Partner Of Defeated High Court Litigant Accused Of Stalking And Blackmailing Witness

The gay husband of a defeated High Court litigant - who lost a share of a £1.2m property - stalked and blackmailed a witness after launching an “abusive and derogatory” online campaign against the 52 year-old businessman, a jury heard.

Darren Cooper, 54, created a newspaper-style blog, which accused the tech industry CEO of drug dealing and sexual abuse, even including the man’s model/singer daughter and threatening to destroy her career, the trial was told.

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

Cooper, of Brayburne Avenue, Clapham has pleaded not guilty to blackmailing the businessman between January 14 and July 19, 2023.

He also denies stalking the entrepreneur and his daughter between January 1, 2021 and July 19, 2023.

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.

The tech CEO 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.

“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.”

The businessman 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 the businessman 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.

Trial continues……..

Train Pervert Strikes Again

A bespectacled and bearded serial sex offender, who again exposed himself to three women on trains in Surrey and East Sussex has been jailed.

Oliver Shoesmith, 44 was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment at Northampton Crown Court having pleaded guilty to two counts of exposure. 

He was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The court heard how on Tuesday August 20, 2024 Shoesmith boarded a train at Guildford railway station bound for Farnham. 

He walked down the train before spotting a lone woman, opting to sit across the aisle from her despite there being many other empty seats.

The woman, who was reading her book, didn't initially notice as Shoesmith unzipped his jacket and trousers before exposing himself. 

As soon as she noticed, the woman stood up and moved down the train away from him. 

Shoesmith also got up, moving further down the train until he spotted another woman. 

He sat diagonally opposite the woman, who was seated across from her husband, before exposing himself again and masturbating. 

Only two days later, on Thursday, August 22, Shoesmith boarded a train at Brighton railway station bound for Bedford and again sat across the aisle from a woman.

She noticed Shoesmith masturbating and exposing himself while looking directly at her and screamed. 

A member of railway staff came to the victim’s aid and Shoesmith moved down the carriage before getting off the train at Burgess Hill.

Shoesmith, who had previously been jailed in 2018 for three years for exposure and sexual assault and again for two years and four months in 2024 for breaching his SHPO and exposure, was linked to these two offences while he was in prison.

Shoesmith was arrested at HMP Five Wells on Thursday, November 6 last year and taken to custody for questioning. 

British Transport Police (BTP) Detective Constable Ewen Roberts said: "Shoesmith has repeatedly targeted lone women on the railway in deliberate and horrific acts. 

“His behaviour, repeated time and again, is completely unacceptable and I'm pleased he’s back behind bars.

"There is absolutely no place for sexual offending on the rail network, and we're committed to securing justice for anyone who is targeted by the likes of Shoesmith.”

Knife Frenzy Sentence Increased To 18 Years

A violent knifeman, who entered a tube station and repeatedly stabbed two passengers waiting for a train, has had his prison sentence increased.

Nicholas Orlando Green, 36, did not know the male victims, who were part of a larger group that had just departed a local Kennington dance class at approximately 10.30pm.

He was originally sentenced to eleven years imprisonment at Inner London Crown Court, but now an eighteen-year term has been imposed.

The case was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.

The original trial jury jury cleared him of the attempted murder of the victims.

British Transport Police Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell said: "We wholeheartedly welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase Green’s sentence to eighteen-years custodial imprisonment, with a further five to be served on licence.

“His victims – who were complete strangers to him – continue to live with the physical and psychological impact of the shocking and unprovoked attack at Kennington Underground station in March, 2024.

“I hope this outcome provides some additional comfort knowing that Green will now serve an even longer sentence.”

The Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP said: "This was a shocking and horrific attack.Green targeted three people with extreme merciless violence. The bravery shown by the victim who stepped in to help was remarkable, and my thoughts are with all those affected.

“I welcome the Court of Appeal's decision to increase Green's sentence and remain committed to ensuring those who carry out serious knife attacks face the full force of the law."

Green, of Kennington Park Road was convicted of two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, with intent, possession of a bladed article and assaulting a female as he exited the station.

The first victim, 44, was already in Kennington Underground Station when Green tapped in using a bank card, which later identified him.

On the platform he launched a ferocious and unprovoked attack on the man, attacking and stabbing him for around 20 seconds with a knife clenched in his right hand.

He continued the attack even after the victim fell to the floor.

Hearing the commotion, the second victim, 42, rushed over to intervene.

Green then began attacking him in the same way, knocking him to the ground before other horrified members of the public intervened.

Green then got up and made his way to a lift, where he assaulted the 31-year-old woman before leaving the station.

Both of the first two victims were rushed to hospital.

The first victim suffered multiple stab injuries to his chest and a fractured humerus bone in his left arm.

The second victim also suffered 13 stab injuries in total.

Detectives launched an urgent investigation and quickly established Green's identity from the bank card he had tapped into the station with.

He was arrested the following day by BTP officers and taken into custody.

During a search of his address officers located the card he had used to tap in and the trainers he had worn during the attack.

They also found the jacket that he had been wearing, which had been freshly washed.

DCI Attwell said at the time of Green's sentencing: "This was a truly horrific and unprovoked attack that left two innocent men with life-altering physical and psychological injuries that they continue to recover from.

“Green has never provided an explanation for his torrent of violence.

“During police interviews he repeatedly laughed, lied, argued and tried to frustrate our investigation as much as he could, but our officers worked tirelessly to gather crucial evidence that helped the jury see through his lies and bring him to justice.

“I hope this outcome brings some measure of justice and reassurance to the victims and their loved ones.

“We will stop at nothing to ensure violent offenders like Green are held to account and removed from the streets.”

Serial Square Mile Burglar Back Behind Bars

A prolific burglar - banned from the City of London – is starting a prison sentence of three years and four months for stealing laptops and phones from offices.

Neville Stanbury, 58, of Hazelbank Road, Lewisham has devoted his criminal life to targeting commercial properties and businesses in the Square Mile and has been convicted of approximately 140 offences.

His latest crime spree saw him snatching around £19,500 worth of electronics between December 28, 2025 and April 4, this year.

He pleaded guilty to seven counts of burglary, one count of attempted burglary and eight counts of breaching his Criminal Behaviour Order, which banned him from entering the City of London.

During one of his break-ins on Saturday, March 28 Stanbury was caught on CCTV stealing laptops and a mobile phone in premises on Dukes Place.

Detective Constable James Crellin, of City of London Police, said:

“Burglary is an intrusive crime that causes significant harm and distress to victims, as well as fear and disruption within businesses and residential communities in the City.

“We will attend all reports of break-ins in the City, giving us the best chance of making an arrest and collecting evidence from a scene and we will continue to target prolific offenders

“We will always take this type of criminality seriously and thoroughly investigate all evidential leads, including forensics, to bring those perpetrators to justice.”

In 2022, Stanbury was given a Criminal Behaviour Order, banning him from the Square Mile until the end of 2031 after £40,000 worth of criminal damage and theft.

HMO Resident Accused Of Bashing Male Victim He Allegedly Groped

A HMO resident has appeared in court, accused of touching another occupant’s backside before smashing the man in the face with an improvised weapon.

Ratnasingam Jeyabalasingam, 41, of Swanwick Close, Roehampton denies the allegation and will stand trial next year, when he will need the assistance of a Tamil interpreter.

He was bailed by Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court to return on February 26 on condition he does not communicate with the complainant.

Jeyabalasingam is charged with sexually assaulting the male on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, in the address’ kitchen, where they are still residents.

He is also charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm to the complainant on the staircase, using a wooden pole.

The court heard the complainant suffered a fractured skull and wound to his face.

Jeyabalasingam will claim at trial he was acting in self-defence after he was attacked with a wooden pole.

Benefit Cheat's Secret Property

A benefit fraudster, who claimed over £32,000 in Universal Credit while secretly owning another property he deliberately failed to declare, has admitted his crime.

Laikh Hussain, 41, of Ashburnham Road, Richmond-upon-Thames appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court this week.

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.

Prosecutor Ijaz Malik told the court the offence was between the 2020 date and January, 2024 when Hussain claimed he was unemployed and had no other means of support.

He claimed Universal Credit for himself and his wife, declaring he had no savings and owned no additional property either in the UK or abroad.

Hussain’s dishonesty, which was from the very beginning of his claim, resulted in a loss to the taxpayer of £32,379.66p.

“Had this been known if would have effected his entitlement ,” explained prosecutor Ijaz Malik.

Hussain was bailed to October 6 for a pre-sentence report after his defence lawyer mentioned “medical, financial and family problems,” and the recent passing away of a close relative.

The court heard Hussain is in the process of repaying the money he dishonestly received.

Camera-Shy Bridgerton Actress Avoids Road Ban For Multiple Speeding Offences

Peek-A-Boo: Andoh Hides From Camera (l)

Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh was unusually camera-shy yesterday, after she was convicted of speeding yet again - her fifth recent offence.

However, the actress dodged a mandatory driving disqualification after convincing magistrates she needs to be able to drive across the country to visit her frail 85 year-old mother.

The 63 year-old appeared at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court, where she successfully fought for her driving licence, claiming she would suffer ‘exceptional hardship’ if she lost it.

Andoh, of Lowden Road, Herne Hill pleaded guilty to exceeding the 20mph speed limit while driving her black two-litre Volvo V60 on February 13 along the A2199 South Croxted Road, West Dulwich.

She plays the long-running role of Lady Agatha Danbury in the historical award-winning Netflix drama.

She was fined £640, with £130 costs and was ordered to pay a £256 victim surcharge and was given another three penalty points.

When leaving court Andoh tried to dodge the Square Mile News photographer by ducking behind her mini entourage - ironic for somebody eager to be in front of camera for her £100,00 a-year role.

Bench Chair Joanne Rutledge told her: “You made an ‘exceptional hardship’ argument that revolved entirely around your mother, who lives alone in a town in Shropshire, not far from the Welsh border.

“She has health issues that are numerous, bones and bleeding and other problems and you have to take her up and down to hospital and she has no carer and she relies on you to pick up the pieces.

“We have found the impact on your mother of you losing your licence amounts to ‘exceptional hardship’ and it was borderline.

“You are driving with a lot of points on your licence,” added Mrs Rutledge. “There are twelve now with the addition of today and you will have a long period of driving with points on your licence.

“You cannot make the same ‘exceptional hardship’ grounds for the next three years. Maybe your mum needs to get herself some assistance and you cannot be relied on going forward.”

Prosecutor Charlotte Birch told the court Andoh was driving at 25mph when an automatic speed camera flashed at 3.42pm.

She has four previous convictions for speeding on March 23, 2023; November 21, 2024 and January 31 and May 1, this year.

Andoh became emotional in the witness box when recalling the death of her Ghanaian father in January, this year and fears her mother may go the same way if she cannot drive the four hours to her home.

Head Down: Prolific Speeder Andoh (r)

“He was in hospital and fell out of bed and hit his head at 7.00pm and we were informed at 8.00am the next day and could not get to him in time.”

Residing in isolated Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire means her mother is difficult to care for if public transport is her only option, Andoh told the magistrates.

“It is possible, but there is a lot of waiting around and it is a forty minute drive from the train station to mum’s town.

“My mum is an amazing woman. She was a schoolteacher, my games mistress, but she is physically frail and had cancer in the 1980’s.

“She has osteoporosis, she’s incontinent, her bladder doesn’t work, she has blood clots and damaged kidneys.”

Recalling one recent worrying incident the actress explained: “She sees moss in her gutters and decides to clean it and got out a step-ladder and fell off the step-ladder and cracked a disc in her spine.

“That was a particularly difficult injury. She is on blood thinners and when she cuts it takes months to heal.

“I was able to get up there, but after a week I had to go back to work and had to fly my brother over, who lives in Los Angeles.

“I’ve had the middle of the night call and just packed a toothbrush and got in the car and go. Somebody could ring me and stay until I get there, but there is no support system for her.

“If I was disqualified for a fortnight or a month what happens is mum falls over in that fortnight?

“I suppose this year I feel particularly sensitive because of how dad died and I would hate for mum to be in hospital. I wouldn’t like that.

“I was over the speed limit on these occasions. There is no argument about that.

“It is a four hour drive,” added Andoh. “In those four hours probably someone from next door would sit with mum. If it was ambulance-worthy I wouldn’t go.

“My husband doesn’t drive and I have three children, but they are all London kids and none of them drive.

“She lives in a converted barn and there isn’t space for someone to live in and frankly my mum would hate that.

“This week she has had exceptionally high blood pressure and they have looked to put her on medication that is contrary to the disease in her kidneys.

“When she falls and cuts herself, she bleeds and she is incontinent when she walks distances, about two-hundred yards.

“It makes her anxious if she cannot get hold of me to come up.

“The fact her kidneys don’t function means she swells up. She has a catheter, uses a bag and is living with an open wound that gets regularly infected and bleeds into the bag.”

Andoh also said she needs her licence to drive to her mother’s brother, who has dementia and lives in Cornwall and her mother’s two sisters live far away, in Cardiff and Wimbledon and one has a broken back and the other a broken ankle.

“Emergencies have arisen when I am at work and I had to go and they had to rejig things.

“Mum has a friendship group, but they are inter eighties and nineties. They are a hardy bunch.

“Mum’s answer is that when she is too old to live in the house she will move into supported living with her friends and when they are too old for that the cottage hospital and then opt their clogs.”

Moving to Andoh’s south-east London home was also out of the question, said the star.

“Mum would absolutely hate it. What would she do all day? She would be incredibly lonely as all her friends are up there and she has lived there forty years.”

The Bristol-born star has carved out a career in stage, screen, television and radio.

She won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Lady Agatha Danbury from the Black Reel Awards for Television.

She is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Associate Artist and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a teacher at the Royal Academy of Arts (RADA) and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Andoh received an MBE for services to drama despite on live television describing Buckingham Palace as having a “terribly white balcony” on the day of King Charles III’s coronation.

Her movie career includes roles in Adulthood and its sequel Brotherhood, plus Invictus and Wallace & Gromit.

Her numerous television roles include Doctor Who; Death in Paradise; Line of Duty; Broadchurch; New Tricks and Silent Witness, plus numerous other roles.

She recently appeared on stage in Richard II & III, plus Bleak Expectations and Julius Caesar.