Sunday 6 July 2014

NOT GUILTY: Retired Journalist Cleared Of Historic Child Abuse


A retired journalist, accused of sexually abusing a “troubled” young boy, who only made his complaint to the police thirty-five years later when prompted by publicity surrounding the Jimmy Savile scandal, has been cleared.

Pensioner Malcolm Stuart, 76, of High Street, Banwell, Avon was found not guilty of molesting the youngster between the ages of twelve and fourteen years-old and on one occasion taking him to a hotel for sex.


Prosecutor Mr. Walton Hornsby told Croydon Crown Court: “The defendant took him to Arsenal football matches and this developed into discussions about sexuality and development and this led to this defendant providing him with a 'wank book' and asked him to write down occasions when he masturbated.


“The boy was given low-level pornographic literature and masturbated himself in front of the defendant and was given monetary presents for writing in the book every time he had masturbated.”


The jury were told this abuse escalated into the boy providing Stuart with oral sex and the complainant – now aged 49 years-old and living in Torquay – told police the defendant once took him to a hotel.


“He was taken to the hotel, told to take his clothes off and bent over a chair,” Mr. Hornsby told the jury, explaining Stuart then attempted to have sex with the boy, who found the experience “excruciatingly painful.”


“The allegations were not disclosed officially until 2012 when the amount of publicity in the Jimmy Savile case chimed with him and provoked him to contact the police and make a statement.


“Before this, on two occasions, he made a brief disclosure to his first wife and to his current wife that he had been sexually abused.


“None of it took place in the presence of anybody else.


“He had been a troubled boy and a troubled man, saying what happened in adolescence has carried on through his life.


“He says that as soon as he expressed a sexual interest in girls the defendant stopped and there appears to have been no contact after that.”


Stuart was traced and arrested by police, who put the complaint to him. “He made a complete denial of any sexual activity.


“He accepted most of the factual background, in that he had taken him to Arsenal football matches and that they had discussed masturbation as a normal avuncular discussion.


“He did accept suggesting a book be kept, but said there was no sexual contact, no payments made or any sexual activity with the complainant.”


Stuart pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecency with a child between November 7, 1976 and November 9, 1978.


He also denied four counts of indecently assaulting the boy between the same dates and committing a further sex act within that period.

Saturday 5 July 2014

Aristocrat Appears In Court Accused Of Knife Row


The great-great-grandson of the Eighth Earl of Scarborough appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates Court yesterday accused of wielding two kitchen knives above his head during a row with his girlfriend.

Hon. James Lumley-Savile, 39, of Stevenage Road, Fulham, indicated not guilty pleas and will appear at Isleworth Crown Court on July 15 for a preliminary hearing after magistrates declined jurisdiction because their sentencing powers are insufficient.

Lumley-Savile - heir to the title Baron Savile - faces two charges of possessing an offensive weapon, at the £800,000 home on May 19 and possession of a small snap bag of cannabis.

The row allegedly began with the girlfriend making a joke about poisoning her father.

The Edinburgh University graduate, who makes his living as an internet marketing entrepreneur, only spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

He was bailed unconditionally.

Friday 4 July 2014

Fake Banknote Thug Hunted


Police are hunting this thug, who attacked an off-licence cashier after being exposed trying to pay for items with a fake banknote.
The alarm was raised at approximately 10.25pm on May 26 and officers rushed to the premises in Hornchurch Road, Havering.
The 33 year-old male cashier reported that the customer's attempt to use a suspect banknote led to an argument and an assault.
The victim was taken by London Ambulance Service to an east London hospital with facial injuries.
He has since been discharged.


Anyone who witnessed the assault or who can identify the man is asked to contact Havering CID on 01708 779224 or via 101.

Thursday 3 July 2014

Gunman Caught During Police Raid Caged


A gunman arrested by gang-busting cops – who found a loaded firearm stuffed inside a sock inside a kitchen cupboard – has been jailed for fifteen years.
Jonothan Odokama, 25, of Tennison Road, South Norwood tried to blame his 25 year-old girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time of the raid, but this was rejected by the jury.
He was convicted at Croydon Crown Court of possession of a firearm, with intent to endanger life, and possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life at his home address on November 11, last year.
As part of a proactive, intelligence-led operation, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Trident Gang Crime Command, supported by the MPS Specialist Firearms Unit, executed a search warrant at the property.
A search of the address revealed a Baikal semi automatic handgun secreted on top of a kitchen cupboard, hidden in a sock.
The handgun was loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. 


Both Odokama and his girlfriend were arrested at the address and charged with firearms offences.
His girlfriend was later acquitted at court. 


A third man, 25, was also arrested at the property, he was bailed to return and later released no further action.


Detective Inspector Paul Dorey of Trident Gang Crime Command said: "The arrest and conviction of Jonothan Odokama demonstrates Trident's continued commitment to target dangerous criminals concerned in gangs and firearm criminality. 


“This successful prosecution also highlights the dangers posed to female partners of gang members who are used to store firearms.
“Even when confronted with significant evidence regarding his possession of the firearm, Odokama attempted to blame his girlfriend.


"However upon hearing all evidence the jury found him guilty of firearm offences and acquitted his girlfriend.


"I hope that the sentence given to Odokama will send a clear message to those concerned in gun crime including females storing guns.
“Trident officers will relentlessly pursue them and they can expect to be identified, brought before the courts."

 

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Rapist Who Tried To Beat Pensioner Victim To Death Convicted

Richards: "I like you. I will kill you."

This is the face of an evil rapist, who tried to beat his 70 year-old victim to death - leaving her with ten broken ribs, a fractured cheekbone and jaw, broken hip and vertebrae and bleeding on the brain.
Builder Robert Richards, 22, of Chessington, knew the pensioner after previously changing a lightbulb for her and scaled the outside of her suburban home early in the morning and entered via an open window.
He was convictd at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court of the rape, attempted rape and attempted murder of the pensioner at her Chessington home on October 23, last year and will be sentenced on August 4.
Between 5:30am and 6:30am the women was woken by Richards, who put his hand across her mouth and threatened to kill her if she screamed.


The victim recalled the defendant ominously uttering the words: "I like you. I will kill you."
He then raped and beat her severely and she suffered a cardiac arrest whilst being treated in hospital.


Following the attack Richards left the property via a back door and the victim was able to alert her neighbours by banging on an internal wall. 


Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command (SOECA) launched an investigation.


Police enquiries quickly led to Richards being identified as a person of interest and he was arrested locally the same day.


The court heard Richards had once changed a lightbulb for the woman.


When he was brought in to custody he was wearing two pairs of tracksuit bottoms.
His clothing was seized and officers found the first pair of bottoms were covered in blood.
Forensic analysis identified the blood as the victim's.


Richards lied that he found the bloodied tracksuit bottoms in the street and his DNA was also found under the fingernails of the women.


He tried to create an alibi when he bought tea bags at a local shop, knowing he would be captured on the store's CCTV.
Detective Inspector Nicky Arrowsmith said: “I would like to pay tribute to the spirit and courage displayed by the victim, who gave evidence during the trial.”

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Justice Catches Up With Rapist Decades Later



A Merseyside rapist is facing a prison sentence after he was convicted of historic sex offences dating back four decades.

Bar worker William Ashton, 54, of Breccia Gardens, St. Helens was arrested after three women came forward and made complaints about sex attacks between 1972 and 1984.

He was convicted by a Croydon Crown Court jury of one count of raping a female when she was aged sixteen to seventeen years-old, plus four counts of indecently assaulting the same victim.

The rape ocurred at an address in Brunswick Road, Sutton, which was the location of two of the indecent assaults, the remaining two ocurring at an address in Cantrill Farm, Liverpool.

Ashton was found not guilty of indecently assaulting another girl, who said her breasts were repeatedly groped by the defendant, who she claimed also forced his hands between her legs as they rode in a lift at a block of flats.

He was also cleared by the jury of four counts of indecent assault relating to the third complainant.

The rape victim told the trial Ashton was “angry” about the fact she had never had sex before, but proceeded anyway, leaving blood on the bed he took her to.

“He told me to lay down, to shut my eyes and it was over,” she told the court. “That was the last time.”

Before the rape she said Ashton “built up to it” by molesting her in a bathroom and putting his fingers inside her.

The third complainant also alleged Ashton molested her in a bathroom when she was aged four to eight years-old, but the jury acquitted him of those counts.

The defendant claimed the complaints were an “invention” and “false allegation” but each woman denied telling lies, stating it was very dificult to come forward after so many years.

Ashton was bailed until July 8 for sentencing.

Monday 30 June 2014

Abused Boy Inspired By Jimmy Savile Scandal To Report Sex Abuse, Jury Told


'Not Guilty': Malcolm Stuart
A journalist sexually abused a “troubled” young boy, who only made his complaint to the police thirty-five years later when prompted by publicity surrounding the Jimmy Savile scandal, a jury were told today.

Retired Malcolm Stuart, 76, of High Street, Banwell molested the youngster between the ages of twelve and fourteen years-old and on one occasion took him to a hotel for sex, Croydon Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Mr. Walton Hornsby said: “The defendant took him to Arsenal football matches and this developed into discussions about sexuality and development and this led to this defendant providing him with a 'wank book' and asked him to write down occasions when he masturbated.


“The boy was given low-level pornographic literature and masturbated himself in front of the defendant and was given monetary presents for writing in the book every time he had masturbated.”


The jury were told this abuse escalated into the boy providing Stuart with oral sex and the complainant – now aged 49 years-old and living in Torquay – told police the defendant once took him to a hotel.


“He was taken to the hotel, told to take his clothes off and bent over a chair,” Mr. Hornsby told the jury, explaining Stuart then attempted to have sex with the boy, who found the experience “excruciatingly painful.”


“The allegations were not disclosed officially until 2012 when the amount of publicity in the Jimmy Savile case chimed with him and provoked him to contact the police and make a statement.


“Before this, on two occasions, he made a brief disclosure to his first wife and to his current wife that he had been sexually abused.


“None of it took place in the presence of anybody else.


“He had been a troubled boy and a troubled man, saying what happened in adolescence has carried on through his life.


“He says that as soon as he expressed a sexual interest in girls the defendant stopped and there appears to have been no contact after that.”


Stuart was traced and arrested by police, who put the complaint to him. “He made a complete denial of any sexual activity.


“He accepted most of the factual background, in that he had taken him to Arsenal football matches and that they had discussed masturbation as a normal avuncular discussion.


“He did accept suggesting a book be kept, but said there was no sexual contact, no payments made or any sexual activity with the complainant.”


Stuart has pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecency with a child between November 7, 1976 and November 9, 1978.


He also denies four counts of indecently assaulting the boy between the same dates and committing a further sex act within that period.

Sunday 29 June 2014

Ex-Pub DJ Jailed For Indecently Assaulting Teen Girl


A barman/DJ, who seduced the under-age daughter of the owners of a Norwich pub over a decade ago, is starting an eighteen-month prison sentence.

Lee Daniel Dickens, 39, of Biggin Way, Upper Norwood, was convicted by a Croydon Crown Court jury of one count of indecently assaulting the girl between 2000 and 2002.


The jury heard the defendant, from south London, moved into the pub when the victim was a young teen and she told them: “We had sex when I was fourteen.”


Dickens claimed he only had a sexual relationship with her after she turned sixteen years-old and it was consensual.


She told the court: “Lee told me I shouldn't say anything to anyone because of the age difference and he would get into trouble.”


Dickens was cleared by the jury of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, which the victim claimed occured in south London.


He was ordered to sign the sex offenders register.

Saturday 28 June 2014

Rogue Trader Has €180K Seized By Police

Euro's Seized: Anthony Holehouse

Police have seized €180,660 belonging to a notorious rogue trader – banned from running any company for 10 years after he was jailed.

Anthony Holehouse, 31, of Tremayne Road, Bilborough, Nottinghamshire was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for his role in a 'long firm' fraud.


Police applied for the continued detention of the money yesterday on the grounds it represents the proceeds of unlawful conduct and the hearing was adjourned at Uxbridge Magistrates Court until January 7, next year.


Holehouse was one of a group of six men investigated by Leicestershire Constabulary, which started an investigation in November 2005 into a fraudulent company called Power Associates Ltd (PA Ltd) based in Burnmoor Street, Leicester.


This led to the identification of three other fraudulent companies in Nottinghamshire.

Following a joint investigation between Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire forces, the suspects were identified and charged in December 2007.

The defendants all pleaded guilty to fraudulent company trading at Leicester Crown Court.

Detective Sergeant Edward Jones, who led the investigation, said: "These men were setting up bogus companies and obtaining goods on credit with suppliers, but never paying the balance.

"When the suppliers chased them for payment all remnants of the company and its employees had disappeared as the gang moved on to the next bogus company.

"The best way to stop these people from committing offences again is to make their faces known in the business world."

Holehouse was also convicted of fraudulent company trading in relation to JTF Services Ltd and West Yorkshire based company Crossfield Construction Ltd.

Friday 27 June 2014

Sikh Grandad Jailed For Nearly Blinding Daughter-In-Law He Wrongly Suspected Of Muslim Affair

Jageer Mirgind

These are the injuries inflicted by an enraged Sikh grandfather against his son's wife after mistakenly believing she was having an affair with a Muslim.
Manjit Mirgind, 51, attacked 29 year-old Jageer Mirgind in front of her young children – aged three and six years-old – targeting her eyes in particular.
He was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court to ten years and eight months imprisonment after pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, with intent.
Mirgind, of Mayfair Avenue, Ilford attacked Jageer at her nearby home at around 9.00am on December 18, last year.
Emergency services were called and police established the victim had been badly beaten and had suffered a violent and frenzied assault by her father-in-law.
He had attempted to strangle her, had gouged both her eyes, stabbed her several times in the face and kicked her about the head and body.
She also suffered defence injuries to her arms and hands and Mirgind – who injured his knee and hand while beating her – gave himself up to police immediately.
Manjit Mirgind
He made unsolicited comments on his way to hospital stating that he had stabbed his daughter in law in the eyes because of his belief that she was having an affair with a Muslim man and was trying to break up his family. 


When he was later interviewed he answered “no comment” to all questions asked.


The victim was taken to an east London hospital where she underwent surgery. 


Jageer is now scarred for life and has partial vision in one eye and blurred vision in the other.
Her left wrist has lost mobility and she now stammers due to damaged muscles in her neck. 


Detective Inspector John Delaney of Redbridge Police Community Safety Unit said: “The psychological effects on the victim in this case will remain long after her wounds have healed. 


"When Manjit Mirgind launched this attack he was acting in the misguided name of ‘honour’, spurred on by a false belief that his daughter-in-law was having an affair with a man of another faith. 


“The victim sustained an unprovoked, frenzied attack by a trusted family member in her own home which has resulted in her sustaining life changing injuries.
“She has shown tremendous courage and resilience in dealing with this incident which has not only affected her but two extended families within her community.” 



Thursday 26 June 2014

Charity Boss Jailed For Decades-Old Child Sex Offences

Caged: Zafar Iqbal

The paedophile chief officer of a charity is starting a prison sentence after his sordid past caught up with him when three female victims reported decades-old sexual abuse.
Zafar Iqbal, 61, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment after he was convicted of twenty-five counts of indecent assault.
The victims were all under fourteen years-old at the time of the offences – committed at an address in Peckham during the 1970's and 1980's.
The abuse only ended when Iqbal got married and moved away, eventually running a Brent-based charity.
The victims reported the abuse they had suffered to the police 2012 and an investigation was launched.


Iqbal was arrested and interviewed by detectives from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command (SOECA). 



Detective Constable Martin Sharp of the SOECA said: “I would like to take this opportunity to praise the three young women that Iqbal abused and highlight their courage in coming forwarding and reporting to the police Iqbal’s crimes.
“The support they gave the investigating officers during this investigation was instrumental bringing Iqbal to justice today. 


“Zafer Iqbal no doubt thought the passage of time meant that he had escaped justice for the appalling offences he committed against three small children.
“I hope that his conviction and sentence gives other victims of sexual abuse confidence to come forward.”

Wednesday 25 June 2014

Grandma Caught Smuggling Drugs After Jamaica Holiday

Inner London Crown Court

An Oxford grandmother, caught smuggling £51,000 worth of cannabis after stepping off a flight from Jamaica, was jailed for two years yesterday.
Margaret Simms, 57, of Peat Moors lost her good name and 18-year job with Boots chemists after she was caught at Gatwick Airport.
She denied, but was convicted by a jury of importing 17 kilos of the drug on November 19, last year.
“It is unfortunately my job to sentence you for this offences,” Recorder Karl King told the first-time offender at Inner London Crown Court.
“As you will appreciate it is solely from your commission of this offence, your conscious decision to participate in this offence that brings you here.
“You were aware of what you were doing and you played a role which is more than minimal.
“You gave the jury an explanation that you had been a victim of threats, duress made by security guards at your hotel door, but then told probation they barged in.
“You said you thought their words were a joke, but said the day before you were due to return from Jamaica they returned and said the same thing and gave you instructions to collect a suitcase.”
The defendant had flown to the Caribbean to visit her Jamaican husband Sean Simms, who she married in 2008, and still maintains her innocence, insisting she was acting under duress.
“Your husband, who was with you at this time, was not alerted or his family were not alerted about these two strangers.”
Simms claimed she was instructed to collect a suitcase, identified by a unicorn band, when she landed at Gatwick, but it had already been identified by border Force officers as containing drugs.
Prosecutor Mr. Francis Gaskin said: “The evidence heard in total about her role came from the defendant and must have been disbelieved by the jury.
“There is no credible evidence of threats or pressure. The prosecution say she knew exactly what she was doing and was motivated by financial gain.”
Simms' lawyer Mr. George Hepburne Scott told the court: “There is no evidence at all of money or a criminal lifestyle.
“Up until now she has been a law-abiding, hard-working taxpayer. She has lost her dignity.
“She has been exploited, you may think, to some extent through naivety. She's perhaps been used to some extent by those who would have made far more.
“The prosecution have searched her home and her bank accounts and there is no evidence of Rolex watches, jewellery or cash-counting machines.
“They are conspicuous by their absence. She doesn't seem to have had any financial gain.”
Recorder King told Simms: “I have come to the conclusion you were an active participant and you have concocted a story to deflect your role and involvement in this offence.
“There is not any sense of regret or remorse on your part.”

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Drug Dealer Caught After Arriving At Police Raid On Accomplice's Home

Lorri Jeffery

Two drug dealers, arrested after a total of four kilos of cocaine and cannabis worth £230,000 was seized during a police raid, have been jailed.
Lorri Jeffery, 30, of Pullman Place, Eltham received seven years and Luke Roffey, 30, of Plum Lane, Woolwich received two years imprisonment.
Both pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to possessing drugs, with intent to supply.
On May 21 officers from the Trident Gang Command executed a Section 23 Misuse of Drugs Act warrant at Jeffery's residential address – a one-bedroom second-floor flat.

They seized over a kilo of cocaine - with a street value of in excess of £200,000.
While searching the address Jeffery received a text message on his phone stating “I am outside”.
Officers went downstairs where Roffey was ringing the buzzer to the flat.
Luke Roffey
Roffey ran off and was seen to throw a large bin liner over a fence as he was pursued.
He was apprehended and the bag retrieved, which contained 3 kilos of cannabis, with a value of approximately £30,000.


A number of Rolex watches and a quantity of cash were recovered when his home address was searched.


Detective Constable Harvey Brooks from the MPS Trident and Area Gang Command said: "This investigation shows that we will seek anyone actively involved in the drugs trade and use all the powers available to us to combat it.
“If you deal in drugs we will arrest you and put you in front of the courts to face the consequences of your actions”.

Monday 23 June 2014

Does Sex Predator Have More Unknown Victims?


Police are appealing for more potential victims of a serial east London sexual predator to come forward after he was jailed for six years.
Hassain Ahmed Chowdury, 26, of Croydon Road, Beddington is suspected of further sex attacks in the Western Gateway area of Canning Town.
He was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court on nine counts of sexually assaulting six different women in the same area between June 2011 and June 2013.
Officers from Sapphire, part of the Metropolitan Police Service's Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command are urging any other women who may have been a victim of Chowdury to call 020 8217 9874 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Sunday 22 June 2014

Prof Sperm Donor: "Like Something Out Of A Horror Movie"


A wannabe Great Yarmouth mum, eager to have a baby, told a jury her experience with a University College London scientist sperm donor was: "Like something out of a horror movie."

Professor Gennadij Raivich, 51, of Rashleigh House, Thanet Street, St. Pancras, a perinatal neuroscientist, denies sexually assaulting three women who used his unregulated "one stop shop" artificial insemination service, in the hope of becoming pregnant.

The woman, 26, who has been in a same-sex relationship for nearly ten years, told Blackfriars Crown Court he visited her home on January 28 and 30, last year and as a result she has given birth to his child.

Raivich carried a "donation kit" which contained a dvd player, which he watched pornography on, rubber gloves and a speculum and pipette and was happy to carry-out home visits all over the country.

She told the court via a video link: "We proceeded with 'Frank' because he said he was a medical professional, which is why we chose him to be a donor."

Raivich travelled by train to her home in Great Yarmouth on January 28, last year and arrived at her home via a taxi at 9.30pm.

"The first night he came in we shook his hand and he told us his name was Frank. He demanded from my partner whether he could have tea or toast.

"Then we spoke for a few moments about him being a donor and he asked me where the dvd player was and I set it up for him."

When asked if they discussed what he would be viewing she replied: "We never actually spoke about that.

"I went upstairs with my partner while he done what he done and then Frank came up.

"He could see I was nervous and agitated and asked me to relax.

"He told me to relax, it was his job, he knew what he was doing and I was in good hands.

"He just kept reassuring me this was his job. I asked some questions like how successful the ICI was and how many times he'd done this sort of thing.

"He reassured me it was a good method and in his medical profession it was a good method and there had been fifty-six successful pregnancies through this.

"I asked, because obviously myself and my partner did not want contact with the donor after, and he said he'd like updates and the occasional photo.

"He then told me to get undressed from the waist down and I laid on the bed and the first time it was just like a smear test.

"He never washed his hands, he didn't have gloves on, he didn't use lubricant, which I thought was a bit odd considering.

"There was a speculum used. He put that inside me, which as you can imagine was painful considering he did not use lubricant.

"I was just laying on my back. Frank put a cushion under my bum to prop me up a bit and inserted the sperm with a little pipette thing and asked me to lay on the bed with my legs in the air and he went downstairs.

"He said to stay lying there with my legs in the air for forty minutes so none of the sperm could fall out.

"He just seemed to know what he was doing. I trusted him because he reassured me he was a doctor.

"I trusted him as a medical professional, which is why we chose him in the first place."

Raivich slept overnight on the sofa downstairs and asked the couple to ring for a taxi at 5.45am the next morning.

"He gave us both a hug and left. I thought it was a bit strange that he cuddled us, but we trusted him as a doctor."

The complainant's partner wanted to perform the artificial insemination (AI) herself, but Raivich insisted she should do it, the jury were told.

"My partner was uncomfortable with him doing it. She wanted to do the AI, but he insisted it was his job, he knew what he was doing."

Raivich returned two nights later at 11.40pm, despite the woman suggesting he postpone for a week because of the late hour.

"He insisted on coming that day. He didn't speak this time, just said: 'Tea, toast.'

"The dvd player was already set up for it. He called me down because he couldn't hear the volume on the tv.

"When I walked in his trousers were undone, which made me feel uncomfortable and I turned up the tv for him. His button and zip were undone.

"I sort of ran out of the room quite fast back upstairs.

"He came up, my partner went down. This time he stood there staring at me, smiling.

"I was waiting for him  to turn around before I got undressed. He told me not to be shy, that I had nothing to worry about and stood there with a scary smile on his face, glaring at me.

He then lifted up my top and started to grope my boobs. I just froze, he hadn't done it the previous time so I knew it was not right.

"He lifted my t-shirt up and moved my bra away from my breasts. He was just groping my boobs, squeezing them and smiling.

"He was looking at me, just smiling, it was like something out of a horror movie the way he was looking at me.

"I pushed my top down and he continued to smile at me and started to push his fingers inside me, which again I knew was wrong. He hadn't previously done this.

"It was painful and I said: 'Ouch.'

"To me it seemed like forever, but it was a few minutes," added the complainant, who claimed this lasted ten seconds in her statement.

"After he done that he continued to smile at me and forced the speculum inside me.

"He asked me to relax because he was struggling to get it in. He then inserted the sperm again with a pipette.

"He then pushed down on my clitoris, he just smiled at me. I just wanted him to get out of the bedroom, I wanted it to be over, my whole body just froze.

"When I left the room I shouted for my partner. Instinctively she knew something was wrong. I told her not to leave me."

She complained that on the first night Raivich burned her foot when he put a lamp on the bed.

"The second time he was abusing me, grinning, it was scary the way he was looking at me. He didn't speak."

Again Raivich slept on the sofa and two weeks later the woman discovered she was pregnant.

After her partner did some internet research on the defendant she reported him to the police and told the court what she thought of his behaviour. "I assumed to get his own sick kicks out of it."

When cross-examined she denied her evidence was "made up" and told Raivich's QC William Clegg: "I'm not going to appreciate getting groped and sexually assaulted by a man the second time.

"The truth is he's paying you to say this. Do you think this was a nice experience for me? You know nothing, you weren't there.

"It turns out everything he said was a lie. His name's not even Frank. What he' done is wrong and sick."

Prosecutor Mr. Tom Wilkins told the jury: "Each complainant in this case is a woman who met the defendant through an internet forum dedicated to sperm donation.

"He provided a one stop shop for women who wanted semen. All were desperate to have a baby."

His service was informal and did not conform to the guidelines of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and he often used the pseudonym Frank Qualman, the court was told.

"The defendant met these women in order to inseminate them. He took advantage of their desperation, his anonymity and informality by committing various types of sexual assaults upon them," added Mr. Wilkins.

The prosecution accept Raivich is a qualified doctor in Germany, but has always been an academic scientist and has never practiced medicine and is not registered with the General Medical Council.

"On the websites he advertises his services as a sperm donor and represents himself as a: 'Medical doctor based in Central London' providing a service called Intra-Cervical Insemination or ICI.

"He was not the altruistic donor, but someone who is sexually-motivated," Mr. Wilkins told the jury. 

Raivich has pleaded not guilty to assault by digital penetration in relation to another 26 year-old woman; one count of assault by penetration and sexual assault against a Cambridgeshire woman, 31, on November 21, 2012 and two counts of assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault on November 27.

He also denies two counts of sexual assault against the Great Yarmouth woman on January 31, last year and assault by penetration on the same date.


Trial continues……………

Saturday 21 June 2014

Cannabis Home-Grower Sentenced For "Sophisticated Personal Cultivation"


A heavy cannabis user, who had a large-scale home-grow operation hidden behind the overgown garden of his suburban address, received a suspended prison sentence yesterday.

Spencer Mays, 43, pleaded guilty to producing the class B drug at the property in Macclesfield Road, South Norwood (pictured) on February 4.


Since the raid Mays has moved to his mother's home in Tuckers Meadow, Wiveliscombe, Taunton and claims he has quit his heavy cannabis use and is committed to a new career as a HGV driver.


He was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for two years, pay a £2,000 fine and £350 costs.


His lawyer told Croydon Crown Court: “Since quitting cannabis he's never felt more confident.”


Mays also has a conviction involving class A drugs at the same court.


Judge John Tanzer said: “This was a really sophisticated personal cultivation and the prosecution had to be persuaded from having a trial that it was commercial.


“You have a rocky past, but you are now near middle-age and have settled down and got a job and home.


“To put you into custody would benefit nobody, but your offending, with your background, does cross the custody threshold.”


Regarding the large fine Judge Tanzer added: “It hits you were it hurts. That is my aim and it was your aim to save money. That's why you grew it.”