We take a look back through the court cases heard at Teesside Crown Court between January and March last year.
JANUARY
Richard West
A PENSIONER who repeatedly sexually abused a young girl has been jailed for five years.
Richard West 'disgraceful' assaults on the youngster only came to light when they plucked up the courage to tell people what was happening to her.
The 65-year-old pervert carried out a number of horrific sex acts on the child, Teesside Crown Court heard.
West, of Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault on a child under 13.
Judge Stephen Ashurst said: "You chose to behave in a disgraceful way towards that young girl. What you did was seriously deviant and happened on a number of occasions."
West was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register.
Keith Cooper
A TRAUMATISED RAF veteran has been jailed for 20 months for shouting vile abuse at his neighbour whose husband had recently died.
Keith Cooper screamed ‘bloody God took the wrong person – it should have been that f***ing b**ch not (man’s name). I don’t have a problem with him the problem is you’.
The 64-year-old, who has a restraining order against him to leave his neighbours alone, shouted the same abuse the following day leaving his victim devastated by his behaviour.
Anthony Pettengell, prosecuting, said Cooper had nine convictions for breaching the restraining order between 2017 and 2019 and he also had a previous restraining relating to different people.
Cooper, of Salisbury Terrace, Darlington, pleaded guilty to two breaches of his restraining order on November 3 and 4 last year.
Judge Jonathan Carroll described the entire situation as 'tragic' for all concerned – 'you have made their lives intolerable' and caused 'immense distress'.
Cooper was jailed for 20 months.
Connor Gent
A MAN who kicked his prone victim to the head ‘with all his might’ has been jailed for three years.
Connor Gent accepted he joined in the brutal attack ‘like an idiot’ when the man was chased down an alley following a row over money.
The violent attack was launched after the victim was asked for some cash he was accused of owing to Gent's co-accused before attempting to run away, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The chase and its violent aftermath was caught on CCTV in the Queen Street area of Redcar on April 30 last year.
Gent, of Wharton Street, Skelton, east Cleveland, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent following the violent confrontation.
The court heard how the 22-year-old’s co-accused is already serving an 18-month prison sentence for the role he played in the violent attack after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Judge Recorder John Aitken said 'you gave him a kick with all of your might' as he jailed him for three years for the brutal attack.
Daniel Pearson
A PERVERT has been jailed after putting his hands inside a teenager's pyjama bottoms as she tried to sleep.
Daniel Pearson touched the girl indecently on at least two occasions after climbing into bed beside her.
The 38-year-old denied carrying out the acts more than five years ago but was convicted following a trial late last year.
Aisha Wadoodi, prosecuting, said the attacks had left the victim traumatised and she was unable to talk about it until several years later.
Pearson, of Skelton Drive, Marske, was found guilty of two charges of sexual assault on a child following his trial.
Judge Stephen Ashurst told Pearson that despite having committed no further offences since the sexual assaults, a custodial sentence was inevitable.
Sentencing him to three years in prison, the judge added: “She had to live with what you did for years and has had to suffer in silence.”
Pearson was also issued with an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign on the sex offenders' register until further notice.
FEBRUARY
Anthony Hart
A drug addict was jailed for life for the murder of a vulnerable alcoholic after plunging a knife into his neck four times.
Anthony Hart then poured brandy over Frank Betteridge before setting him alight and fleeing the scene.
Jurors at Teesside Crown Court returned the verdict after six hours of deliberation and Judge Howard Crowson told Hart that he would serve a minimum of 21 years before being eligible for release.
The 39-year-old admitted killing Mr Betteridge claiming he had been awoken by his unwanted sexual advances before losing control and stabbing him to death.
The 62-year-old's body was found in his bungalow on Stephens Road, South Bank, Middlesbrough, by one of his relatives on December 27, 2019.
Hart, of Hartington Road, Stockton, celebrated the murder with a kebab before heading home for drugs 'bender' with friends.
Jamie Hellings
A MAN who killed a much-loved grandfather after drunkenly shooting him with a high-powered air rifle while being driven home from the pub has been jailed.
Jamie Hellings was foolishly showing off by pointing the weapon out of the window of his friend’s car when he fired the fatal shot.
Despite the best efforts of neighbours and paramedics the grandfather was pronounced dead at James Cook University Hospital following the drive-by shooting last August.
Hellings was jailed for six years and eight months after Teesside Crown Court heard the devastating impact the death of Mr Kay had on his family.
Hellings, of Coronation Road, Loftus, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a firearm without a certificate.
Judge Howard Crowson jailed Hellings for six years and eight months.
Christopher Todd
A WEDDING photographer has been jailed for four years for raping a young boy in the early 2000s.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was raped and sexually assaulted on two separate occasion when he was either aged between ten and 11 by Christopher Todd, when he himself was just a teenager.
The 31-year-old heard the devastating impact his actions had on the life of his victim.
Todd, of Grangeside, Darlington, continues to deny any responsibility for his actions, the court heard from his counsel Christine Egerton.
Judge James Brown said: “I find that he still lives with the impact of your behaviour all those years ago and I find the impact to be profound.”
Robert Jeffrey
A SEXUAL deviant who couldn't handle to pressure of being monitored by police slept rough and hid in bed and breakfasts to avoid their attention.
The 53-year-old said he found the constant attention of police and probation service too much and went into hiding in November last year.
Jeffrey, of Brougham Street, Darlington, admitted breaching the conditions of his sex offenders' notification order.
Judge Recorder Richard Woolfall jailed Jeffrey for two years for the 'deliberate refusal to comply' with the notification order but acknowledged the stress and anxiety that the defendant felt.
Tomasz Chmielewski
A VOYEUR with a perverted interest in young teenage girls has admitted taking videos and photographs to satisfy his sexual urges.
Tomasz Chmielewski had a collection of almost 2,000 indecent images stashed on his mobile phone, including ones of a 14-year-old girl sunbathing in a bikini without her knowledge and young women teenagers in Middlesbrough town centre.
The 41-year-old was arrested following a tip-off from the National Crime Agency, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The court heard how the defendant had downloaded 550 images and 88 videos in category A; 418 pictures and 53 videos in category B; and 791 pictures and 91 videos in category C.
Chmielewski, of Lanchester Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to voyeurism, three charges of possession indecent images of children and a further charge of possession of four prohibited images of children.
Judge Jonathan Carroll sentenced Chmielewski to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Alan White
A PERVERT who sent disgusting sexual messages to a ‘teenage’ girl a month after a suspended prison sentence ended has been jailed.
Alan White contacted the ‘14-year-old’ on a social media chatroom and the conversation soon changed to his deviant sexual fantasies as he sent her increasingly explicit messages.
What the 58-year-old didn’t realise was that he was actually talking to a decoy from an online paedophile hunting group pretending to be Sophie from London.
The convicted sex offender was spared custody in 2018 after committing similar offences but this time Judge Howard Crowson locked him up for two years and four months.
White, of Reeth Road, Richmond, pleaded guilty to attempt to sexually communicate with a child and attempt to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
Ryan Ludgate
A BURGLAR who left a family devastated after he ransacked their home and stole irreplaceable mementos has been jailed for 30 months.
Ryan Ludgate targeted the family home when he went on a 24-hour burglary spree breaking into properties near where he lived in Darlington.
Ludgate, 25, of Starmer Crescent, Darlington, pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary last October.
Judge Jonathan Carroll praised the bravery of one of his victims as he sentenced the defendant to 30 months in prison.
He said: "The continuing anguish that she suffers is clear to be heard, the raw emotion and the continuing medical care that she and her daughter receive to cope with the anxiety triggered by your burglary of their home." The judge also activated his 12-week suspended sentence.
MARCH
Hammer attack
TWO women who carried out a violent, sustained attack using a hammer and scissors – which left their victim covered in blood – have been jailed.
Christina Youll and Amanda Donoghue launched the vicious assault after a simmering feud erupted into extreme violence.
The friends had spent the evening drinking and smoking cannabis at a house party in Middlesbrough when a neighbour arrived to join in the fun.
Within minutes of his arrival the victim was battered with a hammer by Youll before they both started kicking and stamping on the man.
The Recorder of Middlesbrough Judge Paul Watson QC jailed both women, Wynyard Mews, Hartlepool, for 16 months.
Susan Cuthbert
A TRANSGENDER woman stabbed two men in a jealous rage after finding them in a ‘compromising position’.
Susan Cuthbert flew into a drink and drug fuelled rage when discovered a former partner being intimate with her current partner.
One of the victim's spent 22 days in hospital but has still to fully recover from the injuries he suffered last September, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, said Cuthbert had been in a brief sexual relationship with a man, who goes by the name of "Gemma" but it fell apart on New Year's Eve 2019.
Cuthbert, of High Street, Brotton, east Cleveland, pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Stephen Constantine, in mitigation, said his client accepted fully responsibility for the incident despite her limited recollection of events due to her drug and alcohol intake.
Judge Howard Crowson sentenced her to five years and four months in custody at a male prison.
"You introduced both men and they it seems became close. Naturally there became some tension," he said.
"Whatever had taken place had made you angry, the argument it seems became more than an argument, it became violent."
Andrew Williams
A RAPIST who videoed himself sexually assaulting his sleeping victim has been jailed for nine years.
Andrew Williams carried out a number of horrific sexual assaults on the woman after she had taken medication to help her sleep.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 39-year-old had videoed at least seven attacks on his victim after the disturbing footage was discovered on his mobile phone.
Williams, of Witton Crescent, Darlington, pleaded guilty to two charges of rape, two charges of sexual assault and one charge of assault by penetration.
Judge Recorder Mark McKone jailed Williams for nine years for the five sexual offences.
He said: "In her victim impact statement she explained how she couldn't sleep in her own bedroom, could barely sleep at all, she had nightmares, she would jump when other people were around and felt sick all of the time.
"These offences have clearly affected her mental health, which was already fragile."
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