CPS News Brief

Aravindan Balakrishnan convicted for false imprisonment, child cruelty and sexual offences spanning more than 30 years

Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, was convicted today at Southwark Crown Court for offences spanning almost 34 years. The offences were committed between 1980 and 2013 when Balakrishnan was the self-appointed leader of a communist group, which over the years became more comparable to a cult.

Baljit Ubhey, CPS London Chief Crown Prosecutor, said:

“Aravindan Balakrishnan used psychological and sexual oppression and violence to force his followers into believing he was a god.

“Balakrishnan would beat the women if they did something he did not like, or sometimes for no reason at all. He also subjected two of the women to sexual abuse, degradation and rape. The evidence of the mental control he had over these two victims made it clear that they did not have a free and open choice to consent to the sexual acts.

“Balakrishnan has robbed these women, including his own daughter, of a huge part of their lives. He beat and bullied them into submission and completely stripped away their free will.

“I would like to praise the victims for their courage in giving evidence in court. We were able to support them with special measures to give their best evidence and they have helped bring Balakrishnan to justice.”

Background

The group began in the 1970s and attracted quite a few members, both women and men. However, interest dwindled and by the late ‘70s there were only six followers left – all women.

The defendant lived with his wife and the six women in various addresses around south London including Battersea, Brixton, Clapham Common and Tooting Bec.

He turned the women against each other and persuaded them to spy on each other and report back to him if the others did anything that he would not like. They were then beaten, shouted at and humiliated in front of the rest of the group.

One of the women in the group fell pregnant by the defendant and a baby girl was born in 1983. This child was brought up by the group, known as ‘the collective’, and was held captive by the defendant until she finally escaped aged 30 years old. She did not attend school, never had a doctor or dentist appointment and had very little interaction with anyone outside ‘the collective’. There were years where she barely left the house at all.

The defendant had complete psychological control over his daughter, telling her that she would be killed if she left the house alone and that she would die if she ever did anything against him or even had a bad thought about him.

Charges

Aravindan Balakrishnan has been convicted of all charges except one count of indecent assault against Victim A and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Victim A.

Victim A (now aged 64)

Two counts of indecent assault

Three counts of rape

Two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm

Victim B (now aged 64)

Five counts of indecent assault

One count of rape

One count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm

Victim C (now aged 32 and the defendant’s daughter)

Cruelty to a person under 16 years

False Imprisonment

Caroline Starmer given suspended sentence for false Primark breastfeeding allegation

A Leicestershire woman who made false allegations about an assault in a Leicester store pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice has today been handed a suspended sentence.

In July 2015, Caroline Starmer made the claim that she had been breast feeding her child in Primark in Leicester, when a security guard challenged her and forcibly took the baby from her. Ms Starmer allowed her false account to be discussed widely on social media and tried to sell her story to the national press.

More seriously, she reported the incident to the police, triggering an investigation into the actions of the security guard. Ms Starmer stuck to her allegations when questioned again, before finally admitting that she had fabricated the story.

She was charged with perverting the course of justice and sentenced at Leicester Crown Court to eight months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

Janine Smith, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East Midlands said:

"To make an allegation that someone has committed a criminal offence is a very serious matter. In fabricating this story and pursuing a false criminal allegation, Caroline Starmer caused a great deal of distress to those implicated by her lies."

Four defendants, including a senior NHS manager, convicted of defrauding or conspiring to defraud the NHS over £3m

Four defendants have been convicted at Leeds Crown Court of money laundering and fraud offences. The main defendant, Neil Wood, was a senior manager within NHS England, responsible for assessing and providing training for NHS managers. The other defendants were friends, associates and family members of Mr Wood.

Simon Higginbotham, specialist fraud lawyer at the CPS said:

“Neil Wood used his position to syphon off millions of pounds from the NHS for his own benefit. The fraud is staggering – Wood outsourced services which could have been undertaken in-house so that his wife, friends and contacts received vast sums of money they were not entitled to. However, of the money his friends received, Neil Wood more often than not received a 50% cut. In total, over £3m was fraudulently spent in this way, and Neil Wood received over half of that.

“All those who have been convicted today, as well as Neil Wood who has already pleaded guilty, have now been held to account for these self-interested actions.”

Details of the convictions:

Neil Wood – Pleaded guilty to two Counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position (s4 Fraud Act 2006) and one Count of conspiracy to commit fraud by misrepresentation (s2 Fraud Act 2006)

Lisa Wood – Pleaded guilty to one Count of money laundering (s327 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002)

Huw Grove – Two Counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position (s4 Fraud Act 2006)

Terence Dixon – One Count of conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position (s4 Fraud Act 2006)

 

Additional information: 

Four other defendants were also found not guilty by the jury.

Two sentenced for plotting to bring up to three tonnes of cocaine to the streets of Europe

Anthony Dennis and Anthony Wilson were sentenced yesterday at the Old Bailey to over 25 years for a major drug smuggling operation.

Anthony Hill, specialist prosecutor in the CPS Organised Crime Division, said:

“These men worked with criminals overseas to plan a large and complex drug-smuggling operation, plotting to bring up to three tonnes of cocaine from South America. If successful, this would have flooded the streets of Europe with drugs worth hundreds of millions of Euros.

“Their criminal activity was co-ordinated overseas, but so was the response from the criminal justice system. We worked closely with Dutch authorities and the National Crime Agency and the strength of our evidence left the defendants with no choice but to plead guilty.”

Brendan Foreman, the National Crime Agency’s Regional Head of Investigations, said: “Dennis and Wilson joined forces with international criminals to bring up to three tonnes of cocaine into Europe, some of which was highly likely to have ended up on UK streets.

“They thought the café in Rotterdam was a safe place to conduct their operations but by working in partnership with the Dutch National Police the NCA was able to identify them and put a stop to their plan.”

Background

In 2013, a programme of co-ordinated arrests took place in Holland, Germany and in the UK. Since 2012, the Dutch National Crime Squad had investigated a hub of drug trafficking and money laundering run from a café in Rotterdam called the Café de Ketel. The café was a front for criminal activity of two brothers and their associates, and those who visited the café to meet with them were involved in the importation and distribution of drugs. The Dutch authorities were able to covertly record some of those meetings.

This prosecution concerned the importation of cocaine from South America involving Anthony Dennis and Anthony Wilson who were based in Essex when plotting the operation. The system of importing the drugs involved inserting them into shipping containers which were carrying legitimate cargo from South America. Once the container reached the European port an associate would open the container, extract the drugs and reseal it and then the container would continue to its destination.

Dennis and Wilson’s enterprise went disastrously wrong when they failed to extract a consignment of 67.5kg of cocaine from a shipping crate in the port at Antwerp in Belgium. The drugs were discovered by German police before they could access it when the crate went on to its final destination.

Dennis and Wilson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a foreign drug trafficking offence, namely to import cocaine into the Netherlands.

Sentencing details:

Anthony Dennis - 13 years 4 months.

Anthony Wilson - 12 years.

Husband and wife convicted for keeping a man in slavery for 24 years

Emanuel Edet, 61, and Antan Edet, 58, were convicted today at Harrow Crown Court for three charges relating to their treatment of a man who was brought into the country illegally at the age of 14 to work as a slave for the defendants.

The victim, who is now 40, was paid nothing for the work he carried out, including looking after the couple’s two children, cooking, cleaning and gardening. He was denied access to education and only had very limited contact with his family and the outside world. His passport was taken away from him and he had no identity documents.

The Edets changed the victim’s name and added him to their family passport as their son when they first brought him to the UK in 1989. He believed they would pay him for his work as a ‘houseboy’ and would provide him with an education while he was in the UK.

Damaris Lakin, CPS London reviewing lawyer, said:

“Emanuel and Antan Edet have cruelly robbed this victim of 24 years of his life. They have treated him with complete contempt.

“Not only did the defendants have total psychological control over the victim, but they also had control of his passport and identity documents. He was told by the Edets that if he left the house and reported matters to the police he would be arrested as an illegal immigrant and sent back to Nigeria. He believed this and felt trapped and completely dependent on the Edets.

“The victim’s dreams of gaining an education in the UK were destroyed as he realised the Edets had no intention of sending him to school and he was made to work up to 17 hours a day, eat all his meals alone and have no social interaction with the family. He was made to sleep largely on the floor in hallways despite there often being a spare bedroom in the houses where the family lived.

“This was a shocking case of modern day slavery which has no place in our society. I hope that the convictions today give some comfort to the victim and that he can now start rebuilding his life.”

 

Charged faced by both defendants:

Cruelty to a child contrary the Children and Young Persons Act 1933

Slavery contrary the Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Assisting unlawful immigration contrary to the Immigration Act 1971

Woman sentenced for racist abuse on London bus

Simone Joseph, 37, was sentenced today at Hendon Magistrates’ court to 16 weeks suspended for 18 months for racially aggravated intentional harassment. This relates to an incident on a 206 bus on 13^th October 2015.

The sentence was uplifted from eight weeks to reflect the racially and religiously aggravated nature of the crime. While the charge only reflects the racially aggravated aspect of the incident the case was presented in court to also include Joseph’s hostility towards the victims’ religion.

Gerallt Evans, CPS London Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor and Hate Crime Lead, said:

“Simone Joseph subjected the victims to a torrent of anti-Muslim and racist abuse which left them terrified.

“One of the victims was heavily pregnant and Joseph threatened to kick her in the stomach, leaving her fearful for her unborn baby. Nearby passengers were understandably shocked and distressed by what they had witnessed.

“I hope this conviction demonstrates to communities that hate crime will not be tolerated. In particular we are committed to working with our police partners to ensure that all those using public transport in London can do so free from the fear of such behaviour. We will continue to work to bring those that commit these disgraceful crimes to justice.”

No further action against one individual for misconduct in public office

Gregor McGill, a senior lawyer at the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“After careful consideration it has been decided that no further action will be taken regarding one individual, a retired police officer. Following an investigation by the IPCC it has been decided that it is not in the public interest to prosecute for the offence of Misconduct in Public Office or a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998.

“This decision was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

“Any decision by the CPS does not imply any finding concerning guilt or criminal conduct; the CPS makes decisions only according to the test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors and it is applied in all decisions on whether or not to prosecute.”

For editors:

The CPS's function is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal court to consider. The CPS assessment of any case is not in any sense a finding of, or implication of, any guilt or criminal conduct. It is not a finding of fact, which can only be made by a court, but rather an assessment of what it might be possible to prove to a court, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

This assessment is based on the evidence available arising out of the IPCC investigation and not on the evidence that is likely to be gathered by the defence, and likely to be used to test the prosecution evidence. The CPS charging decision is therefore necessarily an assessment on the basis of the evidence that is available to the CPS at the time the decision is made.

CPS prosecutors must also keep every case under review, so that they take account of any change in circumstances that occurs as the case develops, including what becomes known of the defence case. If appropriate, the CPS may change the charges or stop a case.

Three convicted for ‘violent and frenzied’ smash and grab raids in London and Manchester

Three men were convicted today (November 10) at the Central Criminal Court, London, for a string of commercial robberies in London and Manchester. Alex Parle, 22, Conor Gartland, 18, and Thomas O’Connor, 23, robbed businesses of at least £460,000 in jewellery and cash between February 2014 and January 2015 and left thousands of pounds of damage in their wake. They will be sentenced on December 15.

Damaris Lakin, CPS London reviewing lawyer, said:

”These men were part of an organised criminal network that targeted money transfer shops and jewellers. Their actions terrified staff at these businesses and passers-by alike, with a witness describing one of the raids as ‘violent and frenzied’.

“The gang used rubber blocks and hammers to smash shop windows and steal jewellery from window displays, or they would enter stores with the blocks and hammers and smash the partitioning glass to the till area. A samurai sword and other objects were used to threaten staff and ensure their demands for cash were met. They would then make off on scooters waiting outside.

“The frenzied raids meant a trail of evidence was left behind and this, as well as the analysis of cell site and DNA evidence, was central to the thorough police investigation. This meant the CPS was able to put a strong case before the court and these individuals had no choice but to plead guilty at this early stage of proceedings.

“Members of the public and shop staff should be able to go about their daily business without the threat of this type of unacceptable violence. We hope that this conviction sends out a strong message to organised criminal networks that we will work closely with our police partners to bring those responsible to justice.”

The following are the charges to which they pleaded guilty:

Alex Parle, Conor Gartland and Thomas O’Connor pleaded guilty to a change of conspiracy to rob between the 15th day of February 2014 and the 23rd day of January 2015 together with another unknown. This charge encompassed 7 robberies.

Note to editors:

Thomas O’Connor will be sentenced alongside other defendants on a further conspiracy to commit robbery charge on November 19th at Woolwich Crown Court.

Kashif Samuels sentenced for hate crime attack on London bus

Kashif Samuels was sentenced today at Highbury Magistrates’ Court to 16 weeks imprisonment for racially and religiously aggravated intentional harassment, contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. This relates to an incident on a number 149 bus on 15^th October 2015.

Samuels pleaded guilty at the first hearing on 21^st October. The sentence was uplifted from 12 weeks imprisonment to 16 weeks imprisonment due to the racially and religiously aggravated nature of the offence. The court also increased the sentence to reflect the hostility shown towards the victim’s disability.

Gerallt Evans, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said: 

“This case has quite rightly caused shock and outrage among the general public.

“Kashif Samuels used abusive anti-Muslim and racist language against the victim and caused distress and alarm to the other passengers on the bus. Not only did he shout and swear at the victim but also threw the victim’s walking frame from the bus when it came to a halt.

“This appalling outburst was caught on camera by a public-spirited fellow passenger and left Samuels no choice but to plead guilty.

“Hate crime of any kind will not be tolerated in London. Members of the public should be able to travel on the city’s transport network without fear of violence, abuse or harassment and we will continue to work with our police partners to bring those that commit these crimes to justice.”

Two Leicester Royal Infirmary medical staff found guilty of manslaughter following the death of six year old boy

Two members of staff, Doctor Hadiza Bawa-Garba and Staff Nurse Isabel Amaro, from Leicester Royal Infirmary have been found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of the offence of gross negligence manslaughter.

This conviction follows the tragic death of six year old Jack Adcock, who died at the hospital on 18 February 2011 after being admitted on the recommendation of his doctor that day.  Upon reaching the hospital Jack was very unwell and suffering from sickness, dehydration and rapid breathing and was admitted to the Children’s Assessment Unit.  Whilst on this ward he was under the care of Dr Bawa-Garba and Staff Nurse Amaro.  It is during this time that serious failures occurred resulting in his death.

CPS spokesperson said: “Prior to his illness Jack Adcock was a lively and energetic six year old. However, due to a series of serious failures which occurred whilst he was in the care of these staff members he sadly died.

“Both members of staff failed to recognise the seriousness of Jack’s condition and provide him with the necessary treatment.   As a result of their failures, Jack did not receive the essential medical care he so urgently required, resulting in the worsening of his condition and tragically his death.

“The jury has today concluded that the failings in Jack’s care by Dr Bawa-Garba and Staff Nurse Amaro caused his death and were so serious as to reach the high threshold for gross negligence manslaughter. Our thoughts are with Jack’s family.”

A third member of staff, Sister Theresa Taylor who was also charged in relation to this case was acquitted.

Man sentenced after invoice for $28m of ammunition was found on his mobile phone

Abdurraouf Eshati, aged 29, from Wrexham was sentenced for terrorism and immigration offences today at the Old Bailey, Eshati received a six year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty yesterday at court. 

Eshati was one of 20 people found in the back of a lorry after it was stopped and searched in Dover by police.  He was challenged and searched after he was seen by an officer to be acting suspiciously and using his phone whilst the lorry was processed. Following a search of his phone, two documents were found which led to his arrest and charge for possessing a collection of information likely to be of use to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism. 

Police also discovered a number of false documents which had been provided by Eshati to an immigration tribunal in 2012, he was subsequently charged for immigration offences.

CPS spokesperson said: “The very fact that Eshati pleaded guilty to these offences on the first day of his trial is a testament to the strength of the case and evidence brought against him. 

“Images found on his phone included an invoice for a massive amount of ammunition worth $28.5 million and the hiring of a cargo plane to be used in Libya.  

“The information that was contained within those documents found on Eshati’s phone were considered likely to have supported and been useful to an individual preparing to commit an act of terrorism.  Such was the scale of his activity, the court was told his arrest and the finding of these documents has led to Italian authorities discovering large scale illegal arms supplies being imported from eastern Europe to conflict zones in Libya and other places.”

 

Additional Info:

Count two: Collection of information, contrary to section 58(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2000  - four years and six months

Count three: Seeking to obtain leave to remain in the UK by deception, contrary to section 24A(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 - 18 months

Damon Kelly handed Criminal Behaviour Order for ‘hate’ leaflets

A religious activist from Northamptonshire has been given a Criminal Behaviour Order preventing him from distributing leaflets about religious, sexual or reproductive topics to any residential, commercial or academic address and door-knocking for the next five years.

Damon Jonah Kelly, had been distributing leaflets dressed in a monk’s robe in a variety of different locations including the East Midlands, Brighton, Cambridgeshire and the West Midlands since 2012. The leaflets expressed his views denouncing a number of groups and communities, including faiths different to his own, divorcees and people using assisted childbirth, but principally targeting the gay community.

Many people who read his leaflets were upset and offended by them, and reported his activities to the police. The leaflets were described by witnesses as ‘vile’, ‘offensive’ and ‘upsetting’.

In October 2014, Kelly delivered a leaflet expressing his views about homosexuality to the home of a same-sex couple, who remonstrated with him about the leaflet and its content. He returned to the address two weeks later with a letter addressed to them, again expressing his views. He was arrested and charged with harassment without violence for targeting this couple. He pleaded guilty at Leicester Magistrates Court in June.

He was today sentenced to a 12 month community order, requiring him to do 170 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge. The unpaid work was increased from 140 hours because his offending was homophobically aggravated and therefore treated as a hate crime. The Court also imposed a Criminal Behaviour Order, allowing Kelly to hold and express his views, but not so as to invade the privacy of others. Specifically, the order, which is in force for the next five years, prohibits him from:

• Distributing unsolicited material about religious, sexual or reproductive topics to any residential, commercial or academic address in England and Wales and
• Calling at any residential premises in England and Wales, whether by doorbell, knocking or any other means, for the purpose of distributing such material, without prior permission of the occupier

Lisa Morris, Senior District Crown Prosecutor at CPS East Midlands said:

“Damon Kelly has caused offence when distributing his leaflets. The right of free speech is extremely important in our society, but when this crosses the line into harassment, it is important that the public is protected. This Criminal Behaviour Order is necessary to balance Damon Kelly’s right to free speech with the need to protect the public from such further conduct.  It is important that communities are aware that he has been banned by the courts from these activities. Anyone who thinks they have seen Damon Kelly breaching this Criminal Behaviour Order should contact their local police force and report it.”

Two brothers convicted of aiding terrorists after retrial

Tuhin Shahensha, 27, and Mustakim Janam, 23, were today found guilty of helping in the preparation of acts of terrorism following a retrial at Kingston upon Thames Crown Court. They will be sentenced on 18 November.

The two men, who are brothers, were found to have helped a number of other men leave the UK to travel to Syria to meet up with a third brother, in order to fight for ISIS. This included selling their belongings in order to fund travel for others and lying to police when questioned in order to try and hide the true intent of the trip. Shahensha had also been buying equipment in preparation for his own travel to Syria.

Sue Hemming, CPS Head of Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said: 

“These men spent a great deal of time and money in order to assist those who wished to go out to Syria to commit terrorist acts. 

“Their admiration for their brother, who had travelled to Syria and was killed while fighting for ISIS, was clear. They knew that what they were doing was illegal as they used secure messaging and lied to the police in order to hide their criminality.

“These convictions show that there is no hiding place for those that encourage and assist others in acts of terror, wherever those acts are carried out, and we will continue to work with the police to build strong cases in instances such as these.”

Bus stop rapist given 20 year extended sentence at Leeds Crown Court

Zdenko Turtak, who raped and viciously assaulted an 18 year old woman at a Leeds bus stop in March 2015, before fleeing to Slovakia, has been given an extended sentence of 20 years, with a custodial element of 14 years for rape, and a concurrent sentence of eight years for grievous bodily harm with intent  at Leeds Crown Court today.

Peter Mann, Head of the Complex Casework Unit, CPS Yorkshire and Humberside said:

“Zdenko Turtak is responsible for a vicious and terrifying rape. ‘Stranger rape’ such as this is rare and the devastating trauma which the teenage victim experienced will live with her for the rest of her life. 

“Turtak sought to evade justice by fleeing to Slovakia but the CPS obtained a European Arrest Warrant and he was extradited back to face justice in the UK. In contrast, the victim has shown real bravery and fortitude throughout the investigation and prosecution. This helped us to build a very strong case, working closely with West Yorkshire Police, against the defendant, who, as a result, pleaded guilty to offences of grievous bodily harm with intent and rape.  

“Zdenko Turtak is a violent rapist and clearly poses a very clear and grave risk. The victim’s courage has ensured that he is now facing 14 years in prison, where he will no longer be a threat to the public.”

Background

The victim was in the Beeston area of Leeds waiting for a bus home when she was viciously raped and attacked on 5 March 2015.

Zdenko Turtak grabbed the victim, covering her nose and mouth so she was unable to scream or breathe. The defendant carried her to a nearby garden and using a stone he had in his jacket pocket hit her 18 times. Once the victim was unresponsive, Turtak raped her.

Before the rape and attack on the victim took place, CCTV evidence suggests he stalked three other women in Leeds.

Zdenko Turtak left the UK on 27 March 2015.

“Holy man” who sexually assaulted woman during naked healing ritual is jailed

A self-appointed holy man has today been sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to two years’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a woman during a supposed “healing ritual” in her home in February 2014.

Syed Shah, aged 29, from Stechford, Birmingham visited the victim and ordered her to undress, and then under the guise of healing her he sexually assaulted her.

The victim notified the police and Shah was arrested. He denied being anywhere near to the location of the assault, however, his mobile phone data was analysed which then put him near to the scene of the crime.

The defendant was subsequently charged and pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

Claire Nicholls, Senior Crown Prosecutor from the West Midlands CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said:

“Syed Shah promoted himself within his local community as a holy man and therefore someone who had a position of responsibility and more importantly trust. He breached this trust and preyed on a vulnerable victim who he assaulted for his own personal sexual gratification. He used his position of authority as a holy man and healer to pressurise the victim into consenting to sexual acts. This meant she did not consent freely which is required in law.

“I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the victim who came forward and supported the prosecution case which has enabled us to bring to justice a very dangerous sexual predator.”