These are the faces of 30 criminals jailed during May

May 23, 2023

Dozens of people were put behind bars in May

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A number of people were put behind bars in May for their crimes.

Among the people jailed in May was a drug dealer who killed a 22-year-old woman, a paedophile who was ensnared when he sent a picture of his car's registration plates over Snapchat after recording a girl flashing him on webcam and a man who kept a gun next to his bed in case of a "complete breakdown in society".

Courts also heard how a teenage girl kicked a paedophile in the groin when he tried to sexually assault her and a man needed 53 stitches after being hit in the face with a vape on a night out.

READ MORE: Man kept gun next to his bed 'in case society broke down'

Here is an overview of some of the most serious cases to have concluded this past month.

Michael Smith

Michael Smith called his mum a "fat b****" before brandishing a knife and threatening to burn down her house.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday, May 2 that Michael Smith "barged his way into" his mum's home on Claremont Road in Billinge on March 20 this year. Suzanne Payne, prosecuting, described how the 34-year-old was "soaking wet", and she washed and dried his clothes as he fell asleep on a sofa in the living room.

His brother asked him to leave the address and twice called the police when he refused, but officers did not attend "due to low resources". The following morning, Smith's mum also asked him to leave but he refused again and "became aggressive".

The dad, of Kendal Drive in St Helens, called her a "fat b****" and punched her in the knee. He then went into the kitchen, picked up a knife and said he would "stab everyone and burn the house down".

After putting the weapon down, Smith elbowed his brother in the head and body - knocking him to the floor. He left the property at this stage and was locked out, kicking out at the door several times before police arrived.

Smith admitted affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault and breaching a suspended sentence order. He was jailed for 48 weeks and handed a five-year restraining order.

Lee Brown

A child rapist told one of his victims that Father Christmas would not visit her if she did not comply with his vile sexual abuse.

Lee Brown repeatedly subjected two young girls to a range of sickening acts over the course of around a year. One described how the warehouse worker has left her with a "weight on her shoulders she can't bear".

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday, May 3 that the now 21-year-old was aged 15 when he "groomed and exploited" the two victims - who were only eight and 10. Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, described how Brown subjected them to a campaign of "systematic, persistent and regular" abuse.

He would instruct both to perform sex acts upon him, "begging" them to do so on occasions. During one incident in the run-up to Christmas, the pervert told one of the girls "that if she did not do what he wanted then Father Christmas would not appear".

Brown - of Freshwater Close in Great Sankey, Warrington - admitted two counts of rape, two charges of sexual assault, two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for four years and four months.

Anthony Fox

A thug left his neighbour with a bleed on the brain after hitting him on the head with a plank of wood.

Anthony Fox attacked the victim and his girlfriend after visiting their home to watch the football. It came after he had subjected his own partner to a campaign of horrific abuse, including throttling her with clothes and wielding an axe over her while telling her: "This is the end."

Fox admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm, battery, criminal damage and controlling and coercive behaviour. He was jailed for four years and 10 months.

David Jervis

A teenage girl kicked a paedophile in the groin when he tried to sexually assault her.

David Jervis pinned his 15-year-old victim down on his bed and attempted to force his hands down her trousers before she bravely fought back. The 63-year-old was convicted of subjecting a teenager to such an attack for the second time.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday, May 4 that the pervert invited the schoolgirl to the stables where he kept his horses on several occasions as he sought to "systematically groom" her. Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, described how Jervis later offered to give her cash during a visit to his house, but she declined the money.

He then grabbed the teen by the thighs, lifted her up, carried her to a bedroom, threw her onto the bed and pinned her down. The convicted sex offender tried to put his hand down her trousers but she "bravely fought back", managing to escape after kicking him between the legs.

Afterwards, Jervis - of Birchall Street in Croft, Warrington - "carried on as if nothing had happened". He gave her a birthday card and designer clothing at one point and sought to convince her to return to his address before she reported him to the police, at which point he denied having committed the attack and said she had never been to his home.

Jervis has a total of 15 previous convictions for 47 offences, including being jailed for three years in 1998 for three counts of sexual assault against a teenage girl. Simeon Evans, defending, told the court that his client suffers from dementia - having claimed during his trial to have no member of the incident due to his condition - and "continues to assert his innocence".

He was found guilty of sexual assault by a jury. Jervis was jailed for five years and handed an additional three-year licence period.

He was also handed a lifelong sexual harm prevention order and told to sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely. He was given a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim for eight years.

Richard Hill

A man stole a laptop, iPads and multiple debit cards from cars in one area of Liverpool.

Richard Hill, 31, of Sleaford Road in Huyton appeared in Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, May 4, after pleading guilty to fraud and several thefts from cars. Hill was arrested on Thursday, April 4 and officers searched his address.

When raiding the home police found numerous stolen items including an iPad, a laptop and debit cards. Hill was sentenced to one year in prison.

Charlie White

A paedophile was ensnared when he sent a picture of his car's registration plates over Snapchat after recording a girl flashing him on webcam.

Charlie White was caught confessing to wanting "late night fun" with a 12-year-old child during an online sting. Once he was rumbled, the 20-year-old admitted to having a stash of indecent images on his phone - including a video showing him begging a teenager to lift up her top.

White admitted inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, taking indecent images, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, attempting sexual communications with a child, two counts of possession of indecent images and three counts of making indecent images. The barman was jailed for two years.

Cameron Edwards

A "troubled" man chased his former cellmate and swung a large knife at him after they rowed in St Helens town centre.

Cameron Edwards, 23, lunged at the other man several times with the blade after he was allegedly punched in the face as the two argued outside Cash Converters on Westfield Street at around 11.30pm on Saturday, August 27 2022. He was sentenced to 18 months for making threats with a bladed article.

Dominic Kelly

A man kicked down the front door of his neighbours' flat before stabbing a boy in the face.

Dominic Kelly knifed the family's teenage son in the cheek after storming into their apartment. He carried out the "terrifying" attack while "in the throes of a delusional episode".

Kelly admitted aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was handed an indefinite hospital order.

Mark Brockley

A fraudster pocketed hundreds of thousands of pounds by selling pirated subscriptions to stream Premier League and Champions League games before fleeing the country with his dog.

Mark Brockley, who remains on the run and is believed to be living abroad, was handed a five years behind bars in his absence after being found guilty of distributing articles infringing on copyright and fraudulently evading income tax. His exploits potentially cost BT Sport millions of pounds in lost revenue.

Stephen McHugh

A drug dealer has been jailed for life for murdering a 22-year-old student.

Stephen McHugh was handed a sentence of a minimum of 18 years for deliberately driving his car into a group of people, killing Rebecca Steer. The 28-year-old, from Fazakerley, took cocaine and downed six beers and ten double shots of spirits before driving his Volvo onto a footpath in Oswestry, Shropshire.

He was found guilty of murdering Ms Steer and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. Justice Andrew Baker said McHugh had reacted to verbal abuse directed at his erratic driving by treating pedestrians "like they were human skittles".

Nicholas Street

A teenager collected manuals on how to make homemade grenades and cyanide and set up an online extremist group called "Tesco Waffen".

Nicholas Street was aged only 16 when he created the "extreme right wing" channel on encrypted messaging platform Telegram and downloaded guides with apparently innocent names such as "Pancake Recipe", but which were in fact instructions for the production of explosives, deadly chemicals, automatic firearms and silencers. The now 20-year-old - of Stockbridge Street in Everton - also praised the murderous actions of Brenton Tarrant, who carried out the Christchurch terrorist attacks.

Liverpool Crown Court was told that his home was raided by counter terrorism police on December 2, 2019. Street, who was described as having a "deep-rooted mindset" and "terrorist connections or motivations", was found to have established the Telegram channel Tesco Waffen - an internet forum on which he and others with "the same mindset" shared a host of disturbing materials, including videos of the mass shootings in New Zealand.

When officers examined his laptop and phone, they discovered a seven-page document entitled "Pancake Recipe". This was downloaded from messaging service Discord in June 2019, and gave instructions on how to make cyanide and ricin.

A trial previously heard that the defendant "believed that it was only his fascist beliefs which were preventing him from taking his own life", that there was a "white genocide taking place" and the "white race was being attacked and killed off" by a "Jewish elite who were controlling the government, media and banks". Street was also said to believe that the Holocaust "did not happen and had been made up".

Street was found guilty of encouraging terrorism by the jury, while he previously admitted three counts of possession of a document containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was handed 30 months in a young offenders' institute, and will be required to serve at least two thirds of this term behind bars before becoming eligible for release on licence.

Adetunji Akona-Dosunmo

A paedophile who travelled on buses targeting schoolgirls in their uniforms has been jailed.

Adetunji Akona-Dosunmo travelled by bus between Merseyside and Manchester, where he tried to lure young girls into sexual activity by handing out notes with his telephone number and asking them to call him. One girl, targeted in Crosby, was just 11 years old.

He was arrested in April last year following a long investigation by Merseyside Police and later admitted two counts of sexual communication with a child, attempting to arrange a child sex offence, and four counts of breaching an existing sexual harm prevention order. The 35-year-old was sentenced to two years and four months in prison, and was also issued an indefinite SHPO.

Adam Purcell

Police jumped on top of a car and started smashing the windows to arrest members of a crime gang.

Cheshire Police investigated a number of serious burglaries in Merseyside, Cheshire and Manchester, including the theft of two vehicles, a BMW and a Ford, and the stealing of cash from homes and a takeaway. A further incident saw the gang, which included Thomas Berry, 27, Philip Berry, 27, and Adam Purcell, 34, and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, steal cash collected as part of fundraising for a rugby club.

All four members of the gang were subsequently charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and pleaded guilty in court. Phillip Berry, of College Fields in Wrexham, also admitted driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

He was jailed for four years and two months while his twin brother Thomas, of the same address, was sentenced to four years and one month. Purcell, of Chester Road in Frodsham, was jailed for four years and nine months while the the youth, from Frodsham, will be sentenced at a later date.

Dylan Hughes

A man needed 53 stitches after being hit in the face with a vape during a night out in Liverpool city centre.

Dylan Hughes' teenage victim suffered nasty slash wounds following the unprovoked attack, which came after the two men had accidentally bumped into one another in a crowded pub.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that 19-year-old Craig Drake had been "enjoying a night out" with his girlfriend at Fitzgerald's Irish Bar on Slater Street in the early hours of March 20 this year. Then, at around 3.30am, he and the defendant "bumped into each other".

CCTV footage played to court showed words being exchanged between the two for around 30 seconds following what Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, described as a "very slight" coming together. But "for some unexplained reason" Hughes, of Conway Street in Everton, struck the teen in the face "on one or two occasions" using an unknown implement he was holding in his hand.

The 34-year-old later "asserted it was a vape". Mr Drake subsequently required 53 stitches to two facial wounds caused by the assault. Hughes admitted wounding with intent. He was jailed for 45 months.

Ryan Hunter

A man who abused his girlfriend for years would put a bag over her head and ask her how long it would take her to escape.

Ryan Hunter, of Walton Lane, Walton, was found guilty of two counts of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The 33-year-old previously pleaded guilty to two counts of producing cannabis and one count of abstracting electricity and was jailed for five years.

Brian Flynn

A convicted cocaine dealer glassed a man who then accidentally stabbed his own mum to death in a pub car park.

Brian Flynn launched a pint glass at Jamie Dempsey's head in the Brambles pub, Kirkby, over an unpaid drug debt. Dempsey then went on to stab Flynn outside, but also fatally knifed his 55-year-old mother Karen Dempsey in the heart as she tried to stop the violence.

Flynn appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Friday after admitting affray in relation to his part in the tragic incident and was locked up for 20 months. Dempsey was previously cleared of murder by a jury but was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 19 years.

Mark Sands

A painter and decorator agreed to courier a shotgun wrapped in a bin bag and a hi-vis jacket in order to clear a £300 debt.

Mark Sands was responsible for handling the transportation of the weapon just over a week before it was fired at the door of a house with an eight-year-old boy inside. The 47-year-old, who was said to have treated the firearm as a "hot potato", thanked a judge as he was locked up for three years having admitted conspiracy to possess a shotgun.

Peter Hughes

A man who smuggled drugs into a prison spent his ill-gotten gains on a hair transplant, breast surgery and £10,000 wedding.

Staff at HMP Liverpool noticed an increase in drugs inside the jail and carried out cell searches at one of the wings. It was then they uncovered numerous prohibited items, including mobile phones, SIM cards, spice drug, steroids and tobacco.

Following this, CCTV was checked and Peter Hughes, 32, of Linwood Road, Tranmere was seen entering HMP Liverpool carrying the bag prior to his shift starting in the early hours of April 25, 2020. He was seen entering a prisoner's cell and then leaving 20 seconds later with an empty bag.

Following the analysis of CCTV, the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit launched an investigation into Hughes. This led to the 32-year-old being arrested at his home address on April 28, 2020.

During a search of his house, officers recovered a large number of steroids, needles, syringes, wipes and a quantity of cash. On Friday, May 12, the former prison officer was jailed for four years at Liverpool Crown Court following a joint investigation between the NWROCUs anti-corruption Unit, His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service's Counter Corruption Unit, and HMP Liverpool.

Hughes pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office, possession of class C drugs with intent to supply, and conveying class C drugs into HMP Liverpool while he worked as a prison officer at HMP Liverpool between October 9, 2017 and April 28, 2020.

The 32-year-old spent the money he made from smuggling drugs on multiple holidays, a £10,000 wedding, a hair transplant and breast surgery.

Paul Cox

A man caught minding a Skorpion sub-machine gun and more than 140 rounds of ammunition was jailed.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how officers discovered the lethal weapon in the airing cupboard of Paul Cox's home. A large number of rounds of ammunition were found alongside the weapon.

A live hand grenade was also recovered when police raided the 59-year-old's house in Netherby Street, Dingle, but he was cleared by a jury of possessing an unlawful explosive substance for an unlawful purpose after a trial.

The jury were not satisfied he knew the grenade was in his home. He pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon, the Skorpion gun, and the ammunition.

Mr Carville said he has had a "torrid time" while on remand in custody. For the first four days he was not medicated for his epilepsy and alcohol problems and fell from an upper bunk breaking his neck and wrist.

Prior to his trial he suffered a blood clot on his lung and it was "touch and go" if he survived. When he was returned to prison he was sent "to the block" for two weeks as he failed a drug test and it was only later realised that was because he had been given morphine while in hospital.

Sentencing Cox to five years in prison on Monday, May 14, Judge Brian Cummings, KC said a total of 149 rounds of ammunition were found at his home, including 61 loose rounds found on a shelf.

Ryan Kearns

A dealer told officers he had swallowed wraps of drugs before vomiting as police raided his home.

A plain clothes officer saw Ryan Kearns, 29, of Marlborough Road in Oxton, on Woodchurch Road with a gang of men in what he described as a drug deal on November 30, 2022 at around 12.35pm. Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday, May 18, that Kearns noticed the officer and started to walk away from them.

KC Suzanne Payne told the court officers saw Kearns again on Borough Road, at the junction of Balls Road East, where they stopped and detained him on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs. Officers found a graft phone which contained messages consistent with drug supply and £845 in cash.

The court heard officers told Kearns they would search his home and he told them he had drugs in his bum. He told officers "I'm getting pressured into it" when he was detained.

Police found a total of 291 deals of crack cocaine with a street value of up to £3,110 and heroin worth up to £610. The prosecution told the court Kearns located where the drugs were in his home.

He also told officers he had "consumed a quantity of drugs" before he then started vomiting in front of officers. He was taken back to a police station for interview where he gave no comment.

He was later charged with possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Sentencing, Judge David Potter said Kearns he had been charged with a "very serious offence" which "could only have a custodial sentence" before jailing him for three years and four months. He also confirmed he would return to court on August 18 for a proceeds of crime act case.

John Tomlinson

An arsonist launched a lit firework through his neighbour's letterbox after falsely accusing her of being a thief.

John Tomlinson spat at his victim and threatened to burn down her home only hours before the "terrifying" incident. She was left "scared and crying" following his potentially deadly "revenge attack".

Tomlinson admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He was jailed for 36 months and handed a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim for 15 years.

Michael Redmond

Michael Redmond told police "I'm going to need those in prison" after he was caught with class A drugs smuggled inside his body.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Redmond, who was on remand, hoped the drugs would be worth "fortunes" in the prison setting. The 53-year-old, of no fixed abode, was seen on CCTV distributing drugs in Waterloo on March 21.

The next day, he was spotted again by police officers who described him as carrying out "four separate drug transactions" on Manley Road in which he received cash. Appearing via video link before Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, May 22, it was heard that Redmond was unable to be detained by police.

However, on March 23, he was again seen by officers on Cambridge Lane. Prosecuting Mr Blasbery said he was arrested but "tried to swallow an object in his mouth".

The court heard Redmond was taken to hospital and a strip search carried out in which over 50 bags of "white powder" was recovered as well as a mobile phone and £20 in cash. Mr Blasbery told the court that another "golf ball sized package was recovered" which contained 40 bags of cocaine and 20 bags of heroin.

Meaning in total, there had been 96 bags of cocaine and 20 bags of heroin with a street value of over £1,000. He was later interviewed by police but "remained silent".

Giving Redmond full credit for his earlier guilty pleas for two counts of possession to supply cocaine and heroin, the judge said: "Of course there was a degree of pressure, there always is when you're a user."

Redmond was given a custodial sentence of 44 months.

Liam Harrison

A remorseful drug dealer broke down in court as he confessed to his involvement in a serious illegal operation.

Liam Harrison, 26, tearfully claimed "I couldn't stop myself" after being caught with bags of cocaine and MDMA pills just a few months after losing his job as an accountant. He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, May 24, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A and possession of class B.

Police were on patrol on Queensway, Waterloo, at around 3.45pm on August 11 2022 when they noticed Harrison cycling with a large bag. Their suspicions were raised when the 26-year-old attempted to hide behind a gate; they searched him and found 11 wraps of white powder and £260 cash.

He was arrested, and a further search of his home on Brunswick Parade discovered other items relating to drug use, including bags of cocaine and a large plastic bag of 355 MDMA pills worth up to £3,500.

Mr Whitehead, defending, said Harrison had suffered a traumatic event in his childhood which caused him to fall into drug use, and he had recently lost his accounting job due to his addiction. He said Harrison was no longer involved in taking drugs and had sought help for his addiction.

He sentenced Harrison to 28 months in prison.

Michael Kelly

War veteran Michael Kelly was caught running a huge illegal drugs operation from his flat in Bootle.

Liverpool Crown Court heard how Kelly returned to a life of crime after falling into money troubles. The 36-year-old, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was caught red-handed when patrolling police officers "literally used their noses" and followed the smell of cannabis to his Stanley Road home in Bootle on November 16, 2022.

He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, May 24, where he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A and B drugs. Police forced entry to the flat and found evidence of a huge illegal drugs operation, with scales, packing equipment, plastic bags, cash, and large amounts of drugs.

312g of cocaine with a value of between £11,700 and £28,000 was discovered, and 619g of cannabis with a street value of between £4,000 and £8,000. Mr Jones said it appeared Kelly had been using his property as a warehouse for drug dealers in exchange for cash, and that "there were clearly others involved" in the operation.

He said Kelly had made efforts to turn his life around after being given a rare suspended sentence for dealing class A drugs in 2019, but had found himself in financial trouble after his convenience shop failed.

He sentenced Kelly to 40 months in prison for possession with intent to supply class A, and 16 months for possession with intent to supply class B, to run concurrently.

Gavin Sellens

Gavin Sellens pushed his girlfriend to the ground and kicked her in the face after accusing her of cheating.

Sellens, 41, admitted attacking the 33-year-old in a drunken rage following an argument on February 16 2023. He pleaded guilty to assault at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, May 26.

Prosecutor Derek Jones said: "The victim was in a relationship with the defendant for a year. Sadly it seems both are alcohol dependent and prior to the assault it seems the defendant was accusing her of cheating on him.

"On February 16 she was at the defendant's home address, quite clearly both had been drinking alcohol for a period. An argument started and she says the defendant started accusing her of being with someone else, shouting at her ‘go to your next man’."

Sellens, of Longfellow Street, Toxteth, then pushed the woman onto the floor. She ran into a bathroom to escape him and he chased her and pushed her again, causing her to fall against the bath.

He pushed her to the ground and kicked her several times, causing two black eyes and cuts and bruises to her legs and arms. Sellens was sentenced to 14 months in prison and given a seven year restraining order.

Michael Legros

Michael Legros called a border force officer a "Rochdale paedo" after being caught with 14,000 cigarettes in his luggage.

Legros was returning from a holiday in Bali with his partner Heidi Mullis and their young children on May 24 2020 when he was pulled across by border force officers at Manchester Airport. Legros, 32, began aggressively pacing up and down with his fists clenched while his suitcases were searched.

Legros' suitcase was opened and 14,000 cigarettes were found. Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, May 26, heard Legros turned to the border force officers and called them "scruffy c****", before he added: "You only earn £20,000 a year - just keep the cigarettes".

Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, said Legros told one of the officers, who was Asian, that he looked like a "Rochdale paedo". The officer, who was not named in court, was heard to be physically shaken by the racial abuse. The court heard the officer had been racially abused before in the job, but this "really shook him".

Legros, whose address was given as Woodbridge Avenue, Halewood, was found guilty of the racially aggravated offence by a jury in Manchester on November 11. His sentencing was delayed until this week due to a number of other offences that Ms Baqri listed in court.

Legros was involved in a commotion on Lark Lane, Aigburth, on July 31 2020 where he threw a plastic bottle at someone during a fight that saw a woman assaulted.

But in a case described by Honour Judge Brian Cummings as "far more serious", the court also heard how Legros was involved in an incident at the Wellington Pub, Hale on May 15 last year. Ms Baqri said he was caught on CCTV brandishing a blade and threatening members of the public.

Judge Cummings sentenced Legros to three years in prison. He will serve half the sentence before being allowed out on licence.

Thomas Robinson

An EncroChat drug dealer who used the handle "CarbonZero" used his car and van hire company as a front to sell heroin and cocaine.

Thomas Robinson, 43, of St Mary's Road, Huyton, was linked to a large scale supply of class A drugs between the period of March to June 2020. Messages and images recovered by detectives showed Robinson was clearly an active member of a drugs supply network, along with other gang members.

It was uncovered that Robinson was using his business, called Practical Car and Van Hire, as a front to sell drugs. The 43-year-old was found guilty of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court. He was jailed for 17 years on Friday, May 26.

Alan Madden

A man who shared videos from banned far-right organisation National Action kept a gun next to his bed in case of a "complete breakdown in society".

Wirral man Alan Madden, 65, was snared by a Counter Terrorism Policing North West investigation into suspected right-wing extremism material on social media. Madden's home on Boundary Road, Port Sunlight - which he shared with his wife - was raided by officers from the counter-terrorism unit and Merseyside Police on September 15 last year.

When police raided the house Madden was asked if he knew why, to which he replied "not really". During the raid police uncovered a number of weapons throughout the house. A Czech-made CZ Model 83, a 9mm pistol, was found in an unlocked box next to his bed.

the court police also found books by Adolf Hitler and British fascist leader Oswald Mosley in Madden's house, as well as a manifesto by Christchurch Mosque shooter Brenton Harrison Tarrant. Police also found a copy of a presentation by Madden himself called "Adolf Hitler, the Jew and Holocaust Lies". It was dated May last year and was delivered in Chester.

Investigations into Madden's social media use found he had shared emails with a man called Michael Wright in 2017, where he called National Action "the real deal" for people like themselves. The court heard Madden, who was interviewed by police 18 times, thought the banned far-right group were "commendable" - and added they were "youngsters trying to do something about serious issues". He also knew the group were banned - and admitted to police the sharing of their material was "naughty".

Between September and December 2020 Madden shared a series of videos on his BitChute account. He shared a video, labelled as "National Action propaganda" by Mr Parry, which was narrated by a man described as a "cult-hero" of the far-right.

He continued to share material that showed speeches by Hitler - where Jewish people were referred to as "liars" and a "satanic power". Honour Judge David Aubrey KC branded the content he shared as "despicable material" that was "insulting and abhorrent in its nature".

Madden, who previously appeared before the Old Bailey on March 31 where he pleaded guilty to dissemination of a terrorist publication and three counts of stirring up racial hatred, said his sharing of material was "reckless".

As well as the charges previously heard at the Old Bailey, referred to in court as the London indictment, Madden also pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm, possessing prohibited ammunition, possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate, possessing an offensive weapon in a private place and possession of a flick knife.

Madden, who appeared by video link from HMP Liverpool wearing a black jacket and glasses, was jailed for seven and a half years. The defendant will also serve an additional year on licence following his custodial sentence.

Aaren Murphy

A paedophile was caught when he posted vile images of children on Snapchat and Instagram.

Aaren Murphy, 22, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, May 31. Prosecuting, David Polglase told the court that on November 1, 2021, police were informed a category A indecent image of a child had been uploaded on Instagram by an account with a phone number registered to Murphy.

On December 29, 2021, another category A indecent image of a child was uploaded to Snapchat from an IP address located at the defendant's home.

Police executed a warrant on July 6, 2022 and searched Murphy's home. When confronted about the indecent images, he said: "It's from Telegram, it just saves to my phone", he added: "I do know it's illegal" and claimed he deleted the images.

Officers seized an iPhone and interviewed Murphy at Huyton Police Station. Murphy admitted responsibility for the images but remained silent when shown them.

The iPhone had internet browser Safari installed, as well as encrypted messaging service Telegram and Russian social media network VK. He was found through the phone's file paths to have been in possession of 1,860 indecent images of children, which he had accessed between November 2019 and July 2022.

Of these, 928 were category A - the most serious category. These included images of babies and young children involved in sexual activity.

Murphy pleaded guilty to eight sexual offences charges at magistrates' court in February. In mitigation, Michael Hagety told the court Murphy had expressed remorse for his actions. He pointed to his client's zero previous convictions, age and lack of maturity.

The defendant, who has enhanced anxiety and depression, attended a school for pupils with special educational needs. Mr Hagerty described his client as "someone who has intellectual issues and communication issues".

Though he said Murphy posed a high risk of causing harm to children, Mr Hagerty said his client was at low risk of reoffending, adding that he had a realistic prospect of rehabilitation if the judge suspended the sentence.

Mr Recorder Peter Atherton handed him a three year and four month sentence telling him, "Still and moving images which you distributed and possessed depict horrific abuse of babies and children".

Kevin Jones

A former firefighter raped a girl over a three year period which started when she was just 13.

Kevin Jones, of Norman Road, Runcorn, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Friday, January 27 where he pleaded guilty to six sexual offences, including three counts of rape of a girl under 16. All of the abuse happened over a three year period when the schoolgirl was aged between 13 and 16 years old.

The court heard the 49-year-old committed the offences up until Monday, September 19 2022.

Jones returned to court on Wednesday, May 31, where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison plus five years on licence.