This list features 75 people jailed in April for crimes linked to Merseyside.
Judges sentenced a husband who murdered his wife, then let their son find her body; a man who stabbed his uncle to death; and a teen gang boss behind three shootings and an arson attack.
Courts heard about a bent copper who formed a secret sexual relationship with an alleged rape victim. Up for sentence was a speeding driver who ruined a teenager's life then went on the run, and a bullying dad who asked his partner if she "wanted to feel pain" before stubbing out a lit cigarette on her.
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Judges had to sentence a gangland "fixer" for his part in a botched shooting. They also sentenced a bully who battered a woman then tried to urinate on her, and a woman who conned her best friend out of more than £100,000.
Disturbing cases involved a man behind a horrific campaign of rape, a convicted sex offender who spied on a family before breaking into their home to try to molest two little girls and a man who raped a woman just days after she gave birth. A perverted care worker who exposed himself to a vulnerable woman during a video call also shocked readers.
Here is an overview of some of the most serious cases to have concluded this past month.
Philip Boardman
A dad-of-two and former NHS worker raped a young boy when he himself was a teenager.
Married 45-year-old Philip Boardman has worked as a healthcare assistant in hospitals, as an ambulance technician, and as a courier for a medical firm. But in the early 1990s, when aged between 14 and 17, he destroyed the life of a "terrified" young boy, living in the St Helens area, then "hid a dark secret".
Boardman, of Winstanley Close, Great Sankey, Warrington, denied four counts of indecent assault, but was found guilty after a trial. Two of the counts would now be classed as sexual assault. They related to touching the boy's penis and making him touch his, on at least 10 occasions.
The court heard the two other counts would now be classed as rape. They related to two specific instances of the oral rape of the child.
He was jailed for four years.
Paul Reid
A woman was left blind in one eye by a man she treated as a brother in a vicious attack.
Paul Reid's victim Gina Wignall has now spoken out about the ordeal and the devastating impact it has had on her life. She described Reid as having a "Jekyll and Hyde" personality, with a terrible temper.
Reid, 47, of Rectory Close, Birkenhead, hurled an ornament at his partner's sister, leaving her worrying about whether she would lose her eye, in an attack in Chorley.
Reid's former partner of 17 years, Jacquie O'Regan, 58, and her sister Gina, 52, spoke about the scary side of the "charming Irishman" who unleashed his brutal violence on Gina in July 2020, punching her, before striking her with a vase.
Reid, who admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm was jailed for 28 months. Lancashire Police is yet to release his mugshot.
Andrew Cates
Andrew Cates forged the signature of his dementia-suffering mum to sell her home and splashed out on a Rolex, laptop and jewellery with the proceeds.
The 54-year-old sold his mum's three bedroom house in Berwick Avenue, Ainsdale at a cut price and spent £80,000 of the proceeds over just nine months, including buying himself luxury items. Cates rarely visited his elderly mother, now aged 75, and the fees for the care home, where she has now been for seven years, went unpaid.
Fortunately, the victim was said to be "mercifully blissfully unaware" of her conniving son's betrayal. Recorder Ian Harris, QC said: "This offence was cruel, selfish and calculated. It is the type of offending that runs roughshod over the rights of others.”
Cates, of Salford Road, Ainsdale, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between November 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019.
He was jailed for two and a half years.
Brian Maxwell junior and Brian Maxwell senior
A father and son received threat to life warnings from police when threatened by rival gangsters.
Drug dealers Brian Maxwell, 54, and Brian Thomas Maxwell, 35, fell foul of a rival organised crime group who threatened violence. Prosecutors said a rival gang suspected Maxwell junior was involved in the theft of drugs that belonged to them.
In response to Osman warnings from Merseyside Police in May 27, 2020, Maxwell junior tried to buy weapons from criminal contacts to defend himself. He used EncroChat to try and source an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, an AK47, a Glock 17, a Grand Power pistol, a Walther PPK handgun and ammunition.
Maxwell jnr offered two Rolex watches to help pay for the guns and ammunition and said in other messages that he already had two guns. Maxwell snr, who used the EncroChat handle "RetiredVermouth", and his son, aka "MediumRose" and "DiorNote", were arrested in September 2021.
Maxwell snr, of Stockswell Road, Tarbock Green, and Maxwell jnr, of Ditchfield Road, Widnes, both admitted conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamine, and conspiring to produce cannabis. Maxwell jnr also admitted conspiring to possess, purchase or acquire prohibited firearms, and possessing prohibited firearms.
Maxwell junior was jailed for 18 years and four months, while Maxwell senior was jailed for 13 years and four months.
Roy and Gaynor Woodward
Roy Woodward subjected a young girl to a "campaign of rape".
The 56-year-old, of no fixed address but previously of Runcorn and Widnes, was sentenced alongside his wife Gaynor Woodward. Roy Woodward was found guilty of 14 counts of sexual offences, namely four of rape, eight of indecently assaulting a child, and two of indecency with a child.
A trial had heard how Roy Woodward, who denied any wrongdoing, plied his victim with sweets to secure her silence. He also used alcohol to assist his grooming.
Gaynor Woodward, 58, of Worcester Court, Runcorn, was convicted of one count of cruelty. She too had denied her guilt.
The now adult victim, who has had "horrific nightmares" ever since, believes the abuse triggered a mental health condition. She said: "I will never be able to live a normal life. I feel hollow and empty."
Roy Woodward, who was previously locked up for nine years in 2018 for raping another girl, was jailed for 21 years, with an extended four years on licence. Gaynor Woodward was jailed for four years.
David Clements
David Clements who launched a Christmas Eve robbery was caught after his victim found him on Facebook.
The 42-year-old targeted SRS Convenience on Rice Lane in Walton shortly after 10pm on December 24, 2020. Clements, who was a regular customer at the shop, entered with a mask on and covered by a hoodie and grabbed worker Sekalathan Arulampalam by the neck, before stealing cash from the till.
Mr Arulampalam recognised Clements during the robbery from the small part of his face that was visible and initially thought it was a joke, but the crook stole up to £250 in cash. The victim then showed the robber's Facebook to police and Clements admitted robbery.
He was jailed for six months to reflect the fact he was already serving a sentence for another robbery.
Liam Maxwell
Liam Maxwell hid cocaine, heroin and weapons in his home.
The 28-year-old, of Ternhall Road, Fazakerley played a key role in an organised crime gang involved in county lines drug dealing. His home was raided on Thursday, February 17 as part of Merseyside Police's Operation Toxic.
Around 85g of Class A drugs were recovered in the house, along with scales, bags, £500 in cash and weapons. Maxwell was arrested and later charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a private place, possession of Class A and B drugs with intent to supply and use of criminal property.
He was jailed for three years and four months.
Annuar Ameir
Annuar Ameir carried a drunk girl into a house and raped her.
The 30-year-old attacked his 17-year-old victim as she slept on a sofa at a house party in Liverpool in 2018. He denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of rape after a trial in which his victim had to give evidence.
Judge Gary Woodhall said: "I am troubled by the circumstances of this offending, which involved predatory behaviour targeting a particularly vulnerable girl." He said Ameir clearly had misogynistic and "flawed" views around sex, adding: "You present as someone with a sense of male entitlement, with a misogynistic view of female characters."
Ameir, of Arnold Crescent, Toxteth, was jailed for nine years and nine months.
Ricardo Randev
Gambling addict Ricardo Randev who "brought shame on himself" worked as a drug dealer to pay off a loan shark.
The 59-year-old was caught with high purity cocaine with a potential street value of £57,000 when police raided his home in Cronton on April 4, 2021. Officers found two blocks of cocaine and 79 bags of the drug, with a purity of 67%, plus mixing agent benzocaine and an unspecified quantity of cash.
Randev said he had long been leading "a double life" keeping his gambling addiction a secret and turned to a loan shark out of "desperation", landing himself in £13,000 of debt. Randev, of The Ridgeway, Cronton, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
He was jailed for three years.
Kieran Murphy and Lawrence Pybis
Homes and vehicles were targeted across Merseyside by burglars Kieran Murphy and Lawrence Pybis.
Their three-month crimewave was brought down by Merseyside Police as part of Operation Mothman. The incidents spanned from November 1, 2020 to January 26, 2021.
Murphy, 25, of Clieves Road, Kirkby, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.
He was jailed for three years and nine months.
Pybis, 20, of Utting Avenue East, Norris Green, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary.
He was jailed for three years.
Simon Rose
Bent copper Simon Rose formed a secret sexual relationship with an alleged rape victim and later tried to thwart a police raid on her home.
He was convicted of misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice after a trial exposed his corruption. The 48-year-old, of Burnside, Parbold, West Lancashire, had been attached to the Salford division of Greater Manchester Police.
He met the woman in May 2012 in his role as a specially trained officer involved in dealing with rape and sexual assault allegations. She alleged she had been raped at knifepoint after being taken away in a vehicle by two men, though the case later did not proceed.
Their relationship was hidden from Rose's colleagues until October 2019, when the woman's name came under the spotlight because of plans to raid her home. He repeatedly told a colleague it must be a mistake, then went with two officers to the house and asked them to overlook any evidence that might get him sacked.
When the woman was interviewed she revealed their relationship became sexual a few months after their first meeting. However, Rose had made her keep quiet about it.
He was jailed for three years.
Jacob Bullen
Jacob Bullen who stashed £10,000 high purity cocaine in a fridge was exposed as EncroChat drug dealer "HeroicFox".
Bullen was caught with two large blocks of cocaine when police raided his girlfriend's home in Appleton Road, Walton on December 16 2020. The 26-year-old, who claimed "it's not mine, I'm looking after it for someone else", was jailed for six years and eight months in January 2021.
But on the day of his arrest, he handed over his iPhone 7 and the PIN to the device, which was sent away for examination by specialists. The content of that phone, combined with EncroChat messages, revealed his role as a £2m drug and cash courier "HeroicFox".
Bullen admitted new charges of conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis. The plot was brought down as part of a military police operation.
He was jailed for five years, to be served consecutively to his existing prison term.
Thomas Farrell
Thomas Farrell yawned in the dock as he was sentenced for burgling a pensioner who was so terrified she pretended to be asleep.
The 86-year-old "froze" and lay hiding beneath her duvet while the burglar went through her wardrobe at around 5am on December 11 last year. Farrell, 20, then left the bedroom of her Egremont flat and rifled through cupboards and drawers in other rooms.
She stayed in bed too frightened to move for an hour until she was sure he had gone. He took her £200 mobile phone, along with her handbag.
The victim had lived independently in her flat for 34 years, but because of the incident had to move out. She was initially in respite care but is now in sheltered accommodation and has to rely on others for assistance.
Farrell, of Comely Bank Road, Wallasey, admitted burglary. He was locked up for four years.
Anthony Lea
Crooked solicitor Anthony Lea washed the dirty cash of organised criminals running an international timeshare fraud scheme.
The 66-year-old admitted laundering £465,000 for the gang, who used cold callers promising that they had timeshare buyers lined up for a quick sale. Lea, of West End Road, St Helens, was even found to have handed over bags stuffed with £180,000 in cash at motorway service stations.
A Trading Standards investigation began in 2016 after a tip-off from a pensioner in West Berkshire. But it soon became clear there were hundreds of timeshare and holiday club policyholders victimised by the organised crime group.
The masterminds of the operation, who have never been identified, posed as so-called 'resale firms' Simple Timeshare Sales and Marketing, Find Me Travel and UK Holiday Consultants. Lea, who was struck-off the roll of solicitors in 2001 for using client money for his own benefit, admitted four counts of acquiring criminal property.
He was jailed for three years.
Fethi Chebbi
Bullying dad Fethi Chebbi asked his partner if she "wanted to feel pain" before stubbing out a lit cigarette on her.
He also dragged the woman by the hair so violently that her extensions were torn from her head in a vile campaign of abuse. Chebbi, who is originally from Tunisia but had been living in Eastham, Wirral, had been in a relationship with the woman for two and a half years.
The victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, revealed he stubbed the cigarette out on her in July 2020 and pulled out her hair that October. Chebbi admitted criminal damage for breaking the woman's phone but denied the assaults until the day of his trial, when he pleaded guilty.
Despite his actions, the 36-year-old, of Argyle Street, Birkenhead, shouted that the decision to jail him was "a joke" as he was led to the cells.
The serial woman beater was jailed for 20 months.
Kevin Bernard
Speeding driver Kevin Bernard ruined a teenager's life in a horror smash then spent more than a year on the run.
He sped in a black Audi S3 along Southport Road in Bootle at 86mph - nearly three times the road's 30mh limit. Lee Baxter meanwhile was heading to his 19th birthday party at his mum's house with two friends in his blue Ford Fiesta.
Bernard hit the Fiesta, inflicting multiple injuries including brain damage on the teen, who was left fighting for his life in a coma. The 22-year-old victim "had to learn how to breathe, talk, walk and eat" again and his personality was dramatically altered.
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Bernard, 44, denied causing serious injury by dangerous driving in the horrific crash, late on Saturday, June 16, 2018. Yet he disappeared in December 2020 and failed to attend his trial last May, when he was found guilty, or his sentencing that July.
Bernard was handed six years in prison in his absence, when a judge also sentenced him for a series of driving related frauds. The fugitive, of Riversdale Road, Aigburth, handed himself in on April 4 and admitted breach of bail.
He was jailed for two months, consecutive to his existing six-year sentence.
Daniel McDonough
Daniel McDonough raped a woman while she slept then claimed never to have had any sexual contact with her.
He attacked his victim, who was then aged 20, in the early hours of the morning, after a night out in 2020. The then 38-year-old had been drinking with her and others in a pub in Liverpool and offered to share a taxi home with her.
McDonough invited her into his home for a drink and they chatted, until the woman said she was tired and went to bed. The victim awoke to find McDonough had pulled down her clothes and was raping her and begged him to stop, which he eventually did.
When arrested and interviewed, McDonough, of no fixed address but from West Derby, denied having any sexual contact with the victim. But DNA evidence was found on the victim's underwear attributable to 40-year-old McDonough.
He was found guilty of rape after a trial and jailed for seven years.
Dale Schofield and Wayne Roberts
Dale Schofield and Wayne Roberts were part of an estimated £1.8m drug ring.
They allowed crack cocaine, heroin and cash to be kept in their houses for an organised crime group. That gang dealt drugs from Ellesmere Port to Wirral, Greater Manchester and Scotland.
Schofield, 39, of Alverstone Road in Mossley Hill, and Roberts, 51, of East Float Quay in Wallasey, were using their homes as safe houses. This was on behalf of the gang's ring-leader, Mark Cavanagh.
Cavanagh, of Foxdene in Ellesmere Port, was running a drug dealing enterprise that saw him selling an estimated 25kg to 50kg of class A drugs. He was jailed for 14 and a half years in June 2020.
Schofield and Roberts were responsible for housing the gang's drugs and the money gained from it. Roberts was also responsible for couriering the money and drugs for Cavanagh and his gang.
They both admitted assisting an organised crime group. Schofield was jailed for two years and three months and Roberts was jailed for 20 months.
Luke McHugh
Paedophile Luke McHugh climbed up a ladder and into a bedroom intending to sexually assault two sleeping little girls.
He was supposed to be locked into his secure accommodation on Knowsley’s Longmeadow Road and prevented from leaving without supervision. Yet the 20-year-old had tampered with a window and escaped in the dead of night to launch his attack on a family's house in the local area in July last year, after spying on them for days.
The convicted sex offender was only stopped from sexually assaulting two girls in the house after their dad heard him get in and disturbed him. He was in the unit for trying to incite an eight-year-old girl to send him naked pictures online and he has convictions for possessing indecent images of children.
McHugh admitted trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He was locked up for 10 years.
Gita Fritdenberga
A mum dressed in a pink unicorn onesie was discovered inside a vulnerable woman's home she had taken over to deal drugs.
Gita Fritdenberga was previously part of a gang who flooded the streets of Southport, Seaforth and Waterloo with heroin and crack cocaine. After serving a prison sentence for those crimes, the 37-year-old, of Princes Road, Toxteth, said she tried to turn her life around for her child.
But following the death of her boyfriend in jail, and losing her job at a Liverpool hotel, she moved to Warrington, and soon started dealing again. Police raided a "largely bedridden" woman's house in Thorneycroft Drive, just after midday, on March 9 this year, and found she had been cuckooed.
They found 37-year-old Fritdenberga with 44 wraps of heroin and 84 wraps of crack cocaine, with a total estimated street value of £1,280. Fritdenberga admitted possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.
She was jailed for three years and nine months.
John Wood
John Wood raped a traumatised mum just days after she gave birth.
The 38-year-old care worker, from Cheshire, met the victim, from Liverpool, at an online conference and they continued to chat. But when she travelled to his new home in Glasgow to meet him, he raped her, and then subjected her to controlling behaviour.
Wood moved into her Liverpool home, she fell pregnant and felt trapped, and he raped her again after she had given birth. He had also twice raped a woman in Scotland and stood trial at Glasgow's High Court charged with raping both women.
Wood, of Dowanhill Street, Glasgow, was found guilty of raping both women. He was jailed for six years.
Lewis Fitzpatrick
Lewis Fitzpatrick helped organise a gangland hit when an innocent man was gunned down by a fake pizza delivery driver.
The victim was shot in the leg by a thug who knocked on his front door and shouted "pizza delivery" while holding fast food boxes. Norris Green "fixer" Lewis Fitzpatrick arranged the hit in Warrington on the evening of April 24, 2020, as part of an underworld war.
Afterwards, he helped facilitate those behind the shooting to acquire another gun, which had been stored in a shed in Croxteth. The 27-year-old, of Eldersfield Road, was also EncroChat drug dealer "LimeEagle", plotting to supply kilos of ketamine and cannabis.
He was convicted of conspiracies to cause grievous bodily harm, to supply firearms and ammunition, and to supply both drugs. Fitzpatrick was jailed for 26 years, with an extended five years on licence.
Stephen Smith
Stephen Smith beat a mum over the head with straighteners before trying to urinate on her.
He also strangled his now ex-partner with a belt a few days earlier, as part of a series of increasingly brutal assaults. The 32-year-old, from Stockbridge Village, tied the belt around her neck and tightened it on December 21 last year.
He attacked her again on Christmas Eve, knocking a pushchair full of Christmas shopping so it spilled onto the ground. On Christmas Day he hit her in the head with straighteners and her boots, then tried to urinate on her, before spitting at her.
Smith, of Snowberry Road, admitted three counts of assault over the attacks - all witnessed by some of the victim's children. He was jailed for three years.
David Bottomley
Former karate instructor David Bottomley who raped a schoolgirl and a woman was labelled a "monster".
The 58-year-old ex-coastguard and prison security officer was exposed as a "violent and abusive" rapist and paedophile. Bottomley abused a woman by committing a historic sex offence against her, which would today be classed as rape.
In another incident he used a karate kick on the woman's jaw while wearing steel toe capped boots. His second victim was a schoolgirl, who Bottomley, of Hoole Lane, Banks, raped when she was aged about 12.
Bottomley was found guilty of the historic sex offence and of assault causing actual bodily harm against the first woman. He was found guilty of rape, indecency with a child and two counts of indecent assault against the schoolgirl.
Bottomley was jailed for 14 years, with an extended one year on licence.
John Pennington
Stalker John Pennington who terrorised a woman in Merseyside was jailed again after failing to learn his lesson.
The 39-year-old previously targeted an ex-girlfriend in Liverpool by slashing her tyres and fitting a tracking device to her car. But when he was released from that jail sentence, he contacted a different woman, breaching a non-molestation order.
Pennington, of Crossford Road, Knotty Ash, was convicted of stalking. He was jailed for two years.
Anna Bonner
Anna Bonner lied for years to con her best friend and bridesmaid out of more than £100,000.
She asked Susan Hughes for vast sums of money, which she said was supporting a sick friend's cancer treatment, but actually funded her own lifestyle. The 40-year-old even encouraged a crush Ms Hughes had on the man, who she only met a few times, getting her to write letters and send gifts that she believed were going to him, but were actually received by Bonner.
The man did not have cancer and a judge labelled mum-of-three Bonner "greedy, devious and manipulative" for stealing more than £117, 000 from her friend. Bonner, of Seaview Road, Liscard, admitted fraud by false representation.
She was jailed for two years and four months.
Peter Edge
The dad of a young woman with Down's Syndrome walked in on perverted care worker Peter Edge exposing himself to her during a video call.
Edge, 62, was the director of a company offering respite care to adults with disabilities - meant to give parents and carers a much-needed break. But he betrayed them in the most devastating way, raping and sexually assaulting the victim at a West Lancashire centre when it was empty.
The abuse only came to light when her horrified dad saw Edge had exposed his penis over a webcam while the victim was in her family home. Police discovered Edge had sexually abused her on the first day she was allowed out after shielding from coronavirus as a vulnerable person.
Edge, of Goswell Street, Wavertree, was found guilty of rape, sexual assault and other offences. He was jailed for 15 years, with an extended five years on licence.
Darren Higham
Darren Higham who once complained about living next door to a convicted paedophile was jailed - for being a paedophile.
The 53-year-old once complained to his local newspaper that he was furious his housing association didn't tell him his neighbour was a sex offender. But he is now behind bars for subjecting a young girl to a series of sordid sex attacks from when she was the age of seven until she was around 11.
The abuse ranged from the self-employed musician kissing and touching the child to forcing her to perform sex acts on him on more than one occasion. Higham, of Chaffinch Close, Birchwood, Warrington, admitted four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
He was jailed for four years.
Philip Read
Philip Read who used the EncroChat handle "EducatedGoose" hid 12 kilos of heroin in a bedroom.
He was also trusted to handle large amounts of cash and use it to buy ketamine and heroin from other dealers on the encrypted messaging service. The 43-year-old said he fell into criminality after running up gambling debts as he used drugs for deals in Merseyside during the first five months of 2020.
When police raided Read's home in Portico Lane, Eccleston in March last year they found 12 kilos of heroin stored in a bedroom. He admitted conspiring to supply Class A and Class B drugs and conspiring to convert criminal property.
Read was jailed for 12 years.
Jennifer Smith
Jennifer Smith held a razor blade to a support worker's throat and threatened to rape another.
She targeted the women in a residential care facility in north Liverpool in a terrifying incident. The 39-year-old, of no fixed address, had long term mental health issues and was staying at the facility.
Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one count of sexual assault. She was jailed for 16 months.
Ahmed Al-Razawe
Ahmed Al-Razawe bit a woman's breast in a "vicious" street attack inflicting a permanent scar.
The 24-year-old sexually assaulted three victims in Liverpool city centre in the space of just four days. He first groped the thighs of a "terrified" 17-year-old girl and her 18-year-old friend, after asking them for sex and making "strange noises", at Liverpool One bus station on October 23, 2021.
Al-Razawe then launched a second "humiliating and degrading" attack, when he slapped a young woman's bottom. He then sank his teeth into her breast and hit her in the head with a wine bottle, in Lydia Ann Street on October 27.
Al-Razawe, of Upper Park Street, Toxteth, admitted three counts of sexual assault and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm. He was jailed for three years.
Elavi Dowie
Busker Elavi Dowie had a lengthy jail sentence extended for secretly filming private family court proceedings.
The 53-year-old dad was known for playing an electric guitar while rapping on Church Street in Liverpool city centre. He was involved in an acrimonious court battle over his two children and was hit with non-molestation and restraining orders.
In August last year, he was jailed for eight years for breaching them both repeatedly. However, it then emerged he had uploaded covertly filmed clips of family court proceedings to YouTube in June and July 2020.
Dowie, of Preesall Road, Preston, admitted contempt of court and was handed a further eight months in prison.
Jamie Hart
Convicted rapist Jamie Hart refused to tell police where he was living after he was released from prison.
Hart was convicted of rape and jailed for seven and a half years in November 2013. He was also told to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
He was required to inform officers of his address as part of the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register. But the 36-year-old "persistently and deliberately ignored" these rules and police warnings.
Hart failed to comply with officers' requests after his release from prison on February 8 this year, having been jailed for a previous breach, until he was arrested on March 16. He admitted failing to comply with his notification requirements - the fourth time he had done so.
Hart, of no fixed address, was jailed for eight months.
Christopher Atherton
Christopher Atherton who turned up at his ex-partner's home wielding a machete said he "just wanted to see his son".
The 29-year-old sent threatening messages to the woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, and later tried to pressure her into withdrawing her statement. Atherton, of Ullswater Street, St Helens, admitted multiple breaches of a non-molestation order banning him from contacting the mother of his child, possession of a bladed article and intimidating a witness.
The woman was at home with her new partner last September when the windows on his car were smashed. They couldn't find the culprit but then a man knocked on the door and said Atherton was on the phone and wanted to speak to her.
When she refused, Atherton arrived, pulled his T-shirt over his head, pulled out a machete and chased her new boyfriend down the road. After his arrest and while on bail, he tried to intimidate the woman.
Atherton was jailed for 20 months.
Scott Butler
Paedophile Scott Butler who was obsessed with children's knickers sent sick photos of a child to another pervert.
He revealed his "depraved" sexual interests in chats with undercover police and an underage girl. The 33-year-old was then discovered to have taken indecent pictures of a girl and shared them online.
Butler's twisted behaviour came to light after Cheshire Police raided his Green Lane, Widnes home in October 2019 and seized a phone and laptop. Officers struck again in March 2021, following conversations with the officer on Kik Messenger, when they recovered another phone and a tablet.
The tablet showed his disturbing conversations with an apparent 14-year-old girl. Butler was arrested again in September 2021, after it was found he had taken two Category C indecent images of the girl and sent them to another paedophile.
Butler admitted two counts of taking and one count of distributing indecent photographs of a child, plus attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He was jailed for 16 months.
Cheshire Police has refused to release Butler's mugshot, despite official guidelines stating it should be provided to the media.
Umar Hamid
Gang boss Umar Hamid ran a drug dealing "graft" phone line from behind bars at HMP Liverpool.
The 31-year-old was the leader of a drugs gang which ran two drugs lines - the Felix line and CCPP (cannabis, coke, powder and pills) line. Hamid is a convicted rapist who ran the CCPP line from behind bars at Walton prison.
Using an illegal mobile phone, Hamid directed the operation from his cell before his release in September 2019. Between 2018 and 2020, hundreds of text messages were sent to drug users in Hyndburn, Rossendale and Blackburn in East Lancashire on an almost daily basis.
Users were offered Class A and B drugs to "make your dreams come true". Hamid exploited a vulnerable drug user to test the drugs before they were offered for sale, and when a cannabis farm was raided, an innocent man was threatened with an imitation gun and his work van smashed up.
Hamid, formerly of Hazel Avenue, Darwen, admitted conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs. He was jailed for 10 years and 10 months.
Hamid is already serving a 22-year prison sentence for rape, after being convicted in February 2021.
Francis Ward
Francis Ward looked stunned as he was jailed for 25 years for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.
The 36-year-old refused to accept he raped one of the teenagers and sexually assaulted the other, even after being found guilty after a trial in March. The two girls and their families faced him down in court and celebrated as the sex attacker was led to the cells.
Ward, from Fox Street, Everton, committed his first attacks on one girl, before then targeting the second girl. One of the girls addressed the court, explaining how his attack had made her contemplate taking her own life. A statement from the second girl outlined similar psychological trauma.
Ward called the girls "liars" but a judge said he was satisfied he inflicted serious harm on them. Judge Robert Trevor-Jones jailed Ward for 18 years for the rape and sexual assault of one of the girls and for seven years for the sexual assault on the other.
Michael Crothers, Michael Bethell, Alan Brewer, Liam Malvern and Benjamin Humphries
Five members of a drug gang dubbed "Two-Hour Tony" were snared after police uncovered a packing den in Runcorn.
The gang was busted when police raided a flat on Waterbridge Mews in Castlefields on November 23 last year. Inside the Two-Hour Tony crew's "hub" officers seized 88.7 grams of crack and heroin, estimated to have a potential value of up to £9,680, plus mixing agents.
Michael Crothers, 25, of Heathgate Avenue, Speke, and Michael Bethell, 30, of Elstead Road, Walton were arrested at the scene. A table in the flat was "clearly" being used for drugs to be "adulterated and refilled in the packages" for onward distribution.
That same day police stopped a car driven by Alan Brewer, 41, of Colworth Road, Speke. He was with Liam Malvern, 21, of Townsend Lane, Tuebrook, in a vehicle that officers had seen arriving at the block.
Malvern had 26 £10 wraps of crack cocaine and one £10 wrap of heroin, plus £809 in cash. A fifth member of the group, Benjamin Humphries, 21, of Alderwood Avenue, Speke, was arrested separately. All five men admitted conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
A police drug expert estimated the illegal enterprise sold between half a kilo and a kilo of crack and heroin over the 50 days of the conspiracy. It had a potential value of up to £100,000 after mixing with adulterants.
Two "graft phones" sent a staggering 7,613 flare messages to potential buyers in Warrington from October 4 to November 23. Crothers, who controlled the phones, was jailed for six years and nine months.
Brewer acted as driver and would drop off Malvern and Humphries who sold drugs to users in their homes, before they would return to Waterbridge Mews to restock. Brewer was jailed for four and a half years.
Malvern was jailed for five years and seven months. Humphries was jailed for five years and three months.
Bethell also admitted assault causing actual bodily harm for punching a man outside The Cornerhouse pub in Widnes in the early hours of August 7 last year. Bethell was jailed for seven years and 10 months.
David Jones
Former teaching assistant David Jones used his position as a football coach to groom and sexually abuse a young boy.
Jones, described by a judge as a "serious risk to boys", first met the young child when he was working at his primary school as a teaching assistant. The 33-year-old took an "instant liking" to the child and invited him to join a football club he coached, with the young footballer doing so.
He began to groom him with text messages and lifts in his car with him integrating himself into the life of the boy's family. His parents innocently thought the friendship was good for their son and improved his confidence, but his sexual abuse of the young boy led to him attempting suicide and devastated his life.
Years later, in 2018, by which time Jones was a fully qualified teacher, he created a fake Instagram profile posing as an 11-year-old girl to contact a boy one year older, send him inappropriate messages and ask for naked photos. The boy told his mum, who contacted police, before officers traced the profile to Jones.
Jones, of Loxley Road, Southport, admitted inciting a child under 13 to commit a sexual act, in respect of the Instagram offence. He was found guilty of two counts of sexually assaulting the schoolboy footballer and causing him to engage in sexual activity.
He was jailed for three and a half years.
Ashley Moorcroft, Jonathan McKeown and Craig Murray
Rolex watches, designer clothes and £70,000 in cash was seized when police raided the homes of three EncroChat dealers.
Ashley Moorcroft, aka "RustyPalace", was involved in importing cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamine, then supplying it across the UK. He worked closely with Jonathan McKeown, aka "BushTern", who brokered deals for the drugs up and down the country, and kept a "meticulously recorded" ledger, showing more than £1m in cash changing hands.
Painter and decorator Craig Murray, aka "MicroBlue" and formerly "ZanyForce", transported drugs and cash in vehicles with concealed "slots" or "hides". But the EncroChat hack of 2020 stopped them spreading "abject misery" for significant profits.
Moorcroft, 33, was arrested at his home in Halsnead, Wavertree on May 6, 2021, when his partner and children were present. Police seized an Audi, £8,925 in cash, four Rolex watches, one Kenevo specialised electric bike and charger, and designer clothing and shoes.
McKeown, 36, was arrested when officers raided his home in Marlborough Road, Waterloo that same day. They recovered £12,750 in cash.
Murray, 41, was twice arrested, firstly on June 17, 2020, when £36,710 was found at his Simonscroft, Netherton home. On May 6, 2021, officers struck again, when a further £14,000 in cash was seized.
All three men admitted conspiring to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine. Moorcroft and McKeown also admitted conspiring to supply heroin.
Moorcroft was jailed for 19 and a half years, McKeown for 20 years, and Murray for eight and a half years.
Marcus Ellison
"Predatory paedophile" Marcus Ellison posed as a teen on Snapchat to lure a schoolgirl to a park and film himself having sex with her in bushes.
The 31-year-old told his 13-year-old victim he was only 16 and built up her trust in him before grooming her and encouraging her to have sex with him in Birkenhead Park and in disabled toilets at Pyramids Shopping Centre. When she told the 31-year-old to stop contacting her, he sent a video he had taken of them without her consent to school friends and it was later shared online.
A judge told Ellison he had "used and abused the girl" at his own will after meeting her in 2019. The abuse left the child devastated and he humiliated and further harmed her afterwards.
Ellison, of Hatherley Close, Toxteth, admitted meeting a girl following grooming, two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity, engaging in non penetrative sexual activity with a girl, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl, plus one count of possessing, three counts of making, one count of taking and one count of distributing indecent images of a child.
He was jailed for nine years, with a further three years on extended licence.
Mohammad Azizi
Mohammad Azizi murdered his wife after he discovered her affair with a family friend.
Malak aka Katy Adabzadeh, 47, was battered to death by Azizi at their Stoneycroft home. Azizi used an unidentified weapon to inflict 11 head injuries, as the mum-of-one desperately tried to defend herself.
He trashed their apartment at The Green to make it look like it had been ransacked by an mystery attacker. He later returned with his son and let him find his mum "in a pool of blood" face down in the bath, on November 25 last year.
Iranian national Azizi had found out his wife was seeing married man Tooraj Khorshidi, who would visit to give her botox and lip fillers. That day she had planned to meet Mr Khorshidi at Edge Lane retail park then spend the night with him at a city centre hotel and her packed bag was found in her car.
Questioned about the affair, Azizi later told police: "Culturally in the past it was unacceptable this matter and you could be stoned to death." Azizi admitted murder.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years.
Christopher Chan
Chinese restaurant waiter Christopher Chan "persuaded" a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him after taking her back to his flat.
The 34-year-old took the victim back to his flat in Southport and had what the court was told was "consensual sexual intercourse" with her. On two of the occasions Chan, of Manchester Road, Southport, had given the child alcohol.
The girl said his behaviour affected her ability to concentrate at school and her grades, which spoilt her chances of attending Cambridge University. She began self-harming and took an overdose, and has since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and is on medication.
Chan, who worked at Lings On Kings in King Street, Southport, was found guilty of four offences of engaging in sexual activity with a child involving penetration.
He was jailed for three years.
Philip Courtney
Philip Courtney spat in his ex-partner's face, called her a "f***ing rat" and sent threatening texts to one of her children.
The 37-year-old spat in the face of the mum, who the ECHO chose not to name, in front of two children, on February 7, 2022. Courtney then carried on with his "disgusting" behaviour and was abusive to one of the two young teenagers.
The three left and Courtney sent texts threatening one of the youngsters and the police were notified. The day after he was charged, he rang the woman and shouted abuse at her.
Then, after appearing in court, he left further threatening voicemail messages and tried to persuade a child witness to stay silent. Courtney, of Bowring Park Road, Childwall, admitted assault by beating and two counts of witness intimidation.
He was jailed for 10 months.
Melvin Miller
Child rapist Melvin Miller who filmed himself subjecting little girls to depraved abuse has admitted more sex attacks.
Miller, from St Helens, was jailed for 16 years in 2020 after molesting two girls - from the ages of six and 11 respectively - in a horrifying campaign of abuse. But it later emerged he had carried out other rapes on one of his victims.
Miller, who was found with more than 250,000 indecent images of children, filmed himself raping the girl for eight minutes. The new charges against the 46-year-old, who is serving his sentence at HMP Frankland in County Durham, came after fresh allegations from one of his victims.
Miller, of Mountsfield in Frome, Somerset, admitted three additional charges of rape, two of attempted rape and one of making an indecent video of a child.
The judge jailed Miller for 15 years, concurrent to his existing sentence.
Joshua Morgan
Dad-of-four Paul Morgan was stabbed to death in front of his children by his nephew Joshua Morgan.
Joshua Morgan knifed his 39-year-old victim two times after his family had come over to celebrate his 21st birthday in Dingle. He rejected a hug from his uncle before following him across Prince William Street and launching the attack on September 19, 2020.
Joshua Morgan harboured resentment and jealousy towards the victim's children, as his own father died when he was just nine. His father had killed himself and the anniversary of his death had been just the day before the murder.
Joshua Morgan, who previously threatened to kill his uncle, has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and cannabis dependency disorder. However, a psychiatrist found that the attack was unrelated to his illness and Joshua Morgan, 22, of Prince William Street, Dingle, admitted murder.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 17 years.
William Ormandy
William Ormandy raped a teenager behind Liverpool Lime Street train station.
The 31-year-old approached and started talking to his 18-year-old victim just before 2am on Sunday, February 6 this year as she walked alone towards a taxi rank. Ormandy said "you're gorgeous" and tried to kiss her, but the woman said she wanted to go home and that she was only 18.
He pulled her into an alleyway and raped her, then walked away, before she sought help from three women passing by. When arrested, Ormandy claimed he consensually kissed the victim three times and denied raping her.
Ormandy, of Church Road, Halewood, who had a history of violence against women, later admitted rape.
He was jailed for eight years and three months, with an extended four years on licence.
Ryan Frederick
Police found a gun hidden under the bedroom floorboards of St Helens drug dealer Ryan Frederick's home.
The 22-year-old was in his living room after a smoke with associate Nathan Mullen, also 22, when police burst in. Officers discovered 23 bags of cannabis scattered around the pair, as well as the modified firearm upstairs.
It was an Italian made Glock-type gun that fired blanks, however it had been shortened and re-bored so it could fire live rounds. Police also found scales, almost £1,300 in cash and a bag of the adulterant benzocaine.
Frederick admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.
He was jailed for six years and two months.
Michael Cullen
Sex attacker Michael Cullen preyed on a sleeping boy in a tent.
The 36-year-old, of Catherine Street, Widnes, faced justice after jurors convicted him at trial of engaging in sexual activity with a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He had displayed "elements of planning and grooming behaviour" before abusing the young teenager.
The child woke to find Cullen molesting him. The boy was left struggling to sleep and said his relationships were affected by his ordeal.
Cullen was jailed for three years.
Ryan Holland
Ryan Holland was caught with 95 wraps of heroin in his boxer shorts but denied he was involved in County Lines drug dealing.
Police arrested the 31-year-old as he left a block of flats in Llandudno, North Wales last January. Officers, who had noticed he smelt strongly of cannabis, took him to Llandudno Police Station where he was found to have Class A drugs and £2,100 in cash.
Holland, of Borough Road, Wallasey, claimed not to be involved in County Lines dealing. But along with the £1,100 heroin stash, the dad-of-two was also hiding 70 knotted packets of crack cocaine, valued at £700.
Holland, who was also carrying 140 diazepam tablets, admitted two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.
He was jailed for four and a half years.
Shaun Clare
Shaun Clare stole a nurse's purse from inside a hospital then went shopping with her bank cards.
The 32-year-old, of Plumpton Mews, Widnes, was snared after the victim, who worked at Warrington Hospital, contacted police at 11.40am on April 26. Clare admitted non-dwelling burglary and three counts of fraud by false representation.
He also admitted breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order, two counts of theft from a shop and another non-dwelling burglary.
He was jailed for 36 weeks.
Harry O'Brien's gang and associates
Harry O'Brien, 16, led a mob of teenage thugs in three shootings and a terrifying arson attack.
He controlled a "graft" line and a crew of dealers selling cannabis on the streets of Dingle. But his "lucrative" trade was exposed after a "feud" led to three shootings in three weeks in South Liverpool.
One attack saw bullets fired from an Audi at a BMW, as the two cars raced side-by-side through the city at night on December 29, 2020. A stray bullet flew through the front door of an "entirely innocent" family's home in Dingle Lane and landed on their hallway stairs.
A gunman on an electric bike peppered a family's living room with bullets in Sundridge Street on January 8 and fired into another victim's bedroom in Beloe Street on January 20. Finally, O'Brien had petrol poured through the letterbox of a mum's home and set ablaze, as she and her children ran for their lives, in Dingle Lane on February 1.
Police also raided the home of Nathan Kelly, a customer of O'Brien's gang, on April 21. Officers found a .22 rimfire revolver loaded with eight bullets in a disused fish tank on his balcony and further ammunition.
For three days, Nathan Kelly had agreed to store O'Brien's "graft" phone and answer it, plus look after a motorbike, helmets and a petrol can. In communal gardens outside, police recovered a New Army 1892 Colt .41 revolver.
O'Brien, now 17, of Buckland Street, Aigburth, admitted conspiring: to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence; to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered; and to supply cannabis.
He was locked up for nine years and eight months, with an extended three years on licence.
Daniel Lawler, then 19 but now 21, of Halewood Road, Woolton, was found guilty of the firearm plot and admitted unrelated charges of dangerous driving and handling stolen goods. He was locked up for eight years, with an extended two years on licence.
Michael McClean, now 18, of Upper Warwick Street, Toxteth, admitted the cannabis and firearm plots. At trial he admitted two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition. He was locked up for eight and a half years.
Aaron Donohoe, then 19 but now 20, of Bewey Close, Toxteth, admitted the cannabis and firearm plots, on the basis he was only involved in the first shooting. He was locked up for six years and four months.
Jurors couldn't reach a verdict against Sian Kanu, then 19 but now 20, of Amity Street Toxteth, on the arson plot. He later admitted participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group. He was locked up for two years and three months.
Nathan Kelly, then 27, but now 28, denied conspiracy to supply cannabis, two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm - relating to the two guns - and possession of ammunition. He was cleared in respect of the gun found in the garden, but convicted of the three other charges after a trial. He admitted breaching a suspended sentence imposed last April for possession of a bladed article. He was jailed for seven years.
Shaun Kelly, then 35 but now 36, of Harefield Road, Speke, had sold O'Brien the Audi A1 used in the first shooting. The car was taken in a burglary at a family's home in Whimbrel Close, Runcorn on November 30, 2020. He admitted handling stolen goods and also unrelated matters of aggravated unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, theft, five counts of fraud, two counts of burglary and breaching a suspended sentence for dangerous driving. He was jailed for three and a half years.
James Mercer
James Mercer collected nearly 2,000 "horrific" child rape and abuse images.
He was hit with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) in 2013 after he was caught with a sick stash of indecent images of children. But when officers performed a routine check on his computer equipment as part of the SOPO, they discovered another library of "appalling" photos.
The 41-year-old, of Ashburn Avenue, Tower Hill, Kirkby, later admitted possessing 1,997 indecent images of children. Mercer admitted downloading 368 Category A images, plus 323 Category B and 1,306 Category C files, between May 16, 2018 and March 17, 2021.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing seven prohibited [cartoon or animated] images of a child.
Mercer was jailed for 12 months.
Joshua Corless
Joshua Corless raped a university student then filmed a video of a 16-year-old girl being sexually abused and shared it online.
The 23-year-old predator targeted a drunk university student who had only been away from home for a few weeks and offered to help her get home. He attacked her shortly after, overpowering her and raping her.
In a separate incident, he threatened and coerced a 16-year-old girl to have sex with a vulnerable man in Widnes and filmed it before sharing it on TikTok. Corless admitted distributing indecent images of children, but denied making indecent images of children and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, which he was convicted of after a trial. He admitted rape.
Judge Gary Woodhall jailed him for 13 years and said: "You have no regret, remorse or shame about what you have done."
Anthony Reilly
Anthony Reilly was caught with £80,000 of cocaine just months after his release from prison.
Anthony Reilly spent 18 months on the run from Merseyside Police after sickening assaults on a woman, when he poured boiling water on her. At the time, he made his victim's life "a living nightmare" with threats so sinister, she even wore a wig to disguise herself in public.
He was jailed for three and a half years in March 2020, and served around half of that time in custody, before being released on licence. However, by February this year, Reilly was involved in serious crime again in his new home in Ulverston, Cumbria.
Undercover officers from Cumbria Police's drugs squad collared him with a plastic bag containing around a kilo of "high-purity" cocaine. The 24-year-old, formerly of St Helens and Wallasey, but now of Theatre Street, Ulverston, later admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine.
He was jailed for five years and three months.
Natasha Hanson and Khristopher Burton
Two drug dealers ran a 'drugs call centre' as part of a County Lines operation.
Natasha Hanson and Khristopher Burton ran the 'Paddy line', supplying Class A drugs from Merseyside to the Shrewsbury area, during 2019 and 2020. Officers investigating the supply raided an apartment in Lockerby Road, Kensington, on January 17 last year.
In the pocket of Hanson's dressing gown there they found a mobile phone receiving calls and texts. Officers also discovered cannabis and behind a bath panel they discovered a stun gun on which their DNA was found. A "graft" phone, two iPhones and a "tick list", referring to cocaine and heroin, were also found.
Hanson, 32, and Burton, 42, of Bird Street, Wavertree, were released pending investigation. On October 7, 2021 police on patrol in Shrewsbury saw Hanson riding a bike.
In a plastic bag in her bra was 28 wraps of crack cocaine and 23 wraps of heroin, worth £510 in total. She had £95 in cash, a bank card and a phone connected to the Paddy line.
Hanson and Burton both admitted being concerned in supplying heroin and cocaine and possessing the stun gun. Burton was jailed for three years.
Hanson also admitted possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and being concerned in supplying those drugs. She was jailed for six years.
Aidan Dansie
Aidan Dansie stamped on a teenager's head before bragging "that little doughnut got put to sleep".
He stamped on a 17-year-old boy so hard he knocked him out and left behind a footprint in a vicious city centre assault. Dansie, 30, had punched the stranger to the ground on a night out in Liverpool City Centre in a sudden and unprovoked attack.
He struck near Baa Bar in Fleet Street just before 1.30am, in an attack captured on CCTV. The thug later claimed the teenager had threatened him with a knife - a lie a judge rejected as "ridiculous" - on September 12, 2020.
Dansie, of Leatfield Drive, Derriford, Plymouth, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm. He was also convicted of attacking two emergency workers two months after the assault on the teenager.
Dansie was jailed for 16 months.
Sarah Kirby
Sarah Kirby was so engrossed in "ferociously" attacking her friend in a lift she didn't realise she had abandoned her toddler son.
She had her son on her hip when she began assaulting Molly Culshaw, 36, and floored her, in a shocking attack caught on CCTV. The mum-of-two then put the toddler in his buggy and used it to run over the victim, who was on the floor, before pushing it outside the lift.
She then went back to kicking, punching and stamping on her helpless friend and hitting her with a piece of wood, seemingly unaware that the doors had closed and the lift had moved off, on May 18 last year. The 36-year-old, of Sandy Road, Seaforth, admitted assault by beating.
She also admitted breaching a 13-month suspended sentence imposed in September 2020. That was for a racially aggravated assault on a taxi driver.
She was jailed for 12 months.
(Proceeding)
