Blackmailer Targeted Witness And Daughter After Bitter High Court Case

Guilty: Darren Cooper

The gay husband of a defeated High Court litigant - who lost a share of a £1.2m property - has been convicted of blackmailing a tech entrepreneur witness and stalking the businessman and his model daughter. 

Darren Cooper, 54, created a newspaper-style blog, which falsely accused tech industry CEO Peter Gillingwater, 52, of drug dealing and sexual abuse.

He even included the businessman’s model/singer daughter Aimee Gillingwater, 28, in his “abusive and derogatory” online campaign and threatened to destroy her career.

Inner London Crown Court heard he eventually demanded sums of £250,000; £100,000 and £80,000 to close down the blog and delete abusive posts on twitter and LinkedIn.

Cooper, of Brayburne Avenue, Clapham fought the charges, but was convicted of blackmailing Mr Gillingwater between January 14 and July 19, 2023.

He was also found guilty by the jury of stalking the father and daughter between January 1, 2021 and July 19, 2023.

Today he was bailed until November 27 for a pre-sentence report.

Cooper’s husband, South Africa-born Thain Kleinhentz - an NHS health advisor - lost a High Court claim for a share of his ex’s Baron’s Court house in Margravine Gardens, which sold for £1.2m in 2015.

He claimed he was owed £250,000 after sharing the property for many years as the partner of the property’s owner Mark Harrison, but lost after a two-day trial.

Mr Gillingwater gave evidence on behalf of Mr Harrison, resulting in Cooper creating a blog condemning his character and behaviour in the witness box.

“He repeatedly posted abusive and derogatory material online about them and demanded £80,000 and then larger sums of £100,000 and £250,000 to remove the material,” said prosecutor Jonathan Whitley.

“This is vengeful behaviour that arises from a civil court case in 2020 when Mr Kleinhentz said he was entitled to a share of the property owned by Mr Harrison.

Targeted: Aimee & Peter Gillingwater

“Mr Kleinhentz lost with an order for costs against him and he declared bankruptcy,” added Mr Whitley. “This defendant is his husband and believes he should have won the case and blames the complainant for losing.

“Cooper admits posting the material and sending emails to the family and company board members and says he was justified in doing that.”

Mr Gillingwater told the jury the family took the decision to go to the authorities after receiving an email that referred to the “gang bang” of his daughter.

“She was a significant target. The language and implication was unacceptable and we decided it was time to take action about these hundreds of emails and documents and approach the police.”

He also received a phone call, again targeting his daughter’s upcoming show. “I recognised it as Darren. He said he was going to destroy her again and this was a threat to her and her gig.”

The businessman had already received a demand for £100,000 for the blog’s removal from Cooper, one of three separate payment demands for different amounts.

“It was another attempt to solicit payment to see if we were prepared to pay for the content to disappear. We did not respond as we thought he was getting desperate.”

Another email from Cooper threatened to go to the national press with his allegations.

“This was another attempt by the accused to embarrass us by making it a story and threatening to go to the press with a non-story.”

The campaign did result in the CEO leaving a board associated with one large blue chip company and distancing himself from a charity, where he was a mentor.

“It worried me that my reputation would be ruined by these allegations,” he told the trial.

A few weeks after the court’s ruling Cooper created a blog, which described Mr Gillingwater in the headline as a ‘Paedo’ adding he ‘lies in court about previous sexual abuse allegations.’

Cooper also wrote about ‘lies exposed’ regarding the tech boss, accusing him of drug dealing and addiction; child pornography; cocaine supply and making false accusations. 

“The blog posts were sent to the family and others, including board members of the man’s company to denigrate his reputation and the rest of his family,” explained the prosecutor.

Cooper messaged the businessman’s model daughter: ‘OMG. I saw on twitter your dad raped you, b******.’

He also threatened to damage her career by writing she was involved in child pornography, which was still available on the dark web.

“This campaign has caused serious distress to the family and the daughter says she has lost modelling work and has been unable to post on social media,” said Mr Whitley.

Cooper and Kleinhentz were both arrested, but police charged only the defendant, who admitted in a statement creating the blogs and emailing the family.

Cooper told officers both he and his husband were the victims of “slurs” and he was simply “trying to shine a light on abuse,” complaining his husband didn’t receive justice at the High Court.

Disgraced Ex-LibDem Council Chief Sent Back To Prison

Sign Of The Times: Osbourne

The disgraced former leader of Kingston-upon-Thames council is back behind bars after he was caught flouting a court order by downloading images of child abuse.

Liberal Democrat Derek Osbourne, 72, received sixteen months imprisonment, his second period of custody for a similar offence.

“Your life has been divided by two distinct passages, before and after 2013,” Judge Simon Heptonstall told the married father-of-two. 

“You have served the local community with distinction through local politics and held high office and all this fell apart in 2013.”

Osbourne, of Burlington Road, New Malden resigned as leader of the authority in June, 2013 and in October of that year received two years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court.

He admitted 17 counts of possessing and distributing nearly 2,850 images and 293 movies and was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Osbourne breached that order in 2015 and received a suspended prison sentence in June, 2016.

In 2021 police seized three devices belonging to him and after a lengthy investigation Osbourne pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an indecent image of a child; making an indecent image and breaching his SHPO. 

Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court heard the latest offences related to five Category A; two Category B and two prohibited images Osbourne accessed between February 24 and March 23, 2021.

Red Letter Day: Osbourne with Zac Goldsmith & Ed Davey

His lawyer Ben Hargreaves urged the court to consider a suspended sentence, arguing Osbourne was particularly stressed at the time due to covid and the illness of his sister.

However, Judge Heptonstall told him: “You chose to drink and you chose to follow links and chose specific search terms and were under no illusion what results they would return.

“You were previously in prison for doing precisely the same thing, prison time that you say has ‘stained’ you.

“During a short period in 2021 you accessed the internet, knowing you were subject to a SHPO and obtained prohibited and indecent images of children.

“These offences are aggravated very significantly by your previous convictions and your history of disobedience to court orders.

“You have taken steps to address your offending behaviour and there is no evidence of offending since 2021.”

“He knew the risks of the course of conduct he embarked on and he does not shirk or attempt to minimise the offending,” said Mr Hargreaves. 

“He had an inability to cope with pressure and has a long-standing addiction to pornography and searched for new images to shock and provoke a reaction within himself.

“He is a man with an addiction and weakness to pornography and these images are repulsive and repellent.”

The court was told Osbourne has tried to rehabilitate himself since the 2021 arrest. “In that time he has done all he can and has accepted his addiction and that he needs constant supervision and guidance.

“His family are fully aware of his actions and are appalled,” added Mr Hargreaves, revealing his client’s two daughters support him with one happy to allow her young son to see him.

“If he continues therapy there is hope and optimism for this man, who the public accepted before his fall in 2013 when he was a good man who dedicated his life to this borough and to his wife and children.”

Judge Heptonstall noted: “Most people stressed during covid didn’t type ‘Lolita’ into a search engine,” also referring to Osbourne clicking on ‘share young erotic cartoons’.

“I have been addressed about your reform and rehabilitation, but each image you accessed was a real image of a child that has suffered abuse and each image is a serious offence,” the judge told Osbourne.

Benefit Cheat Sold Secret Property

A benefit fraudster has been sentenced for pocketing over £32,000 in Universal Credit while secretly owning another property he deliberately failed to declare.

Laikh Hussain, 41, of Ashburnham Road, Richmond-upon-Thames has arranged a £50 per month repayment with the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), which he has been paying since February, last year.

At this rate, even without interest being charged, it will take until the year 2079 for the defrauded taxpayers money to be repaid.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement to obtain benefit on July 8, 2020, namely that he did not own any other property than the home in which he lived.

Yesterday, prosecutor Aya Alshekhili told Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court Hussain claimed for both himself and his wife between July 8, 2020 and January 7, 2024.

He stated on the application he was unemployed with no other means of support and owned no valuable assets, including property in this country or abroad.

During this period he dishonestly obtained £32,379.66 from the DWP.

“The Universal Credit was paid to him based on his declared circumstances, but the evidence is that from the outset he had capital, the value of a property,” explained the prosecutor.

“Had this been known by the DWP that would have affected his entitlement. He declared no savings, investments, capital or ownership of property.”

However, during the claim Hussain sold the property he owned, paid off the mortgage and received £61,889.41 into his Nationwide bank account.

“When he was questioned he said he did not declare the property because he had not read the application form properly and said he did not see the property as capital,” added Ms Alshekhili.

Hussain told the DWP investigators: “I didn’t read everything. I made a mistake.”

“He agreed he was moving funds between his bank accounts and said he had personal issues in his life that distracted him from declaring the account.”

Hussain’s lawyer John Lucas told the magistrates: “He has pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and is a man of previous good character.

“He is a self-employed Uber driver, has a family and works extremely hard long hours.

“His father passed away in 2021, he has one son and his job and family would be affected by any prison sentence.

“He has been repaying the money as much as he can at fifty pounds a month since February, last year. He is making recompense.

“Mr Hussain is a good person fundamentally that made a terrible error of judgment and the pre-sentence report says he spoke with a heavy heart and is very remorseful.

“He says he will never be before the courts again.”

Hussain received twenty-seven weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 150 hours community service.

“This offence is so serious it attracts a sentence of custody,” announced bench Chairman Michael Ross. “This was sustained criminal conduct, but was essentially a one-off.”

Hussain was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge and told by Mr Ross: “I hope not to see you in court again.”

Drunken Policewoman Found Sleeping In Her Merc

A veteran policewoman was arrested by fellow officers, who found her sleeping in the driver’s seat of her Mercedes while over double the drink-drive limit, a court heard.

Karis Ashton, 50, an officer with Kent Police had punctured and the engine of her car was still running when she was woken up, Bromley Magistrates’ Court was told.

She now faces the sack after years of service and losing two-thirds of her pension when she retires next year.

The mother-of-two, of Minnis Road, Birchington-on-Sea pleaded guilty yesterday to being in charge of the vehicle in Herne Bay Road on July 11 with 78 micrograms of alcohol on her breath.

The legal limit is 35.

“The defendant was asleep in the driver’s seat and the keys were in the ignition and the engine was running,” said prosecutor Arama Thompson.

No details were given regarding where Ashton had been drinking or where she was going or how her Mercedes came to be punctured.

“I ask for full credit for her guilty plea,” said Eliza Bell, defending. “She has lost her good character today and the consequences are significant.

“It is the beginning for her today in many ways and she will be subject to police disciplinary proceedings.

“She is due to retire next year after decades of service and may potentially lose two-thirds of her pension, which means she will be unable to pay her mortgage and other things she has been planning for years.”

The court heard Ashton has assisted in a national programme to help victims of domestic violence by speeding up the process they give video-recorded evidence.

“That is now tarnished due to doing something out of character, something that she will reflect on for evermore.”

District Judge Stephan Leake told the £50,000-a year officer: “Guilty pleas in this kind of case are important. They recognise responsibility on your part.

“You were in a vehicle with a puncture and taken by officers back to the police station and you were over the limit.

“You are a serving police officer with Kent Police and are nearing the end of your career after thirty years.

“It is clear this is extremely out of character. You have dedicated your life to public service and that is an important matter to take into account.

“The consequences of this conviction are significantly greater for you than other people and there are now disciplinary proceedings you will have to go through.

“The consequences of losing your job may lead to a significant reduction in your pension.”

Detective Chief Inspector Zoe Traynor of Kent Police wrote a reference to the court supporting Ashton, who wrote a personal letter to the District Judge, referring to challenging personal family circumstances.

“The DCI spoke very highly of you and your work in domestic violence and the national scheme,” said Judge Leake.

“This case is your first offence and I am satisfied you are not a person who is a risk to other road users.

“You have been going through a very difficult time for a number of years.”

Ashton was fined £460, with £85 costs and ordered to pay a £184 victim surcharge. Her driving licence was also endorsed with ten penalty points and she was not disqualified.