A depraved paedophile, a driver who killed a homeless woman, and a man who shared horrific animal torture videos are among those locked up last month
A depraved paedophile, a careless driver who killed a homeless woman, and a man who shared horrific videos of baby monkeys being tortured have been jailed. Former Alder Hey Children’s Hospital nurse Graham Goodchild, who abused his trusted position to groom and sexually assault young boys in his care, is among those waking up behind bars today after being sentenced to 24 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court.
Also appearing in court this month was an organised crime group used a valeting service as a front for dealing heroin and crack cocaine, a woman who smuggled drugs into prison in her bra, and a pair of feral twins who hunted down and shot a rival gang member in the leg. Here are the faces of 60 criminals from our region who were imprisoned during September.
READ MORE: Police officer sexually assaulted two women in Liverpool city centreREAD MORE: His mum was terrified in her own home after what he told her from prison
Rahmijah Hindes
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A prison inmate raped a fellow convicted sex offender after telling him he “wanted him to feel like his victims felt”. Rahmijah Hindes had been serving a sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl as she walked home from a chip shop when he committed the brutal attack on his cellmate.
It came after the 24-year-old had apparently become disgruntled that the two men were being forced to share a room. He was mere months away from being released from jail at the time of the incident.
Hindes admitted one count of rape. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was handed six years and three months – of which he must serve at least two thirds behind bars before becoming eligible for release – and handed an additional five years on licence.
Anthony May
A man who pocketed a kitchen knife he found on the street was arrested after dropping the blade in Home Bargains. Anthony May, Handfield Street, Anfield, admitted possession of a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for four months.
Anthony Doyle
An EncroChat dealer was unmasked as “TinBrow” who played a “leading role” in a 175kg drug plot. Anthony James Doyle conspired with others to supply the huge quantity of cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, ketamine and cannabis.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying class A controlled drugs and three charges of conspiring to supply class B drugs. He was jailed for 14 years and eight months.
Gary Stockley
A man has been jailed on his birthday after being unmasked as a depraved “monster”. Gary Stockley subjected one young girl to a catalogue of horrific sexual abuse.
He also took sickening pictures of another child on his mobile phone. The mum of one of his victims labelled him as the “lowest of the low” and the “dregs of society” as he was handed a lengthy prison sentence on the day he turned 43 on Tuesday.
Stockley was convicted of five counts of rape, three of attempted rape, 12 charges of sexual assault, taking indecent images of a child and making indecent images following two trials. He also admitted three offences of possession of extreme pornographic images and publishing extreme pornographic images and, appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, was imprisoned for 22 years and handed an additional three years on licence.
Christopher Beard, Lee Powell and Adam Latty
A dad seen with a “maniacal grin” at the front of a crowd during disorder in Southport has been jailed. Christopher Beard “shouted”, “gesticulated” and threw objects towards police officers at the front of a crowd which gathered outside a mosque.
The 33-year-old grandad-to-be was also seen piling wheelie bins on top of each other and helping to build a bonfire in the middle of the road. He admitted violent disorder and was locked up for two years and eight months on Tuesday.
Beard was sentenced alongside Lee Powell, 46, who claimed he was in the area to lay flowers and became “trapped” on the wrong side of the police line as he tried to get back to his car. But a judge said he “utterly” rejected that account and imprisoned the 46-year-old for two years and four months for violent disorder.
Adam Latty was meanwhile identified as being involved by a distinctive tattoo on his arm after he took his top off and tied it around the lower part of his face. The 24-year-old was then seen throwing missiles, including a glass bottle, toward police. He admitted violent disorder, and was jailed for 20 months.
Dean Hughes, Owen Smith and Liam Maloney
An organised crime group used a valeting service as a front for dealing heroin and crack cocaine. The “Scouse Jonno” county lines operation saw class A drugs trafficked from Merseyside into the Cheshire area.
Gang members Dean Hughes, Owen Smith and Liam Maloney also recruited a teenage boy to peddle illicit substances on their behalf. The former told a supporter “tell my bird I love her” as he was locked up.
All three defendants were convicted of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine and arranging or facilitating travel with a view to exploitation by a jury. Hughes was jailed for 10 years, Smith was handed eight-and-a-half years and Maloney received four-and-a-half years.
Derek Perry
A paedophile preyed upon a teenage girl as she walked to school down his street before taking her to a park and sexually abusing her. Derek Perry told his victim that she was “pretty” and said that he wanted to “practice kissing” with her, then subjected her to a vile attack which left her in tears.
He later went on to steal a bike from his neighbours and attempted to hatch a bungled plot from behind bars in a vain attempt to get himself off the hook. But he too was left weeping after he was ultimately forced to confess to his crimes.
Perry admitted three counts of sexual assault after his victim had been subjected to a pre-recorded cross-examination in advance of a scheduled trial, while he pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of amphetamine. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he sat with his head hung and wiped tears away with a tissue and his jumper as he was jailed for six years and handed a sexual harm prevention order.
Anthony Buck
A dad’s “curiosity” led to him being hit with batons four times by police officers and PAVA sprayed twice. Anthony Buck says that he was met with such retaliation after launching four missiles towards PCs when scenes of violence erupted in Southport following the fatal stabbings of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar.
Christopher Taylor, prosecuting, described how Buck was also seen on CCTV in close proximity to Windsor Mini Mart as the shop was looted, with cigarettes, crates of beer and bottles of spirits being taken from inside after the shutters were ripped open. The 52-year-old, formerly of Shakespeare Street, was said to have been “front and centre” as entry was forced to the premises, although he did not enter the store.
Simon Christie, defending, told the court: “”He bitterly regrets his part in the serious violent disorder on the streets of Southport. He instructs that he went to the crowd out of curiosity and then, out of pure stupidity, allowed himself to get involved and remained at the scene, and he threw a number of objects towards the police.”
Buck admitted violent disorder. Appearing in the dock wearing a black North Face t-shirt, he nodded as he was jailed for 28 months on Wednesday.
Callum O’Donohue
A teenager’s DNA was found on the trigger of a Russian-made pistol used in a targeted attack that saw a house sprayed with bullets. The DNA of Callum O’Donohue was also found on the gun’s internal barrel, although there was no evidence to link him to the firing of the weapon.
Several shots were fired at an address on Woolfall Crescent in Huyton in the early hours of June 13 2021, causing damage to its downstairs window and front door. Three days later, police officers carrying out searches in a wooded area behind Waterpark Drive found a loaded pistol and a magazine loaded with ammunition stashed in two bags.
Experts subsequently confirmed it to be a blank firing Russian Baikal pistol which had been converted to enable the firing of live 9mm bullets, with three rounds of ammunition were found in the magazine. Further investigations into the weapon revealed that it had been fired at the house on Woolfall Crescent.
O’Donohue’s DNA was found on the weapon and he was arrested, after which he gave a no comment interview. But the 21-year-old later pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and was jailed for three years.
Rubel Ahmed
A chef sobbed and prayed in the dock after demanding £2,000 from a woman while threatening to upload sexual videos of her to a pornographic website. Rubel Ahmed was arrested at an airport upon his arrival back in the UK, having sent the clips to her boyfriend’s relatives.
He admitted threatening to disclose private sexual images and assault. Assisted by an interpreter and wearing a black Adidas tracksuit top in the dock, he held his hands together in a praying stance and appeared to be in tears as he was jailed for a year.
Amy Gibney
A woman was caught on camera pummelling her defenceless boyfriend in a drunken rage outside a Lidl store in Liverpool city centre. Amy Gibney rained punches, kicks and stamps down on her victim as he laid motionless on the ground, leaving him covered in blood.
She pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. The 38-year-old was jailed for 20 months.
Connor Piggott
A man tried to hide his face as he launched bricks at police officers but his efforts were in vain. Connor Piggott took part in violent scenes which broke out on St Luke’s Road in Southport on July 30.
The 25-year-old, of Landsdown Road in Chester, was spotted on video repeatedly throwing bricks at police officers. He wore a balaclava to try and hide his face, but as detectives trawled through hours of CCTV and social media he was identified. Piggott pleaded guilty to violent disorder. He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
James Byrne and Curtis Byrne
A pair of twins who formed a “pack” and “hunted” down and shot a rival gang member in the leg have been jailed for life. Gunman James Byrne and his brother Curtis Byrne travelled in convoy on electric bikes before locating their target near to a social club and firing six bullets at him.
It came after a third defendant, Mason Smith, was hit by a car, as well as another incident which saw a volley of shots fired at a drug dealer in the street. One of the Byrnes later jumped out of a bedroom window when police visited his mum’s house.
All three stood trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life in July. The Byrnes were unanimously convicted of these charges, although Smith was cleared of both counts and the lesser offence of wounding with intent.
The brothers appeared via video link to HMP Liverpool, with James Byrne sporting a dark grey puffer coat and Curtis Byrne wearing a light grey Monterrain tracksuit. Both were handed life imprisonments with minimum terms of 18 years and eight months.
Milne Critchley, Adam Draper, Lee Duffy, Jordan Kinsella, George Miller and Cameron Quinn
A “pack of animals” called a judge a “nonce” and a “paedophile” as they were locked up for more than 50 years. Boxer Anthony Dodson was left with life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed in the heart after fighting broke out in a Liverpool city centre nightclub and spilled out into the street.
Some of those who became embroiled within the vicious incident burned their designer clothing in a park and attempted to flee to France as illegal stowaways on a lorry in the aftermath of the near fatal assault. Milne Critchley was found guilty of wounding with intent in relation to the incident, having admitted violent disorder.
Groans were heard in the public gallery and one woman left the courtroom in tears as he was jailed for 10 years. He must serve two thirds of this term behind bars before becoming eligible for release.
Adam Draper was convicted of unlawful wounding by a jury. The 21-year-old was handed four years and will be subject to a two-year serious violence reduction order upon his release.
George Miller admitted violent disorder but was found guilty of wounding with intent. Further groans were heard in court as the 20-year-old was locked up for 10 years, of which he must serve at least two thirds in custody.
Cameron Quinn was convicted of two counts of wounding with intent, having pleaded guilty to violent disorder. He stood with his arms folded in the dock then shrugged as he was imprisoned for 12 years, of which he must serve two thirds, while a co-defendant patted him on the back.
Jordan Kinsella was found guilty of unlawful wounding, having admitted violent disorder. The 29-year-old nodded as he was jailed for four years.
Lee Duffy was convicted of unlawful wounding, attempted unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was given six years in a young offenders’ institute. A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of two counts of wounding with intent and admitted violent disorder. He was given five-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institute.
Paul Harrison, Jordan Gibson and Louis Instone
A man who joined a gang of thugs took advantage of his “intimidating stature” to wreak havoc during rioting in Southport. Hulking Paul Harrison was caught on camera hauling a full wheelie bin high above his head before throwing it at police, followed by no less than 18 bottles.
Another clip showed him attempting to disguise himself by tying an England flag around the lower half of his face. He was jailed for 28 months.
Jordan Gibson was also part of the 1,000-strong mob which descended on the town, hurling missiles and joining in racist chants. He was locked up for 30 months after admitting violent disorder.
Teenager Louis Instone meanwhile had ambitions of working on the oil rigs but threw it all away during a few “moments of stupidity”. The 19-year-old hurled bricks at police officers and joined in with the looting of a convenience store as violence erupted. He admitted violent disorder. Instone hung his head in the dock and nodded as he was jailed for 18 months.
Christopher James
A man was caught couriering a gun in a taxi after his partner pleaded with him “not to go”. Christopher James was surrounded by armed police officers when the car in which he was being carried was halted, after which a converted blank-firing pistol was discovered in a man bag which he had stashed under his tracksuit.
The 26-year-old was alleged to have been instructed to collect and deliver the firearm after racking up a drug debt. He admitted possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm when prohibited for life and possession of ammunition. He was jailed for five years.
Alison Lavell
A cleaner caught on CCTV pinching £40 out of a pensioner’s purse has been jailed. Alison Lavell was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, having pleaded guilty to two counts of theft.
It came after the 92-year-old victim’s son told the police he suspected the worker had been stealing money from his mum which was supposed to be given to her carers. He reported around £500 had gone missing, then provided video footage from a hidden camera from inside the elderly woman’s home that showed the 59-year-old defendant taking £20 from her purse on one occasion and a further £20 a week later.
David Jones
A pensioner who was jailed for flashing women from his window while high on cocaine returned to his old ways only weeks after being released from prison. David Jones resumed offending in an almost identical manner almost as soon as he tasted freedom, repeatedly performing sex acts in full view of women outside after taking class A drugs.
The pervert says he “can’t explain” why he has continued to behave in such a way. But he has now been put back behind bars and warned he will “get longer and longer” if his lewd acts persist.
Jones admitted exposure and possession of cocaine. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was locked up for a further 13 months and told to sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
Matthew Anglesey
A drug dealer who hid behind the pseudonym “Ginge” was unmasked when he bought a top-up for his mobile phone. Matthew Anglesey was also identified as being the operator of the county lines heroin and crack cocaine dealing operation after using his graft phone to book taxis from his house.
The 32-year-old admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for 2,045 days – this being the minimum seven-year term for a third strike drug dealer reduced by 20% credit for a guilty plea.
Samantha Hurley
A woman left children in tears as she turned up on the doorstep of their home armed with a pair of scissors. Samantha Hurley also attacked a shopkeeper and called a stranger a “c***” after he refused to give her taxi money.
She punched both of the innocent men, having downed a litre of vodka, before assaulting two police officers when she was arrested. Her crime spree then continued when she threatened to stab another woman after being found loitering in her garden with a shard of glass.
Hurley admitted three counts of assault, two charges of assaulting an emergency services worker, using threatening behaviour, two offences of possession of a bladed article in a public place and three criminal damage matters. Appearing in the dock wearing a beige cable knit jumper and sporting long dark hair, she was jailed for 12 months and handed a five-year restraining order.
Dean Ellison
A gang leader who forced vulnerable teenagers and addicts to peddle drugs in a park popular with children managed to evade a police probe for six years. Dean Ellison and his co-conspirator Gary Lee organised and controlled the supply of drugs in the South Park area of Bootle during 2017.
He has been wanted since March 2018 but avoid capture until he was belatedly captured on May 16 2024. The now 35-year-old admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, cannabis and buprenorphine and was jailed for eight years.
Leah Burke
A woman was caught smuggling cannabis in her bra to bring into a prison. Leah Burke, 30, from Liverpool, was visiting an inmate at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire when she was found with the package, the contents of which were worth up to £6,600 behind bars. She pleaded guilty to conveying an illegal item and possession of cocaine and ketamine, and was jailed for 15 months.
John Harkins
A man who struck and killed a 10-year-old boy while driving at more than double the speed limit sobbed and told his victim’s family “I’m really sorry” as he was jailed. “Intelligent, bright and loving” Charlie Lowe died the day after he was hit by a car in front of his devastated mum and younger brother.
Driver John Harkins had been travelling home from work at over 50mph in a 20mph zone when the horror collision occurred. A judge told him that his actions would “haunt him for the rest of his life”.
Harkins admitted causing death by dangerous driving. He was imprisoned for six years and eight months, after which he turned to Charlie’s family in the public gallery and tearfully told them: “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”
Jordan Harkins
A man accused his brother of having an affair with his ex-girlfriend while he was in prison before hacking at him with a machete as he slept in bed. Jordan Harkins suspected his younger sibling had been seeing his former partner when he was serving time for petrol bombing the home of her previous boyfriend.
His latest victim was left with blood spurting from his leg as a result of the brutal assault. The thug later asked “how’s my brother doing?” once the police had caught up with him.
Harkins admitted wounding with intent. He was jailed for six years, a term of which he must serve at least two thirds behind bars before becoming eligible for release, and handed an additional three years on licence.
Jack Laffey
A teenager’s fury over a dachshund puppy landed him in a prison cell. Jack Laffey threatened to “snap the necks” of both the dog and his girlfriend under the belief that she would begin seeing other men if he was sent to prison.
The paranoid 19-year-old “believed [his girlfriend] would sleep with other people while he was in jail”, and he “did not want her to have the dog any more”. This led to him pursuing her around the streets in a car, jumping onto the bonnet of her vehicle and booting the windscreen.
Laffey admitted criminal damage, a malicious communications offence, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and breaching a suspended sentence order. He was sentenced one year in a young offenders’ institute.
Joshua Cropper
Cropper hurled bricks, a slab of concrete and a wheelie bin at police officers in Southport after a riot broke out. An angry mob gathered on St Luke’s Road on the evening of July 30 and threw missiles at a mosque following the fatal stabbings of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar.
Cropper, 31, of Pitt Street, was caught on camera taking off his T-shirt and using it as a makeshift mask before attempting to smash the window of a police van while one PC was still trapped inside. He pleaded guilty to violent disorder. Appearing suited in the dock, he nodded as he was jailed for 30 months.
Joshua Saxton
Saxton, 22, repeatedly punched another man in the face during a night out, leaving him permanently blind in one eye. The “nasty and cowardly” assault occurred outside the Block 1 nightclub on Bold Street, Warrington, at around 2am on November 19 last year.
The victim, Dominic Robinson, had been attempting to break up an argument when he was attacked. He suffered serious injuries and needed emergency surgery to save his eye.
Saxton, of Marron Avenue in Longford, Warrington, admitted a single count of affray, and was sentenced to 10 month in prison. His supporters were heard crying “no” and “oh God” in the public gallery as he was led to the cells.
Benjamin Cross
A dad “lost his temper” during a drunken row with his girlfriend and elbowed her sister in the face. Benjamin Cross, 41, of Cecil Road in Liscard, lashed out at Michelle Grugel as she tried to break up an argument between him and her sister. He then punched her several times, leaving her with two black eyes and a broken nose dripping with blood.
He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, September 18, after pleading guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to 29 weeks in prison. However, it was heard the dad had already served the equivalent of 34 weeks in custody as he waited for his case to come to court, and so he would be promptly released.
Zach Parry
Drug dealer Parry was caught after Cheshire Police officers became aware of a mobile phone number that was being used to sell crack cocaine in the Northwich area between June and July 2023. Detectives were able to identify Parry as the owner of the phone due to previous police incidents, and records from the DWP also showed the 26-year-old was using the phone at the time it was being used to sell drugs.
Parry, 26, Northwich, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, September 18, after pleading guilty to two counts of dealing class A drugs. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison.
Jackson Hegarty
A baby-faced thug told police he had “ruined his whole life because of one day” after he participated in a city centre riot. Jackson Hegarty, 18, went into Liverpool city centre to meet friends on August 3, but ended up joining a violent mob that engaged in serious disorder by damaging vehicles and local businesses and attacking police officers.
The violent disorder followed the deaths of Bebe King, Alice Da Silva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe, who were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift dance party on July 29. Hegarty, of Ryefield Lane, in Litherland, was caught on camera kicking the shutters of a shop and waving the mob inside as they looted more than £100,000 of stock. He engaged in further disorder on the Strand, throwing empty drink cans at police and setting off a smoke bomb.
He guilty to burglary and violent disorder. He was sentenced to 20 months in a young offenders institution.
Liam Elms
A man threw his vulnerable uncle around his flat “like a rag doll” before he dragged him out “like rubbish” and left him dying in the street. Liam Elms’s actions left Paul Lavery suffering a bleed on the brain after he punched him in the face, strangled him and then dragged him down a flight of steps and out of the block of flats on Eaton Road in West Derby.
Elms, 41, of Whiston Lane, Huyton, had denied killing his uncle, but was convicted of manslaughter by a jury following a trial. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison and an additional four years on licence.
Joel Hastings, Jake Howells and Daniel Howells
Three men were jailed for a total 44 years following a shooting earlier this year. Joel Hastings, 30, of Andrew Street, Walton, was sentenced to 16 years for possessing of a firearm with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to commit GBH.
Jake Howells, 24, of Langham Street, Walton and Daniel Howells, 24, of Field Lane, Litherland, were each sentenced to 14 years in prison for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm. All three men will serve an extended four years on licence. They were found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court in August.
John Porter, James Cook, Paul Cook, Marco Riley, Matthew O’Keefe, Daniel O’Keefe and John O’Keefe
Seven men from Merseyside have been jailed for a combined 91 years for their involvement in a wide-scale plot to supply cocaine across the country. The following men were all sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, September 26 for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property:
- James Cook, 42 of Mereview Crescent, Croxteth was jailed for 14 years and four months
- Paul Cook, 39, of Marford Road, Croxteth was jailed for 14 years and four months
- Marco Riley, 47, of Sonning Avenue, Litherland was jailed for 13 years and six months
- Matthew O’Keefe, 47, of Kings Road, Bootle was jailed for 12 years and five months
- Daniel O’Keefe, 44, of Lavender Way, Walton was jailed for nine years and five months
- John O’Keefe, 34, of Oxford Road, Bootle was jailed for seven years
- John Porter, 44, of Altcar Lane, Lydiate was jailed for 20 years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to commit Arson.
John Lefevre
A man who livestreamed himself as he engaged in a vile rant outside a church has been jailed. On Monday August 5, John Lefevre posted a Facebook Live video of himself confronting a group of men and women stood outside Trinity Methodist Church on Peel House Lane in Widnes as it was hosting its weekly support session for refugees and asylum seekers.
The 35-year-old, of Albert Road, Widnes was was jailed for six months for racially aggravated intentional harassment.
Alec Keiran
A HGV driver who hit and killed a sleeping woman with his lorry said he mistook her for a “bin bag and a folded duvet”. Nicole Cummings, 24, was sleeping rough outside the Shell garage on Scotland Road, Everton, on August 10 last year when she was hit by Alec Keiran as he mounted the kerb in his Volvo truck.
The 52-year-old, of Daisy Meadow in Bamber Bridge, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving. The court heard Keiran’s lorry was equipped with cameras, and if he had turned on an indicator as he turned, this would have brought up a clear image of Nicole sleeping on the ground.
He had also been given a risk assessment by his employer about the area, which warned: “Busy forecourt with cars and customers in the area. If in any doubt, get out of the vehicle and check the surrounding area.” Keiran was jailed for 12 months for causing death by careless driving and was also issued with a 12 month driving ban to commence upon his release.
Peter Stanley
A man sent to prison for sharing videos of baby monkeys being tortured in a sickening private Facebook group is the first prosecution of its kind in the north west. The case, as bizarre as it is horrific, did not even have a sentencing guideline for the separate counsels and presiding judge to consider.
Peter Stanley, 42, was part of a sickening private Facebook group called ‘Monkey Sauce’ where members were encouraged to view and post their own disturbing videos. The defendant, of Dovecot Avenue, Dovecot, appeared before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last month where he was pleaded guilty to three counts of publishing an obscene article showing animal torture.
The judge told the defendant that an immediate custodial sentence was “unavoidable” and sentenced him to 20 months’ imprisonment.
Michael Boulton
A horror boyfriend called his partner a “slag” and insinuated she had been unfaithful before setting fire to her flat following a booze-fuelled night. Michael Boulton, 40, had been with his partner whose name was read out in court as Ms Douglas, for a number of years but the relationship broke down in 2023 after he received a suspended sentence for battery where she was the victim.
Upon his release from serving time in prison on remand they rekindled their relationship to an extent and on April 19 this year he was around her St Helens flat. Boulton accused his partner of cheating before setting fire to her coat on the back of the door.
The court heard the defendant, previously of Kendal Drive in St Helens, had also started two other fires in the flat – one on the window ledge which damaged the television and another by the side of the bed burning the mattress. Following the latest incident Ms Douglas left the flat and saw the defendant holding a knife close to his neck. She managed to grab the knife away from him before he could hurt himself. Boulton was sentenced to three years and three months’ imprisonment.
Jack Parkinson and Baylee Elliott
A pair of teenage drug dealers were snared when police stormed their property as part of a county lines investigation. Jack Parkinson, 18, and Baylee Elliott, 19, were involved in the mass advertising and selling of drugs from a property in Hunt’s Cross.
The pair appeared at Liverpool Crown Court via a video link from HMP Altcourse, after pleading guilty to a string of offences. Parkinson pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply class A drugs (heroin, crack cocaine), racially aggravated threatening behaviour, assaulting an emergency worker, and possession of ketamine.
Elliott, of Yew Tree Road, Halewood, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of ketamine, cannabis and cocaine. He also admitted to two further counts of possession with intent to supply class A, and three counts of class B, on January 5 2024, and two counts of possession with intent to supply class A, and two counts of class B, on May 5 2023.
The judge sentenced Parkinson to a total of three years and one month in a young offenders institution, and Elliot to three years and four months in prison. She also made a five-year criminal behaviour order on both men, meaning they must only have one mobile phone and SIM card, which they must register with the police.
Robert Collins
A disgraced teacher sent pictures of his genitals to teenage girls and begged them for indecent photographs after targeting them online. Robert Collins, 39, was the head of art at Formby High School when he sent perverted messages to several young girls over a period of four years.
His offending was discovered in June 2023 when Collins sent online messages to what he believed was a 12-year-old girl. He told the youngster – who was really an undercover police officer – he was a teacher and asked her “what’s the naughtiest thing you’ve done?”. He also asked if she wanted to be in detention with him.
He repeatedly asked her to send him pictures of her body, telling her: “I’m only asking because I like you a lot.” He also sent the “girl” a close-up picture of an erect penis and a man’s torso along with the message: “Here’s my d*** X”.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual communications with a child, four counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of possession of indecent images of children (category C). Collins was sentenced to a total of two years and six months in prison.
Graham Goodchild
A former Alder Hey Children’s Hospital worker abused his trusted position to groom and sexually assault young boys in his care. Graham Goodchild, 81, sexually abused four boys while working as a night superintendent at the hospital in the 1960s and 70s – assaulting one youngster as he lay helpless in his hospital bed.
The majority of the sexual assaults occurred in the homes of the victims or at Goodchild’s home in Merseyside, or on day trips to parks, with one victim being abused at the hospital. Goodchild’s offending was first reported by one of his victims in 2012 – however, the victim had believed Goodchild was a doctor, and the investigation was dropped by Merseyside Police after no records of a Dr Goodchild were found at Alder Hey.
It was not until 2019, when the victim found a record of Goodchild’s name in local newspaper archives, that the former night superintendent was finally identified. Goodchild, of Firtree Way, Southampton, had denied all offences. But he was found guilty of 17 counts of sexual assault and an attempted sexual assault following a trial earlier this year. A judge sentenced Goodchild to a minimum of 24 years in prison, with an extension of one year.
Gareth Davies
Gareth Davies, 37, terrorised his mum into handing over more than £4,000 in just two months, telling her “you know what will happen” if she refused.
Davies, who had previously been given a restraining order banning him from contacting his mum after harassing her for money, repeatedly called his mum from HMP Altcourse in August last year, demanding she pay hundreds of pounds into strangers’ bank accounts. On one occasion when she did not pay immediately, Davies called his nan and said she would have to send even more money due to the late payment.
Davies, of Catherine Street, Crewe, pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching a restraining order, and controlling and coercive behaviour. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Ryan Povey
A thug played a game of pool with a man in a pub before stabbing him in the face after being left “hell bent on revenge”. Ryan Povey repeatedly slashed at his victim with a knife as witnesses screamed for him to stop.
It came after “back and forth banter” in the early hours descended into drunken violence. The dad’s promising career has now “gone by the wayside” after he “lost it” when consumed by “red mist” and returned to the scene armed with the weapon and slashed his victim to the nose and lip.
Povey, 33, of King Street in Rock Ferry admitted wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Appearing via video link to HMP Hewell wearing a grey Montirex tracksuit top, he was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Brian McCoy
A convicted rapist “wormed his way” into a struggling mum’s life by posing as a kind-hearted community volunteer before sexually abusing her daughter. Brian McCoy, who has been jailed twice previously for sexual offences, befriended the mother while she was struggling to feed her child.
He then went on to take the family out for meals and day trips and even offered his home to them. But, unbeknown to her, the “monster” was secretly taking advantage of the situation by repeatedly indecently assaulting the youngster.
The 64-year-old, of Sandfield Road in Bootle, admitted three counts of sexual assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and failing to comply with notification requirements. He was jailed for six years, of which he must serve at least two thirds before becoming eligible for release, and an additional four years on licence.
