DNA Test Fraud: New Dad's Child Support Swindle

Guilty: Father Leaving Court

A new dad avoided almost £20,000 in child maintenance payments to his ex after using his uncle’s DNA during a paternity test.

The 32 year-old engineer lied he was not his three year-old son’s father and deliberately deceived a doctor by sneaking out to his car to complete the test.

The mother of the child was left “shocked, gutted and upset” when informed, but was determined to expose the truth, knowing the DNA test had somehow been cheated.

Last week the father, of Gravesend, Kent - who cannot be identified in order to protect his son’s identity - was sentenced at Bexley Magistrates’ Court.

He pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation on June 19, 2020, namely providing a false DNA sample to the Child Maintenance Group (CMG).

The court heard he avoided paying £18,479.41 towards his toddler son’s care, resulting in the child’s mother struggling to cope and skipping meals to save money.

Prosecutor Denise Clewes said he was probed by the Child Support Agency’s Financial Investigation Unit after submitting a negative DNA test via Genetrack on June 19, 2020.

“He supplied that to the CMG to show he was not the father of the child, knowing it was not his DNA, but a third party - his uncle.

“The mother of the child made an application, naming him as the father, but he disputed parentage and provided a DNA test via an approved company.

“This was challenged by the mother who provided a statement and the child’s birth certificate, on which the defendant was named as the father and that he was the only person who could be the father.

“He refused to provide another DNA test to the CMG, saying that he had already paid for one privately.”

“The CMG then took DNA from both the mother and the child and the defendant was arrested at his home address and taken to Gravesend Police Station, where DNA was taken for comparison.

“He maintained that the DNA submitted in the earlier test was his, but eventually admitted he asked his uncle to provide a DNA saliva swab on his behalf.

“He deliberately removed some of the packaging so the doctor did not know the full protocol to follow and went out to his car to swab the sample and then return to the surgery.

“The police DNA test was positive that he was the father of the child and not the DNA provided via Genetrack,” added Ms Clewes.

“His uncle was spoken to and confirmed he knew what it was about, but thought the DNA was something to do with his nephew’s work.”

The defendant’s ex, who has at least one other daughter, said in a victim impact statement: “The incident effected me in so many ways.

“I was on holiday when I got the call saying my son was not his and I was shocked.

“I felt he had overall control and was trying to get out of payment and when the news came through I was gutted and upset, but knew something had been tampered with.

“I had to get the right result for my son. It was a huge weight off my shoulders.

“When the payments stopped I struggled a lot and knew I should not be in this position.

“I had to tighten the purse strings and sometimes just had a cup of tea or coffee instead of a meal so my children could eat.”

His lawyer Tessa Donovan told the court: “He made an extremely poor decision and it is the first time he has committed a serious criminal offence.

“There is no excuse for his behaviour, but he was not coping well at the time and had been prescribed anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication.

“He panicked regarding money and knows his behaviour was not attractive and he is very sorry for his actions.”

The defendant was supported in court by his new girlfriend. “She was shocked when she found out about the offence, but realised it was out off character,” added the lawyer.

He provided character references to the court, which heard he is now paying £680 per month to cover current payments and the arrears.

He was sentenced to a twelve month Community Order, which includes 200 hours community service work and fifteen days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.

“We have had a look at the probation report and the character references,” announced magistrate Shirley Muckell.

“This was a fraudulent at the outset to get away with paying for your son, but you are remorseful and you are now paying money both for maintenance and the arrears.”

He must also pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Airbnb Guest Jailed For Raping Lone Female First-Time Host

Banged Up Abroad: Dellarovere

An Airbnb guest, who raped his first-time host then promised to leave a “good review,” was sentenced to seven years imprisonment yesterday.

Well-travelled graphic designer Diego Dellarovere, 43, who describes himself as a ‘Citizen of the World’ was the first internet customer of the Irishwoman, who decided to rent her spare room.

However, she ended up barricading herself in her bedroom and hiding her kitchen knives after the Italian orally raped her on the couch.

The next morning he told her: “I’ll leave a good review.”

A jury took approximately three hours to unanimously find him guilty of rape; sexual assault and assault by penetration.

Dellarovere, of Holland Road, West Kensington, who describes himself as a ‘Free Spirit’, will now spend multiple years in a prison cell.

He will also have to sign the sex offenders register.

His exotic travels are chronicled online, where he tells his instagram fans: “Follow Me. I will take you around the world.”

The woman told the trial she became a host to make the most of the spare room in her Wandle Park, Croydon flat, advertising on the Airbnb website.

Her first-ever guest was Dellarovere, who booked for one night on May 7, 2021, despite having a London address.

He told the jury: “I like to explore new places and in that period it was a covid period and I couldn’t travel or visit other places and the idea to go on a night out, it was close to my lifestyle.

“It was cheap and because there was a park close by and I like nature.”

She accepted the booking, despite believing it was a little strange west London-based Dellarovere wanted to spend the night in her quiet corner of Croydon.

During the evening she poured them both a glass of wine and Dellarovere told her about his passion for Reiki therapy, which utilises the body’s natural energy.

Well-Travelled: Dellarovere

In her police video-recorded interview she explained: “He mentioned massage at that point and was following me very close and came behind me and started rubbing my shoulders and I said: ’No thanks.’

“Then when I was sitting on the couch he was touching my legs and said: ‘Put on spa music and I can give you a massage.’

“He was saying: ‘I have oil. I will give you a massage.’

“I felt like he was just looking at me and not wanting just small talk and that’s when things turned,” she told the investigating officers.

“He came forward and pulled me in and started licking and kissing my neck. I pulled back and he was quite strongly pulling me in and I had to forcefully push him away.

“I felt a little bit frozen and he went in again, using a lot more strength and force.

“I was saying ‘no’ quite a lot and pushing and he stuck his tongue in my mouth and moved from there to my breast and his hand went down inside my leggings. 

“I said: ‘I don’t want this,’ and he said: ‘Come on,’ and started talking about that energy stuff we had discussed earlier.

“He put his hand into my trousers and into me and was quite roughly moving his fingers. It was not comfortable.

“He pulled down down his trousers and underwear and sat down,” continued the woman, adding Dellarovere forced her hand between his legs.

“He grabbed my head again, my hair and just pushed forward.”

She said she was raped by force and without consent and afterwards Dellarovere followed her around the kitchen, trying to grab her.

“He started grabbing me again and I said: “You’re really p***ing me off now,” and he walked away, tidied himself up and went into the spare bedroom.”

However, Dellarovere insisted the sexual activity was consensual and occurred after he gave her a relaxing massage.

The father-of-one told the jury during the four-day trial: “There was a sort of chemistry. We were laughing and joking, everything was very natural.

“At that point when there was a kiss she came closer and we became more intimate, we started to hug and touch each other. We kissed and hugged.”

Dellarovere said the “ten to twenty seconds” sex act occurred during a “moment of passion,” the complainant seemed to immediately regret.

“I was going to move and then it was just like she had woken up and she stood up and went back and she said: ’No, no, it’s too soon. I made a mistake.’

“At the point she stood up I still had my trousers down and I stood up and I said: ‘Everything is okay, there’s nothing wrong,’ and I tried to hug her.

“At this point she said: ’No, no,’ and when I heard her I was embarrassed, pulled up my trousers and went in my room.”

The woman told the trial she also retreated to her bedroom. “I went to my bedroom and he was texting me, asking: ‘Are you sure?’ and then texted me that he was sorry and asked if I was angry.

“I was scared because he did not get what he wanted and would go out and bring someone back.”

After getting her pet dog into her bedroom she struggled to convince her reluctant pet cat to follow. “Once they were in I pulled a unit across the door.”

She also hid her knife block, remarking: “I did not know what he was capable of doing.”

Dellarovere had her door keys and returned to the flat at 2.00am after “going for a walk” and spent the night in the spare room.

She left a neutral Airbnb about Dellarovere, which seemed to annoy him, the court heard.

“He responded with an angry face emoji and there was some back and forth messaging in which he said it was consensual and using block capitals, said I LIKED it.”

Dellarovere sent further WhatsApp messages to the woman, including: “You are repressed,” “You’re not a good person,” “You need to be more in your soul not your mind,” “Be an adult, not a baby,” and “I didn’t see any objections from you.”

Dellarovere then blocked the woman, but contacted her again when she reported to Airbnb her concerns about his stay, resulting in her ultimately blocking him.

She told the police: “I was just going to report this to Airbnb and leave it at that. My initial thoughts were it was pointless because it was not going to go anywhere.

“Then my thought was that he is likely going to do that to someone again so I want his name to be flagged.”

Detective Constable Natalie Alchin said: “Dellarovere forced himself on this woman in her own home, somewhere she should have felt safe and I have no doubt that she was terrified.

“I am pleased our investigation has resulted in him receiving a significant custodial sentence and I would like to praise the victim for the support she has shown the investigation.

“We do not underestimate the impact that would have had on her.”

Premier Inn Manager Secretly Recorded Staff Undressing

A manager with hotel chain giant Premier Inn secretly filmed employees with a concealed mobile phone as they changed into their uniforms, a court heard.

Batchelor Anthony Grant, 38, the night manager at the Great Suffolk Street, Southwark hotel near the Tate Modern, had deliberately propped his phone against a rucksack and covered it with a jacket.

He denied the offences, claiming he must have accidentally activated his phone’s record feature, but was found guilty of three counts of voyeurism after a trial.

At Bexley Magistrates’ Court Grant, who lives with his mother in Barque Mews, Deptford received a two-year Community Order, plus 250 hours community service work.

He must also complete thirty days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and pay £500 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Grant was effectively sacked on the spot from his night manager position with the UK’s largest hotel chain and remains unemployed.

Prosecutor Denise Clewes told the court two female and one male day shift employees were recorded undressing and changing into their uniforms as they phone ran for nearly and hour.

One of the female victim’s told police Grant “blushed and was embarrassed” when she arrived for work on September 26, 2021 and the male worker told her not to get changed as usual.

“She saw a propped-up phone obscured by a jacket, which viewed the entire room and anybody changing in there.

“Another employee put her bag in front of the phone and got changed and it was reported to another manager.

“That manager saw the phone propped against a rucksack and that it had been recording for fifty-nine minutes and he stopped it recording,” added Ms Clewes. 

“Watching the recorded footage he could see Grant had captured himself setting up the phone to record the room.

“The male victim believed he had been recorded in his socks and underwear.”

When asked about his phone Grant told his boss: “I didn’t know it was recording.”

He was told to leave the premises immediately and the police were later informed.

“Mr Grant said he never set his phone to record and maybe had accidentally swiped to record and said he did not intend to record any of his colleagues.”

In her victim impact statement the first female victim said: “I was in a vulnerable position and I now feel paranoid and uncomfortable.

“I am concerned he knows where I live and my route to and from work and I sometimes now don’t use the changing room.”

The second female victim said: “I feel weird going to and from work and feel he may be secretly watching me from somewhere.”

The court heard Grant was of good character before these offences and has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

“We have listened to everything that has been said and we think this can be dealt with in the community, where you can receive the treatment you need,” announced magistrate Shirley Muckell.

“This package has been put together by the Probation Service to assist you.”