character’

Defence barrister Holly Clegg said Hindson’s actions were “foolish”, albeit out of character.

He had been going through a “difficult time” after being kicked out of the family home and separating from his partner.

She said Hindson had been offered a go on the bike by a “lad he had seen around the local area” and “foolishly” the businessman took up the offer because he thought the motorbike was “cool”.

Hindson, who wore a crisp blue shirt and gold-coloured tie, ran a successful groundworks and Tarmacking company, which employed eight people.

References from business contacts described him as a hard-working, “reputable businessman” who was a devoted father and “very honourable individual”.

Judge Sean Morris told him he had ridden “like a lunatic” and could easily have killed someone, particularly the female cyclist who was in danger of being struck by the police car due to Hindson’s actions. This was no fault of the pursuing officer.