Latest Offenders

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A man has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being found guilty of several non-recent sex offences in Cowplain following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Simon Shaw, 46, of St John Street in Wells, Somerset, was found guilty on Friday 8 January of four counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a child.

The court heard that Shaw began abusing his victim in 2011, with his final offence occurring in 2012.

His offences were reported to the police by the victim in 2017.

He was sentenced on Monday 8 March, after previously denying all charges against him.

Detective Sergeant Shaun Goddard from Hampshire Constabulary’s Eastern Criminal Investigation Department said: “Understandably this was a very traumatic ordeal for the victim and I would like to commend her on her bravery and courage, which has helped secure this guilty verdict.

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Russell Eric Smith, 30, of Folly Field, admitted the breach by not telling the authorities of a change of address within three days or getting a new bank card within seven days, which happened on December 18, magistrates in Basingstoke heard.

Smith admitted the charge and was fined £166 with a £34 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

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A man who raped a girl in the back of a car after a night out was yesterday 22 July 2020 found guilty at Southampton Crown Court.

Marlon Nelson, aged 34, of no fixed abode, after a night-out offered a lift home to a then 17-year-old girl from Calmore and raped her at Testwood Recreational Ground on 11 November 2014.

Following a further investigation, Nelson was also charged with the rape and sexual assault of a woman a then 20-year-old woman from Romsey. The incident occurred at Ampfield Recreational Ground, Romsey in late November 2017.

During a seven-day trial, a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of digital penetration.

Nelson will be sentenced on Monday 27 September.

Detective Constable Lisa Robins and Police Staff Investigator Kerrie Green, the Officers in Case, following the verdict, said: “We cannot underestimate the trauma that both women have suffered. Rape is one of the most serious crimes a person can survive. We would like to commend both women on the bravery and courage they’ve shown, which has helped secure today’s guilty verdict.

“We know that this will have no doubt brought up memories of the incident for them both, especially since there has been a significant time-delay since the initial report. We’re hoping that this will bring them some form of closure, and that they can now begin to move forward with their lives.

“Rape investigations are some of the most complex cases we work on, and each case requires careful review and collaboration between the police and CPS. We are working hard in partnership with CPS Wessex to identify offenders and get justice for victims of rape and serious sexual assault (RASSO) cases.

“We want to show you that no matter the circumstances, Hampshire Constabulary is committed to supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault and we will do everything we can to identify offenders and put them in front of a court.”

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A little girl's dad caught a paedophile abusing his daughter only for the pervert to claim it was her fault.

Robert Gardener twice targeted the child but covered up the first incident by suggesting he was "just playing".

The 64-year-old predator's lies came crashing down when the victim's father saw the sick abuse for himself.

However, Gardener, of Rocastle Close, Kensington, then had the gall to claim that the child instigated it.

Liverpool Crown Court heard another girl first spotted Gardener with his trousers and underpants down in the presence of the little girl.

Fiona McNeill, prosecuting, said the child reported this to the victim's mum, who in turn spoke to her partner, who talked to Gardener.

Gardener assured the little girl's dad that he was "just playing" with the victim and that the child witness hadn't seen anything untoward.

However, on a second occasion the girl's dad saw his daughter with her hand moving down the front of Gardener's trousers near his groin.

Ms McNeill said the girl looked up and moved her hand away and Gardener stared at the victim's father.

The court heard the dad, who has his own vulnerabilities, removed his daughter from the situation.

As a result, the girl's mum again spoke to the child who witnessed the first incident and asked for more details.

The child told her she had seen Gardener standing over the little girl with his genitals close to her face.

Ms McNeill said the witness described how the little girl had "tears in her eyes".

The mum spoke to her daughter, who said she had put her hand down Gardener's trousers because he asked her to.

The dad then chatted to his daughter, when she pointed out to him on a drawing where she had touched Gardener.

The girl also confirmed to police that Gardener had pulled his pants down in front of her.

Gardener was arrested and made no comment when the allegations were put to him.

However, screenshots of a conversation between him and the girl's dad showed Gardener said he had been "messing around" with the girl.

Gardener, who had no previous convictions, admitted two counts of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

In a victim statement, the girl's mum described a "deterioration" in her daughter's behaviour since the abuse.

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Shaun Higginson, 47, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to a total of eight offences including one count of attempted rape of a female under 16, one count of gross indecency with a girl under 14 and six counts of indecent assault on a girl under 14.

The charges relate to offences that took place against one child between 1987 and 1992 in Southampton.

Today, Higginson was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court to a total of 13 years in jail and handed a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Constable Mark Harris from Hampshire Constabulary’s Amberstone team said “Firstly I would like to commend the woman for her courage and bravery in telling us what happened to her when she was young.

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THE Earl of Starthmore has been jailed for ten months after committing a sex attack in his Scottish castle.

Simon Bowes-Lyon, 34, pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman at Glamis Castle, the seat of the earls of Strathmore and Kinghorne, part of the late Queen Mother’s family.

Bowes-Lyon, who inherited his family’s large Holwick estate in Teesdale in 2016, was sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday. His father, Michael Fergus Bowes-Lyon, was the Queen's cousin.

The court heard that sexual assault was committed last February during a three-day public relations event at the castle hosted by Bowes-Lyon.

Sentencing, Sheriff Alistair Carmichael said the complainer had shown no sexual interest in the landowner.

Sheriff Carmichael said: “She had gone to bed early because she had to leave early the next morning.

“This assault involved you going to her bedroom at about 1.20pm, persuading her to open the door of her bedroom and then pushing your way into the room and pushing her down onto the bed. You then grabbed her hard by a breast and nipple, tried to lift her nightdress up, followed her into the bathroom and stopped her from closing that door, followed her back into the bedroom, pushed her against a wall there.”

He grabbed her bottom and intimate areas, the sheriff said. The multi-millionaire landowner then “got in to bed with her, pulled at her, repeatedly shut the bedroom door when she tried to open it, continued to pull at her and tried to kiss her”.

Sheriff Carmichael told Bowes-Lyon: “Throughout all of this she made it clear that she wanted you to stop.

“She told you repeatedly that she had a boyfriend, repeatedly told you to leave and repeatedly had to keep pushing you away from her.

“All of which you ignored. Once she’d finally managed to eject you from her bedroom, you returned to the door and pleaded with her to let you back in.

“You were drunk. The assault and your refusal to leave spanned some 20 minutes.”

The victim was so afraid that she locked her door and wedged a chair under the handle and was left shaking, the court heard.

The sheriff added that she still has nightmares.

He added: “The amounts of force, aggression and persistence that you used are concerning.

“In mitigation, you apologised to her soon after the assault, you have expressed remorse, you have accepted responsibility for you actions, you have no previous convictions and you appear to

be otherwise of good character.”

Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Bowes-Lyon had been assessed by experts as posing a “medium risk” of committing more sexual crimes.

The court imposed an initial sentence of 15 months and reduced it to ten months to recognise the plea of guilty at the first opportunity.

Bowes-Lyon was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

After his initial court appearance last month, he said he was “greatly ashamed” of his actions, adding: “I did not think I was capable of behaving the way I did but have had to face up to it and take responsibility.

“My apologies go, above all, to the woman concerned, but I would also like to apologise to family, friends and colleagues for the distress I have caused them.”

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A married teacher and former police officer has been jailed for two years for "grooming" a person he believed to be a 12-year-old girl online.

Barry Lander, 49, of Bron y Graig, Bodedern, appeared at Caernarfon crown court charged with attempting to incite a child under the age of 13 years to engage in sexual activity on Friday, March 5.

The maths teacher at Ysgol Ardudwy in Harlech in Gwynedd thought he was speaking to a child called Ashley in an online chatroom for two weeks, but in fact it was an undercover police officer.

The court heard the pair had several conversations in the chatroom and on Skype between October 16, 2019, and October 30, 2019, and by October 22 Lander began telling 'Ashley' that he wanted to "kiss her neck" and "open her legs".

He suggested that they meet up in Cardiff where he was due to travel for work the following month, but the police officer stopped replying.

Even after he received no response from the officer, Lander continued to send messages of a sexual nature, the court heard.

Lander initially denied the charges, stating that he knew all along that he wasn't talking to a child but a "vigilante" who he wanted to string along.

Despite denying the charges, Lander was convicted on a 10-2 majority verdict by a Caernarfon crown court jury last month.

Sentencing Lander to two years in prison, Judge David Hale said: "You were a teacher, you have been a policeman and one day when you were perhaps at a low ebb you entered this chatroom.

"There is no evidence that you had done this before.

"The conversation quickly moved over to Skype and you had a number of conversations with Ashley.

"You are fixated by your contention that you realised straight away that this was a vigilante.

"There is an ease in which you use phrases and steer the conversation to sexual matters. They are your phrases throughout.

"The officer never steered you towards them - you did.

"I do not believe for one minute that you thought you were talking to a vigilante.

"You didn't think about anything except this conversation with a young girl, culminating with the possibility of going to meet in Cardiff where you knew you were likely to have to go as part of your employment in November.

"I am not assuming that you had resolved to meet but you continued to try and get in touch with Ashley once the police officer had cut contact.

"Why would you do this except for a sexual reason? There is no other reason.

"You have forthrightly denied it throughout. You cannot face up to the obvious truth.

"People who make these suggestions to children, or people they assume to be children, are inciting sexual contact with children. It is clearly a serious matter.

"It's incomprehensible why you as a teacher, a man of your past, happily married, should do it. You have lost all of that."

Landers will serve half of his sentence in prison and will then be released on licence.

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and has been banned from working with children.

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A married teacher who groomed a 15-year-old boy through Snapchat and had sex with him has been sentenced to six years and two months in prison.

Kandice Barber, 35, of Wendover, Buckinghamshire, had been found guilty of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

She was found not guilty of two further counts of the same offence at a trial in January.

Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said Barber was "beyond despicable".

The court heard the teacher added herself to the victim's Snapchat account in September 2018, exchanging messages with the boy which became sexual within a week.

The judge, sentencing at Aylesbury Crown Court, described how Barber sent the victim pictures "including a topless image" and a live video of a sexual act.

"All of these acts are tantamount to you grooming him and pulling him in, and with significant planning on your part."

The court heard Barber later asked the boy to meet her, going to a private field and having sex with him.

The judge said: "There is no doubt in my mind that you acted in gross breach of trust.

"You took advantage of a child in your care and groomed him for your own sexual gratification."

Barber later told the boy to delete all messages and block her on Snapchat to stop evidence being found, the court heard.

"You remained determined to silence him in whatever way you could," the judge said

Barber had to be tried for a second time after a first trial was unable to reach verdicts on three charges.

In a statement from the victim, read by prosecutor David Povall, he said the stress and anxiety of the trials had caused "poorer-than-expected GCSE results".

This led the victim "to leave the good school he was attending and go to a sixth-form college where none of his friends were".

Mr Povall said: "In summary, [the victim] says that the defendant ... who was supposed to help students make the right decisions instead helped him to make all the wrong decisions."

Barber was also handed a 16-month sentence for causing a child under 16 to watch sexual activity by a person in breach of trust and a further 10-month sentence for sexual communication, to be served concurrently with her main sentence.

She will be required to notify police of her personal details and address for the rest of her life, as well as being barred from working with children and vulnerable adults, and being subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order.

Following the sentencing, the NSPCC stressed the need for victims of child sexual abuse to be properly supported.

A spokesperson for the charity said: "As a teacher, Barber would have been well aware of the vulnerability of young people, and it was her duty to safeguard those in her care.

"But, instead, she exploited her position of trust to groom and abuse this teenage boy for her own sexual gratification."

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A MAN has been jailed for attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child after being snared online by an undercover police officer.

Jordan James Caygill, of Newton Aycliffe, used a social media app to ask who he thought was a 14-year-old girl to meet up for sex.

After police officers turned up at his home in Merlin Court and arrested the 28-year-old they found hard drives and laptops containing violent sexual abuse videos involving "very young children."

Durham Crown Court heard on Wednesday that Caygill, who previously worked as a bartender in a sports club in Darlington, had a large collection of "utterly repellent" material that he had collected over a number of years.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said the defendant had more than 18 hours of extreme pornography on his computer involving very young children who were in "visible distress."

He engaged in "highly sexualised" conversation with the undercover officer posing as a teenager, offering to "take her virginity" and asking for sexual photos of her.

He also sent videos of himself masturbating to the officer as well as photos of his genitals.

Caygill, who called himself "BigJ" and "Darloj92" on the app, pleaded guilty to nine charges in total, including three counts of making indecent images of children and one of distributing indecent images of children.

He also admitted possessing extreme pornographic images, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Ian West, for Caygill, said his client was of previous good character and that the harm caused was 'minimal' as the defendant wasn't communicating with a child, but an undercover police officer.

HH Judge James Adkin told Caygill: "The investigation into your activity began by virtue of an interaction between yourself and an undercover officer purporting to be a 14-year-old child.

"Images were sent by yourself and you thought you were communicating with a 14-year-old girl. You requested pictures and offered to take her virginity. More specifically, the attempt to engage a child in sexual activity was incitement to engage in sexual intercourse.

"They [the images] are utterly repellent. The timescale is significant, from March 2016 to December 2019. It appears to me that this is a carefully curated collection of violent sexual abuse images.

"The attempts form part of a pattern of interactions with fictional children indicating the defendant had no compunction about engaging in highly sexualised behaviour with teenage girls."

Caygill was jailed for 34 months in total and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He must also sign the sexual offenders register for life and he is forbidden from ever working with children.

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An Ellesmere Port man was jailed after a horrific two-year campaign of abuse against a seven-year-old girl.

The court heard how Stephen Thomas, of Straker Avenue, subjected the seven-year-old girl to abuse between 2016 and 2018.

When police were informed, officers arrested the 29-year-old and seized electronic devices.

After they were examined, it was revealed the devices contained indecent images of children.

Thomas was arrested in relation to this but denied the allegations of abuse to officers.

He pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual touching of a child under the age of 13 and two counts of producing indecent photographs of children, but was convicted after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was sentenced to eight and a half years and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and a sexual harm prevention order, both indefinitely.

Detective Constable Joanna Barclay of Cheshire Police said afterwards: "This case has left the victim and her family distraught and I hope that the sentence will help bring some closure to them.

"Thomas preyed upon a young child for his own sexual gratification and refused to take responsibility for the crimes he committed, making the family have to relive the horrific experience again through a trial."

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane added: "This is a harrowing case and my thoughts are with the victim and her family.

"I would like to commend the work of the team who worked tirelessly to ensure justice for the girl and her family.

"Support is available to victims of sexual abuse and I would urge anyone who has been subjected to this to please report it to police and seek support and advice."

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A MAN has been jailed for seven years after raping a 24-year-old woman.

David Gordon Howse, 33, of The Quadrangle, pleaded guilty to raping a 24-year-old woman between 11.30pm on January 8, 2019, and the early hours of January 9, 2019.

The woman was said to be walking across a car park area between Beaulieu Road and Selbourne Drive in Eastleigh when Howse approached her.

He then followed her into an alleyway in Whyteways where he raped her.

Howse was arrested in late December 2019 and charged with the rape in July 2020.

Today, at Southampton Crown Court, Howse was sentenced to seven years in prison.

He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Detective Inspector Gareth Jones of Hampshire Constabulary’s Amberstone team, branded the crime "truly harrowing".

He added: "I would like to pay tribute to the victim for the courage that she has shown throughout the investigation; we understand it is not always easy for victims to have to re-live an already terrifying ordeal.

“Hampshire Constabulary is dedicated to getting justice for victims and ensuring Eastleigh is a safe place to live.

“I hope this sentence today goes someway to giving the woman closure and reassures her, and the communities in Hampshire, that justice has been served."

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A MAN who arranged to meet a ‘mother and her two daughters’ with the intent of having sexual activity with a child has been jailed after a undercover police sting.

David Merrick Taylor began talking to a woman online who he believed was a single mother who had two daughters, aged eight and 11.

Taylor sent pictures of himself and discussed what he wanted to do to the girls before arranging a meeting at Bournemouth Pier.

The meeting in January came just days after first exchanging messages with the undercover officer who had assumed the role of the fictional mother.

The 48-year-old was then identified by officers and arrested.

He had a rucksack with him which contained lubricant, condoms and sweets.

The defendant, of Havilland Road East, Bournemouth, admitted a charge of attempting to arrange or facilitate sexual activity with a child at Poole Magistrates’ Court on January 23.

He was jailed for four years after appearing at Bournemouth Crown Court.

Prosecuting, Richard Sedgwick said Taylor committed this offence while subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which had first been issued following an extremely similar crime in 2017.

On that occasion he was caught by a paedophile hunter group, who passed information on to police.

Mr Sedgwick said on January 19 of this year the defendant started messaging the undercover police officer on messaging service Chatiw and the content of what he said became explicit and of a sexualised nature.

The meeting was arranged in the days that followed and officers arrested the defendant at the pier.

During interview, Taylor, who has autism and Asperger’s, initially made no comment but went on to say the situation had been a “fantasy he never intended to go through with”.

Mitigating, Roderick Blain told the judge it was a question of “how long” his client was jailed for rather than the type of sentence issued in this case.

He said first contact with the undercover officer to arrest covered just three days.

The barrister described the way Taylor behaved as “very unsophisticated”.

Judge Brian Forster QC said the case was “particularly serious” given the defendant had been sentenced to a significant period of imprisonment for a very similar offence in 2017 and he was already subject to a SHPO.

“You travelled to this area (the pier) for the purpose of carrying out sexual activities with a child aged eight or 11,” said the judge.

“You travelled to the area equipped with lubricant gel, fruit flavoured condoms children’s sweets and binoculars.”

He added: “Courts have a clear duty to deter sexual predators from committing crimes against children.”

Taylor was placed on the sex offender’s register indefinitely, with terms of a new SHPO made at a later hearing.

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A serial sex offender jailed for raping and murdering a student could have his sentence increased after his case was referred to the Attorney General.

Pawel Relowicz is serving 27 years in prison after attacking Libby Squire and dumping her body in a Hull river.

The father-of-two had committed a string of sex offences against women before killing the 21-year-old.

His case will be examined under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme, the Attorney General's office said.

Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to decide whether to refer cases to the Court of Appeal, where the sentence may be increased.

Relowicz, 26, who worked as a butcher, was jailed on 12 February following a 14-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Jurors heard he had "cruised the streets" in the student area of Hull before spotting "vulnerable" Ms Squire, 21, in a drunken state on Beverley Road in the early hours of 1 February 2019.

He drove her to nearby Oak Road playing fields where he raped her and then dumped her body in the River Hull.

The body of Ms Squire, of High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, was recovered from the Humber Estuary nearly seven weeks later.

Pathologists were unable to establish how she died, or whether she was still alive when she went into the water. 

Relowicz's attack on the University of Hull student came after earlier offences which included performing sex acts in public and stealing underwear from women's homes.

He was convicted for these offences, including voyeurism, in August 2019.

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A NEWPORT man who used his position working in a library to access a child's contact details and incite her to engage in sexual activity has been jailed.

The predator pretended to be a 16-year-old boy on Snapchat to start online conversations with the girl.

Glyn Viney, of Barton Road, appeared before the Isle of Wight Crown Court yesterday (Thursday).

At a previous hearing on March 1, he admitted three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He also admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child and making indecent images of a child.

The offences took place between December 1, 2018, and August 24, 2019.

Prosecutor, Daniel Sawyer, told the court Viney's primary victim was a 15-year-old girl he first noticed at the library where he worked.

Viney found her contact details through library records and contacted her via email, posing as a 16-year-old boy called Gary Barlow.

Mr Sawyer said conversations between the pair quickly turned sexual, and Viney asked her for sexual images, and for her to carry out sexual acts on herself.

The victim reported matters to her foster carer, who contacted police.

Viney was arrested on August 30, 2019, and his phone was taken ­— a device which contained a Snapchat account and screen recorder app, Mobizen.

Mr Sawyer said messages consisted of demands for videos, and it was clear there was a difference of power between Viney and his victim.

The court heard how there was also reference to sexual gratification in the context of the victim being in pain.

Mr Sawyer said the victim had disclosed her vulnerabilities to Viney.

He said, for the counts of attempting to incite a child, they pertained to similar conversations with other individuals on his phone.

Mr Sawyer said the other victims could not be traced, and the Crown could not prove they were the young girls they purported to be.

He said that from their profiles, one appeared to be in Year 7 and another, 13 years old.

In police interview, Viney accepted he had at least two Snapchat accounts and pretended to be 16 years old.

He said he was having a mental breakdown at the time, which presiding judge, recorder Anna Midgley, said was indicative of his shame.

David Richards, defending, said Viney was someone who had a productive and decent life which he had thrown away.

Mr Richards said Viney had no intention of doing anything like it ever again, and did not understand where it came from or why.

He said he was overwhelmed by issues in his life ­— the pressures of work, the fact that his mother was unwell, and his inability to get satisfaction from relationships with people his own age.

Mr Richards said Viney did not maintain the pretence throughout, and eventually owned up to being a married man.

He said he knew he was going to prison, and did not see himself as a victim.

Viney, who has no previous convictions, was jailed for three years and four months.

He was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely, and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.

He was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £181.

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A MAN filmed an underage girl having sex during one of his "idiot moments".

Kyle McGhee filmed a 15-year-old girl having sex, a court heard.

He went on to show the video to four people and was said to be proud of what he had done.

Prosecution barrister, Michael Forster told how the girl later asked for him to delete the footage.

During a police interview, McGhee of Bull Lane in Minstead admitted filming the video.

Mr Forster said that he even claimed: "She was loving it and it was just a laugh. It was one of my idiot moments."

Aged 17 at the time of the incident, the hospitality worker was initially arrested on suspicion of rape but not charged.

Instead McGhee, now 20, was charged with taking an indecent photograph of a child - to which he pleaded guilty.

Defending, John Dyer cited his client's background mentioning he born with foetal drug syndrome - impacting his cognitive abilities - and was adopted.

He emphasised McGhee's immaturity at the time and how long the offence - which happened in Romsey on July 1, 2018 - took to reach the courts.

His previous convictions include three counts of assault by beating and one count of using threatening and abusive language.

He also has drug and driving convictions.

At Southampton Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Rowland jailed him for 15-months, suspended for 18-months.

He will have to complete 40 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work.