CRIMINALS jailed in December include a sex offender, a man who violently attacked his family and a dangerous driver who caused a motorist's death in a crash.
The list below includes some of the offenders that were put behind bars by judges last month.
While all of the criminals committed offences in Dorset, some of the cases were heard in courts outside of the county.
The offenders' names and a summary of what led to them appearing in the dock are as follows:
Weymouth man groomed underage girl - and continued to see and message victim despite being on bail
Matthew Lucas Cheshire, aged 21 and of Ranelagh Road in Weymouth, admitted three offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and a charge of sexual activity with a child at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Cheshire – who was 20 at the time – was first arrested by officers from Dorset Police on August 6, 2020 following a report from a third party that he had been involved in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl who he had contacted over social media.
When he was interviewed, the defendant said he had been in contact with her over social media but denied any sexual contact or communication.
Cheshire was released on police bail and his phone was seized for examination. It revealed messages exchanged between the defendant and the 14-year-old girl involving sexualised content and there were references to sexual activity that had taken place between them.
He was further arrested on September 10, 2020 following reports that he had been seen with the girl, in breach of his bail conditions. It was also found that Cheshire had continued to message the girl in a further breach of the terms of his bail.
In December 2020, he was sentenced to a total of four years and two months in prison with an extended licence period of a further two years. The defendant was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for a period of 10 years.
Man found with weapons and drugs in Dorset pub car park
The 25-year-old appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, September 25, 2020 after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine, possession of MDMA and cannabis, possession of criminal property, possession of prohibited weapons and possession of a lock knife.
He was told his sentence would be deferred for six months, Friday, March 21, 2021, with the condition that he engaged with counselling and therapy, did not reoffend or take drugs and maintained his job and personal life.
The case was however referred to the Court of Appeal and the sentence was found to be unduly lenient and he was sentenced to an immediate three-year prison term on Wednesday, December 2, 2020.
Neighbourhood officers attended the car park at the rear of the Half Moon Pub in Half Moon Street in Sherborne at around 5.40pm on Friday, July 10, 2020.
Davis, of Yeo Valley, Stoford in Yeovil, was spotted inside his BMW as an officer walking past saw the curved tip of a rusted machete lying in the rear footwell.
Davis told the officer he had the weapon to help his grandfather hack down bushes.
Police officers searched the car and discovered a machete, a stun gun, a lock knife, packets containing white powder, cannabis, a mobile phone and a bank card belonging to another person.
The following day, police officers carried out a further search of his address where a large number of items were found including two stun guns, cash, scales, more mobile phones, white powder and an axe. The drugs were tested and were found to be cocaine and MDMA.
Man groomed 14-year-old boy after sharing interest in car meets
Jack Vincent Lane, 23 of Hangersley, Ringwood, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 after being found guilty of three offences of sexual activity with a child.
Lane had met with a teenage boy from Poole on a number of occasions between March 2017, when his victim was 14, and July 2017. The pair both shared an interest in cars and went to a number of car meets together.
They attended events in Poole, London, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Northamptonshire and the pair also communicated through Facebook as well as text messages.
In July 2017, they travelled together to an event in Ringwood and when they were in the car Lane touched his victim inappropriately.
Around the same time, they also went to a mini car show in Devon and on the way back Lane again inappropriately touched his victim.
When the victim challenged him, he claimed he had done it accidentally.
That evening they went for a swim in the sea in Boscombe and the defendant touched his victim inappropriately over his swimming shorts.
In November 2017, the victim disclosed the offences to his mother.
Following inquiries Lane was interviewed by officers in April 2018 and, after a detailed investigation including examination of electronic devices, Lane was issued with a postal requisition to appear at court.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years, as well as being placed on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.
Assistant manager at Weymouth hotel ‘almost destroyed’ hotel owner’s life after stealing £12,000
A former assistant manager breached the trust of a "hard working" Weymouth hotel owner as he stole more than £12,000 in fraudulent refunds and purchasing items for his new business venture.
Martin Weaver, 44, was initially employed as a restaurant manager at Shelley’s restaurant in March 2017, before he convinced the Richmoor Hotel’s owner, Loriane Hillier, to become the assistant manager at the hotel.
But following a tip-off from a local businessman, Mrs Hillier discovered he was fraudulently using the hotel’s bank cards to purchase items for himself from Booker wholesalers and carried out false refunds to his own cards.
Between February 8, 2018 and July 17, 2018, he stole a total of £12,656.87 from the business.
Following an investigation spanning several months, Weaver, of Gladstone Road in Scarborough, was arrested by police and charged with fraud.
Mrs Hiller noted “unusual” activity with a number of refunds and noted Weaver must have “intercepted” a hotel bank card used for carrying out this transaction.
There had been 28 refunds to the sum of £5,198.30 to one card belonging to Weaver while a further 11 refunds, to the value of £3,975, were made to another of his cards.
He also paid £600 to a local caravan park using the hotel’s credit card.
Evidence of Weaver’s fraudulent actions were passed over to the police, who arrested him in July 2018 after he had been followed to the hotel by Mrs Hillier’s husband.
Weaver was jailed for 12 months and ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge at York Crown Court on Thursday, December 10.
Drink driver drove roundabout and into house
Drink driver James Glenn Reade sped at 93mph in a 30mph zone before careering through the middle of a roundabout and into the front of a house.
The defendant was at the wheel of his Volkswagen Scirocco when he committed the dangerous driving incident in Poole on the morning of November 17, 2019.
Following the crash in Ashley Road he fled the scene but was located shortly afterwards in Bournemouth.
Reade, aged 47 and of Sheppard's Field, Wimborne, was jailed for six months at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, December 11, after admitting offences of dangerous driving and drink driving.
Driver caused death of motorist in serious crash
Motorist Harvey Amey killed an elderly man in a crash after repeatedly tailgating other cars.
Amey, aged 21 and of Victoria Gardens, Trowbridge, was sentenced six months behind bars at Bournemouth Crown Court on December 11 after he admitted causing death by careless driving following a crash on the B3082 Badbury Rings Road, near Wimborne, early afternoon on Bank Holiday Monday, May 28, 2018.
Prosecuting Charlie Gabb told the court how victim Raymond Pike – known to friends and family as Cliff – died in hospital some four-and-a-half months later, as a result of the serious chest injuries he suffered in the accident.
Amey, who was a 19-year-old at the time of the accident, had been driving his girlfriend to the coast in his Vauxhall Corsa car.
Other drivers spoken to in the aftermath of the smash told police how Amey had repeatedly accelerated up closely behind, before attempting to overtake or overtake as if impatient.
Thug violently attacked mum and girlfriend
Owen Alan Ackers, 23, of Lineside, Burton, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on December 21, 2020 for causing grievous bodily harm with intent on his mother, Diane Ackers, and then-girlfriend Sapphire Bassett.
Ackers was jailed for eight and a half years following the violent assault which left one of the victim's with life-changing injuries.
He was also made subject to an extended licence period of a further 18 months.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 21, during the first national lockdown, Ackers was socialising and drinking at his home address with mother, Diane Ackers, and then-girlfriend Sapphire Bassett. The defendant also took cocaine and an altercation occurred.
Ackers began to repeatedly punch his mother to the left side of her face. Ms Bassett, who was pregnant at the time, intervened and tried to pull Ackers away from the victim, before he began to assault her as well, causing her to become unconscious.
While she was unconscious on the floor, Ms Ackers tried to pull the defendant away, but he bit her face near to her nose and forehead between her eyebrows.
Drug dealer operated illegal business from hotel room
Jahvon Robinson operated a drug dealing business from a Bournemouth hotel and attempted to flee from police by leaping into the cliff top gorse.
Robinson, aged 23, was seen by an officer making a hand-to-hand exchange with suspected drug users near to the East Overcliff Drive toilet block in June 2018.
He then walked around to the entrance of The Suncliff Hotel, made a phone call and met two other suspected drug users who were sitting on a bench near to the cliff top.
The officer approached Robinson and said he was being detained for a drug search. Robinson immediately ran away, careered through the cliff gorse and discarded items and clothes.
Robinson, of Wyke Road, London, was sentenced to three years in prison by a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, December 11, after previously pleading guilty at the same court to two counts of possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
Man smashed glass bottles on people's heads in assault
Matthew Parry assaulted two people with a glass bottle on a night out in Bournemouth.
Parry, aged 35 and of High Street in Margate, was jailed for two years at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, December 11, after admitting two offences of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
The defendant struck the victims in the head after he had removed his shirt and challenged the male victim to a fight during the incident on April 21, 2019.
The man sustained permanent damage to his nose during the incident.
With help from taxi driver and a swift police response, Parry was detained shortly after the attack.
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