Ex-teacher jailed for raping girl at Harrogate district school

A former maths teacher has been jailed for 18 years for raping and sexually assaulting a young girl at a boarding school in the 1990s.

John William Renel, 68, pinned the girl down and raped and indecently assaulted her in a locker room at Cundall Manor School near Boroughbridge, prosecutor Rupert Doswell told a jury at York Crown Court.

The victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, didn’t report the matter to police until 2021, more than 20 years after the alleged sexual abuse.

She said that before the alleged rape at the fee-paying independent school, she and Renel were “joking about something” in the school kitchen when he picked her up and joked that he was going to “throw her in the bin”.

He then carried her out into the corridor and touched her on the thigh near an intimate part of her body, said Mr Doswell.

Mr Doswell added:

“He then took her into a side room – a changing room or locker room – where (pupils) hang their clothing.

“He put her down on the ground on her back. He was on top of her and she remembers him wearing a tweed jacket.”

She said she turned her head “to stare at the wall” as Renel allegedly raped her.

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A family member later noticed that the victim, who was very young at the time of the offences, had become withdrawn and in adult life she had developed post-traumatic stress disorder which led to counselling and therapy.

Mr Doswell said that about five months after the victim’s first police interview, she contacted them again about the incident in the school locker room.

She said she could remember that during the rape, she felt as if Renel’s “body (was) crushing her” and that she was struggling to breathe.

According to the victim, Renel “simply walked away” after the incident, “leaving her on the ground”.

Mr Doswell said:

“She (told police) she had one further memory of another incident (at the school) when she was older.”

She said that before this incident, Renel again picked her up and dropped her on a bed in a dormitory. 

He then laid down next to the victim, sexually assaulted her and then forced her hand onto an intimate part of his body. 

Mr Doswell said:

“Her next memory is of the defendant’s face close up to her.

“She remembers feeling terrified. He was staring at her and scowling. He told her not to tell anyone, before leaving the room.”

Guilty on all counts

Renel, of Main Street, Sessay, near Thirsk, was brought in for questioning in 2021 but denied even knowing the girl. 

He told police he had always taught in a tweed jacket but denied raping or sexually assaulting the girl. 

He was charged with one count of rape and four counts of sexual assault against the girl. He denied all offences but was today found guilty on all counts.

Recorder Anthony Hawks moved straight to sentence and jailed Renel for 18 years.

The former teacher was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for life and made subject to a sexual-harm prevention order for the protection of children. That order will also run indefinitely.  

Following his sentence, Detective Constable Alison Morris, of North Yorkshire Police’s non-recent abuse investigation team, said:

“John William Renel is a predatory child abuser who has caused unimaginable trauma to the courageous victim in this case.

“I truly hope the outcome at court along with the significant custodial sentence handed to her perpetrator, provides comfort, strength and hope for the future.”

In 1997, a few years after Renel left Cundall Manor, he was convicted of three counts of indecently assaulting a girl at another school in Keighley. 

Harrogate man jailed for ‘sexualised’ online chats with young girls

A Harrogate man has been jailed for over three years after his debauched online chats with young girls led him into a trap set by police.

Benjamin Shutt, 30, “cruised” the internet in search of easy targets and found them on social media apps installed on his phone, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor David Hewitt said police forensic officers downloaded no less than 816 pages of chats which “began innocently and soon became sexualised”.

Shutt, who told one girl she “needed a sugar daddy”, used the KIK messenger app to contact the first under-age child, who told him she was 14 years old.

Mr Hewitt said there were about 220 messages sent between Shutt, of Grove Park View, and the teenager between April 20 and May 16, 2020.

Shutt sent her a picture of his private parts, which he followed up with a request for her to “send me more please, baby”.

Mr Hewitt added:

“He asked for some photos of her body in the bath.”

He told the girl he wanted to have sex with her “so badly” and then they talked about meeting up. 

The girl agreed to meet, but Shutt told her they “probably couldn’t” because he was twice her age.

There were further sexual conversations in which Shutt talked about “the various things he would like to do to her”.

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After the girl sent him a very intimate picture of herself upon request, Shutt asked her if she had photos of herself when she was younger.

He then sent her a link via the KIK app to videos of him performing a sexual act on himself and urged her to watch them. 

Shutt targeted another young girl on the Whisper app in December 2020. He asked how old she was and when she initially told him she was 12, the messages continued regardless.

He asked her if she “enjoyed” the conversations and urged her to send him an intimate photo.

The girl later told him that her real age was 14, to which Shutt replied: “That’s fine with me.”

He said he wanted to have sex with her and “advised” her on how to perform a sexual act on herself. He then sent the girl an image of himself performing a lewd act.

Police trap

On Valentine’s Day 2021, Shutt ran out of luck when the 12-year-old ‘girl’ with whom he thought he was chatting turned out to be an undercover police officer posing as a teenager who posted a message on Whisper asking: “Why are boys so rubbish?”

Mr Hewitt said:

“The defendant replied and invited her to engage in private chat.”

The chats moved to another online platform and lasted about five weeks to the end of March 2021.

Mr Hewitt said:

“He told her that she needed a sugar daddy and explained what this was.”

Shutt asked the ‘girl’ if she had ever performed a sexual act on herself and offered her an “instruction” on how to do so. He then urged her to carry out the act.

Police raided on his home in Harrogate in April 2021 and found him in his bedroom. They seized his mobile phone.

Forensic analysis showed there were seven category C indecent images of children on Shutt’s phone. Mr Hewitt said there was also evidence to suggest Shutt had been chatting with other children, although this didn’t lead to further charges.

Shutt was charged with two counts of attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child, one count of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and one count of possessing indecent images of children. 

He admitted all the offences and appeared for sentence today.

‘Corrupting young girls’

Defence barrister Andrew Stranex said Shutt had endured a traumatic childhood and had been chatting with the girls during the coronavirus lockdown.

He added that Shutt was an “isolated and marginalised” figure with few friends and that his offending had had a “massive” impact on his family.

Judge Sean Morris told Shutt: 

“You pleaded guilty to a whole series of offences which involved you cruising the internet looking for young girls to corrupt. 

“There were two real victims before you were caught by an undercover officer patrolling the internet. 

“As far as you were aware, that was (an underage) girl. You were obviously sexually aroused by young teenage girls.” 

Shutt was jailed for three years and five months and placed on the sex offenders register for life. 

He was also given an eight-year sexual-harm prevention order mainly to curb his internet activities. 

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.

Drug dealer jailed for second time for supplying cocaine in Harrogate

A drug dealer has been jailed for supplying cocaine in Harrogate for the second time in the space of a year.

Robert Luke Varela, 27, was caught “bang at it” after police spotted him lurking suspiciously on Franklin Road, Harrogate.

Prosecutor Camille Morland told York Crown Court that Varela – who once bragged he would “need a counting machine” due to the vast profits he was making from his illicit trade – took his hands out of his pockets as police drove past and threw a bag of crack cocaine to the ground.

She said that when officers went to speak to him, they found the bag, containing 11 wraps of high-purity crack cocaine, dumped on the pavement.   

They seized an iPhone from Varela on which WhatsApp messages showed he had been dealing crack cocaine in the three months preceding his arrest in February 2021.

Varela, formerly of Harrogate, was charged with possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and ultimately admitted the offence. He appeared for sentence via video link today.

Ms Morland said that in February 2022, Varela was jailed for two years and three months for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply in 2019. 

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That sentence was imposed without Varela or the prosecuting authorities informing the then sentencing judge that he had been quizzed about the new matter a year earlier. 

He was arrested for the 2019 offences after security staff and Harrogate Borough Council’s CCTV operators spotted Varela and his notorious sidekick Sirus Alexander, then aged 21 and from Idle, Bradford, engaged in a transaction in a red Audi with two “unknown men” behind an Early Learning Centre in Harrogate.

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, but the two men 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.

In the early hours of 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.

17 previous offences

Varela, who was living in Elland before being jailed, had 17 previous offences on his record including assault, possessing cocaine and carrying a blade. He was jailed for the latter offence in August 2021.

Defence barrister Lydia Pearce said Varela should have been sentenced for all the dealing offences in February last year.

She said that Varela was twice interviewed about the previous dealing matters in 2019 but carried on offending until his arrest in Harrogate in February 2021.

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

“This case has come back to bite you, but that’s your fault, as well as the prosecution’s fault.”

He said that if Varela had been facing this new offence alone, he would have been looking at a jail sentence measured in years, but that he should have been sentenced for all matters over a year ago, which meant he would receive a reduced sentence.

The judge said that the new offence was part and parcel of Varela’s overall offending and “showed you were a determined drug dealer bang at it”.

Varela, who was due to be released from his existing prison sentence in December this year, was handed a new 12-month jail sentence which will run consecutively and extend his period behind bars by a further six months. 

Harrogate sex offender sentenced to two more years in prison

A sexual predator has been jailed again for sexually assaulting a very young girl at a property in Harrogate.

Steven Anthony Jennings, 52, was already serving a 15-year jail sentence for similar offences against two other girls.

Now he’s been handed a further two years’ prison time for the new offences which pre-dated the old ones, but only came to light relatively recently when the victim went to police more than a decade after they occurred.

Daniel Penman, prosecuting at York Crown Court, said that Jennings, who was in his early 30s at the time, sexually assaulted the girl twice between 2005 and 2007.

The girl said she “froze” but such was her young age she didn’t think anything wrong had occurred at the time. She didn’t report the matters at the time and Jennings “got on with life as normal”.

Mr Penman added:

“It took her until 2019 until she felt able to [tell] her partner about these offences and, through that, felt able to report this to police.”

Jennings, who was living in Harrogate before he was given the 15-year sentence at Teesside Crown Court in 2017, was questioned about the offences at Moorlands Prison in Doncaster in May last year when he was coming to the end of his existing jail term.

He initially denied the allegations but ultimately admitted two counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13 years of age. A third allegation was dropped by the prosecution and allowed to lie on court file.

He appeared for sentence today knowing a consecutive jail sentence was all but inevitable.

‘Lost all innocence’

In a statement read out in court, the victim said Jennings’s “cruel” offences had affected her “mentally, physically and emotionally for years”.

She said her self-esteem and mental health were so badly affected that by her mid-teens she was “ready to die”.

She said she used to “cry myself to sleep every night” following the abuse and that she had “lost all innocence”.

Jennings was jailed in October 2017 for the offences against the two other girls, which occurred between about 2008 and 2011. 

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The sentence was imposed after Jennings admitting rape and sexual activity with a child in relation to one of the victims, and one count of indecent assault against the other girl. 

The victims were two pre-teenage girls, who were abused by Jennings when he was in his mid-to-late 30s.

He sexually assaulted one of the girls outdoors while he was in a relationship with a woman, said Mr Penman.

Jennings plied the other victim with alcopops and played games “like truth or dare” with her. He ultimately raped the girl, who was too young to consent to sex, on “numerous occasions”.

Defence barrister Hussain Rukhshanda said Jennings was remorseful for his actions.

Judge Simon Hickey said the sexual abuse of the new victim had had a “horrendous” effect on her and that her impact statement made for “sobering reading”.

He told Jennings: 

“She said that’s a burden she carried from a young age due to your selfish actions.”

Jennings was jailed for two years and placed on the sex-offenders’ register for a further 10 years. 

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order, which will run for an indefinite period, to limit his contact with under-age girls. It also bans him from contacting any of the three victims. 

Audi driver pleads guilty after 140mph police pursuit in Harrogate

A man has admitted dangerous driving in Harrogate after leading police on a 140mph pursuit.

Jason Ryder, 45, of Wellgarth, Bishop Auckland, appeared before York Magistrates Court yesterday.

Ryder was charged with dangerous driving on York Place in Harrogate, on Wetherby Road, on the A658 John Metcalf Way, on the A1(M) and on the A6055 on Monday (March 20).

He was also charged with driving his Audi A3 while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Ryder, who was eventually halted by a police stinger, pleaded guilty to all the offences.

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He appeared in court just a day after being disqualified from driving for 12 months for drug driving at junction 47 of the A1(M) near Knaresborough.

He was pursued by North Yorkshire Police immediately after leaving Harrogate Magistrates Court on March 20.

Officers described him as “weaving dangerously in and out of traffic” while reaching speeds of 140mph.

Paul Cording, a roads policing sergeant for the force, said he had shown “a complete disregard for road safety and the judicial system”.

Ryder will appear before York Crown Court to be sentenced on April 11.

‘If you swim with sharks, you get bitten,’ judge tells Harrogate cocaine dealer

A Harrogate drug pusher has been jailed for over two years after police caught him with over 50 grammes of high-purity cocaine.

Robert Marsh, 27, was stopped by a plain-clothed officer near his home on Burley Bank Road, Killinghall, in March last year. 

The officer found just over two ounces of cocaine inside Marsh’s car, prosecutor Adam Walker told York Crown Court.

Marsh was arrested and a subsequent search of his home revealed a cornucopia of drug items including weighing scales and dealer bags, the court heard.

Police also found cocaine inside a Tupperware box and £90 cash inside a cupboard, added Mr Walker.

He said the 55g of cocaine found inside the vehicle had a street value of up to £5,550. The value of the drugs and the period of time that Marsh had been dealing suggested he stood to make “significant” profits.

Police also seized two mobile phones from Marsh, which showed he had played an “operational or managerial” role in the drug racket. He had been giving people drugs “on tick” and was “managing a customer’s debt”.

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Defence barrister Susannah Proctor said Marsh, of Pinemoor Caravan Park, had never been in trouble before and was easily led due to his vulnerabilities. 

She said Marsh “struggles intellectually” and found himself hanging around people he met at house parties who had persuaded or coerced him to deal drugs for them, although the prosecution didn’t accept this claim.

Gambling debt

Ms Proctor added Marsh had a £7,000 gambling debt at the time and sold drugs to try to pay that off. He had struggled to pay his rent due to his gambling and moved into a caravan owned by his parents.

She added:

“He’s going to lose his home (and) he’s going to lose his job.”

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

“Prior to starting drug dealing you had been going to house parties and you realised there was more money to be made and got involved in drug dealing as a means to an end.

“That involved having money put into your bank account, giving people cocaine on tick and being caught by police (with) very-high-purity cocaine in your car, which on the street would be worth thousands of pounds.” 

He said Marsh was “not the most robust of characters” and now found himself in a “nightmare” of his own making. 

Mr Morris added:

“Cocaine is an absolute scourge.

“If you swim with sharks, you are going to get bitten.”

He said Marsh “had to go to prison because Class A dealers must go down, otherwise people might be tempted to earn a little extra cash like you”.

Marsh was handed a 30-month jail sentence of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.

Harrogate man jailed for ‘humiliating and degrading’ sex attack

A man has been jailed for a “humiliating and degrading” sex attack on a young woman at a property in Harrogate.

Andrew Reekie, 33, left the woman “haunted” and an emotional wreck following the “absolutely disgusting” assault, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said the victim tried to kick Reekie off her during the assault and told him to “get off”. She was crying afterwards and told a friend what had happened.

Reekie told her she “wouldn’t dare ring the police” but she plucked up the courage to do so.

Reekie, of Bramham Drive, Jennyfields, was brought in for questioning two months after the attack but refused to answer police questions.

He was charged with sexual assault but denied the offence, only to plead guilty on the day of trial in January. He appeared for sentence yesterday.

The court heard he had previous convictions for serious violence, public disorder, acquisitive crime, possessing an offensive weapon, robbery, criminal damage and breaching court orders.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said that “life as I knew it came to an abrupt and sudden halt” following the sex attack. She added:

“I was paralysed (with fear) and completely helpless.”

She said she was “powerless” to stop Reekie and she had felt an inexplicable but “overwhelming shame” since the incident, adding:

“I felt completely alone and unable to trust anyone.

“The sound of his voice will (continue) to play in my head. It was like a knife in my guts.”

Nightmares and shame

She said that after the attack she “couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep or socialise”.

She had nightmares of other women being sexually assaulted and she was “more and more anxious that it was going to happen to somebody else”.

She said that even reporting the attack only “intensified the shame” and she developed serious mental-health problems.

It had affected her work and she had felt “traumatised” about the prospect of giving evidence in court.

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She said that before the incident she was a “young woman full of confidence, looking forward to a bright future”, but Reekie had “took my young spirit and crushed it”.

She had sought professional help for her problems but there were still days when “I can’t get out of bed because I’m too haunted by what happened”.  She added:

“I so desperately want my life back – the life (Reekie) took from me.”

‘A humiliating and degrading attack’

Defence barrister Andrew Stranex said Reekie was a father and had since found work.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, described the incident as a “very nasty sexual assault”. He added:

“This was a humiliating and degrading attack.

“It has had a devastating effect on (the victim).”

He told Reekie:

“What you did was absolutely disgusting. You treated (the victim) like…your own personal pleasure ground.”

He said it was clear Reekie had refused to admit his guilt until the day of trial “in the hope that (the victim) wouldn’t have the courage to attend”.

Reekie was handed a 13-month jail sentence of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence. He was also ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years.

 

 

Rogue builder who stole jewellery and cash from Harrogate couple jailed

A rogue builder hooked on gambling and cocaine stole prized jewellery from a Harrogate couple who entrusted him with the key to their house.

Sam Brotherston, 32, from Hampsthwaite, was contracted to renovate the couple’s home on Beckwith Road and was left to his own devices while the victims were out at work, York Crown Court heard.

Soon enough, the couple, who had pinned their hopes on Brotherston converting the property into their dream home, started noticing money and jewellery going missing from an upstairs bedroom, said prosecutor Sam Roxborough.

He said the couple were quoted over £13,000 for the work including building materials and labour.

Brotherston, who was self-employed, asked for £4,289 to buy materials such as a door and steel joist for work which was not only never completed, but left the couple with an open sewer in their kitchen and demolished walls. 

To add insult to injury, he never bought the materials and instead spent it on his rampant gambling and cocaine habit.

Initially trusting of Brotherston, the couple handed him the money and he began work on the property in March last year when the named victims gave him a key to their house.

But on March 18, just nine days into the job, the female victim noticed £20 was missing from her purse. Just under two weeks later, she noticed that more cash had disappeared while she was away from home.

Brotherston had helped himself to £80 in total, as well as two white gold rings, which had also been kept in the bedroom. 

The victim did her own investigatory work by visiting pawnbrokers in Harrogate to see if Brotherston had tried to sell her jewellery. She found one of her rings up for sale in a local jeweller’s.

Mr Roxborough said:

“Unfortunately, one of the rings was scrapped by the jeweller’s.”

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Police recovered the other ring when they turned up at the jeweller’s a few days later.

Staff told officers that Brotherston had sold three other gold and silver rings at the jewellers. He stole those pieces from a friend while carrying out work at her home in Brunswick Drive, Harrogate.

The victim, who was named in court, didn’t want to press charges because she was a friend of Brotherston’s family, but he admitted stealing her rings. 

Mr Roxborough said the Beckwith Road couple were devastated to hear that Brotherston, of Hollins Lane, Hampsthwaite, had used the money deposited into his account to place bets “at various betting establishments”.

He was arrested following an investigation and charged with burglary, two counts of theft and one of fraud. He admitted all four offences and appeared for sentence today.

‘Sick to the stomach’

The female victim of the Beckwith Road offences said she and her husband had trusted Brotherston, only for him to steal from them on three separate occasions over a period of nearly a month.

She said the rings were of sentimental value and she had been left feeling “violated, scared, shocked and saddened”, and she was now struggling to sleep.

One of the rings, which was never recovered, belonged to her husband’s grandmother and one was a wedding gift. The other was a present for her 30th birthday.

She said:

“Seeing the rings for sale in the pawnbrokers was shocking and left me feeling sick to the stomach.”

She was now scared to be alone in her home and she and her husband had changed all the locks and installed security cameras.

She said that Brotherston’s shoddy, “half-completed” work had left them with an open sewer and that walls had been knocked down which would need rebuilding. Wires were “hanging out of the walls” and the living room was left a mess. 

She added:

“This work was going to complete our dream of providing a lovely family home for my young children to grow up in.

“This is devastating. It’s going to be hard for me to trust anybody again.”

She and her husband were now faced with spending the same amount of money again to put right what Brotherston had ruined. 

‘Damaging acts of dishonesty’

Defence barrister Emma Williams said that Brotherston, a father-of-one, had been caught up in a “gambling and drug-use cycle” but that his behaviour was “out of character”. The offences had led to the break-up of the relationship with his partner. 

Judge Sean Morris described Brotherston’s offences as “very mean and hurtful and damaging acts of dishonesty”.

He told Brotherston: 

“You were snorting your way through cocaine bought with £10,000 worth of gambling winnings. No doubt having blown all that, you then decided that you needed (the victims’) money to carry on snorting cocaine and enjoying the lifestyle.

“At the same time as you were pilfering hard-earned money from that couple and not doing the work that was required, you were creeping around their house going into their bedroom and you stole some rings that had real sentimental value.

“That’s had an awful effect on the lady of the house. They will have been left in a shocking situation and that is all down to your greed and dishonesty.”

Mr Morris said the offences were “too mean” and “appalling” for there to be anything other than an immediate jail sentence.

Brotherston was jailed for 13 months.